Category: Basketball

Austin Reaves and the Los Angeles Lakers earned a 121-116 victory over the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday, Nov. 8.

The Lakers improved to 9-2 on the season and remain in first place in the Western Conference. The team also moved to 2-0 in games in which Luka Doncic does not play.

Doncic has positiioned himself as the early favorite for the NBA’s MVP after leading the league in scoring and averaging 40.1 points per game.

The point guard was ruled out with lower back tightness, allowing for more scoring opportunities for Reaves.

“I was a lucky basketball player tonight,” Reaves told reporters after the game.

Reaves produced a game-high 43 points on 14-of-27 shooting from the field, against one of the league’s best defenses. He also went 4-for-6 from the three-point line and a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line.

The Pistons were not surprised by Reaves' abilities, having pursued the shooting guard with strong interest during free agency in the offseason.

“Luka is an incredible player, and I think there are times when he's playing that A.R. kind of has to take a secondary role,” Lakers center Walker Kessler told reporters after the game. "But you could see tonight that he's a very capable player.

Kessler contributed to the victory, putting together a double-double performance with 12 points and 16 rebounds.

The Lakers offense as a unit also created a fast start and built a strong lead in the first quarter, outscoring the Pistons 38-14.

When do Lakers play next?

The Lakers will travel to play the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, Nov. 9 in the second game of a back-to-back at 7 p.m. ET.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Austin Reaves lead Lakers past Pistons with Luka Doncic out

The Lakers (9-2) will continue their current five-game road trip in Atlanta where they will take on the Hawks (7-4) on Monday. This is the first matchup between the teams this season.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Atlanta Hawks

When: 4 p.m. PT, Nov. 6

Where: State Farm Arena

Watch: Spectrum Sportsnet

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After taking down the league’s top-ranked defense in the Pistons on Sunday, the Lakers have little time to celebrate as they’re back on the court less than 24 hours later for a matchup in Atlanta. Both teams enter this meeting in good form with each looking to extend their win streaks.

The Lakers have strung together five in a row while the Hawks are not too far behind with four. One streak will end on Monday.

Los Angeles will have the rest disadvantage in this one after going down the wire with the Pistons today. But in fairness to the purple and gold, they’ve been doing well on the second leg of their back-to-back games this young season, winning two so far.

The biggest question mark entering this is whether Luka Dončić will suit up after he was sidelined with back tightness on Sunday. If the current MVP favorite does, then that would obviously be huge for the Lakers. Dončić can give the Hawks’ defense trouble like no other and that pressure will help free up the Lakers’ offense.

Speaking of the Lakers’ offense, it would really help if they knock down their shots in this one. The Hawks are a mediocre 3-point shooting team and have struggled to contain opposing shooters. They have Dyson Daniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker to create havoc and disrupt passing lanes which is why it’ll be ideal if the team can contribute all-around instead of rallying on Dončić and Austin Reaves, who is coming off a 43-point game.

The Hawks have two dynamic and pesky guards in CJ McCollum and Alexander-Walker, so expect the Lakers’ perimeter defense to have its hands full. Remember, this isn’t the same Atlanta team since Trae Young departed. They’re a confident squad that plays commendable team basketball and at a much faster pace than the Lakers. Jalen Johnson might just be a matchup problem for the Lakers. Look for Atlanta to double down on that on Monday.

The Lakers’ grit has been one of the many enjoyable aspects of watching this team so far this season. It’s become a defining trait and hopefully we see it again versus the Hawks on Monday. Let’s see if the Lakers will be the team that walks away with their winning streak still intact.

Notes and Updates

• Since the Lakers played on Sunday, the injury report for this game will only be released hours before tipoff.
• It’s worth noting, though, that Quentin Grimes hurt his finger against the Pistons, so his status might be questionable for this one.
• For the Hawks’ injury report, Keshon Gilbert (left knee inflammation), Mouhamed Gueye (left foot fracture), Asa Newell (left great toe hyperextension), Henri Veesaar (right ACL tear) are out.
• Jock Landale (left hip strain) is questionable.

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.

It wasn’t always pretty, but the Minnesota Timberwolves found a way to push through and defeat the Utah Jazz on Sunday night.

Every time the Wolves would go on a bit of a run, the Jazz would claw their way right back into the game. It was not until late in the third quarter that Minnesota would comfortably pull away. This allowed the Wolves to salvage their showing against a team that came into the game at 1-8.

I’ve mentioned this in my recaps before, but in the past, a game like this could be considered a trap game. Playing against a team that is languishing in the standings is usually a recipe for disaster. Early on in the season, it would seem that Minnesota is doing a great job of rewriting that narrative.

The Wolves did what they were supposed to do by beating a team at the bottom of the standings. We shouldn’t take that for granted. I doubt any long-term fans will.

The victory over Utah was on-brand for the 2026-27 Timberwolves, featuring a slew of highlights and standout performances from many of the players who have been ascending in the absence of Anthony Edwards and Donte Divincenzo. Here are a few game notes that stood out to me.

Trey Lyles might be legit

I’ve been apprehensive about saying that Trey Lyles is going to be a meaningful part of this team. I mean, the guy was overseas last year. Yet, as is becoming tradition, Minnesota is looking like the premier rehabilitation hub for players who are looking for newfound life in their careers. Lyles is fitting right in.

The counting stats don’t jump off the page tonight with just nine points (3/6 shooting, 1/3 from deep), six boards, two assists, and a steal across 21 minutes of play. What jumps out instead is his +29 across those limited minutes in what amounted to a 15-point win. The guy can play, and it’s fair to wonder at this point why he wasn’t in the NBA last year.

Many folks I have talked to have branded Lyles as the team’s new Kyle Anderson, and even that comparison may be underselling his impact at this point in the season. Lyles is connecting lineup combinations in a way that we never saw with Anderson. He fits into any scheme at any point of the game, and he is rarely a negative on the floor, whereas Slow Mo needed a very specific set of circumstances to succeed.

On nights like tonight, when Jonathan Kuminga has an off performance (four points, three turnovers, and a team-worst -10), having a consistent presence like Lyles proves to be invaluable. Tim Connelly can apparently do no wrong with his roster construction, and Lyles is further emblematic of his prowess as a team builder.

