NEW YORK (AP) — Payton Pritchard scored 32 points, Jaylen Brown had 27 points and 12 assists, and the Boston Celtics outlasted the lottery-bound Brooklyn Nets 130-126 in double overtime on Friday night.
Hugo González forced the second OT on a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in the first extra period. Baylor Scheierman found the 19-year-old Spanish rookie with a no-look pass and González buried the wide-open shot from the corner.
The Celtics, who have won four of five, never trailed in the second OT. Anfernee Simmons put Boston ahead for good with a three-point play, and Sam Hauser’s 3-pointer made it 128-124 with 1:51 left.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 30 points and Nolan Traore added a career-high 21 for the Nets, who nearly knocked off the second-place team in the Eastern Conference two days after they were beaten 120-66 by the crosstown New York Knicks.
Nic Claxton forced overtime with a putback dunk with 1.9 seconds left and finished with 19 points for the Nets, who have lost nine of 10.
Brooklyn led 117-112 with 7.9 seconds left in the first OT. Pritchard hit a 3-pointer for Boston, then fouled Traore, who made 1 of 2 free throws to set up González’s tying 3.
The Celtics led 101-91 with 3:06 left in regulation, but the Nets closed the period on a 13-3 run.
Up next
Celtics: At Chicago on Saturday night.
Nets: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night.
NEW YORK (AP) — Payton Pritchard scored 32 points, Jaylen Brown had 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics outlasted the lottery-bound Brooklyn Nets 130-126 in double overtime on Friday night.
Hugo González forced the second OT on a 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in the first extra period. Baylor Scheierman found the 19-year-old Spanish rookie with a no-look pass and González buried the wide-open shot from the corner.
The Celtics, who have won four of five, never trailed in the second OT. Anfernee Simmons put Boston ahead for good with a three-point play, and Sam Hauser's 3-pointer made it 128-124 with 1:51 left.
Michael Porter Jr. scored 30 points and Nolan Traore added a career-high 21 for the Nets, who nearly knocked off the second-place team in the Eastern Conference two days after they were beaten 120-66 by the crosstown New York Knicks.
Nic Claxton forced overtime with a putback dunk with 1.9 seconds left and finished with 19 points for the Nets, who have lost nine of 10.
Brooklyn led 117-112 with 7.9 seconds left in the first OT. Pritchard hit a 3-pointer for Boston, then fouled Traore, who made 1 of 2 free throws to set up González's tying 3.
Brown had three rebounds in the second overtime to complete his fifth career triple-double.
The Celtics led 101-91 with 3:06 left in regulation, but the Nets closed the period on a 13-3 run.
Up next
Celtics: At Chicago on Saturday night.
Nets: At the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday night.
The Celtics found themselves in a dog fight at the Barclays Center on Friday night, playing their first overtime and their first double overtime of the season. After not playing all of regulation and only 5 seconds in overtime, Amari Williams played the entire 2nd overtime and made a lot of plays as Boston beat Brooklyn 130-126.
Not before after being left for dead, Hugo Gonzalez hit a game tying three to force double overtime.
Derrick White joined Jayson Tatum and Josh Minott on the inactive list, it was a rest night for him (we don’t see the Celtics mark someone as missing a game for rest really ever so I found that mildly interesting). In his place, Baylor Scheierman got his third start of the season with Payton Pritchard, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser and Neemias Queta. Haywood Highsmith has yet to play in a game for Brooklyn this season and that did not change on Friday. The Nets started Egor Demin, Drake Powell, Michael Porter Jr., Noah Clowney and Nic Claxton.
The Celtics got off to a fast 8-0 start but that lead vanished quickly as the Nets went on a 14-5 run to take a 14-13 lead in the first quarter. Sam Hauser’s hot streak continued early in the game as he made 2 of his first 3 shots.
We had Ron Harper Jr. first quarter minutes! Entering the game on Friday, Harper, older brother to the number 2 pick Dylan Harper and son to former Bulls guard Ron Harper, had played 28 minutes on the season entering Friday night.
The first quarter ended in a deadlock at 28 points. Jaylen Brown led the team with 7 points, though he went 2/7 in the quarter, while Luka Garza had 5 points off of the bench.
The 2nd quarter was a frustrating one for the Celtics. Boston had too many turnovers, was not sharp enough on defense and were not quick enough getting back in transition, leading to a lot of good Brooklyn looks.
The Celtics closed the quarter well, cutting what was an 11 point lead to 6 as Brooklyn led Boston, 55-49 at the half. Jaylen Brown and Sam Hauser led the team in scoring with 12 points.
The third quarter was back and forth and much like the first half the three point shot kept Boston in it. The Celtics were able to take a lead with 2:32 left in the quarter thanks to Payton Pritchard making shots and a Hugo Gonzalez ‘pick six’ with the steal and layup.
Brooklyn did end up retaking the lead, 81-78 at the end of the third quarter. Pritchard led the team with 19 points to go along with 3 assists. 12 of his 19 points came in the third quarter.
The 4th quarter was much like the rest of the game, back and fourth. However, what the rest of the game didn’t have was a big time Luka Garza rejection.
As the 4th quarter progressed, the Celtics put together an 11-0 run to give them their largest lead of the night at 10 points with 3:05 left in the game capped off by a Payton Pritchard three. Derrick White was a big fan of it.
Payton Pritchard has 22 points and Derrick White, who is resting tonight, loves what he sees pic.twitter.com/Q5r6jQHOal
The Celtics could not put the Nets away as Brooklyn stuck around and had it at a one possession game with under a minute to go after Noah Clowney made a pair of free throws.
Sam Hauser had a chance to put the Nets away with a three but he missed it and a Nic Claxton put back made it a one point game.
