Category: NBA

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Tristan Jarry made 31 saves for his first shutout for Edmonton, Jack Roslovic and Kasperi Kapanen each scored twice and the Oilers routed the Vancouver Canucks 6-0 on Saturday night.

Vancouver has lost 10 in a row (0-8-2) to fall to 16-27-5. The Canucks last lost 10 straight in the 1997-98 season.

The Oilers scored all six goals in the second period, four goals on four shots in a 4:52 span. Zach Hyman and Vasily Podkolzin also scored and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two assists in his 999th regular-season game.

Jarry had his 23rd career shutout and his first since Edmonton acquired him Pittsburgh on Dec. 12 for fellow goalie Stuart Skinner.

Vancouver has lost 10 in a row (0-8-2) to fall to 16-27-5. The Canucks last lost 10 straight in the 1997-98 season.

Nikita Tolopilo made 29 saves.

Edmonton played without star forward Leon Draisaitl, with the Oilers saying he returned to Germany to attend to a family illness and is expected to rejoin the team next week.

Up next

Oilers: Host St. Louis on Sunday night to open an eight-game homestand.

Canucks: Host the New York Islanders on Monday night.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Before the Lakers took the court Saturday night, they added two more starters and a key reserve to the injured list. But the Lakers still had LeBron James and they hoped he could carry them past Portland.

Starters Luka Doncic (left groin soreness) and Deandre Ayton (left knee soreness) did not play. In the fourth quarter, Marcus Smart went down amid a pile of players in the lane and eventually limped to the locker room never to return.

As for James and the rest of the Lakers, all of the injuries were too much to overcome in a 132-116 loss to the Trail Blazers at the Moda Center.

Read more:Plaschke: After Rich Paul drama, fans favor Austin Reaves over LeBron James and you can’t blame them

Smart had 25 points before he went to the locker room. James had 20 points but was just six for 16 from the field. He had nine rebounds and eight assists for a Lakers team that has lost five of its last six games.

Drew Timme was a positive for the Lakers, scoring a career-high 21 points. Rui Hachimura and Maxi Kleber each had 11 points.

“At the end of the day, nobody is feeling sorry for us, nor are we looking for it,” James said. “The guys that are available, we got to go out there and play our game, play the way we want to play offensively and defensively and just try to right the ship until we get whole.”

Shaedon Sharpe led Portland (21-22) with 25 points. Jerami Grant and Caleb Love each scored 22 points and Donovan Clingan finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

Doncic, who underwent an MRI and is listed as day-to-day, was dealing with the injury all of last week despite playing against the Kings, Hawks and Hornets.

“I think it was an accumulation of a longer week, more lingering, if anything,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said before the game.

The Lakers (24-16) aren't sure if Ayton will play against Toronto on Sunday. The center is day-to-day with left knee soreness.

“He took a hit in his knee and there was no swelling, just some soreness,” Redick said.

The Lakers were also without backup center Jaxson Hayes, who didn’t play against the Trail Blazers because of left hamstring tendinopathy. Redick said there's a chance Hayes could play Sunday.

With so many starters out, Redick said he liked his team’s competitive “spirit” against the Trail Blazers.

Still, it's been hard to win consistently with so many key players out.

“This has been our season,” Redick said. “You get one guy healthy, another guy gets injured. You get one guy back and another guy gets injured. Two guys go out tonight and you play without your two centers. So, it’s been our season.”

James missed his first five shots in the first quarter, finishing the frame going one for seven from the field for just two points.

The Lakers were called for 13 fouls in the first quarter alone, leading to 22 free-throw attempts for the Trail Blazers — a big reason why they opened a 40-27 lead after the first 12 minutes.

“I thought the whistle was very shot in the first quarter,” James said. “I think there were like maybe 17, 18, 20 free throws in the first quarter. It’s hard to set your defense with that type of situation. But we gave ourselves a chance a couple of times, but it was an uphill battle.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Anthony Roy scored 23 points, Vyctorius Miller was fouled on a corner 3-point shot with 2.8 seconds left and hit all three free throws and Oklahoma State beat Kansas State 84-83 on Saturday night.

Parsa Fallah had 17 points, nine rebounds and two steals for Oklahoma State and Kanye Clary had 12 points and six assists. Andrija Vukovic added 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting and Miller finished with nine points, seven rebounds and four assists.

The Cowboys (14-4, 2-3 Big 12) are 24-0 under coach second-year coach Steve Lutz when they score at least 81 points. The 53-year-old Lutz earned his 100th career win in four-plus seasons.

Kansas State (9-9) is 0-5 in conference play for the first time since the 1996-97 season.

PJ Haggerty scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half for the Wildcats and Abdi Bashir Jr. added 15, which included 5 3s. Khamari McGriff scored 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting before he fouled out with 6:02 remaining. Nate Johnson also scored 14.

Haggerty made a running floater that gave Kansas State a two-point lead with 49 seconds to play. Kanye Clary missed back-to-back 3-point shots but Miller secured OSU's second consecutive offensive rebound on a tie-up with 4.0 seconds remaining. Miller then caught the inbounds pass in the corner and was fouled.

Clary and Miller each hit a 3 as Oklahoma State scored eight of the first 11 second-half points to push its lead into double figures with 17:22 left in the game.

Up next

Kansas State: Hosts Utah on Tuesday.

Oklahoma State: Plays Tuesday at TCU.

