Category: NBA

What a way to start the season. With so much hype and expectation building for the 2026-27 Sixers, a strong opening to the year was needed to meet it. After beating the Knicks in the season opener and pulling off a 29-point comeback to defeat the Cavaliers (the biggest comeback of LeBron James’s career), the Sixers have done just that.

To turn the tide in Thursday’s home opener, the Sixers dialled everything up in the second half. After a sloppy first half with weaker defense, cool shooting and only seven assists to 15 turnovers, the second half was a different story entirely. In the final two quarters, they locked in with far more cohesive and intense defense, tallied 17 assists to a mere two turnovers, and put together a highly balanced attack led by their big four to secure the win. And to pull that off in today’s NBA while shooting just 7-of-28 from three for the game? That’s almost even more impressive.

It was an early look at what this team can be capable of. Let alone in a few months once they’ve really started strengthening their chemistry.

And finally… relive the first half lows and second half highs of the Sixers comeback victory tonight vs. Cavs.

From down 29 to a 8-point victory, it took a little something from everyone — LeBron, Maxey, Embiid, Brown and VJ — to get the W tonight. Full highlights here! 📽️ pic.twitter.com/XTKqu7vD6K

— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) October 23, 2026

Next up, on Saturday night, the Sixers are going against a team further down the Eastern Conference picture as they take on the Bucks.

Dominick Barlow (back) and Tacko Fall (quad) are both still out, and Dean Wade remains questionable with an ankle sprain. LeBron, however, has been added to the injury report as questionable with back management.

Milwaukee don’t exactly have such an exciting outlook for the new season. Giannis Antetokounmpo is gone. After plenty of rumors and debate over where he may end up if he wanted to leave Milwaukee, the Bucks traded Giannis to the Heat for Tyler Herro, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nate Ament, Kasparas Jakucionis, Kel’el Ware and a host of picks.

Herro has improved his scoring efficiency by a fair margin over the previous two seasons (recording a true shooting percentage over 60 in each, way above his previous career-high of 56.6) and can be a microwave scorer at his best. He’s also coming off a 34-point outing against the Bulls. Sixth Man of the Year runner-up Jaquez Jr. is a quality do-a-bit-of-everything player, but it’s still not the most exciting return in talent for a player of Giannis’s caliber. They’re two of the main threats for the Sixers to worry about on Saturday, though. It’ll be fun to see if Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe can continue their strong defensive start to the season by covering Herro’s driving and three-point creation effectively. Meanwhile, the Sixers’ forwards main tasks will be to cover Jaquez and Kyle Kuzma. If Wade, a terrific defender when available, does play, it’ll be a big help to have his defensive versatility at the 4 in the likely absence of James.

Myles Turner presents some challenges at center with his size, decent pick-and-pop play and talent as a rim protector. But if Joel Embiid continues the form and mobility he’s shown so far, he should more than be up for the task. Especially as he doesn’t need to come close to carrying the offense now.

Just three HUGE buckets from Joel Embiid here in Q4 for the Sixers to take their first lead of the night pic.twitter.com/wKHptf8o92

— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) October 23, 2026

As the Bucks opened their season with a loss to the Wizards and followed it up with a 132-125 loss to the Bulls on Friday, it’s felt like a sign of things to come. Giannis anchored the team at both ends of the floor and that obviously can’t be replaced. They already dropped off to a 32-50 record last season as Giannis only played in 36 games, and now they’re in for an even harder time. Watching their former MVP drop 35 points in his debut with the Heats had to rub some salt in the wound, too.

For Saturday night, this should be a win for the Sixers. The massive edge in talent alone should be enough to make this contest manageable and a good opportunity to continue building chemistry, even if LeBron gets some rest. While there have been cooler stretches (mainly the rough first half against Cleveland), the Sixers’ offense has looked brilliant at times.

They’ve utilised the strengths of each player, used the pull of Maxey and Jaylen Brown’s three-point shooting to free up space inside for cutters and rollers, showed fluid ball movement, scary transition potential, and dynamic new pick-and-roll combos already. They’ve been sharing the wealth effectively, too. Maxey is leading the way at an impressive 30.0 points per game, while LeBron (15.5 points), Brown (20.0 points) and Embiid (18.5 points) are all averaging a solid amount as well.