Anfernee Simons went to the line with 11 seconds left, he split the pair to make it a 2 point game.
Michael Porter Jr. missed a go ahead three but a Nic Claxton put back tied the game at 104 a side with 1.9 seconds left. Offensive rebounds costed the Celtics again.
Make it six straight points off offensive rebounds for the Nets. Claxton ties the game with a putback dunk.
Celtics will have the ball with 1.9 seconds to get up a potential game-winner. https://t.co/ssF61PnQLD
The Celtics possession was a mess as we had overtime in Brooklyn.
Luka Garza picked up three fouls in the first 2 minutes of overtime and fouled out of the game. That was less than ideal because the Celtics already could not get a rebound. Brooklyn was also in the bonus 2 minutes into the period.
Then, the Celtics took a 4 point lead and had a chance to take it to 7 but then the Nets got a lob dunk and a three and took the lead.
Payton Pritchard had a look to take the lead and Jaylen Brown had a look to tie the game. They both missed as the Nets took a 5 point lead.
Pritchard then hit a three to make it a 2 point game. Nolan Traore went 1/2 from the line so the Celtics had the ball down 3 and a chance to tie with 2.5 seconds left.
Brooklyn had a lapse in their coverage and left Hugo Gonzalez wide open from three and he drilled it to tie the game at 118 as we headed to double overtime.
Double overtime was all over the place. Everyone was tired and Amari Williams, who did not play until the last minute of overtime, played the entire period. He had an and-1 which was fun.
Boston survived and won the game 130-126. Pritchard led the team with 32 points while Brown had 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, his 2nd triple-double of the season.
The Celtics shot 45% from the field and 43% from three, hitting 22 threes. The Nets shot 44% from the field and 29% from three. Boston’s next game is Saturday (yes, tomorrow) in Chicago at 8 EST as the Bulls retire Derrick Rose’s jersey.
ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Britain's Ethan Vernon won the dramatic fourth stage of the Tour Down Under cycle race Saturday which was shortened because of high temperatures and which saw defending champion Jhonatan Narvaez forced to abandon the tour after crashing.
Narvaez's UAE Team Emirates teammate Jay Vine of Australia retains a lead of more than a minute on general classification ahead of the final stage of the tour on Sunday.
Saturday's 176-kilometer (109-mile) stage was supposed to favor climbers, finishing with three grueling ascents of Old Wilunga Hill.
Instead, the stage was reduced to 131 kilometers (81 miles) as temperatures soared over 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) and the final climbs were removed because of the extreme fire risk on the bush-clad hill.
The stage ended in a bunch sprint on a long, slow rise to Wilunga township which Vernon (NSN Cycling Team) won from Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) of Denmark and Laurence Pithie (Bora Hansgrohe) of New Zealand.
“Considering the stage wasn't meant to be (a sprint) 24 hours ago, to turn around and do that ... was outrageous,” Vernon said. "I was sitting there feeling quite comfy with 250 meters to go, so I went and I got a gap and held it to the line.
“Everyone was suffering in the heat but the boys did a really good job of keeping me cool. I saw guys suffering and I kept it calm because I wasn't suffering in the heat.”
Vine and Narvaez were first and second on general classification coming into the fourth stage, 1 minute, 5 seconds ahead of their nearest rival. At the end of the stage, Vine led by 1 minute, 3 seconds from Mauro Schmid (Team Jayco Alula) of Switzerland with Harry Sweeney (EF Education EasyPost) a further nine seconds back.
The final stage Sunday will be an undulating one, covering 169 kilometers (105 miles).
The race suffered a major shock when Narvaez crashed early Saturday and was ruled out of the tour on medical advice. A second crash with 84 kilometers (52 miles) remaining split the peleton and caused the withdrawal of another UAE rider.
After an early break Matthew Greenwood and Luke Plapp of Australia and Remy Cavagna of France stayed away from the peleton for most of the stage, leading by up to 2 minutes, 30 seconds.
Plapp started the stage 1 minute, 57 seconds behind Vine and that advantage made him the overall leader on the road at times. Cavagna dropped off with around 48 kilometers (29 miles) to ride and Greenwood and Plapp finally were caught 23.7 kilometers (14 miles) from the finish.
The Brooklyn Nets had nowhere to go but up on Friday night. Not that it wasn’t obviously, but everyone knew it, and seemed focused on it.
“Just bounce back,” said Michael Porter Jr. at practice this afternoon. “Be ready to play tonight and move on.”
“It’s about how you respond,” Fernández added pregame. “Obviously you don’t like to feel embarrassed. It was a tough feeling, but we were out there together and the best thing you can do is yesterday, watch some film, talk to each other, get some work done this morning, do it again and go out there and respond as a group…Once again, how you respond is how you should be judged.”
Indeed, Brooklyn responded, and went up, but not past the visiting Boston Celtics.
The Nets began the game in a familiar position — down several possessions. Brooklyn started 1-6 from the field, seating us for what seemed like a sequel to the MSG Massacre. But thankfully, the Egor Dëmin x Drake Powell backcourt stepped in to cut the film’s funding. The rookie duo, starting together for the third time this season, put in 12 points in the first to give us our first quarter of competitive Nets basketball since Monday.
By the end of the night, everyone would be talking about Brooklyn’s third rookie guard, but more on that later…
Boston battled Brooklyn’s youth with their ball movement, assisting on seven of 10 made field goals in the first, but also spent much of the period hunting Nolan Traoré switches with Jaylen Brown. Brooklyn did a solid job timing their help to assist the rook, holding Brown to a 2-7 shooting start. However, they couldn’t win every battle against the recently donned All-Star starter, especially with the officials seemingly on his side…
Entire Nets bench and coaching staff went nuts after Jaylen Brown fended off Ziaire Williams here in the first…No call. pic.twitter.com/rjfKkKguEL
That said, the Nets went into the second quarter tied with Boston and eventually leapt out to a 46-39 lead. Traoré had his “get back” with seven points in just under seven minutes during the period. The speedster’s aggression wore off on his teammates as well, as the Nets outscored their rival 8-0 on the break in the first half.