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The Lakers were routed by the Portland Trail Blazers, 132-116, on Saturday night.

Without Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes, the Lakers were forced to go deep into their bench. While there were some standout offensive performances, the Lakers ultimately could muster little resistance defensively.

It was a Maxi Kleber takeover from the start as he scored nine of the first 14 points. With Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes out, Kleber was the lone center available, and he took advantage of the opportunity.

Ok, Maxi! 👀👀 pic.twitter.com/pYG563bSZv

— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) January 18, 2026

Marcus Smart was the other Laker scoring well with five points. LeBron James and Jake LaRavia combined for four assists. Portland had taken a lead by four, but Drew Timme subbed in and scored five quick points to put LA up by one. 

The Blazers then took control of the game. Los Angeles sent Portland to the line 22 times in the period. LA’s offense became stagnant, unable to put together any consistent scoring. 

Lakers were whistled for 13 1st Q fouls. Five players had 2 apiece.

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) January 18, 2026

LeBron’s first bucket of the game came at the 28-second mark. It was the only Lakers basket in a 12-2 Blazers run to end the first and take a 13-point lead into the second. 

Gabe Vincent opened the second period with a much-needed 3-pointer. Donovan Clingan answered with a triple of his own. Timme continued his impressive offensive showing with five more points, making him the first Laker in double figures with 12. 

Drew Timme was incredible for South Bay.

Cool to see him make the most of his opportunity.

— Raj C. (@RajChipalu) January 18, 2026

Los Angeles had made it a six-point game after a surge in scoring thanks to LeBron and Smart, but Portland immediately responded with Jerami Grant scoring five straight. LA had no answer for Caleb Love, who had 11 points and was three for four from behind the arc. 

Grant and Love combined for 26 points off the bench for the Trail Blazers. At halftime, the Lakers were down by 10. 

Smart opened the second half with two 3-pointers. Despite those shots, Los Angeles was still down by double digits as the Blazers continued to score at ease, shooting 55% from the field. Smart was the only Laker who looked good in the quarter, pushing his total to 23 points. 

The defensive breakdowns were hurting Los Angeles as they continued to have no answers for Portland’s sharpshooters. The Lakers were down by 19 with 5:33 left in the third period.

Rui Hachimura knocked down a badly needed 3-pointer. He also knocked down a pair of midrange jumpers. LA put together a small 8-2 scoring run as the quarter was winding down to help trim the deficit down to 12 before everything went bad all over again and Portland opened up a 17-point lead going into the fourth period. 

Third quarter: Blazers 107, Lakers 90

Marcus Smart has 25 points — he scored 14 in the 3rd and has been great off the dribble. Rui Hachimura got going with a few jumpers. Difference tonight has been the gap in 3s and FTs. The Lakers’ lack of rim protection has been glaring.

— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) January 18, 2026

Despite starting the final frame with some spirited attempts at a comeback, LA did not have enough juice in the tank to stop the blazing hot Trail Blazers. 

Key Player Stats

LeBron ended with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Smart ended with 25 points and two rebounds. Timme had a strong showing with 21 points, two rebounds and three assists. Kleber had his best game as a Laker with 11 points and five rebounds. Hachimura notched 11 points with two steals. 

The Lakers’ next matchup will be against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday at 6:30 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.

The New York Knicks came up short again Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, falling 106-99 to the Phoenix Suns. Missed opportunities? Check. Turnovers? Double check. No late-game execution? Triple check.

Devin Booker returned after missing one game for the Suns, but Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart couldn’t say the same. Book dropped 27 points, Brunson and Hart combined for an egg, sitting out the game.

Grayson Allen added 16 points for Phoenix, Mark Williams finished with 14, and the Suns found the best possible dance partner to snap a two-game skid in the New York Knicks. Damn, son.

"He was a little sore, we held him out. We'll hear what Medical staff has to say tomorrow, make a decision…"

– Mike Brown to @IanBegley on Josh Hart status Monday v Mavs

Hart a gameday scratch with sore right ankle––same ankle he just missed 8 games due to Christmas sprain pic.twitter.com/Pp2WIEQ2XK

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) January 18, 2026

Brunson and Hart, both sidelined with ankle injuries, were all the Knicks needed to generate at least a tiny bit of offense. Wouldn’t be the case, as Karl-Anthony Towns and Miles McBride each scored 23 points, while OG Anunoby added 21, but you know, good-not-great they say.

The Knickerbockers shot 40 percent from the field, turned the rock over 17 freaking times, and fell to 16-5 at MSG.

NYK started well, hitting three of their first four attempts from beyond the arc and taking a 27-19 lead after one quarter. Phoenix responded in the second with a 12-0 run, because why not, but New York answered behind McBride’s strong outing on both ends of the floor, going into halftime up 56-55.

You made her sad pic.twitter.com/0B4P051k18

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) January 18, 2026

Momentum went back and forth in the third quarter. The Suns opened the half on a 10-3 run, only for the Knicks to respond with a 16-0 burst that gave them a sweet double-digit cushion. Phoenix closed the quarter strong, however, tying the game at 77 before Booker converted an and-one at the buzzer to give the Suns a three-point edge entering the fourth. Tension.

The final period was sloppy and ultimately, a bummer. Both teams tried hard, Allen appeared to injure his nose in one collision (me enjoys). Phoenix separated itself with an 8-0 run. New York seemed to only know how to miss buckets and second-chance opportunities.

