COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka won his second successive toss and elected to bat against England in the second one-day international on Saturday.
England top-order batters struggled against Sri Lanka spinners and lost the first game of the three-match series by 19 runs despite Jamie Overton and Rehan Ahmed showing late aggression in the run chase.
Opening batter Zak Crawley was ruled out of Saturday’s match with a knee injury and was replaced by Will Jacks, who missed the first match due to illness.
Sri Lanka continued with its combination that won the first game with spinners Dunith Wellalage and Jeffrey Vandersay troubling England batters in the middle overs.
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Lineups:
Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kamil Mishara, Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka (captain), Janith Liyanage, Pavan Ratnayake, Dunith Wellalage, Pramod Madushan, Jeffrey Vandersay, Asitha Fernando
England: Rehan Ahmed, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (captain), Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Adil Rashid.
Brooklyn’s center hurt his right pinkie, leaving the game before returning to finish with 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 39 minutes.
“It’s sore. I really don’t know. I’ve just got to get X-rays, MRIs. So I don’t know,” Claxton said. “It is sore though. It was just locking up, so I just put some tape on it. I’ll know more (Saturday) probably.”
Nic Claxton suffered a right pinkie injury during the Nets’ 130-126 double overtime loss to the Celtics on Jan. 23, 2026 at Barclays Center. Getty Images
It’s uncertain exactly how much clarity Claxton or Brooklyn will get.
Claxton is tentatively slated for imaging Saturday morning in New York, with the team flying to California at midday. There is a chance he could get imaging once they arrive.
Either way, results won’t immediately be available.
The Nets start a five-game road trip with Sunday’s game at the Clippers.
Nic Claxton walks back to the bench after suffering a right pinkie injury during the Nets’ double overtime loss to the Celtics. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
If Claxton can’t play, Day’Ron Sharpe likely would get his fourth start of the season.
Michael Porter Jr. had 30 points and eight rebounds in a bounce-back effort after Wednesday’s horrible outing vs. the Knicks.
The forward had shot just 41.4 percent overall and 33.3 percent from deep in eight games since spraining his MCL vs. Orlando.
Michael Porter slams home a dunk during the Nets’ double overtime loss to the Celtics. Getty Images
“Yeah, I think it’s turning a corner,” Porter said. “The last eight or nine games, ever since that Orlando game, I’ve not felt as explosive on my cuts and stuff. So I feel like I’ve dropped off a little bit. But that’s mostly just because of that knee soreness.
“But the good thing was that it was nothing that I couldn’t play through, no structural. It wasn’t unsafe to play, it was just a little sore. So I decided to play through it, not rest it; and I’m just getting back feeling like it’s a non-issue. It felt the best it has; so I think by the next game or two, it’ll be back to 100%.”
Cam Thomas, arguably Brooklyn’s best bucket-getter, suddenly can’t buy a basket. He had seven points on 2-for-8 shooting Friday, and 0-for-2 from deep.
In his last eight games, Thomas is averaging 8.9 points on 29.8 percent from the floor and 27.3 from behind the arc in 22 minutes for a minus-6.9.
But he said he’s perfectly healthy, that he’s just doing what’s being asked.
“I’m playmaking. They wanted to see playmaking,” Thomas said. “I’m coming off the bench. You take what you can get.”
Jordi Fernández on Egor Dëmin and fellow teen Real Madrid product Hugo Gonzalez: “We all know how big international basketball is in the NBA. … The NBA is not looking at your passport, which is a good thing, especially nowadays. You are welcome, and you can grow in this league.”
Dëmin logged just 21:05 to Nolan Traore’s 36:51, but Fernández said the former wasn’t being ‘punished.’
The Brooklyn Nets sulked back to the visitors’ locker room after a historic, 54-point loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday night. Jordi Fernández headed to a brief postgame presser, where he fell on the sword in his typically monotone style. Did the head coach really believe he was “responsible” for the ass-kicking, that halfway through the season “players are not responsible for it, so I got to make sure that they understand the values that we have,” or was it just something to say?
Players did not tear the visiting locker room apart. Rookie Drake Powell mentioned that a couple veterans spoke a sentence or two, but it was not exactly a scene out of Remember the Titans. Guys got dressed leisurely, sat on their phones, and chatted — maybe slightly softer, a little more somber, than normal.
“I mean, I don’t know if I said much directly after,” said Michael Porter Jr. Friday. “We all were kind of a little — obviously just had our feelings about the game. But later that night, I texted the guys and just told them like, ‘yo, that’s my fault. I’ve got to come in with that energy.’”
To Porter Jr. and the Nets, Wednesday was not a shameful chapter in a rivalry matchup or a devastating blow to team morale. It was a bad day at work.