But in the second, all other Brooklyn highlights naturally belonged to the Junior. MPJ looked to respond tonight from a team and individual standpoint following a 4-14 shooting night from the field vs New York. In the subsequent period, he added six points while shooting 2-3 from the field. By halftime, he had already surpassed his scoring output from the Knick game, leading the Nets with 13 points while shooting 4-6 from the field and 2-3 from deep. He also dished three assists, including this magnet to Nic Claxton…
I’m hesitant to call third-year Claxton “prime” with him being just 26 years old, but he looked like that version of himself at the defensive end tonight. Clax showed little-to-no issue keeping up with guards after switching and could often be seen swatting at the ball like a that middle-aged guy at your local pickleball court who takes the game way too seriously. He went into the half with only six points, yet two assists and two blocks. He finished with an 18/9/4 line.
“They kept going at me,” Claxton said postgame. “They kept trying to isolate me, so that’s good. When a team was trying to isolate me, that’s good, and we just forced tough shots for him down the stretch.”
But in true Mazzulla Ball form, Boston shot 38.3% on field goals in the first, but 47.8% from three, and gave Brooklyn a 55-49 lead to start the third. The Nets maintained that advantage almost the entire period, running an offense on fumes such as Claxton iso attacks vs Neemias Queta (which rendered mixed results) and backdoor cuts from Ziaire Williams. The wheels momentarily fell off after Hugo Gonzalez picked Cam Thomas’ pocket and went coast to coast, putting Boston back in front 74-73 with 2:32 to go in the third, but the Nets rebounded to carry an 81-78 lead into the fourth.
There, neither team’s start looked like anything you’d build a highlight reel around, but would fire up a bipartisan crowd. Using that word to describe tonight’s fan attendance tonight is being generous, but that’s neither here nor there. Eight of the fourth period’s first 15 points were second chance, including all five of Brooklyn’s buckets.
Nolan Traore splashes this one from deep. He's shooting 45.5% on 3Ps in his last six games including tonight. pic.twitter.com/d6Lb07uhix
Finding a Boston bunker with that grenade, Traoré finished the night with 21 points while shooting 7-13 from the field and 2-4 from deep, continuing his solid play since coming over from Long Island.
“His ability to touch the paint and how slippery he is, that was the reason why I put him there,” Fernández. “There’s some mistakes and we need him to be the floor general and talk and use his voice, but he’s going to grow that voice and I’m going to trust him.”
Traoré took a seat at the 4:41 mark of the fourth and Boston back ahead, but then reentered the game as the Nets closed with a rather curious lineup featuring him, Williams, Porter Jr., Clowney, and Claxton.
That gamble didn’t get Fernández back up on the Boston house by the end of the fourth, but it did get him even, and able to play another round…
Soon after coming in, Traoré hit another jumper, this one inside the arc, that made it a five point game with about a minute left in the fourth. Two stops and two made free throws from Clowney later, and the Nets had the ball down three with 27 seconds to play. Traoré again finished the next possession, though this time with an assist to Claxton, who made it a 103-102 game with 11 seconds to play.
That kicked off the foul game, and with Anfernee Simons splitting his attempts at the line, the Nets possessed the ball again down two. Porter Jr. clanked the potential game-winner, but once again, Claxton was there, cleaning up the possession and sending the Nets to their second overtime game this month.
The extra period was exactly as you’d expect one to look between two teams who just put in a gritty 48 minutes. Both squads combined to begin it 3-12 from the field. All seemed lost after the Nets missed four shots on one possession while down the same amount, but an ill-timed quick trigger three from Brown reopened the door, and the Nets crawled back through it.
The next two times down the floor, Claxton finished an alley-oop and Clowney splashed his third three of the ball game, miraculously giving the Nets a one point lead with under a minute to go.
Then, it was Brooklyn’s turn to play the foul game. They couldn’t do it cleanly either, and it bit them in the end.
Traoré took care of business first, nailing each of his attempts at the line. Ziaire Williams then appeared to close the client call, hitting both his shots to put the Nets up five with seven seconds to go.
However, next time down, Payton Pritchard hit a quick strike three to keep his team alive. Traoré again found himself at the line with a chance to extend the lead late, but went one of two, giving Boston the ball back, down three, and with 2.5 seconds to play with. Of course, Gonzalez used that final grain of sand in our second hourglass to tie things up again…
“He was just wide open,” a dumbfounded Claxton said postgame. “He was wide open. He hit the shot…I guess I’m confused. I gotta watch it. I’m confused. I don’t know how it got so open. That’s in the corner. I don’t know. I don’t know. I can’t give you an answer for that.”
Porter Jr. seemed to find an extra wind in our next five minutes of free hoops, dropping six in the frame, but Boston controlled it one nonetheless. Timely finishes from Pritchard and Brown, leveraging around an over-helping and understandably tired Net defense, kept Brooklyn apart until the closing seconds (we’re almost done, I promise).
Brooklyn had a shot to apply pressure one last time, with the ball and down four, but ran out of late game fairy dust. A final miss from Porter Jr. at long last introduced us to the end of the game, and perhaps Brooklyn’s best loss of the season. At least in this building, this year, those are of high value.
“I’m proud of the basketball we played, the competitiveness,” Fernández said. “We got better today, and that’s what’s most important.”
Heck, it sure was a fun ride too.
Final: Boston Celtics 130, Brooklyn Nets 126
Injury Report
Despite the extra run time, the Nets got away tonight relatively clean. However, Nic Claxton did sustain a pinky injury.