Alas, an 87-87 tie turned into a 95-87 lead for the visiting Hot Spheres and that was that.

Oh, and Towns airballed a wide-open three.

Karl-Anthony Towns air-balled a 3 and the crowd started booing 😭 pic.twitter.com/HuA0a5zbkV

— Mark Jackson’s Burner (@casualtakeking) January 18, 2026

The loss dropped the Knicks to three straight defeats and eight losses in their last 10 games. They next host the Dallas Mavericks on Monday. It’s a 5 p.m. tipoff, so let’s flip this thing and say it’s never too soon for a change.

DENVER (AP) — Jamal Murray scored 42 points on 15-for-24 shooting and the Denver Nuggets pulled away in the final minutes for a 121-115 win over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.

With the game tied at 110, Murray hit a 3-pointer with 2:12 to play to put the Nuggets ahead to stay. He then added another jumper and a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 117-110.

Tim Hardaway Jr. had a season-high 30 points and Peyton Watson scored 21 as Denver, still playing without the injured Nikola Jokic (left knee bone bruise), won its fourth in a row and for the sixth time in its last seven games.

Kyshawn George had 29 points to lead the Wizards, who lost their sixth in a row including all four on this road trip. Khris Middleton and Alex Sarr scored 16 each.

The Nuggets shot 53% from the floor in the game including 40% from 3-point range.

The Nuggets made 14 3-pointers compared to the Wizards 11.

Murray scored 23 points in the first half and the Nuggets went into the break trailing 63-62. The Wizards held onto the lead through the third and entered the fourth up 86-83. Murray’s 16-point fourth quarter helped the Nuggets finish off the victory.

Up next

Wizards: Return home to face the Clippers on Monday.

Nuggets: Host the Hornets on Sunday night.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Golden State Warriors Saturday night game against the Charlotte Hornets got off to an odd start. Or rather, it became odd before it even started.

Shortly before the game tipped off, the Hornets announced their starting five … and All-Star LaMelo Ball was not in it. And then, despite normal introductions for the Warriors in the minutes before the game began, the starting five that took the floor was not the starting five that had been announced … instead, Will Richard was on the court, and Jimmy Butler III was nowhere to be found.

It was an odd beginning that was later explained. Ball was, indeed, active, and is just having his minutes monitored, so he came off the bench for the second time this year, due to Charlotte having another game on Sunday. As for Butler, who wasn’t on the bench, it was announced that he would not be playing due to personal reasons. According to coach Steve Kerr, the Warriors didn’t find that out until after the opening introductions; more importantly, Kerr revealed that everything is fine with Butler, and the All-Star is expected to play on Monday.

With those oddities behind us all, the game began, and from there it was surprisingly normal. While fans surely kept one eye on the 49ers score (no spoilers here, don’t worry), and with new Giants coach Tony Vitello in attendance, the Warriors took an early lead and never relinquished it, coasting to a 136-116 win, and never once trailing.

The absences may have been ominous, but the actual start was encouraging: Moses Moody picked up where he left off on Thursday by draining a three on the very first possession of the game. After just two minutes, the Dubs led 8-2, and then pushed the lead to 14-5, with an unlikely source starring on offense: Draymond Green.

Simply put, the offense looked absolutely gorgeous. The ball was flying around, players were cutting and screening, and the team was springing free for open jumpers. It was beautiful, and an absolute joy to watch. They couldn’t really pull away though, because the Hornets started to find some offensive rhythm as well, following their cold start. With Butler absent, the Warriors struggled late in the quarter after Steph Curry went to the bench. But, thanks to some big minutes from Buddy Hield — who returned to the rotation with Butler and Gui Santos out — the Warriors figured things out late, and held a comfy 39-28 lead after the first quarter.

They were rolling to start the second, but Kon Knueppel — who is have an utterly superb rookie campaign — kept Charlotte in the game. Golden State would build the lead up, but the Hornets would reliably attack it, though they could never fully erase it. The non-Steph minutes were a bit smoother in the second quarter in the first, and the Dubs kept the energy and effort level very high, even when things weren’t working well.

Above all else, the depth — which Kerr praised effusively after the game — kept the Warriors ahead, as there were contributions from up and down the roster (per Danny Emerman, the Warriors became the first team in NBA history to have 10 different players make a three pointer in three consecutive games).

Both teams ended the half with highlights. With just 1.6 seconds remaining, Green made a brilliant pass to Brandin Podziemski, who sank a three from straightaway, giving the Warriors their largest lead of the night at 15. But the Hornets would respond, with Miles Bridges sinking a three-quarter court shot at the buzzer. Golden State led 69-57 at the break, and things were looking good.

There would be a brief scare to start the second half, though. Behind Brandon Miller, the Hornets started to close the gap in the third quarter. The Warriors responded, but Charlotte again started to close the gap. And then, finally, Golden State was able to turn a lead into total control, as they exploded for a high-energy 17-3 run, which gave them their largest lead of the night. They were surging on both ends of the court, and red-hot from deep.

Another superb performance from De’Anthony Melton was punctuated at the end of the third quarter, when he scored, then picked Ball’s pocket with just a few seconds remaining, dribbled the length of the court to try to beat the buzzer, and drew a foul with 0.2 seconds remaining. He would make both free throws, allowing the Warriors to carry a 112-94 lead into the fourth quarter.