Stars Shine as They Should

Against a (lowly) team like the Jazz, you need your bona fide contributors to not drop the ball. The quartet of Jaden McDaniels, Rudy Gobert, Ayo Dosunmu, and LaMelo Ball were all up to the task, keeping the Wolves afloat against a Jazz team that showcased more fight than their record would suggest.

What more can we say about Dosunmu? He’s been revelatory in the starting lineup and, much like Lyles, seems to fit in and produce wherever he’s deployed. Scoring 26 points on just 13 shots is wildly efficient and, while his five turnovers were tied for the most on the team, he seemed to be unstoppable for most of the night.

It’s wild to think that Connelly acquired Dosunmu for Rob Dillingham, Leonard Miller, and a few second-round picks. Peanuts.

Ball was his usual self on the evening, providing plenty of highlight-worthy plays, some dazzling shot-making, and even throwing in a breakaway dunk for good measure. He shot 50% from the field on 20 shots, which is always a plus for a player who tends to struggle with efficiency. Not much to complain about on his end.

McDaniels was also efficient and filled the stat sheet on a small shot diet: 16 points (5/9 in general, 2/3 from deep), six boards, three assists, a steal, and a block, and a +17 across 33 minutes. Jaden did what he does, which is contribute in all facets of the game. Gobert had a whopping 15 rebounds, 10 points, and only missed two free throws. All around, it was a solid showing from the gang.

TJ Shannon Jr. also returned from his injury absence with a modest five-point performance. He may need some time to reacclimate himself to game speed. Fortunately, the Wolves have a bit of a break before their next matchup (Thursday night against the Dallas Mavericks), so he can continue to rest his injured hip.

Michael Grady

In an otherwise uneventful game, it was refreshing to hear Michael Grady back on the call.

Obviously, Grady has increasing commitments that take him away from doing Wolves games. That’s all good, and nobody deserves it more than he does. However, it is always nice to hear his chemistry with Jim Petersen shine during the home broadcasts.

The joy was palpable early on in this game, and it is easy to tell how much Grady still loves calling Wolves games. His national broadcasts are similarly fantastic, though the degree to which he feels at home with Minnesota brings a warm feeling to the game-watching experience that we, as fans, shouldn’t take for granted.

None of this is a knock on Kevin Calabro, who has been able to provide a different angle to the watching experience that will only improve the more that his chemistry grows with Petersen. Calabro is good and is exactly as advertised. Yet, Grady is, and will always be, our dude. While he’s still with us, we need to soak this up while we can.

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Game Highlights

Up Next

The Timberwolves get a bit of a break after a torrid start to the season, taking on the Mavericks on Thursday, November 12th at 7:00 PMCT. Catch the game on DAZN-MIN and NBA TV.

Cooper Flagg has been playing angry in the Dallas Mavericks’ last two wins. But at least the team has prevented the second-year star from getting hangry. You wouldn’t like Flagg when he’s hangry.

Late in both Friday’s 112-100 win over the Utah Jazz and in Sunday’s 130-93 blowout over the Brooklyn Nets, Flagg could be seen on the bench as things wound down, snacking on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

And leave it to the intrepid Dallas sports media apparatus — when they spot a trend, they pounce with all the aggression of a rabid dog. No angle goes unnoticed around here.

So, naturally, Flagg answered questions about his emotional support PB&J after Sunday’s win. He gave an enthusiastic nod as the question was being asked about a “second straight in-game PB&J.”

“Listen, I want to give a shoutout to our strength staff, our medical staff,” Flagg said. “They’re the best in the business. I’m trying to put on some weight — keep gaining muscle, so there are some requirements I’ve got to meet, so I’m just trying to stay ahead of it. We’ve got another game [on Monday], so just trying to get my calories, stay ahead of it and be ready for another one tomorrow.”

Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg has had in-game PB&J’s in back-to-back games.

He answered why.

“I’m trying to put on some weight, keep gaining muscle.” pic.twitter.com/d2BJ7yNblO

— Ron Harrod Jr. (@RonKnowsSports) November 9, 2026

He also confirmed that the jelly in question was grape flavored, and the peanut butter was of the smooth variety. Let’s get real. He’s not a savage.

So let’s break this down. Depending on weight, minutes played and how aggressively they move on the court, an NBA player can burn 900-1,800 calories over the course of a single game. Larger, heavier players (like Flagg, despite your opinion of the second-year star’s frame at 6’10”, 228lbs) burn toward the higher end of that range.

As such, sports dietitians generally advise heavier full-time athletes to consume anywhere from 4,000 to more than 7,000 calories per day. One peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread can account for somewhere in the neighborhood of 350 to 500 calories.

Cooper's PB&J is BACK!! pic.twitter.com/w8Dap996ii

— MavsHighlights (@MavsHighlights) November 9, 2026

Flagg was listed at 205lbs entering his rookie season. He’s now listed at 228lbs. Considering all the full-court basketball he’s played in the meantime, that’s one hell of a lot of PB&Js along the way.

So, what does Flagg’s effort to make weight say about the Mavericks’ chances in a suddenly wide open Western Conference? That he sees an opening, and even in the early part of a breakout second season, he’s actively adding to his game because he doesn’t see himself as a finished product.

Fans may be looking for Flagg to take the next step with his outside shot, and for the record, he made 3-of-5 from 3-point range on Sunday against the Nets, but he’s working on those GAINS. Flagg has increased his scoring (in an admittedly small sample size) so far this year from just over 21 points per game to just over 23 points per game. He’s largely accomplished that by getting to the free-throw line a ton more.

Last season, he shot just over four free throws per game. This year, he’s getting to the free-throw line more than seven times per game. In one of the Mavericks’ first games of the year, color commentator Devin Harris said he’d like to see Flagg increase his free-throw rate to somewhere in the neighborhood of 8.5 per game, which would put him near the top of the league, if you’re looking at last year’s leaders in that category.

Getting stronger is always a great idea, especially when you’re 6’10.” Flagg has already shown an increased ability to bang inside through the first 10 games of the year. Being able to go both over and through defenders in the lane will increase Flagg’s ability to finish inside, which will, in turn, improve the team’s efficiency in the lane.

In a Western Conference that looks more wide open this season, every little advantage gained becomes a bigger deal.

Keep snackin’, Coop.

The Denver Nuggets played in Mexico two nights ago. They beat the Indiana Pacers 114-102. With the extra level of travel, Denver has listed their entire rotation as a game-time decision. More than likely, some of them will have to play. However, if they do sit everyone, the Houston Rockets will owe them a huge debt of gratitude.