“It’s sore,” he said. “I really don’t know. I have to get X-rays and MRIs, so I don’t know. It is sore though. It was just locking up, so I just put some tape on it.”
We’ll make sure to update as we find out more.
Milestone Watch
With his second 3-pointer in the first quarter against Boston, Egor Dëmin tied Bojan Bogdanović for the second most games with multiple 3PM by a rookie in franchise history (24). The franchise record is held by Kerry Kittles (50 such games in 1996-97).
Traoré 21 points tonight are a career-high.
This was Brooklyn’s first double-overtime game since January 20. 2021 at Cleveland and their first at Barclays Center since December 26, 2018 vs. Charlotte
Tank Watch
It was a good night for the tank … excuse me, playing the probabilities. Two teams above the Nets in the Tankathon rankings — the Pelicans (who owes their first to the Hawks) and the Pacers — both won as did the two teams below the Nets — the Jazz and the Hornets. The bottom line: Brooklyn is still in fifth and still a game and a half (and three games in the loss column) behind the Kings. They are closer to the third pick but still two and a half games back.
Next Up
No NBA team has a better record than the Los Angeles Clippers since December 23rd. No NBA team needed it more, with Los Angeles among the basement dwellers earlier in the year and in danger of giving the champs a lottery pick. They’ve still got a long way to go, but they’re back in the race at 20-24. Nets vs Clippers tips on Sunday at 9:00 p.m. ET.
Beating up on the Nets was a good way to lift the vibes around the Knicks, if at least for a few days.
But now comes a big step up in quality of opponent.
This matchup with the 76ers — against whom they are 0-2 this year — in Philadelphia on Saturday will be a much truer test of whether the Knicks have climbed out of their downturn.
“It’s gonna be a challenge,” Josh Hart said after practice Friday, “but we need challenges right now. … We had a stretch where we were struggling. Obviously, we had a really good win the other day [against the Nets]. And now it’s like, feeling good but you can’t be feeling too good. Tough opponent where you gotta go in there and do the little things. And then if you beat a good team like that, then you can feel a little better about yourself.”
The Knicks have been torched by the 76ers’ explosive backcourt of Tyrese Maxey, a budding superstar in the league and All-Star starter, and VJ Edgecombe, who’s enjoying a strong rookie season. Those two represent exactly what the Knicks struggle with most — defending quick, athletic guards — who can both beat opponents off the dribble and hurt defenses from 3-point range at the point of- attack.
New York Knicks’ Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, and Og Anunoby on the bench. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Maxey and Edgecombe scored 30 and 23 points, respectively, in the first matchup of the year — a 116-107 Knicks loss Dec. 19. They scored 36 and 26 points, respectively, in the second matchup — a 130-119 loss Jan. 3. And between the two games, they combined to shoot 56.3 percent from the field and 52.8 percent from 3-point range.
“You’ve just gotta prepare for what they like to get to, their moves, and know where they like to get a quick burst and you can’t relax,” Mikal Bridges, who will spend plenty of time guarding Maxey and Edgecombe, said Friday. “The moment you relax, they get that first step, it’s gonna be tough for you. So always being engaged and preparing for whatever the movements are because they’re so fast.
“The thing is to focus on ourselves and know to help each other on the defensive end. It’s never one-v.-one. It should be one-v.-five. Whatever guy’s got the ball should see the guy on ball and four help defenders helping each other out.”
Lost in Maxey’s and Edgecombe’s breakout seasons has been Joel Embiid’s resurgence. He is healthier and more impactful than he has been in three years, since he won MVP in the 2022-23 season.
He did not play in the first matchup between the teams, but certainly made a difference in the second, recording 26 points and 10 rebounds.
Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe of the Philadelphia 76ers during the game against the Phoenix Suns on January 20, 2026 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NBAE via Getty Images
Embiid is also coming off his biggest workload of the season, playing 26 minutes in the 76ers’ overtime win over the Rockets on Thursday.
“Embiid’s a Hall of Famer,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said. “He’s an All-Star and he knows all the tricks of the trade. He can beat you shooting the 3 because he has great touch, he can beat you from the free-throw line, he’s getting there eight times a game. So we have to make sure we continue to lead with our chest and show our hands. But, obviously, he can beat you in the post. So we have to be on point, try not to give him anything easy, especially sending him to the free-throw line knowing he’s great at drawing fouls.”
Saturday’s game is part of the NBA’s Rivalry Week. The teams will enter the game just 1 ½-games apart in the standings, and could certainly run into each other down the road in the playoffs.
There was some animosity when they squared off in the first round of the playoffs two years ago, particularly toward Embiid. This year, there hasn’t been much vitriol or bad blood. It doesn’t take much to change that, though.
“I think the NBA wants me to say yeah [it’s a rivalry],” Hart joked. “But it’s obviously a really good team, a really good-coached team. … I feel like whenever you play someone in the playoffs, you always, whether that’s the players or the fan base, always finds some type of way to hate them or hate a player there or here.”
Rivals or not, it’s an important next step that the Knicks can take.
The injury bug is swirling throughout the NBA and its latest victims are Phoenix Suns guards Devin Booker and Jalen Green.
Both players left during the Suns' 110-103 loss against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Friday, Jan. 23.
The Hawks were led by Onyeka Okongwu, who tallied 25 points, while Jalen Johnson had a monster game with 23 points, 18 rebounds and was an assist shy of a triple-double.
Booker scored 31 for Phoenix. Collin Gillespie and Grayson Allen had 16 apiece.
Booker went down with 5.4 seconds left in the third quarter as Phoenix led 91-84. He seemingly rolled his right ankle on Okongwu's foot, which left Booker in serious pain.