“It’s the time leading up to the game,” explained MPJ at Friday’s shootaround. “It’s the day off, how you spent your day off in between games, how much sleep you got. All those things play a part to how your body, your nervous system, your mind feels when it’s tip-off time. And I felt like those two days were a little shaky for me in terms of preparation, and that’s what separates the good players and the average players from the great players, that time in between.”
Playing 82 games in 170 days does not provide much time for reflection, only for routine. Nic Claxton finally used the E-word on Friday morning, but he wasn’t stewing over the loss: “I’m in the present now. We focused on tonight, we know we got to be a better team tonight, because that’s not gonna happen again. t’s unacceptable. Obviously, it was embarrassing. We’ll be ready to go tonight.”
Nets fans seeking more public atonement from their leaders were out of luck. But Porter and Claxton veterans that they’ve had to be despite being 27 and 26, didn’t have to grovel; instead, they gave the Boston Celtics (missing Derrick White) one hell of a game on Friday night.
Now, there were embarrassing moments in this one too. Barclays Center was filled Celtics fans cheering their hearts out and serenading Jaylen Brown with unmistakable “M-V-P” chants far louder than any “Broooooook-lyyyyyn” chants begun by the PA announcer. I felt particularly bad for two die-hard Nets fans in front of press row, about to triumph over the sea of green they were engulfed in before their favorite team defended a last-second sideline-out-of-bounds play befitting of their 12-31 record…
Still, Claxton and Porter fulfilled their promise. Though MPJ’s impact wavered as the game went on, he indeed brought the right energy out of the gate, cutting hard and crashing the glass. Noah Eagle called him “spry” on the YES Network broadcast. Claxton capably guarding Jaylen Brown in isolation was crucial to Brooklyn’s defensive gameplan, and Brown ultimately shot 9-of-27.
Postgame, Jordi Fernández said he was “proud of the brand of basketball we played, the competitiveness. We got better today, and that’s most important.”
MPJ respectfully disagreed: “We lost. That’s all I really care about. I don’t care about no fight, personally. Obviously it was a better performance collectively than last game, but we still lost. So it was a game we should have won. We’ve lost too many games this year that come down to the wire like this.”
Brooklyn improved their performance tenfold from Wednesday to Friday. Alas, it was Friday’s loss that bothered Brooklyn’s veterans more…
Claxton was still muttering to himself about the loss in the locker room postgame. Wednesday’s loss might have elucidated the effect that organizational tanking has on its players — and why you try to keep their duration short. But Friday’s loss showed that players are wholly divorced from that strategy. While clearly an optimal development for Brooklyn’s long-term prospects, especially with the New Orleans Pelicans and Indiana Pacers picking up wins on the same night, this one stung.
“We played a really good game,” said Clax. “I feel like we deserved to win. We just didn’t execute enough down the stretch, so we got to learn from it. But this is a tough loss though. This one really hurt.”
With the trade deadline 12 days away, both Claxton and Porter Jr. are sure to have a go bag packed at all times. But neither of them seem too concerned about the possibility of being traded.
“It seems like it’s the same thing every year, whether it’s — I mean, it’s a part of the business,” said Clax. “You see certain teammates, certain names in trade rumors or whatever, but you just got to be where your feet are and be a professional. It’s cliché, but it is what it is. It’s our job to come out here and perform whenever we put on a Brooklyn Nets uniform.”
MPJ. agreed: “Honestly, I’m just going with the flow. Whatever happens, happens. It’s out of my control. So, I’ve voiced already that I’m enjoying my time here, and I’m enjoying getting to grow with these guys and the day-to-day process with these guys. But everything else, I just try to let it be what it’s going to be.”
Brooklyn’s two highest-paid players have been pushed into early vet-status as a result of being on the NBA’s youngest team. This week, they were right for the part, easily shrugging a historic loss and trade rumors off their shoulders before leading one of Brooklyn’s most competitive games in 2026.
The Nets are 12-31, the worst team either player has been on — for MPJ, by a long shot. Now, they get to escape a brutal snowstorm in the Northeast by starting a five-game road trip in sunny Los Angeles. Once again, the task will be to rebound from a brutal loss; is it the same as rebounding from an outright embarrassment?
“No,” says Porter “It’s different. You learn from them in different ways. Obviously what happened at MSG the other night is unacceptable and there’s unlimited things to learn from. But tonight there’s very specific things, late-game situations. So you can learn something from any game.”
Nic Claxton simply sighed: “It’s so many games when you play an 82-game season. So, you really just can’t get too high, you can’t get too low. You get beat by 50, you got to be ready to respond. If you lose a tough game like this, you just kind of just got to be even-keeled through everything.”