Houston has looked poor, to stay the least, over the past two games. Against Minnesota at home and in Phoenix, the Rockets got off to sluggish starts and it cost them in the fourth quarters when they couldn’t score. Turnovers have also plagued the team in those losses. It was a stark reminder of last season’s struggles, and casts Houston’s hot start in doubt. Further, it brings into question the perceived importance of Fred VanVleet. If the team is making the same mistakes it made last season (sans FVV), how helpful is he?

The sky isn’t falling, but boy do the Rockets need to prove that they aren’t the exact same team as last season. Because if they are, what are we even doing here? I’m not arguing for a full teardown and I’m certainly not saying that a loss tonight should start that process, but if Denver doesn’t play their stars and Houston still finds a way to lose, well…it’s going to get loud.

Tip-off

7:30pm CT

How To Watch

Space City Home Network

Injury Report

Rockets

Clint Capela: OUT

Steven Adams: OUT

Nuggets

Nikola Jokic: GTD

Cameron Johnson: GTD

Jamal Murray: GTD

DeMar DeRozan: GTD

Aaron Gordon: GTD

Christian Braun: GTD

Julian Strawther: OUT

The Line (as of this post)

HOU -8.5

Check here for updates

Schedule Advantage Counter

Rockets: 2

Opponents: 2

Looking ahead because we can

Wednesday night at home against the Golden State Warriors

The Dallas Mavericks (6-4) took on the Brooklyn Nets (2-8), winning 130-93 on the first night of a back-to-back. This may be a game where one could draw correlations that aren’t really there, or it may be the perfect example of a lesson learned. The Mavs slept on the Kings a few nights ago and got embarrassed, but tonight they came out strong and stayed that way, holding a lead for roughly 47 minutes.

Let’s get to the grades!

Kyrie Irving: 8/10

21 PTS / 3 REB / 4 AST / 1 STL / 29 MIN

Irving displayed his typical veteran poise, recognized his matchup against an inexperienced player and took advantage while staying within himself and doing what was best for the team. His three-ball left a bit to be desired (2-of-7), but there were times it felt like he was literally working on that part of his game in real time, as if to work out a kink. More importantly, he finished well at the rim with no hesitation getting amongst the trees; hopefully that is a sign of building confidence and there will be more of it to come. Despite the misses from downtown, Irving still shot 9-of-15 overall (60%). His circus shot for the and-one to end the third quarter was the cherry on top.

Cooper Flagg: 9/10

25 PTS / 5 REB / 12 AST / 1 STL / 28 MIN

Flagg led all scorers in his double-double effort. He hit 8-of-13 from the floor, 3-of-5 from downtown and 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Three turnovers was about the only blemish on his game. In relatively few minutes, he all but dominated every aspect of the game and set a new career high in assists in less than 30 minutes of action.

Caleb Martin: 6/10

2 PTS / 2 REB / 2 AST / 19 MIN

Martin insists on being the most difficult player on the team to grade. Since getting the starting job a few games ago, Martin hasn’t blown up the box score but has done a lot of intangible things. He’s smart, lets the game come to him and finds teammates (even if it comes by way of the hockey-assist or poking a rebound to a teammate that doesn’t register for him on the stat sheet).

P.J. Washington: 6/10

6 PTS / 5 REB / 1 STL / 1 BLK / 25 MIN

This was a tough grade to give, as it’s not especially high despite Washington having a pretty solid night. He was 2-of-3 from the floor, both from deep and did little bits here and there to contribute. It felt like this was a game he could go gang-busters in, especially off a great outing last game, but he was instead quietly effective.

Daniel Gafford: 8/10

18 PTS / 5 REB / 2 AST / 3 BLK / 19 MIN

Gafford was a mixed bag early on, with some strong finishes through contact for the and-one, but some matador defense on the other end. Then all of sudden he locked in and you blinked and realized he put together a very nice game. All said, he scored nearly a point per minute on a highly efficient 7-of-8 shooting from the floor while connecting on 4-of-6 free throws. His presence early on was a big help in the Mavs getting early separation.

Walter Clayton, Jr.: 6/10

5 PTS / 4 REB / 6 AST / 2 STL / 16 MIN

May Clayton go down as a super slick pickup by the front office. The guy is totally in control, makes good plays and seems to be in the right spot all the time. In just 16 minutes he was terrific, boosting his grade given how little time he had to work. He drained 2-of-3 shots including 1-of-2 from beyond the arc. Two turnovers and three fouls hurt him, but he gets the benefit of the doubt relative to his role and minutes played.

Morez Johnson, Jr.: 8/10

4 PTS / 9 REB / 1 AST / 19 MIN

He gets a major grade boost for how he managed himself throughout some chippiness with Noah Clowney. Clowney hit the deck after Johnson boxed him out, then proceeded to jaw with Johnson and bump him on their way back down court. Clowney persisted, bodying up into Johnson for an intentional foul, but literally bounced off Johnson for all the good it did. Johnson never got flustered, never retaliated and even though he was assessed with a technical foul, he showed poise well beyond his years. Also, Johnson made a heads up play that stood out in the first quarter. Instead of hopelessly closing out on an open shooter (he gave it a thought), he instead dropped to the basket to get a body on a cutter and ended up with the rebound. It was a savvy play he wasn’t necessarily making a few weeks ago.

Santi Aldama: 8/10

12 PTS / 2 REB / 1 STL / 15 MIN

Aldama was 5-of-7 from the floor and 2-of-4 from deep. He barely played a quarter, but came in scorching. In the flow of watching the game live, it was hard to remember him getting so many shots – he was totally within the flow of the offense and got a couple easy ones right at the rim. It’s a small sample size, but Aldama has thus far been everything Mavs’ fans could hope for. Another smart player that doesn’t get ahead of himself and makes the absolute most of his time on the floor.

Zaccharie Risacher: 8/10

11 PTS / 6 REB / 1 AST / 16 MIN

Like Aldama, Risacher did a lot with a little. Aside from an air-balled three that he had to put up after getting the ‘live grenade’ tossed to him, he was on fire, shooting 5-of-8 (1-of-3 from downtown). He didn’t commit a foul and pursued rebounds including two on the offensive end. He joined Aldama as a big reason the starters got a lot of rest.