With the Bucks also playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Sixers really have an upper hand. If Embiid is going to take his turn to rest at the end of Philly’s upcoming back-to-back, when they face a much harder test against Detroit on Sunday, the Sixers could do with taking advantage of that upper hand against Milwaukee.

Game Details

When: Saturday, October 24, 7:30 pm ET
Where: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA
Watch: NBC, NBA TV
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Follow: @LibertyBallers

You don’t like Luka Doncic’s attitude.

I love it.

You think the Lakers star whines too much. All the complaining to officials kills you. If there was a suggestion box, you’d follow Golden State Warriors rookie Yaxel Lendeborg and lodge a complaint.

You do whatever you want; I’m not offended by any of it.

You are not entertained. You don’t like the demonstrative way he waves off calls. You hate how he’ll belabor a point for possessions at a time — as he did, per usual, in Friday’s not-particularly-pretty 125-117 victory over the Clippers at Crypto.com Arena. The Lakers improved to 2-0 and Doncic had 23 points, six rebounds, seven assists and, if you’re looking to complain, a career high-tying 11 turnovers.

But me? I am entertained — endlessly. As long as Luka’s list of grievances is long.

Read more:Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler lead Lakers past the Clippers

Because Doncic is a maniac. Not a mad man, a madman. And a reminder that these millionaires are playing a child’s game, because no one relishes it with quite the joy and verve and passion and emotion and occasional tantrum like Doncic does.

He’s someone who arrived onstage, talented beyond his years. He’s also a toddler.

He couldn’t change if he wanted to, but would you really want him to?

There’s no slicing and dicing without a sufficiently sharp edge.

And I get it. Opposing fans — and their teams’ general managers, whose preseason survey answers about this season’s prospective MVP candidates excluded Doncic in favor of Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokić, Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jayson Tatum — are not supposed to appreciate Luka’s lip.

But if you’re a Lakers fan, you have to know you can’t take out the trash talk from Doncic’s game. You can’t ask him nicely to clean up his mess, man. Petty isn’t going to be pretty. And everyone can get it — including, once, the reporters on press row covering Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks. “You can’t guard me!” he screamed at us, ridiculously.

You have to let him cook, your very own basketball anarchist.

“He’s always going to play with an edge,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “As long as he’s not causing the other team to have a five-on-four transition opportunity, it doesn’t bother me.”

And if he’s not toeing the line on a late-season suspension triggered by a 16th technical foul, his antics probably wouldn’t bother Lakers fans, either.

“This season, I’m trying to not get techs,” Doncic said after Wednesday’s season-opening victory against the Warriors, when he and Lendeborg mixed it up. “It was the first time that was not a double tech, ’cause I didn’t say nothing. So I’m working on it.”

It isn’t that Doncic busies himself with the refs because he’s lazy and doesn’t want to get back on defense — do you know how much stamina it takes to keep up a marathon-length running dialogue? How exhausting it has to be to litigate every little thing, to be so constantly aggrieved?

Read more:How the Lakers' Luka Doncic went from 'Wonder Boy' to 'The Man'

It’s a special part of his special skillset; put him in the top 1% in the world of complainers. If he wasn’t one of the world’s top 1% of hoopers, imagine him in court instead of on the court; he’d be a bulldog: Objection! Objection! Objection!

The man is a rascal, but he’s not a villain. Everything he does is with a wink-wink twinkle in his eye.

He never shuts up on the court, but he’s a man of few words off of it, low-key and community-minded and in the top 1% of patient autograph-givers. A generous teammate to whom good vibes matter much.

But he’s an absolute menace to compete against and, yes, to officiate.

So, kids, don’t try this at home. At least not during a basketball game. Don’t show that energy to the refs, who deserve your respect. As do your teachers and your coaches and your parents or guardians.

But do keep that energy. You’re not going to get what you want in life unless you advocate — agitate — for it. Put pressure on powers that be. Ask for explanations — demand them. Because it’s true, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Read more:Walker Kessler's Lakers debut couldn't have gone much better

Being pushy works, even if it won’t win you popularity contests. The GMs left Doncic off their predictive MVP list for a reason. He finished fourth in MVP voting last season and has never been higher than third in his eight NBA seasons.