While that is certainly a clichéd sentiment, the Nets just covered the entire bandwidth of defeat in three days, from Wednesday’s embarrassment to Friday’s gut-punch. In a losing season that promises to continue down this path, that cliché is a damn useful one. Perhaps for fans as well as players.
BOTTOM LINE: Cleveland hits the road against Orlando trying to extend its three-game road winning streak.
The Magic are 15-15 in conference games. Orlando ranks eighth in the league with 16.6 fast break points per game led by Franz Wagner averaging 3.9.
The Cavaliers are 17-13 against Eastern Conference opponents. Cleveland is fifth in the league scoring 119.2 points per game while shooting 46.9%.
The Magic average 11.1 made 3-pointers per game this season, 3.0 fewer makes per game than the Cavaliers give up (14.1). The Cavaliers average 14.7 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.7 more made shots on average than the 12.0 per game the Magic give up.
TOP PERFORMERS: Desmond Bane is averaging 18.9 points and 4.5 assists for the Magic. Paolo Banchero is averaging 23.4 points, 9.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists over the last 10 games.
Donovan Mitchell is scoring 29.0 points per game and averaging 4.8 rebounds for the Cavaliers. Jaylon Tyson is averaging 2.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Magic: 5-5, averaging 112.0 points, 43.2 rebounds, 27.7 assists, 8.2 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 46.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 116.3 points per game.
Cavaliers: 6-4, averaging 118.1 points, 44.7 rebounds, 30.0 assists, 8.0 steals and 5.5 blocks per game while shooting 48.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 118.1 points.
INJURIES: Magic: Jalen Suggs: day to day (knee), Franz Wagner: out (ankle), Colin Castleton: out (thumb).
Cavaliers: Max Strus: out (foot), Darius Garland: out (foot), Sam Merrill: out (hand).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
New Orleans Pelicans (11-36, 15th in the Western Conference) vs. San Antonio Spurs (31-14, second in the Western Conference)
San Antonio; Sunday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: San Antonio will try to keep its four-game home win streak alive when the Spurs play New Orleans.
The Spurs are 18-12 against Western Conference opponents. San Antonio averages 117.9 points while outscoring opponents by 5.3 points per game.
The Pelicans are 4-7 against the rest of their division. New Orleans gives up 122.1 points to opponents while being outscored by 7.0 points per game.
The Spurs average 13.2 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.7 fewer makes per game than the Pelicans allow (14.9). The Pelicans are shooting 46.4% from the field, 0.4% higher than the 46.0% the Spurs' opponents have shot this season.
The teams meet for the fourth time this season. The Spurs won 135-132 in the last matchup on Dec. 9.
TOP PERFORMERS: Stephon Castle is scoring 16.9 points per game and averaging 5.0 rebounds for the Spurs. Victor Wembanyama is averaging 24.7 points and 9.2 rebounds over the last 10 games.
Trey Murphy III is averaging 22.3 points, six rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals for the Pelicans. Jordan Poole is averaging 2.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Spurs: 6-4, averaging 111.3 points, 46.1 rebounds, 26.1 assists, 7.1 steals and 5.2 blocks per game while shooting 44.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 106.9 points per game.
Pelicans: 3-7, averaging 114.7 points, 44.1 rebounds, 25.3 assists, 9.3 steals and 5.4 blocks per game while shooting 47.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 118.3 points.
INJURIES: Spurs: Luke Kornet: day to day (adductor), Devin Vassell: out (thigh).
Pelicans: Jose Alvarado: out (oblique), Dejounte Murray: out (leg).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Toronto Raptors (28-19, third in the Eastern Conference) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (37-9, first in the Western Conference)
Oklahoma City; Sunday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Oklahoma City takes on the Toronto Raptors after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 47 points in the Oklahoma City Thunder's 117-114 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
The Thunder are 20-4 on their home court. Oklahoma City ranks ninth in the NBA with 52.5 points in the paint led by Gilgeous-Alexander averaging 13.0.
The Raptors are 15-9 in road games. Toronto is third in the Eastern Conference with 29.6 assists per game led by Immanuel Quickley averaging 6.3.
The Thunder's 13.3 made 3-pointers per game this season are only 0.6 more made shots on average than the 12.7 per game the Raptors give up. The Raptors score 6.3 more points per game (114.3) than the Thunder give up (108.0).
TOP PERFORMERS: Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32.3 points and 6.2 assists for the Thunder. Chet Holmgren is averaging 15.7 points over the last 10 games.