Final Thoughts

This was a fantastic game all around. One could argue the Mavs played a struggling team. While that is true, we saw what happened against Sacramento just a few nights ago. Sunday night, Dallas got out to a lead, extended it and maintained it. The latter may have been the best part – the Mavs never relented and it seems to be in no small part due to Dusty May’s coaching. May at one point (with a large double-digit lead) was still yelling to his players to box out. Anyone could have mailed it in on the first night of a back-to-back, but no one did.

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.

The Dallas Mavericks (6-4) defeated the Brooklyn Nets (2-8), 130-93 in a Sunday evening matchup at the American Airlines Center. The win over the Nets marks the Mavericks’ second straight win and follows Friday night’s 112-100 win over the Utah Jazz in NBA Cup Group Play.

Dereck Lively, Tarik Biberovic, and Sergio de Larrea were out for Dallas. Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. were notably absent for Brooklyn.

Cooper Flagg led the Mavericks with 25 points and 12 assists. Kyrie Irving added 21 points. Michael Porter Jr. contributed 19 points for the Nets.

Here are three numbers to know from Sunday evening’s win.

40%: Dallas’ 3-point shooting

The Mavericks shot efficiently from the floor this evening, making 14-of-35 shots from behind the arc. The Mavericks are a better team when they are hitting their threes and not trying to force them up. Though against a less-talented and less-experienced team, the Mavericks won both the field goal and three-point percentage advantages. Dallas took care of a team that was a scheduled win and will need to carry their efficient night from the field into their next matchup.

18/3: Daniel Gafford points, blocks

Daniel Gafford had an active showing for the Mavericks, finishing with 18 points, three offensive rebounds, and a season-high three blocks. Gafford’s ability to finish at the rim at an efficient rate and his shot-blocking abilities have allowed him to have a nice start to the season as the Mavericks’ starting center. He has improved his efficiency this season and built on-court chemistry with Flagg, scoring on five of his assists for 10 points this evening. Gafford has been able to impact the game in a way he once did for the previous iteration of the Mavericks, allowing the Mavericks to stay afloat at the center position as Lively continues to rehab from his injury.

12: Cooper Flagg career high in assists

After an outing last week that served as a reminder that Flagg is still 19 years old, Flagg finished with an emphatic 25 points, 5 rebounds, and a career-high 12 assists. Notably, he shot 8-of-13 from the field in the win over the Nets, an improvement from his 17-of-54 (31.5%) field goals made in the Mavericks’ three games last week. He played more decisively tonight on offense, highlighting his passing abilities and shooting 3-of-5 from behind the arc. Though the Nets are a borderline G League team, Flagg was able to completely dismantle their defense. When Flagg is playing confidently, he is one of the league’s best players, and tonight’s outing will give him the motivation to carry his performance into Monday night’s matchup with Indiana.

Up next

Try not to miss them for too long; the Mavericks will be back in action Monday night as they host the Pacers. Tune in to KFAA-TV and Mavs TV at 7 p.m. CT to catch the matchup.

The Milwaukee Bucks started strong but faded in a 117-97 loss to the Boston Celtics. In a rematch of Wednesday’s back-and-forth loss to the Celtics, the Bucks led by as much as 14 in the first quarter, but ceded ground thanks to Boston’s strong shooting and pesky defense. The Celtics retook the lead at the start of the second quarter and never looked back in a comfortable 20-point victory. Kyle Kuzma led Milwaukee with 27 points on 10/17 shooting, followed by Brayden Burries (13 points) and Tyler Herro (13 points). Paul George scored 27 on 18 shots, while Jayson Tatum (21), Neemias Queta (13), Payton Pritchard (12), and Mitchell Robinson (12) all logged double-digit points.

NBA.com Box Score

Game Recap

Milwaukee rolled out its new starting lineup of Brayden Burries, Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kyle Kuzma and Myles Turner. Boston started Mike Conley, Derrick White, Paul George, Jayson Tatum and Neemias Queta. The story early was Kyle Kuzma, who dropped 16 points on 6/10 shooting in the first quarter alone. The Bucks led 20-6 after five minutes of play, forcing the Celtics to call a timeout as Kuzma had already dropped 14 of those 16—he was hot. But of course, the Celtics remained calm and worked their way back into the game, largely thanks to Tatum’s high-level shooting and aggressive defence that forced turnovers and let Boston score easy points. Tatum finished the quarter with 16 points on 4/9 shooting as Boston strung together a 10-0 run to end the period, with the Bucks leading by just two, 27-25.

Paul George connected on a corner three to give the Celtics their first lead just seconds into the second quarter. Boston kept clicking from the perimeter and pestered Milwaukee’s ball handlers. The Bucks really hit an offensive wall at this point, connecting on just two threes from 12 attempts. In comparison, Boston looked at ease; White got to his spots at the midrange, Queta consistently beat Turner on the interior, and George splashed three after three. In fact, PG finished with a ridiculous 16 points in the second quarter on 6/9 shooting, helping Boston outscore Milwaukee 33-18 in the period. Tatum found Queta wide open in the paint, who threw down a big jam to put the Celtics up 58-45 at halftime.

Things got uglier for the Bucks in the third, as the Celtics opened with a 7-0 run and stretched their lead to 20. Herro also hobbled off the court with an apparent knee injury after being fouled by Derrick White, but thankfully, returned later in the game. To their credit, the Bucks showed resolve; Turner converted an and-one layup over Queta and Kuzma knocked down a three to trigger a Boston timeout. Ousmane Dieng saw his first minutes in nearly four games and made his cameo count with a pull-up midrange jumper to cut the Celtics’ lead to 16. Ryan Rollins also began to pick up steam from long range, but Boston still held a huge advantage, leading 91-74 entering the final frame.

Pritchard fired a step-back three, and Brayden Burries responded with a midrange jumper to start the fourth quarter. Boston continued to dominate Milwaukee, though they slowed marginally as they brought in their deep rotation to finish the game. That was no matter, though, because they still had Pritchard on the court, who connected on three three-pointers within two minutes. Special hat tip to Dieng, though, who scored eight points in the fourth quarter along to get his year heading back in the right direction. The Celtics coasted to a comfortable 20-point lead, dropping the Bucks to 1-9 in their first 10 games.