It was a drama free final frame. Curry only played a handful of minutes, and both teams emptied their benches about halfway through. And the Warriors waltzed their way to a 136-116 victory.

It was one of the most balanced games of the year for the Warriors. Melton came off the bench to lead the team with 24 points on 8-for-16 shooting, while adding six rebounds and three assists. He’s fully finding his groove, as this was the fourth time in the last six games that he’s netted at least 19 points. The Hornets dared Green to score on them all night, and he responded — almost always to stop a Charlotte run — finishing with 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting, with three rebounds and six assists. In total, eight different Warriors scored in double figures: Melton and Green, plus Podziemski (16), Curry (14), Hield (14), Moody (12), Richard (11), and Al Horford (11).

As a team, the Warriors shot 44.2% from deep (23-for-52), as they got clean look after clean look. Remarkably, despite Curry shooting just 2-for-8 and Klay Thompson playing for Dallas, the Dubs set a franchise record by making 20 or more threes for the third straight game. Go figure!

Golden State made Charlotte look disjointed, but the Hornets young talent certainly reminded viewers that the future can still be bright. Miller finished with 28 points, six rebounds, and five assists, while Knueppel had 24 points and 11 rebounds, while shooting 4-for-5 from three-point range. There’s a lot of exciting young talent on that team.

The surging Warriors are now 25-19, and are 5-1 on their eight-game homestand. They’ve won 11 times in their last 15 games, and firmly have their eyes on escaping the Play-In Tournament now that their schedule has eased up. They’ll be back in action on Monday night, when they host the Miami Heat at 7:00 p.m. PT.

MIAMI (AP) — Andrew Wiggins’ 3-pointer with 31 seconds left put Miami up for good, Bam Adebayo scored 30 points with a career-best six 3s and the Heat defeated the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder 122-120 on Saturday night.

Norman Powell scored 19 for Miami, while Pelle Larsson finished with 16. Simone Fontecchio and Myron Gardner combined for 24 points off the Miami bench.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 39 for Oklahoma City, which fell to 35-8 on the season. Aaron Wiggins scored 18 for the Thunder, which got 15 from Ajay Mitchell and 14 from Chet Holmgren.

The Thunder lost Jalen Williams midway through the second quarter with what the team said was right thigh soreness, even though the starting guard was grabbing at his right hamstring as he limped off the floor. He will be evaluated Sunday, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.

Oklahoma City had a chance to tie on the possession following Andrew Wiggins’ go-ahead 3, but Holmgren missed off a lobbed inbounds pass from Alex Caruso and Miami controlled the rebound. The Thunder got a stop on the ensuing Heat possession, calling time with 3.0 seconds remaining.

Caruso inbounded to Gilgeous-Alexander, who quickly sent the ball back to Caruso — whose 3-point try bounced off the backboard and rim as time expired. It was Oklahoma City’s first loss this season when scoring at least 120 points; they were 24-0 in such games entering Saturday.

Miami — which took 111 shots to Oklahoma City’s 77 — was without Tyler Herro (sore big toe, bruised rib) and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (sprained left knee).

Gilgeous-Alexander scored at least 20 points in his 113th consecutive regular-season game, moving within 13 games of tying Wilt Chamberlain’s record.

MAVERICKS 138, JAZZ 120

DALLAS (AP) — Klay Thompson scored all 23 of his points in the first half, including the 17,000th of his career, and six Mavericks scored in double figures in a win over Utah as Dallas completed a two-game sweep of the Jazz.

Dallas and Utah have played three times in 10 days. Utah won at home on January 8, 114-112. Dallas won 144-122 on Thursday.

The Mavericks were without Cooper Flagg (left ankle sprain) for a second straight game and the first injury absences of his rookie season. Dallas was also missing Anthony Davis (finger) and Kyrie Irving (knee) and forward P.J. Washington for personal reasons.

The rest of the Mavericks proved to be more than enough against the Jazz for a second straight game.

Thompson, coming off the bench, had a pair of 3-pointers and then hit a turnaround jumper in the lane with just under five minutes left in the first quarter to reach the 17,000-point plateau. He shot 7 for 12 overall and 6 for 11 from 3-point distance and led the Mavs in scoring for the second straight game in Flagg’s absence after scoring a season-best 26 in Thursday’s win.

Brandon Williams and Max Christie each scored 22 points, Naji Marshall added 16, Jaden Hardy pitched in with 12 and Dwight Powell had 10 for the Mavs, who entered Saturday with wins in just two of their last five games.

CELTICS 132, HAWKS 106

ATLANTA (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 41 points, Sam Hauser led a 3-point barrage in the second quarter and Boston blew away Atlanta.

The Celtics put this one away with a 52-point outburst in the second quarter, stretching what had been a fairly competitive opening period to an 82-51 laugher at halftime.

Boston barely missed at all in the second, knocking down 19 of 25 shots — including 11 of 15 beyond the 3-point arc. Hauser was perfect on his six attempts from long range in the period, and Brown dazzled inside and out. On a strong drive to the hoop in the final seconds of the half, he flexed his muscles for the State Farm Arena crowd, as if to say the Hawks had no chance of stopping him.

Brown had 29 points by halftime, combining with Hauser (21 points) to nearly outscore the entire Hawks team. The Celtics reached triple figures well before the midway point of the third period and stretched their lead to 43 points before both teams cleared their benches.