Scottie Barnes is averaging 19.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists for the Raptors. Quickley is averaging 16.3 points and 5.4 assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Thunder: 7-3, averaging 118.9 points, 42.0 rebounds, 23.9 assists, 9.5 steals and 7.5 blocks per game while shooting 48.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 111.1 points per game.
Raptors: 6-4, averaging 113.4 points, 41.7 rebounds, 30.5 assists, 7.4 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 46.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 111.7 points.
INJURIES: Thunder: Ajay Mitchell: out (hip), Nikola Topic: out (groin), Jalen Williams: out (thigh), Alex Caruso: out (adductor), Thomas Sorber: out for season (knee), Aaron Wiggins: out (groin), Isaiah Hartenstein: out (calf).
Raptors: Jakob Poeltl: out (back), Collin Murray-Boyles: out (thumb), Ja'Kobe Walter: out (hip).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Brooklyn Nets (12-31, 13th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (20-24, 10th in the Western Conference)
Inglewood, California; Sunday, 9 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Brooklyn will attempt to break its six-game road slide when the Nets face Los Angeles.
The Clippers are 12-9 on their home court. Los Angeles allows 113.5 points to opponents and has been outscored by 1.2 points per game.
The Nets are 6-14 in road games. Brooklyn is at the bottom of the Eastern Conference scoring 42.4 points per game in the paint.
The Clippers are shooting 47.4% from the field this season, 1.4 percentage points lower than the 48.8% the Nets allow to opponents. The Nets' 44.5% shooting percentage from the field this season is 2.5 percentage points lower than the Clippers have allowed to their opponents (47.0%).
The teams meet for the second time this season. The Clippers won 121-105 in the last meeting on Jan. 10. James Harden led the Clippers with 31 points, and Egor Demin led the Nets with 19 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Harden is averaging 25.8 points and 8.1 assists for the Clippers. Kawhi Leonard is averaging 19.3 points and 1.6 steals over the last 10 games.
Michael Porter Jr. is scoring 25.4 points per game and averaging 7.4 rebounds for the Nets. Demin is averaging 2.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Clippers: 8-2, averaging 112.2 points, 40.8 rebounds, 23.0 assists, 9.3 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 47.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 110.1 points per game.
Nets: 1-9, averaging 104.7 points, 41.0 rebounds, 24.9 assists, 6.9 steals and 5.0 blocks per game while shooting 42.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 116.6 points.
INJURIES: Clippers: Bradley Beal: out for season (hip), Derrick Jones Jr.: out (knee), Bogdan Bogdanovic: day to day (hamstring).
Nets: Haywood Highsmith: out (knee).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Long Island Nets returned to their home court on Friday night, January 23, for a showdown with the 10-2 Toronto Raptors 905, the G League’s best team. Long Island featured the three Brooklyn two-ways – E.J. Liddell, Tyson Etienne and Chaney Johnson – as well as Brooklyn’s rookie assignee, Ben Saraf but 7-footer Grant Nelson, who is not under contract with the big club, would play hero in this one, contributing to the big Long Island win in a number of ways.
Nelson finished this game with 20 points in less than 19 minutes on the court. The 20 points led the team, despite the 23-year-old playing the fewest minutes among the starters. The effort also marked the Alabama product’s second career game with at least 20 points for Long Island. Nelson shot the ball more than effectively, draining seven of his eight shot attempts. He didn’t take any shots from deep, but he went perfect from the foul stripe, hitting all four of his shots. Nelson also played a very physical game and has looked great in his five starts since a seven-week layoff due to an ankle injury…
Following the game, NetsDaily had a chance to speak with Nelson about his mindset on how well he’s been performing in these games.
“I’m really just grateful to be back on the court,” Nelson says. “Tonight I think my teammates did a good job at moving the ball and getting off of it early, because the first two times we played them we gave up 40 points off our turnovers and 23 in the other. We lost by like 20-something in one and like seven in the other. I think tonight we just did a lot better, followed their scouting report, and just came out with the win.”
He picked up multiple tough lay-ups, even converting on a couple of and-ones. More impressively, Nelson even found Ben Saraf with the ball and boxed out two of Toronto’s players at the same time, leading to a wide-open lay-up for the Brooklyn rookie. His physical style can lead to scary moments, like in the first half when he went up for a tough lay-up in the first quarter and came down awkwardly.
Nelson was out for most of the first quarter, but re-entered the game as soon as the second quarter came around after he worked with the Long Island trainer on the sideline. After the game, Nelson told ND, “I just tweaked my ankle a little bit. Nothing too bad. It was obviously good enough to keep playing.” Nelson also reached 100 career points in the win and recorded a game-best plus-minus of +26.