Stat That Stood Out

The battle on the glass was one-sided today. Boston grabbed 20 offensive boards to Milwaukee’s nine and led the game in rebounds, 48-36. Boston picked up a lot of second-chance points through the efforts of Queta and Robinson, which ultimately helped the Celtics pull away in the second quarter.

Obscene Overreaction

Ousmane Dieng deserves a permanent spot in the rotation after that fourth quarter. Dieng shined in his limited minutes, scoring 10 points on perfect 3/3 shooting. Dieng has struggled this season, especially finding a rhythm from beyond the arc and competing with wings for playing time, but he certainly took a step forward against Boston. It could translate to more meaningful minutes in Tuesday’s outing against the New York Knicks.

Well… We can only go up from here right? The Utah Jazz suffered yet another road loss Sunday night at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves, without Anthony Edwards. Now 1-9, the Jazz tonight matched the 2013-14 Utah Jazz for the worst 10-game start to the season since the team has been in Utah. As you will recall, that 2013-14 squad included a rookie Rudy Gobert and head coach Ty Corbin… So, that is definitely not great at all!

The Bench

Even under ideal circumstances, you are just not going to win a lot of basketball games when your bench unit is as poor as the Jazz’ bench was tonight, and honestly, really all year. Tonight, the Jazz bench scored only 2o points. Not only were they not scoring points, but they were bleeding points on the other end with extremely porous defense. With three of the Jazz’ most important players already not in uniform, and Keyonte George clearly hampered by illness, you just need bench guys to come in and at least hold the line by making some shots or getting stops on defense. None of those things happened.

More Injuries

Already down three starters in Jusuf Nurkic, Lauri Markkanen, and Jaren Jackson Jr., Keyonte George joined the ever-growing list of injuries for the Jazz when he suffered an ankle injury in the 4th quarter. Aside from the fact that today is Keyonte’s 23rd birthday and it sucks to get hurt on your birthday, if Keyonte is out for an extended period of time with this ankle injury, the Jazz truly might be in a whole different realm of trouble. Here’s to hoping Key can rebound quickly and get back on the court soon.

The Shining Pillar of Hope

With all the doom and gloom surrounding the Utah Jazz right now, Darryn Peterson showed up and showed out tonight, proving once again why he was the #2 overall pick in the draft. Darryn finished the night with 26 points 6 rebounds and 4 assists while shooting 52.4% from the field and 50% from three.

Darryn Peterson is the only rookie this season to have a game with 25+ PTS & 0 FTA. pic.twitter.com/z5Qt3Mnkxp

— Real App (@realapp) November 9, 2026

All of that, while not shooting a single free throw, indicating there is still plenty of room to grow. His aggressiveness and decisiveness were clear throughout the entirety of the game. Some of that was out of pure necessity due to the number of guys not in the game for the Jazz, but Darryn very obviously starting to get more comfortable in his abilities on an NBA floor. As the season progresses, it is very reasonable for Jazz fans to expect Peterson to clearly take the reins as one of the best, if not THE best, player on this Jazz squad.

Anyways, you can’t go 73-9 without losing 9 games… We move.

One trait JJ Redick teams will have is that they play hard.

Redick had a revelation of sorts early in his coaching career that just trying hard was enough to mask over flaws on most nights in the regular season. From that point on, the Lakers have, for the most part, tried hard.

With previous rosters, playing hard looked different because of a lack of energy or athleticism across the board. On a younger, more athletic, more tenacious team like this, playing hard looks like a team without their superstar jumping all over the Pistons on the road in the first quarter.

It’s quite the encouraging trait to have.

So, let’s dive into the win. As always, grades are based on expectations for each player. A “B” grade represents the average performance for that player.

Matisse Thybulle

28 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 fouls, 2-5 FG, +0

This is Thybulle’s third consecutive subpar offensive game. He’s hit just one of his last nine threes in the span. Unironically, no longer shooting no-dip threes might have messed with his timing. I don’t think his starting spot is in jeopardy yet, but there are plenty of options behind him.

Grade: C-

Jake LaRavia

29 minutes, 5 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 fouls, 1-3 FG, 0-1 3PT, 3-4 FT, +3

An interesting use of LaRavia in this game as he was more of a ballhandler with the Lakers down Luka Dončić. I had hoped that experiment stayed in the 2025-26 season, but it wasn’t disastrous on Sunday.

Grade: B

Walker Kessler

28 minutes, 12 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks, 3 fouls, 4 turnovers, 5-10 FG, 2-3 FT, +5

Kessler’s ability to stuff the stat sheet is going to make him a sneaky 5×5 candidate. Seven of his 16 rebounds were on the offensive glass and each one felt like it led directly to another basket. A huge showing from him.

KESSLER REJECTS AUSAR🔥 pic.twitter.com/OW7BbE1kkZ

— Laker Performances (@LALPerformance) November 9, 2026

Grade: A

Quentin Grimes

31 minutes, 12 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 turnovers, 4-12 FG, 2-5 3PT, 2-4 FT +1

Almost all of Grimes’ production came in the first quarter, but it was all very useful. He hit four of his first five shots and was a necessary ballhandler to alleviate some of the pressure off Austin Reaves.

Even if he faded as the game went, this was a far more encouraging performance from Grimes than most of his recent outings.

Grade: B

Austin Reaves

36 minutes, 43 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 fouls, 1 turnover, 14-27 FG, 4-6 3PT, 11-11 FT, +21

This is everything you needed from your nearly max player with your superstar out. He took on every bit of Luka’s role, dealt with the intense ball pressure all night long and still put up 43 points on great efficiency.

Grade: A+

Sandro Mamukelashvili

17 minutes, 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 fouls, 2 turnovers, 3-5 FG, 1-3 3PT, -7

Another relatively quiet night from Mamu as well. He had a couple moments early but also faded as the game went on.

Grade: B-

Jarred Vanderbilt

13 minutes, 2 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 2 fouls, 2 turnovers, 1-1 FG, 0-1 FT, +2

Vando was immediately impactful in the first quarter, grabbing nearly as many rebounds in that quarter (5) as he had in his last three games (6). His only basket came on a great finish on an and-one as well.

Credit to him for remaining ready even after falling out of the rotation with Adou Thiero’s return.

Grade: A-

Ziaire Williams

21 minutes, 17 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block, 2 fouls, 6-10 FG, 4-8 3PT, 1-2 FT, +7

For a number of reasons, this was a really strong performance from Ziaire, none more so than his clutch baskets in the fourth quarter. He stepped up and knocked down some huge shots and rightfully closed this game.