He grabbed at his ankle and screamed in agony before the Suns medical staff left the bench to tend to Booker.
Booker needed assistance from Gillespie and the medical staff to get off of the floor and he limped back to the locker room and did not return to the game.
Booker finished with 31 points on 12-of-21 shooting, including 5-of-9 (55%) on 3-point field goals, in 28 minutes.
Devin Booker is serious pain after rolling his right ankle on Onyeka Okongwu's foot.
The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t put their best foot forward, but they still found a way to win 123-118 over the Sacramento Kings. Pretty or not, the Cavs have now won nine of their last 13 games.
All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.
Donovan Mitchell
33 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds
Mitchell still isn’t playing his most efficient basketball. Some of that is to be expected with Darius Garland out. And while I could nitpick the way he got his 33 points on 25 shots tonight — he only had 1 turnover — and the Cavs won the game in large part because of his threat as a scorer.
Though I can’t give him higher than a B+ because of his defense. It wasn’t great.
Grade: B+
Evan Mobley
29 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 blocks
This was the type of performance that allows you to let out a deep breath. You aren’t crazy for thinking Mobley is a star, after all. He’s capable of dominating every facet of the game, and the Kings had no answers for him tonight.
Grade: A+
Support us and rep Evan Mobley with Homage!
We’ve partnered with Homage to help provide Cavs fans with the best gear. Anything bought from the links below helps support Fear the Sword while also allowing you to rep the Cavs. You can also shop all Homage Cavs gear HERE.
Opponents are daring Tyson to prove he can handle more offensive responsibility. Blitzing the ball out of Mitchell and challenging Tyson to make them pay. He’s continued to win this bet, making great decisions in the short-roll or attacking closeouts.
Grade: A-
Craig Porter Jr.
5 points, 3 assists, 5 rebounds
The Cavalier offense is begging for a three-point shooter. The lack of Sam Merrill, Darius Garland, and Max Strus has exacerbated Porter’s limitations. He shot 1-3 from deep tonight and had a difficult time generating openings as the Kings simply didn’t care to defend him outside of 20 feet.
Grade: D+
De’Andre Hunter
9 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists
I don’t think anyone knows what to do with Hunter right now. He has to find his footing and stop this downward spiral at some point.
Props to Allen for taking the physicality of this game head-on and earning 10 trips to the free-throw line. He had a near double-double and helped Cleveland win the rebounding battle.
Grade: A-
Nae’Qwan Tomlin
4 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 block
A commenter recently asked me to stop grading Tomlin on a curve. I won’t be doing that — but I will give him his lowest grade in quite some time. Tomlin was ignored on offense and totally lost on defense tonight. This wasn’t a good performance, even for a player on a two-way contract.
He avoids the F for his inbounds steal and block on Russell Westbrook’s three-point attempt in the second half.
Grade: D-
Larry Nance Jr.
2 points, 3 rebounds
Junior is back and playing better basketball than before the calf injury. Nothing special, but a servicable 14 minutes off the bench is something this team hasn’t always had in their frontcourt rotation.
Grade: C+
Dean Wade
6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Wade did his job tonight. He’s getting back to himself defensively and shot 2-4 from three. He was a team-high +21.
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers outscored the Sacremento Kings 123-118 to grab their fifth win in their last seven games and ninth in their last 13. That’s a step in the right direction.
This game was back-and-forth throughout.
Cleveland created separation at the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth. They pushed their lead to 14, but the Kings quickly responded with a 12-4 run to get right back into the game.
Sacremento briefly retook the lead with four-minutes left in the fourth. Donovan Mitchell then responded with back-to-back baskets to give the Cavs a four-point advantage they wouldn’t relinquish.
Anything bought from the links helps support Fear the Sword. You can also shop all of Homage’s Cavs gear HERE. The link to the Donovan Mitchell NBA Jam shirt is HERE.
This game was the exact opposite of Wednesday’s win against the Charlotte Hornets. Cleveland won this game on the offensive end. Their ability to grab offensive rebounds (12 second-chance opportunities) and score off 15 Sacremento turnovers helped buoy their offensive attack.
It also helped that Evan Mobley aggressively attacked the basket all game.
Before the game, Kings head coach Doug Christie said that the goal of his defense was to “push him off of his spots.” They weren’t able to do that as Mobley was able to continually get two feet in the paint and went up strong once he did. This allowed Mobley to convert six of his eight shots in the restricted area and go 12-18 on shots in the paint overall.
Mobley also did a great job finding his teammates when the defense shifted over to cut off lanes to the basket, leading to seven assists. On top of that, Mobley was the best defensive player on the floor and had four rejections. This was his fourth game in a row with two or more blocks.
This all led to Mobley finishing the evening with 29 points on 13-24 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds and seven helpers.
Sacremento also struggled to contain Mitchell. He provided a game-high 33 points on 11-25 shooting to go along with eight assists to just one turnover.
Jaylon Tyson added 17 points on 6-14 shooting with seven rebounds. Jarrett Allen had 15 points and nine rebounds.
The Cavs as a team did a great job of protecting the ball. They turned it over just six times, which is much improved over the 21 times they gave it up in their previous two games.
The defensive side of the court wasn’t as pretty.
Head coach Kenny Atkinson lamented his team’s three-point defense before the game. His team showed him why. The Kings connected on 39.4% (13-33) of their outside shots. Cleveland struggled to keep Sacramento’s guards in front of them, got caught in rotation, and the Kings made them pay in a way the Hornets weren’t able to.
Domantas Sabonis led the Kings with 24 points on 9-14 shooting to go along with 15 rebounds and six assists. Dennis Schröder supplied 21 points on 3-5 shooting from deep.
The Cavs will be back in action on Saturday as they hit the road to take on the Orlando Magic. Game time is at 7 PM.