Over his five starts, Nelson is averaging 30.1 points and 12.6 rebounds per 36 minutes and 75%.
With more performances like this, Nelson will become a player to watch for a two-way spot, should a spot open up. Following his impressive performance, Nelson was asked if he could see himself getting a two-way deal with Brooklyn and if that’s a goal of his. “Yeah, for sure,” Nelson told ND. “That’s been a goal of mine since the summer like right after the draft, to get that two-way spot with Brooklyn. I’m still competing for it and still playing for it, so hopefully soon.”
Teams traditionally review two-way contracts at the trade deadline which is now 12 days away. In the past, the Nets have both moved players up from two-ways to standard NBA deals or waived players from their two-way contracts while retaining their G League rights.
Brooklyn rookie Ben Saraf saw a bit of an improvement in this one. Last time on the court, Saraf connected on just two of his 12 shots and went one-for-five from deep. Friday nigh, he finished with nine points on 3-of-11 shooting, missing all five of his 3-point attempts. When asked about this performance of late and his mindset coming out of it, Saraf had this to say:
“I think nothing changed for me,” Saraf says. “I have to keep shooting the ball with confidence is what the team wants me to do. Same for today, I didn’t hit the threes. 0-for-5, but I think I have to keep shooting the ball.”
Despite how slight it may have been, any improvement at this point is a good improvement.
“I feel like for me just sticking to the simple things,” Saraf says. “I think that’s what the team wants me to do. It starts with the defense. First of all, it’s a defense for us. Today was a better game for me on the defensive side. Offensively, it’s just keep practicing, keep shooting the ball, and it’ll fall in.”
Saraf was on Long Island during Brooklyn’s historically ugly loss against the Knicks. and offered some advice to his teammates at Barclays Center. “Stick to the basics,” Saraf told ND. “For Jordi, the most important thing is to play hard. So, I’m sure we’ll fix it.”
We saw a very uncharacteristic game from E.J. Liddell in this one. He connected on just one of his 12 shots, including missing all seven of his tries from deep. However, where Liddell did damage to Toronto was on the foul line. Liddell connected on four of his five tries from the foul stripe. He finished with eight points.
Liddell shone in the rebounding department. Liddell hauled in 11 rebounds and had one assist to his credit. Liddell’s 11 rebounds led not only the team, but the game. Despite an ugly performance shooting the ball, Liddell remains one of the top shooters.
Brooklyn two-way player Chaney Johnson was second on the team in scoring with 16 points. He shot the ball very well, connecting on five of his six shots, including hitting both of his shots from deep. Johnson also went two-for-three from the foul stripe. He finished with four rebounds and three assists. In another characteristic performance, the Nets’ third two-way player, Tyson Etienne, took only five shots, connecting on two of them.
Long Island guard Malachi Smith added 14 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists, and two steals in 31 minutes as he set his Long Island high for rebounds and matched his career-high assist total. Smith shot 54.5 percent (6-for-11) from the field and 50 percent (2-for-4) from deep and finished without any turnovers in the game.
To round out the starters, Nate Williams tallied 15 points, as well as six rebounds, two assists, one steal, and four blocks. Williams’ four blocks led the game, having more than the entire Toronto team combined. Meanwhile, Alex Schumacher, a 6’3” 24-year-old shooting guard signed out of the Suns organization, made his debut for Long Island in this one, and did well. He finished with 12 points and shot the ball very effectively, hitting 4-of-5.
The loss pushed the Raptors out of the top spot in the G League. They’re now tied with the Greensboro Swarm at 10-3, while the Nets are now 8-6.
Next Up
The Long Island Nets (8-6) return to the court on Monday night, January 26th, for a showdown with the Motor City Cruise. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. EST and can be watched on the NBA G League site, as well as on the YES Network.
Late in the Bucks' attempted comeback against the Nuggets Friday night, Giannis Antetokounmpo pulled up with what appeared to be a non-contact leg injury.
If Antetokounmpo is correct and he is out for at least a month, it will impact a few things.
First, this spells real trouble for the Bucks' chances of making the postseason. The Bucks were already 18-26, the No. 11 seed and 2.5 games out of the play-in. Without Antetokounmpo this season, the Bucks are 3-10 and have a -10.1 net rating when he is off the court. It's more likely the Bucks fall back deeper into the lottery without Antetokounmpo, digging a very deep hole to try to climb out of when he returns.
Second, Antetokounmpo would not be able to play in the All-Star Game on Feb. 16. He was voted an All-Star Game starter by the fans and would have started for the World Team in this year's USA vs. World format. Commissioner Adam Silver will choose his replacement from the East for the All-Star Game.