That’s largely a reflection of where the Lakers placed last season — fourth. And where they’re expected to finish this season; there are 12 teams with better odds to win the title, according to DraftKings.

But it probably has more to do with voters’ appetite for discussion, the type of heated debate that offends the sensibilities of so many — even though that mayhem is a crucial ingredient of Luka’s magic. Just sit back and relax. Enjoy the show.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things Lakers.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

With this being the second night of a back-to-back, you know the drill. This preview is being written before tip-off between the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs. It’s also being written before the Atlanta Hawks take on the Charlotte Bobcats in North Carolina. So if anything weird happens in those games and I’m not mentioning it, well you know the reason now.

So as previously stated, both teams will be playing the SEGABABA. Then they will both fly to Houston to play each other again on Monday night at the Toyota Center.

Generally these home-and-away series are split. The team that loses the first game comes out more motivated to win the second one. It’s only when the talent gap is large or it’s late in the season and one team needs both games that you usually see the 2-0 sweep. That’s not the case here. Both the Rockets and Hawks have dreams about making deep playoff runs. Atlanta gave the eventual champion New York Knicks their toughest test last season. They added Aaron Wiggins and Lu Dort from Oklahoma City, and they drafted UH guard Kingston Flemings.

Atlanta is still a nightmare to deal with defensively. Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu each had defensive win shares over 2.5. That helps to make up for C.J. McCollum, who is their closer and undisputed alpha dog in the clutch.

The Hawks are sort of the platonic ideal of what Ime Udoka wants: rangy wings, solid rim protection, and an alpha on offense who can create shots for themselves when the nonexistent offense continues…not existing. The Hawks don’t have a true point guard, which is maybe the only thing Ime would demand. Well, that and Magic City Night, potentially.

Tip-off

7:30pm CT

How To Watch

Space City Home Network

Injury Report

Rockets

Steven Adams: GTD

Reed Sheppard: GTD

Fred VanVleet: probably out?

Hawks

Mo Gueye: OUT

The Line (as of this post)

N/A

Check here for updates

Schedule Advantage Counter

Rockets: 0

Opponents: 1

Looking ahead because we can

Monday night in Houston against the Hawks

If Steph Curry being out was a huge blow to the Golden State Warriors’ chances of notching their first win of the season, the announcement of Brandin Podziemski also being out on the second night of a back-to-back slate against the Phoenix Suns may have been the final nail in the proverbial coffin.

Brandin Podziemski said he will not play tomorrow in Phoenix. So it sounds like the already depleted Warriors will also be without Steph Curry and Podziemski against the Suns. He missed the opener with a tweaked back.

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 24, 2026

Podziemski missed the season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers due to a lower back strain. This move is most likely precautionary in order to prevent him from re-straining his back.

Podziemski arguably was the best player against the Memphis Grizzlies, scoring 18 points and being at the center of a couple of key plays on offense and defense. However, it wasn’t enough to stave off a furious rally from a 12-point deficit with just over three minutes left in the fourth quarter.

It hasn’t been the easiest start of the season for the Spurs. They opened with a loss against the Thunder and faced the Rockets in their second matchup in Austin, where the atmosphere wasn’t the same as a typical home game against a Texas-based rival. Houston was ahead for most of the night, but it came down to the wire, with Amen Thompson meeting Victor Wembanyama at the rim and erasing the layup that would have sent the game to overtime.

The Silver and Black are now 0-2, but fortunately, the schedule gets a little easier for them over the next few days. On Saturday, they are slated to face a solid but shorthanded Mavericks team that destroyed the Pacers on Friday but will likely be without Cooper Flagg, who suffered a shoulder injury. Coach Dusty May said Flagg would be evaluated “in the next couple of days,” so it’s safe to assume that he will not be able to suit up for the second game of a back-to-back.