The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Sacramento Kings tonight 123-118. Let’s see who won and lost the game.
WINNER – Evan Mobley is a Star
Evan Mobley had 19 points on 8-14 shooting in the first half tonight. A stellar performance that deserves all the praise we’ll soon give. But, after a similar first half the other night, we couldn’t help but worry that Mobley would disappear in the second and third quarters again, as he did in Charlotte.
Mobley didn’t take his foot off the gas this time.
The third quarter was a huge relief. Mobley continued to get to the rim and put pressure on SAC’s questionable interior defense. He worked his way up to 27 points by the end of the third frame, sustaining the aggression he showed in the first half.
Mobley finished with 29 on 13-24 shooting. He had a near triple-double with 13 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 blocks. That’s a beastly performance.
We don’t need Mobley to press the issue if he doesn’t have a favorable matchup or simply isn’t making shots on any given night. But when it is his night — when he does have an advantage and is getting to his spots comfortably — that’s when we need to see his usage skyrocket. Just like tonight.
LOSER – 3PT Defense
Quick trivia: Do you know which NBA team allows the highest opponent three-point percentage in the league? If you’ve watched the Cavs this season, you already know the answer.
Yep, Cleveland ranks dead last in opponent three-point percentage. A spot they won’t be in danger of losing if they play defense like they did tonight. The Kings enjoyed a full half of 60% shooting from behind the arc as the Cavaliers were a step too slow to closeout on shooters.
Obviously, three-point defense can be complicated. We wrote about that earlier today. But while the Kings were making some difficult shots, they were also generating too many easy ones. We all understand how momentum works, right? A few easy shots can give you the confidence to take and make the challenging ones. It’s not easy to put the jeenie back in the bottle.
Or in this case, slow down a team that’s already feeling themselves.
The Kings eventually did return to earth, ending the night above league-average from deep but crashing down from their scorching first half. I’d say the Cavs played a better defensive game in the second half, but they can’t continue to spot opponents free threes in the first.
WINNER – Rebounding
This King’s team doesn’t have much going for it. That’s not meant to be a diss, it’s just the truth. However, one thing they absolutely do have is strength and physcality. Those two things don’t always result in rebounding, but for a Cavalier team that has struggled with physicality, you’d assume the glass could have been a problem tonight.
Cleveland took care of business in that department, winning the rebounding battle 48-43. The Cavs had six more offensive rebounds and limited the Kings to 13 second-chance points. Win on the margins, win the game.
LOSER – Bench Scoring
There’s more to basketball than scoring points. I understand that. The Cavalier bench has mainly given value through their defensive effort and intensity (though those have been questionable at times, too).
But getting buckets is still the name of the game. And this Cavalier bench, even on their best nights, isn’t providing much offense.
Cleveland’s bench was outscored 73-23. You read that correctly. Now, the Kings had Domantas Sabonis come off the bench, which partially skews this number — but even if you remove his 24 points — the Cavs bench still got beat handily.
Again, there’s more to this game than scoring. But it’s a problem when your second units are routinely being outscored. I mean, that’s kind of the entire point of the game. The Cavalier bench is 24th in points per game this season.
The road trip is over, and the Suns are coming home limping, literally and figuratively. They went back to Atlanta, a place they have not won in since 2014, and I am fully convinced that city is cursed. In a 110–103 loss to the Hawks, Phoenix did not only lose a game, they lost $88.7 million in payroll.
It started with Jalen Green, playing only his second game back from a hamstring injury, exiting in the first quarter with hamstring tightness. Same leg. Same sinking feeling.
Jalen Green injury update:
Green (precautionary right hamstring tightness) will not return tonight.
And yet, the Suns rallied. Down as many as 11, they clawed their way back and carried a seven-point lead into the end of the third quarter. Then the other shoe dropped. Devin Booker went down.
Now the Suns return home for a five-game homestand carrying more questions than answers. This is the kind of loss that lingers because we do not know the severity. We do not know timelines. Booker finished with 31 points. The Suns were in position to win, but once the stars were gone, the offense stalled, and execution vanished.
The road trip ends at 3–3. Respectable. But the bigger story is this. They are headed home, and they are hurt.
Game Flow
First Half
The Suns came out of the gate with good rhythm, knocking down six of their first 11 shots and hitting 2-of-3 from deep. Atlanta was sharper though, opening 8-of-12 and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Three different Hawks hit the five-point mark early, and that collective punch gave them a 19-14 lead heading into the first timeout.
There was one defensive possession that stood out immediately. Oso Ighodaro found himself defending a two-on-one break and held his ground long enough for help to arrive. The result was three straight missed shots by Atlanta. That is the kind of sequence he gives you quietly, consistently, and it still feels underrated, even as the appreciation for his work is starting to catch up.
Jalen Green checked in off the bench and showed a little rust early, which was expected. Then the speed showed up. He blew by Luke Kennard with ease, leaving him reaching for air and taking his ankles along for the ride. That burst changes the geometry of the floor every time it shows itself.
Oh dear lord Jalen Green…you didn’t have to take Luke Kennard’s ankles from him! That man has a family!
Unfortunately, right after that sequence, Green headed back to the locker room.
From there, the bench picked up right where it has all road trip. When Grayson Allen checked in, the Suns were down 19-14. By the time the first quarter ended, Phoenix was on top 31-27. Allen capped it with a driving finger roll as the buzzer sounded, finishing the quarter at +9 with seven points. The second unit drove it. 15 bench points, 7 of the final 10 shots made, and suddenly the Suns had momentum and a lead heading into the second.
Grayson kept it rolling to open the second quarter, staying active off the ball and cashing in on an easy look at the rim. But turnovers started to creep in, and they hurt. Phoenix coughed it up three times early, fueling a 16–9 Atlanta run that flipped the feel of the game.