Third, he would not reach the 65-game threshold set by the league and therefore would not be eligible for any NBA postseason awards, such as MVP or being named to an All-NBA team.
Finally, this might slow down the speculation about Antetokounmpo being traded before the Feb. 5 trade deadline. As we have reported here at NBC Sports, the Bucks had no plans to trade Antetokounmpo before the deadline, and he has said he would not demand a trade. That never stopped the rumors. All the speculation will flood back this summer, but talk of him being traded before the deadline should quiet down for a while.
The Dallas Mavericks (19-26) host the Los Angeles Lakers (26-17) on a potentially snowy Saturday night at the American Airlines Center. The Mavericks are arguably playing their best team basketball of the regular season to date and are currently riding a four-game win streak against a wide variety of opponents. The Lakers visit Dallas after stumbling against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday. Each team has had at least one day of rest in what should be an outstanding primetime game on ESPN.
Here’s three things you should think about before tip-off.
For the love of basketball Mavs fans, no one trash talk Luka, okay?
Luka Doncic returning to Dallas will be weird until the end of his career. There’s no way around that. But one thing everyone can do is not poke the bear. The middle of the season for Luka has always been hard to give a shit about. You know exactly what I mean by that too. Some games, Doncic just isn’t all that focused and he seeks out things to piss him off. Everyone be very, very nice to him. Shout out about how good he is and remind him that stepback threes are a better shot for him than drives at the rim. No Luka Magic tonight (there will be Luka Magic).
The center minutes for both teams
On the Dallas side of things, Daniel Gafford should be coming back from injury, Dwight Powell is always and forever, and Moussa Cisse is a bit underripe in terms of experience. And Luka Doncic loves to hunt a center that cannot defend in space (or is his friend in Dwight Powell). While I don’t think Dallas should send doubles at Doncic like last game, how these centers hold up in the mismatches may well determine the game.
For the Lakers, DeAndre Ayton has hit his expiration date for caring and Jaxson Hayes is limited. If neither bigman pulls their weight on the boards, Dallas is going to eat the Lakers up on the glass on both ends of the floor and that may well determine the game.
For either team the center managing to hold might help pull their team across the finish line.
How long can the Mavericks keep this up?
The Mavericks won five of six games starting in late November. They’ve now won five of six again, starting with that win at home over the Brooklyn Nets on January 12th. The Lakers are not an easy opponent, but I see no reason why Dallas can’t beat them outright on Friday night. The special sauce to winning the drudgery games of January and February is playing hard, and head coach Jason Kidd has the Mavericks playing above their place in the Western Conference. Granted, part of why they’re winning is the red-hot three-point shooting (42.5% in these five wins), but the schedule is shaping up in a way the Mavericks could take advantage of. A win against the Lakers would mean five wins, and they play the Milwaukee Bucks on a short turnaround, but Giannis Antetokounmpo is now out for at least a month with a calf strain, and the Timberwolves have down night,s and then there’s the Spurs… ok, well maybe a seven-game win streak is the length this goes. But a guy can believe, yes?
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) walks from the court following the game against the Denver Nuggets at Fiserv Forum.
The NBA trade deadline potentially got an unexpected twist on Friday night.
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo exited Friday night’s 102-100 loss to the Nuggets and told reporters after the game that he has a right calf or soleus strain.
He said he expects to miss four to six weeks and will undergo an MRI exam, adding that he believes that testing will show he “popped something” in his calf.
A dejected-looking Giannis Antetokounmpo walks off the court after the Bucks’ 102-110 home loss to the Nuggets on Jan. 23, 2026 at Fiserv Forum. Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
Head coach Doc Rivers said after the game that he thought Antetokounmpo was “favoring” his calf for a good chunk of the second half.
“I didn’t like what my eyes were seeing, personally,” Rivers said, according to CBS Sports. Giannis was defiant about staying in. On that one, play you could see him trying to run down the floor, I had had enough. I didn’t ask, just took him out. He actually wanted to go back in. That was a no for me.
“He knew he should have been out. There was no disagreement or anything like that.”
Antetokounmpo didn’t exit until 34.2 seconds left in the game with the Bucks down five. As for what’s next, Rivers wasn’t sure but he expressed concerned.
“I don’t know yet, honestly. He was in the med room. I don’t think it looks great, personally. This calf keeps coming up and it’s concerning. I’m not a doctor, but I’m smart enough to know that his calf keeps bothering him and there’s something that is there and it keeps happening, and that’s troublesome for all of us.”
Antetokounmpo had 22 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists before exiting.