Even if Flagg had not gotten hurt, the Spurs would have been considered the favorites, despite their slow start. The losses have not been pretty, for different reasons, but the quality of the opponents has to be taken into account. While Dallas could absolutely make the playoffs in the crowded West if things go right, they are not a contender and have some weak points that San Antonio could take advantage of, with the right game plan.

The Spurs need the win and should come out looking to put the Mavs away quickly on their second game in as many nights. If the urgency and the execution are there, they should get the first W of the year.

San Antonio Spurs (0-2) at Dallas Mavericks (1-1)

October 24, 2026 | 8p.m. CT
Watch: DAZN | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)

Spurs Injuries: (subject to change because of the back-to-back) Tobias Harris, calf (OUT), Jayden Quaintance, (OUT).

Mavericks Injuries: (subject to change because of the back-to-back) Santi Aldama (knee) OUT, Tarik Biberović (foot) OUT, Dereck Lively II (foot) OUT, Caleb Martin (thumb), Cooper Flagg (shoulder) OUT.

What to watch for

Stop Kyrie Irving and the win should be in the bag. With Flagg almost certainly out, the Mavericks will have to rely on Irving to do most of the scoring. The veteran guard was up to the task against Indiana, dropping 24 points in 25 minutes in a blowout win. The Pacers, however, don’t have as many great perimeter defenders to throw at him as San Antonio does, or a 7’4” monster waiting under the rim. On paper, the Silver and Black should be able to keep Irving from going off and forcing others to step up.

The problem is, Irving tends to go big against the Spurs. He averages over 22 points and five assists when facing San Antonio for his career, according to StatMuse, and once dropped 57 points against them, the second-highest mark of his career. Granted, it has been over a decade since that nuclear performance, but no one should doubt Kyrie’s ability to have big nights. It will be on his defenders to keep him in check while not overhelping and leaving role players open.

The table is set for an MVP-level performance from Wembanyama. The Mavericks are not pushovers, as they have the length to be disruptive on defense and a few strong offensive players. They are, however, missing Dereck Lively, which leaves them a little thin at center. Daniel Gafford is a solid starter and Morez Johnson was a great defender in college, but those two should have their hands full trying to stop The Alien. The Mavs will surely send help or might play Naji Marshall or P.J. Washington on Wemby, but he could still shine.

And he needs that. Wembanyama doesn’t have to prove he’s a superstar, but after struggling from the field in the season opener and having the would-be game-tying layup blocked in the matchup against the Rockets, he might want to have one of those completely dominant nights he’s proved able to have to stop any silly narratives before they spread. Expecting a repeat of last season’s opener in Dallas, in which he dropped 40 points and 15 rebounds, might be too optimistic, but he doesn’t have to get those numbers to get his first statement game of the year and lead the Spurs to their first win.

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If you’d like to, you may follow along with the game on our Twitter profile (@poundingtherock) or visit our Game Thread!

Well, the Golden State Warriors wasted no time disappointing us all. After getting blown out in their season opener on Wednesday, the Dubs had their home opener on Friday against the Memphis Grizzlies … and blew a 12-point lead with less than four minutes remaining, as they ceded a 17-0 run late in the fourth quarter en route to a 111-108 loss.

Ugly. No other word for it. Except maybe “inexcusable.”

And so, for the second time this year, it’s time to break out the red pen … and with it, a whole lot of negativity. As always, grades are based on my expectations for each player, with a “B” grade representing the average performance for that player.

Note: True-shooting percentage (TS) is a scoring efficiency metric that accounts for threes and free throws. Last year, league-average TS was 58.1%.

Yaxel Lendeborg

38 minutes, 18 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 6 turnovers, 3 fouls, 4-for-11 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 9-for-12 free throws, 55.3% TS, -9

At this point in a rookie season, performance is more about providing optimism for the future than judging one’s value provided in the present. Which plays in Lendeborg’s favor, because this was an extremely encouraging game for June’s No. 11 pick … but an up-and-down game in terms of current value.

You can see why Draymond Green anointed Lendeborg the next face of the franchise. It was an extremely Draymondian game: Yaxel played strong defense, dished out assists, violently attacked the glass, played with swagger and attitude, and attacked the hoop when the defense allowed it.