Hauser tied his career high with 10 3-pointers, accounting his season-best 30 points. Anfernee Simons chipped in with 14 points, connecting on 4 of 8 outside the stripe.

PISTONS 121, PACERS 78

DETROIT (AP) — Duncan Robinson and Cade Cunningham each scored 16 points in limited minutes as Detroit routed shorthanded Indiana.

The 43-point margin matched the ninth-biggest win in Pistons franchise history.

The Pacers played without their four leading scorers, with Pascal Siakam resting and Benedict Mathurin (thumb), Andrew Nembhard (back) and Obi Toppin (foot) dealing with injuries. T.J. McConnell, who is sixth on the team in scoring and second in assists, also sat out with a knee problem.

Jalen Duren had 15 points and eight rebounds for Detroit, which got points from 13 players. as the Pistons won for the fifth time in six games.

Jarace Walker led Indiana with 13 points and Tony Bradley added 12. The Pacers had won four of five.

Detroit led by as many as 44 points in the third quarter, around the time that Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff pulled his starters for the night. Duren led the starters with 23 minutes and Cunningham and Robinson were the only others to reach 20.

SUNS 106, KNICKS 99

NEW YORK (AP) — Devin Booker scored 27 points after missing a game with a sprained left ankle, and Phoenix beat slumping New York.

Grayson Allen added 16 points and Mark Williams had 14 for the Suns, who had dropped the first two games on their six-game Eastern Conference road trip, including Thursday in Detroit when they played without Booker. He shot only 7 for 18 from the field, but was 12 for 14 on free throws.

Karl-Anthony Towns and Deuce McBride each scored 23 points for the Knicks, who were playing without starters Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart because of ankle injuries. They have lost three straight and eight of their last 10 games.

OG Anunoby added 21 points, but the Knicks committed 17 turnovers and fell to 16-5 at home.

In an ugly game with plenty of diving after loose balls — Allen appeared to badly hurt his nose in a collision on one of them — the Suns broke away from an 87-all tie when Collin Gillespie made a 3-pointer, Booker followed with a three-point play and Williams made two free throws to make it 95-87. The Knicks shot way too poorly to come back, going 1 for 10 on 3s in the fourth quarter with Towns hearing boos after shooting a airball on a wide-open attempt on one of them.

WARRIORS 136, HORNETS 116

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — De’Anthony Melton scored 24 points as Golden State had eight players reach double figures in its victory over Charlotte.

The Warriors hit 23 of their 52 3-point attempts and 10 Golden State players made at least one 3. Golden State now has had at least 10 players make at least one 3-pointer in three straight games, the longest streak in NBA history, per the Elias Sports Bureau. The 3-point arc was introduced for the 1979-80 season.

Golden State extended its winning streak to three games and improved to 5-1 on its eight-game homestand.

Draymond Green scored 20 points for the Warriors, who got 16 from Brandin Podziemski and 14 apiece from Stephen Curry and Buddy Hield.

The Hornets’ Brandon Miller scored a game-high 28 points and Kon Knueppel had 24.

Charlotte was down by a dozen at halftime, then cut its deficit to 82-79 on a layup by Knueppel midway through the third quarter.

Golden State responded with a 20-5 run capped by a Hield 3-pointer from the right corner to go up 102-84 with 2:27 left in the period.

SPURS 126, TIMBERWOLVES 123

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama had 39 points and nine rebounds, corralling a critical offensive rebound in the final seconds, enabling San Antonio to fend off Anthony Edwards’ season-high 55 points and beat Minnesota.

Donte DiVincenzo’s 24-foot, 3-pointer put the Timberwolves up 119-118 with 1:03 remaining. Wembanyama responded with a 20-footer and then blocked Joan Beringer’s reverse layup 13 seconds later to preserve the one-point lead.

De’Aaron Fox added 25 points and 12 assists as San Antonio avoided a season sweep of its three-game set against Minnesota. Keldon Johnson added 20 points for the Spurs.

Edwards had 26 points in the fourth quarter, going 5 for 7 on 3-pointers and nearly completed a repeat of Minnesota’s last game against San Antonio.

The Washington Wizards lost to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night, 121-115.

Washington began the first half with a slim 63-62 lead with Khris Middleton and Alex Sarr scoring in double figures and after getting out a first quarter rut. Washington also out-rebounded Denver 23-17 which proved key to the lead. The Wizards continued to outrebound the Nuggets in the third quarter though there wasn’t much movement to the lead though Washington still led.

But like many other Wizards games this season, the talent disparity ultimately went against Washington’s favor when it was the fourth quarter. Tim Hardaway and Jamal Murray scored 31 of the Nuggets’ 38 points in the period while the Wizards only scored 29, though Kyshawn George scored 14 of his team leading 29 points then.

While Washington kept things interesting for much of the game thanks to their 48-38 rebounding advantage, they still allowed Denver to shoot 52.9 percent from the field while only shooting 45.8 percent themselves.

The Wizards’ road trip is now complete but they still have more western conference opponents to play. Their next game is at home against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. Tip off is at 3 p.m. ET. See you then.

It may officially be the second half of the season, but one thing that hasn’t change since the first is the Spurs’ inability to hold onto a large lead against the Minnesota Timberwolves. After a slow first quarter, the Spurs got hot in the second, leading by as much as 25, but just like their first two match-ups, they took their foot off the gas and let the Wolves back in it in the second half. Anthony Edwards went nuclear, scoring 26 of his 55 points in the fourth quarter as they eventually retook the lead, but fortunately for the Spurs, Victor Wembanyama was able to match his star power and pull his team back to victory from the jaws of what would have been another embarrassing defeat.