ZIAIRE KNOCKS DOWN THE 3 pic.twitter.com/QYqST0MCqf

— Laker Performances (@LALPerformance) November 9, 2026

Grade: A

Collin Sexton

24 minutes, 17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 foul, 2 turnovers, 5-10 FG, 0-2 3PT, 7-8 FT, +1

You know what? Fair play to Sexton. It still wasn’t a perfect game, especially with him fouling on a 3-pointer at the end. But the Lakers needed him and he had some important buckets throughout the game.

Grade: B+

Adou Thiero

Another brief cameo from Thiero as he works his way back from injury. He still had a highlight with a big dunk after corralling an offensive rebound. It will be interesting to see how his knee responds and if he’ll be available against the Hawks.

JJ Redick

Great work from Redick to have the team ready to go from the start on Sunday. They jumped out to an early lead and forced the Pistons to play from behind all game. He has this team in a great spot mentally and schematically right now.

Grade: A

Sunday’s DNPs: Bronny James, Cameron Carr, Jaden Hardy, Kevon Looney, Lawson Lovering

Sunday inactives: Luka Dončić, Arthur Kaluma, Chris Mañon

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

The Boston Celtics traveled to Milwaukee to take on the Bucks in their second meeting of the season. The first quarter was close, but Boston outplayed the Bucks through the final 3 quarters to comfortably win the game, 117-97. Paul George led Boston with 27 points on the night, Jayson Tatum had 21 points as the Boston Celtics move to 8 wins on the season.
Mike Conley started his 1,143rd game in the NBA alongside Derrick White in the backcourt, with Jayson Tatum, Paul George, and Neemias Queta in the frontcourt. Milwaukee started Tyler Hierro, rookie Brandon Burries, Kyle Kuzma, Jaime Jacquez Jr., and Myles Turner in their fifth home game at Fiserv Forum.

Milwaukee came out of gates rolling; they went 8 of 11 from the field to start the game. Boston was ice cold at the other end, going just 2 of 10. Kyle Kuzma outscored Boston by himself with 14 points in just 5 minutes of play shooting the lights out with 4 triples to start the game. Boston was down early, 6-17, before Joe Mazzulla eventually called a timeout.

Kuzma eventually cooled off, bricking a pair of threes as Boston had seemingly weathered the early storm. Jayson Tatum had 9 points to start the game, with 3 triples of his in the first seven minutes. Jordan Walsh, Payton Pritchard, Mitchell Robinson, and Sam Hauser checked into the game with Jayson Tatum, the only starter for either team to play the first 12 minutes.

Boston cut the Bucks lead to just 7 points at the 2-minute mark, the C’s making inroads on the scoreboard as Kuzma and Hierro went to the bench in the first quarter.

Boston kept getting stops to end the quarter and eventually cut the Bucks lead to just 2 points, 25-27. A stunning comeback considering the early hole they dug themselves to start the game. Tatum led the way for Boston with 16 points in 12 minutes of play. Boston only had four scorers after the first quarter; Paul George and Mitchell Robinson had 4 points each, and Queta made 1 of 2 free throws.

Luka Garza and Baylor Scheierman got into the game to start the second quarter and raised the defensive intensity for Boston with a pair of hustle plays. Paul George drained a fadeaway three-pointer to give Boston their first lead of the game, 28-27. PG scored all 8 points to start the second quarter before Bucks’ head coach, Taylor Jenkins, called a timeout.

Baylor Scheierman had a two-hand dunk in front of the visitor’s bench, which had the Celtics’ players up off their seats. Derrick White had 5 quick points for Boston as the C’s went on a 17-7 run to start of the second quarter. Jayson Tatum had a long 7-minute spell on the bench and returned to the game with Boston up by 10 points, 44-34, with 4 and a half minutes to go in the half.

The second quarter was all Paul George for Boston; he poured in 16 points in the 2nd quarter, heading to the bench after a solid 10 minutes of play. Boston were in complete control at halftime with a 13-point lead, 58-45.

Boston opened up the third quarter where they left off, they hit seven straight points in the first 2 minutes of play. Queta hit a tip layup, followed that up with a fadeaway jumper, Boston up by 20 points, 65-45. The Boston lead swelled to 23 points at one point before Kyle Kuzma and Ryan Rollins had back-to-back 3-pointers for Milwaukee to cut it back to 16.

Mitchell Robinson provided some great minutes to close out the third for Boston, he had a tip in basket and a lob dunk for his 12th point of the night, Boston in cruise control to close out the third quarter.

Payton Pritchard went supernova to start the 4th quarter, he hit 3 triples in a row for Boston as they were looking to close it out on the road before a big game in Philly on Tuesday night. Boston connected on 6 three-pointers midway through the fourth quarter, they had a 109-86 lead with 5 minutes left in the game.

The final minutes saw the stay ready crew take the floor for Boston, with Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, Luka Garza, Jordan Walsh and Ron Harper Jr. The game was never in doubt after halftime for Boston, a clinical win on the road to a struggling team.

Boston next travel to Philly to take on Jaylen Brown, LeBron James and the 76ers, at 8pm EST.

This time, the Net took a far more direct route to a loss.

Continuing their first legitimate road trip of the season, Brooklyn sure looked like weary travelers tonight in Dallas. They also played this one as the second half of a back-to-back, and that likely didn’t help either.

In that prior game, the Nets let a contest they had complete command over slip away in its final moments. Rookie Mikel Brown Jr. kept his team in the driver’s seat for as long as he could, dropping 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Held out for back injury management, the Nets were without him tonight, and any sense of control over whatsoever. It was in a lot of ways the worst loss of the season and that’s saying something. Br00klyn is now 2-8.

Danny Wolf got the start once again for Egor Dëmin, who’s also still out with a bone bruise in his right leg. But even with a seven-footer technically in their backcourt, Dallas looked like the bigger team early on. In the game’s first few minutes, the Nets missed an abundance of attempts around the rim and even saw three of their shots get rejected. The Mavs nearly doubled Brooklyn up on the glass as well, out-rebounding them in the first 13-7. However, they did triple them in paint scoring, adding 18 points inside to Brooklyn’s six.

Those statistical discrepancies would only swell as the game went on. By the end of it, the Nets were out-rebounded 46-30 and lost in the paint 64-40. The score was ugly too, but I’ll save that score for later.