Midway through the quarter, the Hawks pushed it further with an 11–2 burst that stretched the lead to eight. CJ McCollum, acquired in the Trae Young deal, was a problem. He poured in 16 first-half points off the bench, 14 of them in the second, and Phoenix never quite found the brake pedal.
Out of a timeout with three minutes left, the Suns answered. A quick 7–0 run tied it at 54–54, punctuated by a Devin Booker three. He followed it with another on the next trip, finishing the half 3-of-6 from deep with 15 points.
But McCollum had the last word, closing the quarter with a personal 5–0 run. Atlanta won the second 37–28, dominated bench scoring 20–8, and carried a 64–59 lead into the locker room. They had 17 fast break points to the Suns’ 4.
Second Half
As the second half opened, the Suns got the gut-punch confirmation that Jalen Green would not return, ruled out with hamstring tightness. And almost on cue, Atlanta twisted the knife. A 17–3 run.
If you are looking for insult layered neatly on top of injury, this was the moment. One piece of bad news, immediately followed by the game tilting hard in the wrong direction. You could feel it in the building. The air went out. The climb got steeper. And suddenly Phoenix was chasing both the score and the circumstance.
But the Suns did not fold. Not even close. Devin Booker grabbed the wheel and dragged Phoenix back into it, igniting a 20–9 run with shot-making and sheer force of will. He stayed scorching from beyond the arc, and after staring down an 11-point hole, he erased it himself. When Booker drilled his fifth three on his eighth attempt midway through the third, the Suns were suddenly back in front by one. Same building. Same game. Completely different energy.
This is where stars earn their status. With uncertainty around Jalen, Booker has stabilized the game, controlled the pace, and led by example.
And then the clamps came out. Phoenix turned the game into a street fight on defense, bodies on the floor, hands everywhere, every loose ball treated like it owed them money. They imposed their will possession by possession and pushed the lead out to seven.
Then, cruel timing struck again. In transition, Devin Booker glanced back, never saw Onyeka Okongwu step into his path, and came down on his foot. His right ankle twisted. Booker stayed down, pain written all over him, before being helped up and limping toward the locker room to join Jalen Green.
Devin Booker is serious pain after rolling his right ankle on Onyeka Okongwu's foot.
Booker had 16 points in the third and 31 in the game at the time of his injury.
The Suns won the third quarter 32-20, scored 12 points off 9 Atlanta turnovers, and showcased how disruptive they can be when locked in. They entered the fourth up 91-84, but down their two stars.
A 16–8 run by Atlanta opened the fourth quarter and immediately erased the cushion Devin Booker had built before everything went sideways. Jalen Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu each dropped 7 points to start the frame, and suddenly the Suns were scrambling.
Then we hit clutch time, and the obvious question was who was going to score. Collin Gillespie answered first, ripping off a quick 4–0 burst to put Phoenix back in front, 104–103. For a brief moment, there was order.
CJ McCollum ruined that calm. He had been a problem all night, and he stayed one, answering with his own 3–0 run to swing the lead back to Atlanta.
After that, the Suns offense flatlined. Completely. The final three minutes were chaos, perimeter passes with no purpose, rushed looks, heavily contested shots, nothing finding the bottom of the net. Atlanta closed on an 8–0 run, and that was the ballgame. Suns score 12 in the 4th and lose 110-103.
Up Next
The Suns head home after this long roadie and have the next five games at the friendly confines of the Morg. First up? The Miami Heat on Sunday at 6:00pm.
The Atlanta Hawks were at home on Friday evening to take on the Phoenix Suns. The Hawks were coming off a clutch win two days ago against the Memphis Grizzlies, and hoping to continue that momentum against one of the better teams in the Western Conference.
The last time these two teams faced off, it was a comeback thriller for the Hawks, as they won after overcoming a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
Onyeka Okongwu got things started for the Hawks with a three-pointer.
O starts the scoring with a 3
It's his 88th 3 on the season, tied for most by a center on one season in Hawks history 👏 pic.twitter.com/eZnoEsAK1N
The Hawks were being rewarded for their defense on the other end, and pulled away slightly in the first for a minute. The transition points continued to pile up for the Hawks, and Johnson took this one for himself.
The Hawks continued to create easy opportunities for themselves, and it was even scoring throughout. The Suns started to make some shots late and ended up taking the lead late. The Hawks trailed 31-27 going into the second.
Luke Kennard got it going early in the second for the Hawks with two three-pointers and helped them take back the lead.
The Hawks were able to string together a few stops throughout the quarter, and capitalized on the other end to help extend their lead. It was the CJ McCollum show down the stretch of the first half, and he was able to get almost any shot he wanted.
The threes kept raining for the Hawks to start the second half, and back-to-back shots from Okongwu and Alexander-Walker helped them take a double-digit lead at one point.
The Hawks maintained the lead for a little while, but the Suns came storming back and went on a run themselves. It was the turnovers that doomed the Hawks in the third, and the Suns found every way to capitalize on the other end.
The Hawks kept battling late in the third, and they had to lead with their defense. Christian Koloko played some good minutes against the Grizzlies, and he did the same in this game.
The turnovers continued to hurt the Hawks, and they ended the quarter with more turnovers than field goals made. Going into the fourth, the Hawks trailed 91-84. One thing to take note of for the Hawks was Devin Booker going down late in the third.
The Hawks fought to start the quarter, and were able to keep things close. Johnson got this big putback dunk after a miss.
The game went back-and-forth late in the fourth, and the Hawks had just been in this situation with the Grizzlies. It started on the defensive end, as the Hawks were able to get some key stops.