The nine-time All-Star has been part of all sorts of trade buzz this season, but with an injury that could sideline him into March, this could throw a wrench into any potential deal.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson has made some crazy comparisons during his two seasons in Cleveland. After Evan Mobley’s 29-point, 13-rebound, and seven-assist performance, he compared him to Shaquille O’Neal.
“Man, I don’t know about that,” Mobley said.
Mobley wasn’t Shaq, but he completely controlled the paint on both sides of the floor.
Before the game, Kings head coach Doug Christie said his team needed to push Mobley off of his spots. That didn’t happen.
Mobley went 6-8 on shots in the restricted area and 12-18 on overall shots in the paint. He was able to get to the basket on repeat, and when he was cut off, the hook shot and turnaround jumper were falling. Mobley is at his best when he’s playing aggressively and making quick and strong decisions. That — combined with going against a weaker Sacramento frontcourt — led to his scoring success.
“That’s what we like to see,” Donovan Mitchell said of Mobley’s mindset. “A lot of times, he just has to go up and be aggressive, and that’s what he was for 48 minutes tonight. He was like, ‘I’m going to attack and make good decisions.’ … Not so much necessarily us continuing to get it to him, but him being like, ‘I’m getting downhill. They can’t stop me. I’m getting to the paint.’”
The offensive showcase extended to his playmaking as well. Mobley has become more comfortable finding the open man when extra defenders have come his way. This is the area he’s grown the most since the beginning of the season, when he had a difficult time handling double teams.
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Mobley was more impressive defensively.
He registered four blocks and was a large reason why the Kings converted just 62.5% of their shots at the rim (32nd percentile).
Mobley was able to make what was an overall bad performance from his teammates look passable. It’s why the Cavs had a solid 108.7 defensive rating with Mobley on the floor on a night they had a 121.6 defensive rating as a team.
“It was one of the most dominant games we’ve ever seen from him,” Atkinson said.
These types of games are in there. The problem is figuring out how to recreate these performances more consistently.
“Sometimes these things happen when you have guys out,” Atkinson said. “We have Sam [Merrill], Max [Strus], and DG (Darius Garland), our playmakers, guys that create advantages. We got him out there with units, especially when we separate those two (Mobley and Donovan Mitchell). Now, no Don, he’s got to kind of do it. I’m sure we’re doing more things for him, but I think he’s just taking the burden. I think it’s a lot of its circumstances.”
Atkinson has been splitting up Mitchell and Mobley more with bench lineups. That wasn’t what Atkinson did most of the last regular season, when the duo was in the 94th percentile in point differential. It hasn’t had the same success this year, and more importantly, lineups without either haven’t worked with Darius Garland not at 100%.
“I get to be the guy that creates offense for us,” Mobley said. “I feel like I’ve been doing a good job this past few days, and I feel like I just got to keep stacking days and figure out where I can keep getting better.”
The consistency isn’t quite there for the Cavs yet either.
They took meaningful steps forward in this game. Instead of turning it over 21 times, as they did in their previous two outings, they gave it away just six times (97th percentile).
That said, they didn’t improve in all the areas they would’ve liked to. Their defensive integrity at the point of attack remains a concern. It’s part of the reason they allowed the Kings to shoot 39.4% from beyond the arc, which is well above their season-long average of 35.2%.
Still, the Cavs need all the wins they can get at this point of the season, given who’s out of the lineup. They’ve done a better job of taking care of their matchups against opponents that they should beat, even if they aren’t exactly peaking at this time.
“It’s not always going to be pretty,” Mitchell said. “It’s at the point now where I don’t really care how we do it as long as we continue to win games. … I think we’ve done a great job of believing as a collective.
“Last year was last year. It’s a different year, different season. This is who we are. We’re going to continue to build and find ways to win.”
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Cody Glass had two goals and an assist, Lenni Hameenaho scored his first NHL goal and the New Jersey Devils beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-4 on Friday night to extend their Western Canada winning streak to three.
Nico Hischier and Connor Brown also scored for New Jersey. Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves.
Linus Karlsson, Teddy Blueger, Zeev Buium and Brock Boeser scored for Vancouver, and Kevin Lankinen stopped 19 shots.
New Jersey went 2 for 3 on the power play. The Canucks were 0 for 2 and have gone four games without a power-play goal.
Hameenaho scored on a goalmouth tap-in at 1:41 of the first.
In the second, Hischier and Glass made it 3-0 with goals 40 seconds apart. Six minutes later, Karlsson put the Canucks on the board.
Then with Conor Garland serving a double-minor for high-sticking Hischier, Blueger scored short-handed before Brown replied.
With 1:48 left in the second, Buium pulled the puck out of a crowd and found the net to cut it to 4-3.
In the third, Glass added his second of the night. Boeser scored with 1:12 remaining and Lankinen off for an extra attacker.