Keon Ellis also returned to the rotation in the first after not logging any minutes yesterday vs Atlanta. Still expected to be a spark plug kind of player for the Nets this year, Ellis’ reappearance didn’t give the Nets much juice, but nobody else outside of Michael Porter Jr. could either.

Brooklyn began the game 4-of-14 from the field. Kyrie Irving alone had the same amount of field goals as them through the 3:21 mark of the first, adding nine points on 4-of-7 shooting in the opening period. But after Porter Jr. got free in transition for a few triples, everything else started to fall for him. He scored 11 points in the period’s final 2:51 and 15 in the quarter, just beating out Cooper Flagg, who had 14. That kept us out of blowout territory, with the Nets down 33-26 entering the second.

No, that’s what the second quarter was for. The Mavericks started it with an extended 21-6 run in the period’s first five minutes, quickly hurling the Nets into a 22-point hole. After a turnaround jumper from Kyrie with 4:06 to go in the quarter, it got as deep as 26 points.

“We were not connected, and we made a lot of mistakes,” Fernández said. “And then a team like this, when they’re in a rhythm with the players that they have, it’s when you can get hurt. And I think they made some tough ones, and we also allowed some.”

Were than any positives? Nolan Traoré continued to look like a confident, true point guard, navigating around the Dallas defense, directing traffic, and picking the right shooting spots. Turnovers, which were a major problem in the fumbled game vs the Hawks, also weren’t as abundant. The Nets even won that battle in the first half, forcing Dallas into 12 and only committing eight themselves.

Still, Brooklyn posted .385/.287 splits going into the break, while the Mavericks shot .619/.400, and no silver linings or improvements around the margins could cover that up. The Mavs led at half 66-46. By that point, Flagg had 20 points, seven assists, and four rebounds on just 10 shots. Brooklyn’s only man in double figures was Porter Jr., who had 16 points with seven boards on 3-of-7 downtown shooting.

If you expected the Nets to take that first-half embarrassment personally and respond accordingly, you were mistaken. By the 4:20 mark of the third, Dallas had gotten up by 30.

Things got borderline humiliating when Noah Clowney fouled out of the game with 2:23 to go in the third after shoving Morez Johnson Jr. in the chest away from the ball. They got into it earlier in the quarter too, where officials tagged Johnson Jr. with a technical foul after he knocked down Clowney on a box out. This time, however, Clowney took the guilty charge. He picked up the six fouls to disqualify himself in just eight minutes or burn.

“That’s something that he’s got to figure out,” Fernández said. “He put us on the bonus right away and in one minute, and that’s tough. And I think that it comes from a good place because I know he’s extremely competitive guy. But then doing the war on your own, it’s just tough at times.

“You got to choose the right way to do it, and channel all that energy and sometimes frustration the right way. I think the one person that you know is helping him and will help him is Juwan [Howard] because he’s been there. I know that the intentions are great. It’s just, keep doing what’s best for the group. A nd we need Noah Clowney. L ike that first half against Charlotte, we don’t win that game without him, so we need the best version of himself because we know how good he is.”

PJ Washington waves as Noah Clowney fouled out of tonight’s contest with the 4th quarter still remaining. pic.twitter.com/OoLPvAbYEK

— Abby Jones (@_abigaiiiil) November 9, 2026

And, at the same time, the Mavericks kept inflating the lead, just having fun out there. With two seconds left to go in the third period, Naji Marshal connected with Kyrie with a beautiful cross-court dime to set him up and-one…

THE DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY?! 🤯 https://t.co/f5gFx33fc7pic.twitter.com/d0P3DzTS77

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) November 9, 2026

Dallas also opened the fourth with a Cooper Flagg three after Wolf went under a screen for him, which extended their lead to a game-high 32 points. Flagg might’ve had a career night had the Nets been more competitive and gave Dusty May any reason to keep him in, but the star sophomore didn’t play past the 8:28 mark of the fourth. He still finished with 25 points, five rebounds, and a career-high 12 assists while shooting 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-5 from deep. Irving finished with 21 points, four assists, and three rebounds while shooting 9-15 from the field and 2-7 from three.

Around that point, Drake Powell and Josh Minott came in, giving us something fresh to watch, even if necessarily not fun.

Minott did hit two “Chris-Paul-hits-a-huge-three-to cut-the-lead-to-down…” shots on back-to-back possessions on near the quarter’s midpoint. Leveraging the defense’s newfound awareness of his shooting, he attacked a closeout and got up for a jam a few minutes later as well. He finished the game with 10 points, two steals, and two rebounds while shooting 4-of-10 from the field and 2-of-8 from deep.

Powell got through the defense for a rushed, but made floater that came back down and in after bouncing high off the back iron, but produced little outside of that.

With Brooklyn still down 25+, Dallas gave Jett Howard, son of Nets assistant coach Juwan Howard, some run as well. In front of his pops, he added five points and grabbed a rebound in three minutes of play.

That was cool. Everything else that happened on the court tonight was not. The Nets ended up losing by a whopping 37 points, where nobody on the team put up more than 20 points. Porter Jr. got up to 19 with nine rebounds while shooting 9-of-19 from the field and 4-of-11 from three. Randle contributed 13 points, four assists and four rebounds while shooting 5-of-10 from the field. He also had three turnovers and was a -33. Traoré got to 14 points and two dimes, shooting 6-15 from the field and 2-of-6 from deep.

Final: Dallas Mavericks 130, Brooklyn Nets 93

Next Up

Brooklyn’s road trip continues with a Wednesday evening game in New Orleans vs the Pelicans. The Pels are 4-5 at the time of writing. The Nets split their series against them last year. This one tips off at 8:00 p.m. EST.

• Boxscore: Dallas Mavericks 130, Brooklyn Nets 93 – NBA.com
• Game Highlights: Dallas Mavericks 130, Brooklyn Nets 93 (Video) – NBA.com
• Jordi Fernández Postgame Press Conference vs. Dallas Mavericks (Video) – YES Network
• Julius Randle on takeaways from road loss in Dallas (Video) – YES Network
• Moe Wagner on loss to Mavericks (Video) – YES Network
• Cooper Flagg has 25 points, career-best 12 assists as Mavericks beat Nets 130-93 – AP
• Nets routed by Mavericks in sluggish performance – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• Cooper Flagg dismantles Nets as Mavericks hand Brooklyn embarrassing 37-point loss ($) – C.J. Holmes – New York Daily News

The Dallas Mavericks (6-4) made quick work of the hapless Brooklyn Nets (2-8) on Sunday at American Airlines Center, scoring a 130-93 win behind 25 points and 12 assists from Cooper Flagg. Kyrie Irving added 21, and Daniel Gafford had 18 points and three blocked shots in the win as well.