What’s the phrase, insult to injury. There is something about Atlanta. State Farm Arena feels cursed, at least for the Phoenix Suns. They have not won in this city since 2014, and on Friday night, the bad juju showed up again. Only his second game back, and Jalen Green was lost once more.
That kind of moment hits a team in the chest. This is a group that has lived the rehab with him, sweat by sweat, day by day. You can see how much joy he gets from playing with, how badly he wants to be out there, and when that gets taken away again, it lands emotionally. Hard.
Devin Booker tried to steady everything. He poured in 16 points in the third quarter and finished with 31, dragging the Suns forward with force of will alone. And then, because Atlanta apparently demands a sacrifice, it happened again.
With 5.2 seconds left in the quarter, Booker was running back in transition. He glanced over his shoulder, never saw Onyeka Okongwu in front of him, and stepped on his foot. His right ankle twisted. He hit the floor in pain, then limped off toward the locker room.
Devin Booker is serious pain after rolling his right ankle on Onyeka Okongwu's foot.
On a night already weighed down by losing Jalen Green, the Suns were forced to process losing Devin Booker too. I do not know much in this world. But I know this. I hate Atlanta.
The Suns lost the game 110-103 as their offense became inept in the fourth quarter, scoring just 12 points. And Booker? Per Jordan Ott, he left on crutches.
"You feel for them."
Jordan Ott as he confirmed right ankle injury for Devin Booker.
Booker left the locker room after the game on crutches, something players use so they don't put pressure on it.
He was struggling to put pressure on it when leaving the court with the injury.… pic.twitter.com/oQjqmu5r1e
The Lakers (26-17) will continue their road trip in Dallas, where they will face the Mavericks (19-26). LA looks to get back in the win column by snapping Dallas’ current four-game winning streak.
The theme that has been evident in the Lakers’ current road trip thus far has been being in comeback games. They successfully came back against the Nuggets thanks to their improved defense and energy in the second half, but it wasn’t the same script against the Clippers.
This is something they’ve done often this season, where they allow themselves to get punched early in the game and when it looks like they’re about to fold, they trim the lead to within striking distance and oftentimes have escaped with the victory.
After all, they’re 13-2 in clutch games this season and that says a lot about this team’s penchant for cramming their way to victory.
But, as commendable as it is to be a really good clutch-time performing team, at one point will the Lakers just dominate an opponent?
On Saturday, let’s see if they can buck the trend of getting down and rallying back and just outright beat Dallas.
This will also be the second time Dončić returns to his former home since the blockbuster trade last February.
Expect this one to be another emotional game for the 26-year-old, who often talks about how special his seven-year tenure was with the Mavericks.
“Obviously it’s always gonna feel like home there (Dallas) but I needed that game to move on (first game back in Dallas last season) a lil bit but obviously I’ll always appreciate those fans they were really really tight. I think we had some special bonding or how do you say it?… pic.twitter.com/Bs2D0sE8bK
The Mavericks may have lost Anthony Davis to injury, but they’re playing well right now.
They’ve strung together four straight quality wins, including their most recent victory against the Warriors. This is a team that will definitely attempt to throw the first punch on the purple and gold, and it’s up to the latter to take it well and fight back early.
Given that Dončić is back in his old playground, it’s fair to expect him to be more aggressive and fired up in this one from the get-go.
Outside of Dončić and obviously LeBron James, the Lakers’ role players also need to step up. In the loss to the Clippers, JJ Redick said the team didn’t pass the ball well, a consistent theme in all their defeats this season.
The Mavericks are the opposite of the Lakers in the sense that they’re very good on defense but atrocious on offense. So this game will be a clash of styles, and the team that performs best at what they excel att will be the one to come out on top.
Notes and Updates
The last time these two teams faced off was back in November of last year, when the Lakers crushed the Mavericks in the fourth quarter to seal the win. They also trailed at halftime and gave up 40 points in the second quarter to the Mavericks. The Mavs were led by Cooper Flag, who had 13 points and a career-high 11 assists. It was one of his best games of the season as well. Expect another strong performance from the rookie in this one.
As for the injury report, the Lakers note Austin Reaves (left calf strain) and Adou Thiero (right MCL sprain) are listed as out.
For the Mavericks, Daniel Gafford (ankle), Anthony Davis (finger), Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery), Kyrie Irving (knee) and Dante Exum (knee injury) are out.
Moussa Cisse (illness) is questionable while Daniel Gafford (right ankle sprain) is probable.
Jalen Green was a cornerstone piece in the deal that sent Kevin Durant to Houston, and unfortunately, he has spent far too much of his Suns tenure in street clothes. We saw the upside early. That season opener against the Clippers, where he detonated for 29 points, was electric. Then, cruelly on brand, the very next game against that same team, he re-aggravated the hamstring and disappeared into the injury abyss.
Tuesday night in Philadelphia finally felt like the reset. After missing 33 games, Green returned, logged 20 minutes, and looked like himself. Quick. Springy. Confident. The burst was there.
And then history tapped us on the shoulder again.
In the first quarter against the Atlanta Hawks, Green went left, crossed back right, blew past Luke Kennard like he was standing in wet cement, and finished at the rim with ease. Two points. Pure speed. A glimpse of what this could be.
Oh dear lord Jalen Green…you didn’t have to take Luke Kennard’s ankles from him! That man has a family!
And now the real questions start creeping in, the kind you feel before you even finish asking them. Is his season over? Is this something that leads to surgery? Do the Suns now have to revisit the trade market for help they never planned on needing because Jalen Green was supposed to be that help?
You hope for good news. You always do. But it is deflating. Deeply so.
And it feels painfully familiar. In cruel, very Suns fashion, a young, explosive star who never missed time before arriving in Phoenix suddenly cannot stay on the floor. It is maddening. It is unfair. And it forces conversations nobody wanted to have right now.