The Spurs took advantage of no Rudy Gobert, who was out with a bruised hip, by attacking the paint for 8 of their first 9 points, but ultimately neither team could find much offense early, with the score sitting at just 10-9 Spurs after six minutes. The Timberwovles were the first team to find some momentum, getting up by five at 17-12, but that seemed to wake the Spurs up as they responded with a 7-0 run, with all seven points coming from Keldon Johnson. Still, the Spurs found themselves down 22-21 at the end of the first after a 5-0 Wolves burst, including a three from Edwards off an offensive rebound, before a De’Aaron Fox floater at the buzzer.

The Spurs woke up to start the second quarter, with Wemby getting more involved in the offense, which opened things up for everyone else, and threes from Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle got them up by double digits, 41-31, forcing a Chris Finch timeout. The Spurs kept piling on, with Castle finding Luke Kornet on consecutive lobs to stretch the lead to 51-35, leading to another Wolves timeout with four minutes remaining. The onslaught continued, with Wemby scoring 13 of their final 16 points, including hitting four straight threes, and overall the Spurs had their highest scoring quarter of the season (and 4th highest in franchise history) with 48 points, including hitting 8 threes, to lead 69-44 at the half.

Of course, after second-half energy was a problem in their two losses in Minneapolis, the question would be if the Spurs could keep their foot on the gas this time The answer was an emphatic no, as the Wolves came out of halftime more determined while the Spurs looked complacent. Minnesota started the third quarter on a 14-3 run, sparked by French rookie Joan Beringer. They would keep chipping away throughout the second half while the Spurs struggled with turnovers and allowing too many transition buckets. The Wolves finally took their first lead since early in the second quarter on an Edwards jumper with 3:28 left in the game, but then, chaos ensued.

Wemby went into superstar mode, first responding to Edwards with a jumper of his own, and the same again on the next possession with them trading threes. Wemby then stole the ball and drew free throws to retake the lead after a frustrated Edwards pushed him down. The teams continued to go back-and-fourth until a big three from Johnson got the Spurs up by 4 with 18 seconds remaining, but this game just refused to end without drama.

Finch got a technical foul for unknown reasons during a timeout, Wemby missed the free throw, and Edwards hit another three with 11 seconds left. Fox then hit his free throws, and the Spurs decided to foul Edwards so he couldn’t get another three. He missed the second, which was grabbed by Wemby, but the usually-reliable Julian Champagnie missed both free throws. Wemby came to the rescue again and grabbed the offensive rebound and made his first free throw, but then he made the odd decision to miss the second, even though a make would have given them a four-point lead with under two seconds left and no Wolves timeouts. Instead, he committed a lane violation going for the rebound, giving the Wolves the ball, but fortunately Edwards missed on a half court heave, and the Spurs escaped 126-123.

Game Notes

• A very confusing moment came in the third quarter, when the Timberwolves challenged a foul call on what looked like a clean block by Donte DiVincenzo on Castle. After video review, referee Mark Davis explained that the challenge was unsuccessful because the defender made “illegal contact with the ball while in the player’s hands,” which made no sense since that would be a block. Then, even more confusion was added when the refs had the Spurs inbounding the ball when the result of the call should have been free throws. Finally, Davis returned to the mic and explained that he misspoke, it was a successful challenge so no foul, but imminent possession belonged to the Spurs, hence why they were inbounding the ball.
• This was quite the crazy game, and one of the biggest examples of a “tale of two halves” I can recall, but ultimately the Spurs stars did what they had to do. Wemby finished with 39 points and 9 rebounds and was the center of the Spurs’ two biggest offensive runs: to build their big lead and later get it back at the end. Fox showed it is possible for he and Wemby to both have big games on the same night and take turns dominating, with 25 points and 12 assists, and Johnson added 20 points off the bench, including that big three that was ultimately the game winner.
• New feature: Did Carter Bryant miss a dunk? (We ask because he supposedly has a running bet with his teammates that after a spate of notoriously bad misses, if he misses three more dunks, he will have to shave his head.) He did not miss a dunk tonight because he didn’t attempt one, but to his credit he did grab two offensive rebounds on one possession in the second quarter, reminding everyone that hustle is his calling card.

Play of the Game

It’s that Keldon three, of course. You also have to love the reaction of the Bald Bros.

SPLASH 💦

📺@FanDuelSN_SWpic.twitter.com/3GbtppsZUE

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 18, 2026

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Up Next: Monday vs. Utah Jazz

7:00 PM CT on FanDuel Sports

The Spurs have a chance to get back at another team that was a thorn in their side during that 10-game slump (that they hopefully are out of) and sweep their three-game home stand before returning to the road.

Game Story

Six days ago, the Minnesota Timberwolves were the talk of the NBA discourse after a ridiculous 19-point comeback over the San Antonio Spurs. It was filled with late game drama and a photo finish. Most of the talk was about the duel between two of the faces o the league, as Anthony Edwards slayed Victor Wembanyama. Since then, Edwards has nursed a nagging toe injury the past two games. Wembanyama, on the other hand, stewed over the loss while battling Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

You can bet Wembanyama had this game circled as an opportunity for revenge.