Michael Porter Jr. led the Nets with 19 points and nine rebounds in the loss. The 37-point margin of victory against Brooklyn was the largest for the Mavs since Oct. 22, 2022, when they beat the Memphis Grizzlies 137-96.

Flagg scored eight quick points in the game’s first five minutes, and when he went to the bench midway through the opening quarter, Irving took over from there. Flagg’s finger roll in secondary transition just 4:16 into the proceedings put Dallas ahead 13-5, then Irving scored on back-to-back possessions, including a finger roll of his own in traffic with 5:13 left that put the Mavs up 17-11.

Walter Clayton Jr.’s hit Dallas’ second 3-pointer of the game two possessions later, on an assist from Morez Johnson Jr., to make it 22-12 and force Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez into a timeout. Irving knocked down a little teardrop after a whirling dervish drive to the bucket to give him nine points in the quarter and extend the Mavericks’ lead to 26-13 with just over three minutes left in the frame. After Michael Porter Jr. hit two straight contested 3-balls to bring Brooklyn back to within six, Flagg converted a beautiful spinning 3-point play with two minutes left in the first, and Dallas was back up 30-21.

Despite another driving dunk being called off for an offensive foul on the play, Flagg finished with 14 points in the first, and Dallas led 33-26 after one.

Dallas opened up a huge lead in the second quarter as Flagg’s run of brilliance continued. You had to wonder when Mavericks head coach Dusty May would look to start resting Flagg and other key contributors as the lead swelled to 19 just four minutes into the second. The Mavs were on the front end of a back-to-back set with a game against the Indiana Pacers looming on Monday.

Flagg found Naji Marshall alone in the corner for his fourth assist of the first half to make it a 22-point lead on a baseline 3-pointer with seven minutes left before the break. All of a sudden, the Mavs were on a 15-2 lead and the Nets hadn’t scored in over three minutes. The Mavericks led 66-46 at the break.

Naji to Kyrie!! SPECTACULAR!!! pic.twitter.com/lQaFPVhoTr

— MavsHighlights (@MavsHighlights) November 9, 2026

Despite a somewhat sloppy third quarter, the Mavs outscored the Nets 34-25 in the period to cement the blowout as Brooklyn began to fold. Marshall found Irving with a pinpoint lead pass in transition with two seconds left in the third for a three-point play up ahead that made it 100-71 going into the fourth.

Dallas coasted home for the 130-93 win, resting Flagg, Irving and Gafford for most of the fourth. Santi Aldama showed progress in his second game of the season, too, finishing with 12 points off the bench.

With a vengeance

Flagg announced his presence with authority in that first quarter, nailing his first 3-pointer of the contest on the Mavs’ last possession of the frame, then using one dribble to get into the lane and rising up for a vicious slam over Noah Clowney on Dallas’ first possession of the second. Danny Wolf drew the initial defensive assignment on Flagg for Brooklyn, and the young man simply had no hope of containing the combustible force that Flagg is morphing into before our very eyes.

After assisting on two straight Daniel Gafford three-point plays early in the second, Flagg got the ball along the perimeter late in the shot clock with Wolf sagging off one step too many to avoid another blow-by. Flagg stepped back for his second 3-ball as the shot clock expired to put the Mavericks up 47-32 with 9:22 left in the first half. Flagg had already collected 20 points to that point on 7-of-8 shooting.

After exploding for 14 points in the first, Flagg added six more in the second quarter, but dished seven dimes in the frame as he sucked the helpless Brooklyn defense into his gravitational vortex and adjusted to what the game presented him. He doled out five more dimes in the third, before nailing his third 3-ball of the game early in the fourth to extend the Mavs’ lead to 103-71.

Cooper's PB&J is BACK!! pic.twitter.com/w8Dap996ii

— MavsHighlights (@MavsHighlights) November 9, 2026

Flagg made three of his five 3-point attempts on the night before going to the bench for some rest with 8:20 left to play.

Overcoming turnovers

Despite the domination on the scoreboard, the Mavericks turned the ball over 12 times in the first half, including two rare palming violations. Flagg was called for palming late in the first quarter, and Santi Aldama, in just his second game with the team, was called for another along the perimeter while trying to fight through a screen late in the second.

Aldama scored his first bucket of the game a possession after being called for his palming violation, on a fading jumper over Wolf with 1:30 left in the half, to extend Dallas’ lead to 23, up 63-40. Flagg found Aldama open along the right wing for a 3-pointer with about a minute left in the second to make it 66-44.

The Mavs dominated the Nets in the paint (64-40) and off the bench (58-31) in the win to overcome a little bit of uncharacteristic carelessness on offense. Dallas finished with 20 turnovers in the win.

Gafford game

beautiful passing and Gaff dunk! pic.twitter.com/gL05Af5bzu

— MavsHighlights (@MavsHighlights) November 9, 2026

Despite getting out to an awkward start on offense in the first quarter, Gafford turned in another quality performance on the interior for the Mavericks in the win. He was consistently on the receiving end of open looks as the Brooklyn defense sent multiple defenders at Flagg and Irving. He scored 11 points in the first seven minutes of the third quarter as Flagg kept feeding open teammates. And that was on top of the three blocked shots and the three offensive rebounds Gafford accounted for through the game’s first three quarters.

Of Flagg’s 12 assists in the second and third quarters, five of them went to Gafford in close to the basket. Gafford cashed in seven of his eight field goal attempts on an incredibly efficient night despite three early fouls. He cut toward an empty lane with 5:17 left in the third and Flagg found him for his 12th assist of the contest to extend the Dallas lead to 90-62.

“[Flagg is] a phenomenal player,” Gafford said in his televised postgame interview. “Everybody is paying attention to him, and that leaves me with open shots. He keeps saying he’s going to get me the ball, and that’s what he’s doing.”

Gafford, Flagg and Irving combined to shoot 24-of-36 from the floor in the win.