SEATTLE (AP) — Cutter Gauthier had a goal and an assist, Lukas Dostal made 21 saves and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Seattle Kraken 4-2 on Friday night for their sixth straight victory following a nine-game losing streak.
Ryan Poehling scored short-handed, Chris Kreider added a power-play goal and Pavel Mintyukov banked in a long empty-netter. The Ducks have three games left on a five-game trip they opened with a 2-1 shootout victory at NHL-leading Colorado on Wednesday night.
Jared McCann and Jaden Schwartz scored for Seattle in the third game of a six-game homestand. Philipp Grubauer stopped 27 shots, highlighted by a successful poke-check on Jansen Harkins’ penalty shot midway through the second.
Gauthier and Poehling gave Anaheim a 2-0 lead in the first period, with the Ducks outshooting the Kraken 13-2 in the opening 20 minutes.
Gauthier scored at 1:02. He broke down the right side, cut inside and beat Grubauer with a wrist shot.
Poehling connected with the Ducks a man down with 4:36 left. He raced down the left side and avoided Grubauer's poke-check.
McCann got one back for Seattle at 1:55 of the second. Kreider countered on a power play 2:05 later, scoring off a rebound for his 16th of the season.
Schwartz cut it to 3-2 at 1:54 of the third, getting behind the defense to tip in Shane Wright's feed.
Up next
Ducks: Have an Alberta back-to-back, playing at Calgary on Sunday night and Edmonton on Monday night.
The Bucks couldn’t find a way to beat the Nuggets—even without Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Cameron Johnson, and Christian Braun—for the second time this season, losing 102-100. It’s Milwaukee’s second straight loss and sixth in their last eight games. Giannis had 22 points to lead the Bucks again, going 14/16 from the line, while Rollins added 21 points. Julian Strawther led Denver with 20 points.
The Bucks’ first-quarter turnover issues hurt them once again tonight. After turning the ball over eight times against OKC, they proceeded to turn it over five times in the first 8:36 of the frame. Those turnovers led to a 6-0 Nuggets run to break a 12-12 tie, forcing a timeout from Doc Rivers. Milwaukee finally stopped turning the ball over and got back into the game. Cole Anthony checked in and sort of looked like he did in the first week of the season, scoring the final seven points for the Bucks to tie the game heading into the second quarter at 21 apiece.
With the Bucks trailing in the early goings of the second quarter, they turned to their veterans, Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis, to get them back on track. Kuzma scored a quick three points, and Bobby kept up his hot shooting with a three to put Milwaukee up by two. The Bucks were able to extend their edge to five points, but both teams seemingly had a lid on the basket from there on out. Milwaukee went scoreless for nearly five minutes, allowing the Nuggets to take a five-point lead of their own. Myles Turner and Giannis fought back, helping to tie the game back up for the Bucks, but the offense went cold again after that. Denver went on a 6-0 run to end the quarter, sending Milwaukee to the locker room at the break down 48-42.
The Nuggets have received significant contributions from their bench all season, which they needed because Aaron Gordon would play no further part after the first half. Ergo, it was Julian Strawther who picked up the slack for Denver, scoring 13 of their first 16 points. Milwaukee was able to match Denver’s scoring in the early going, but after they got it within one point, the Nuggets went on a 14-2 run to take the first double-digit lead of the game—Bucks timeout. Things did not improve much for Milwaukee, though, with the Nuggets outscoring them 10-8 to end the quarter. That sent the Bucks into the fourth quarter trailing by double figures for the fourth time in their last five, down 78-63.
Denver kept adding insult to injury to start the fourth, ballooning their lead to 23 points just a minute and a half in. The Bucks did trim it down to 15 points with just over eight minutes to go, but the Nuggets responded with a 7-4 burst to go back up by 18 with just over five minutes left. However, the Bucks showed signs of life from that point, chipping away brick by brick to go on a 20-4 run; they got all the way back within two points with 29 seconds left! Tim Hardaway Jr. broke the drought, though, getting fouled on a mid-range jumper and drilling both free throws with 10.4 seconds on the clock, putting the Nuggets back up by four. Rollins played hero again, drilling a step-back three to bring them back within one. Jalen Pickett went to the line with 4.5 seconds left and hit the first, but then missed the second. With no timeouts, the Bucks had to move; Kuzma got off a half-court heave that narrowly missed.
Stat That Stood Out
21-8. That was the difference in fast-break points between the Nuggets and the Bucks, despite Milwaukee possessing one of the best fast-break players of all time in Giannis. The Bucks don’t run in transition much, and when they did tonight, they either missed shots or turned the ball over.