Don’t believe me? Despite a pedestrian five minute stint in the first quarter, the Frenchman went on a tear in his 10-minute second quarter rotation. The Wolves began the game admirably despite missing Rudy Gobert due to a minor hip injury and losing Naz Reid, who started in his stead, just minutes into the action with a left shoulder issue. Jaden McDaniels and Anthony Edwards took charge, combining for 15 of the teams 22 points in the opening stanza to maintain a one-point lead, but San Antonio had a response.

The Wemby Show was in full effect when the second quarter began. It started with a parade to the charity stripe. It built up with an impressive step through shot. It all culminated in a trio of three-point makes, each more and more video game-esque. It seemed like in a blink of an eye, the Spurs sprinted ahead by 25.

Yes, it’s true that Wembanyama was on a heater. However, the Wolves were just as guilty allowing him to get hot. There was a ton of defensive miscommunication on one end and selfish one-pass, or no-pass, basketball on the other end. Minnesota was simply getting outclassed in every category.

Wolves Head Coach Chris Finch certainly got into his team between halves.

Joan Beringer, who was playing meaningful minutes in basically the second game of his career, was called up to join the starters in lieu of Gobert and Reid in the second half. Boy, did he answer the call. The 19-year-0ld had a number of hustle plays to either score or save possessions on both ends. It could essentially be summed up by this offensive rebound where he was initially ruled out of bounds, but it was overturned upon review.

His energy seemed to change the entire momentum of the game. There was a moment where Edwards finished a tough layup and came up limping, immediately asking to get subbed out of the game due to a left knee issue. Despite that, the Wolves kept it pushing. McDaniels took control of the wheel with a flurry of game-changing plays. He somehow blocked a Wembanyama mid-range jumper, then later gave one to Stephon Castle as well.

Minnesota lost the second quarter 22 to 48, but won the third quarter 40 to 27.

There was still plenty of work to be done. Through all of their hard work, the Wolves still trailed by a dozen to start the final quarter. The momentum they built in the previous stanza was still pulsing. A McDaniels block. A Beringer block. Randle bully ball. It was a beautiful crescendo of a comeback that was capped off by a flurry of Edwards three pointers, each more and more video game-esque.

That’s right. An old fashioned duel was unfolding behind our very eyes between Edwards and Wembanyama.

The final minutes of the game was straight out of a Rocky movie. The two superstars hit each other with haymaker after haymaker. Last Sunday, it was Edwards that had the last word. This Saturday, it was Wembanyama. A go-ahead mid-range jumper was coupled with a block on Beringer in the final minute of play.

There was quite a bit of late game shenanigans, including Edwards pushing his point total to a new career high of 55, but his final half court heave was never online. It felt like a crushing defeat in the heat of the moment, considering the Wolves battled back from a franchise-tying 25-point deficit, but just couldn’t top the immovable object that is Victor Wembanyama.

When you zoom out and take a breath…

• They were on the tail end of a road-road, back-to-back.
• The opponent is one of the best teams in the entire league.
• They were fully healthy, while Minnesota was down both a Defensive Player of the Year candidate and Sixth Man of the Year candidate.
• We all got to witness the continued and impressive progress of the center of the future.
• The evolution of their two-way All-Defensive Team talent was on full display.
• The two All-NBA starters showed a ton of heart to engineer a late fourth quarter lead.

We got this.

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Box Score

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Comment of the Night

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Up Next

The Wolves get a couple days off as they travel to visit the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, January 20 at 8:00 pm CT. This will be the third matchup between the two teams, as Minnesota won both their prior contests. Surely, Jazz fans will be excited to welcome Rudy Gobert, and more importantly, Joe Ingles back to Delta Center if they’re available. The game will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network.

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Highlights

Anthony Edwards produced a career-high night for the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday. Still, it didn’t result in a successful outing as they suffered a 126-123 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on the road.

Edwards reached 54 points after nailing a 3-point shot in the corner to make it a one-point game with 9.8 seconds left in regulation. He added one more free throw and finished the game with 55 points, a new career high.

The Timberwolves star scored 26 points in the fourth quarter after scoring 29 points through the first three quarters of play.

Victor Wembanyama led the way for the Spurs with 39 points.

Anthony Edwards stats vs. San Antonio Spurs

• Points: 55
• FG: 19-for-33
• 3PT: 9-for-16
• Free Throws: 8-for-10
• Rebounds: 4
• Assists: 3
• Steals: 0
• Blocks: 0
• Turnovers: 2
• Fouls: 4
• Minutes: 40

Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves vs. Spurs highlights

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Anthony Edwards stats, points tonight, Timberwolves-Spurs highlights

STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Ilias Kamardine and AJ Storr scored 17 points apiece, Patton Pinkins made the go-ahead jumper with 18.8 seconds left, and Mississippi beat Mississippi State 68-67 on Saturday night for its third win in a row.

Malik Dia had eight points on 3-of-10 shooting and 11 rebounds for Ole Miss (11-7, 3-2 SEC).

Mississippi State (10-8 2-3) has lost three in a row despite having a double-digit lead in each of those games.

Jayden Epps led the Bulldogs with 14 points on 4-of-18 shooting. Jamarion Davis-Fleming made 6 of 8 from the field and finished 13 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Josh Hubbard, who went in averaging 22.8 points (No. 7 nationally), also scored 13 but made just 3 of 16 overall, 2 of 8 from 3, and 5 of 10 from the free-throw line.

Storr hit a step-back jumper that gave the Rebels a four-point lead with 1:16 to play before Hubbard answered 10 seconds later with a contested pull-up 3 from NBA range and then made two free throws with 34 seconds remaining to put Mississippi State up 67-66. Pinkins hit a baseline floater that capped the scoring.

Hubbard missed two free throws with 12 seconds left and, after Storr missed the front end of a 1-and-1, missed a potential winning layup before the buzzer.

Kamardine made a layup and James Scott followed with a two-hand dunk that gave Ole Miss its first lead of the game, 34-32, with 17:05 remaining.

The teams combined to make 7 of 47 (14.9%) from 3-point range in a game that featured 13 lead changes and seven ties, all in the second half.

Mississippi State is 152-121 against the Rebels in the 12th-most played rivalry in the history of college basketball.

Up next

Ole Miss: Hosts Auburn on Tuesday.

Mississippi State: Plays Wednesday at Texas A&M.

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Down by seven with just over a minute left, Karl-Anthony Towns had a wide-open three from the top of the key, a chance to cut the Knicks deficit to four and make it interesting. But he airballed. It was fitting, and the MSG crowd rained boos down on the court.

This is more than a rut. The Knicks — without Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart on Saturday — are beginning to spiral, as they fell 106-99 to the Suns at Madison Square Garden.

“You don’t ever want to have boos, but at the end of the day, the fans here are passionate and you respect and embrace their passion,” coach Mike Brown said. “But it hurts. It hurts the staff, it hurts the players.”

In a sign of just how poorly things are going for them at the moment, they went on a 16-0 run to go up by 10 points in the third quarter, but still managed to end the quarter down three. That’s because, after one of their best stretches in weeks, they let the Suns close the third quarter on a 13-0 run and undo all the good that they had done.

That’s the way it’s been recently for the Knicks. Too many bad moments outweighing anything positive.

Yes, they were short-handed without Brunson and Hart, both sidelined with right ankle injuries. But the Knicks had over $134 million in firepower on the court in Towns, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges. It’s hard to commit 17 turnovers and shoot as badly as the Knicks did, however, and win.

So the alarm bells only continue to ring louder and louder.

“A lot,” Towns said of the frustration level around the team. “I don’t like losing any games, so of course, for me, the concern is winning the next one. Just staying focused on the task at hand, winning games and giving our fans something to cheer for.”

It dropped them to 2-8 in their past 10 games and 7-10 since winning the NBA Cup. They’ve gone on a four-game and this current three-game losing streak since the in-season tournament.

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• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NBA STANDINGS AND KNICKS STATS

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It’s not just the dog days of the season. This is a prolonged stretch.

Devin Booker, returning after missing one game with his own ankle injury, hurt the Knicks with 27 points. Collin Gillespie made the Knicks dizzy in the fourth quarter – he scored eight in the period as the Suns pulled away.

And the Suns got strong production from their bench, Grayson Allen and Jordan Goodwin adding 16 and 13 points. In total, the Suns bench outscored the Knicks bench 39-14.

There has been so much talk recently about the lax Knicks defense. But it wasn’t the biggest problem on Saturday. They shot just 40 percent from the field on offense and had a nine-point disadvantage in points conceded off turnovers. It’s the fifth game since Jan. 1 they’ve scored 107 or fewer points. It’s the third time they’ve scored fewer than 100 in that stretch.

Towns, Anunoby and Miles McBride’s final numbers look OK — they finished with 23, 21 and 23 points, respectively. But they went quiet in the fourth quarter, during which the Knicks were outscored by four points.

“It’s a long season,” Anunoby said. “Anyone who’s been in the NBA a long time knows it goes like this. Especially, an 82-game season, there’s gonna be ups and downs. You just continue pushing.”

The Suns entered Sunday fourth in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game. Without Hart, the usual Knicks advantage on the glass went missing. During a five-minute stretch in the second quarter, the Suns grabbed four offensive rebounds and converted them into nine second-chance points. They finished with a four-point advantage in second-chance points.

“There’s concern there, but not to the point where we’re gonna overhaul everything,” Brown said. “We gotta work. We gotta look in the mirror, see how we can individually help the group, starting with me.”

The Knicks left the West Coast with Draymond Green taunting Towns as a lasting image. And now, they began a homestand with their own fans fed up with what they saw.

Title contender? Right now, the Knicks are way closer to the play-in than the top of the East.

Jalen Williams left the Oklahoma City Thunder's game against the Miami Heat in the first half with right thigh soreness, according to the team. He was subsequently officially ruled out for the rest of the game.

The Thunder had a 52-46 lead against the Heat with 5:39 left in the second quarter at the time of Williams' exit. He struggled to move down the court after he attempted to drive toward the basket with the ball and two defenders in front of him. He did not make the basket.

It was initially thought that Williams injured his hamstring as he limped back to the locker room. It remains unclear if he will miss any upcoming games.

Williams finished with eight points, three rebounds and three assists in 14 minutes of play on Saturday night. He shot 3-for-5 from the field and was 2-for-2 from the 3-point line.

Williams has already been a regular name on the OKC injury report, having missed the first 19 games of the season after recovering from wrist surgery.

Jalen Williams' 2025-26 season stats

Williams has averaged 17.2 points, 5.7 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game in 23 games played.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jalen Williams injury update, what we know about Thunder star