He also picked up another technical foul, giving him two in as many games to start his career. If Dray could design a player in the lab, it just might be Lendeborg.

This game was a sign of what to watch for this year. Are the Warriors going to be good? Unlikely. Are they going to be worth watching? Well, Lendeborg played 38 minutes, and he was a joy to watch. So there’s one reason to turn on the TV.

The turnovers and fouls were, I don’t want to say concerning, but a reminder of the learning curve that Lendeborg has to work with. But the rebounds and the craftiness with which he scored? Reasons to love the rookie already.

Grade: B+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in rebounds, tied for the team lead in assists.

Draymond Green

31 minutes, 5 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 block, 5 turnovers, 5 fouls, 2-for-4 shooting, 1-for-2 threes, 62.5% TS, -5

Green played well in the early going. He looked for his shot early and scored a few times, and did a phenomenal job initiating the offense.

But as the game wore on, it got ugly. After such a careful preseason, he was a turnover and foul machine in this game. The two-man game with Steph Curry was shocking ineffective. He picked up a technical foul in the second quarter, and then spent the rest of the game daring the officials to give him a second — and an accompanying ejection — and was beyond lucky that they didn’t follow through with it. And in the final seconds, with the ball in Curry’s hand and a chance to tie or take the lead, Green got called for a moving screen, effectively ending the game. And while Steve Kerr went ballistic over the call — and picked up a tech himself, which really did end any chances of winning the game — it was pretty clearly the right whistle.

Just an undisciplined game from someone who the Warriors rely on to be much better.

Grade: D+
Post-game bonus: Tied for the team lead in assists.

Graham Ike

12 minutes, 10 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 3 fouls, 4-for-7 shooting, 2-for-2 threes, 71.4% TS, -16

In just his second career game, Ike — an undrafted rookie — got the start. He played pretty impressively, I thought. He wasn’t quick to shoot, as he was looking to set up teammates and run the system, but when he was left open he shot, and more often than not his shots went in. His passing was really impressive for a young center, and while he picked up a lot of fouls, as rookies are inclined to do, I liked what I saw from him on the defensive end.

It sure looks like Ike is going to end up playing a big role this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets converted to a standard contract at some point.

Grade: A-

Brandin Podziemski

33 minutes, 18 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block, 4 turnovers, 3 fouls, 7-for-17 shooting, 2-for-8 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 50.3% TS, 0 +/-

After playing all 82 games a year ago, Podziemski had to wait until the second game of the season to see the court. And while it was far from a flawless game, I thought he was a lot better than the box score suggests. It really looks to me like Podziemski is primed for a fourth-year breakout. He looked so balanced and patient on offense, as he waited for plays to develop. It really seems as though the game has slowed down for him.

Extra props to Podz for taking a huge hit to the face, heading to the locker room, and still returning to play the rest of the game.

Grade: B+

Steph Curry

30 minutes, 24 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 fouls, 5-for-15 shooting, 3-for-10 threes, 11-for-11 free throws, 60.5% TS, -4

Well … kind of just a game, for Curry. He’s one of the greatest players in NBA history, so his “just a games” are still pretty good. 24 points on above-average efficiency? Good! Four assists with no turnovers? Good!

But it still didn’t really feel like a true Curry game out there. He had a slow start, and while he exploded in the third quarter, he had nothing to offer in the fourth when the game was on the line. The Dubs did a lot to turn a deficit into a lead while Curry was on the pine, and then they did a lot to throw it all away when he came back in the game.

Was that his fault? No, but it wasn’t something he was able to stop, either. The Warriors were held scoreless for nearly four minutes to end the game — save for a pair of Lendeborg free throws with less than a second remaining, and the game decided — and they simply need more from Curry in those moments.

Grade: C+
Post-game bonus: Led the team in points.

Will Richard

3 minutes, 0 points, 1 steal, 0-for-1 shooting, 0.0% TS, +5

It appears that, for the time being, Richard is out of the rotation. He only played during the brief period where Podziemski had to be removed from the game due to injury. He played well in those minutes, but it was a short stint.

Grade: Incomplete

Georges Niang

13 minutes,4 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 1 foul, 2-for-5 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, 40.0% TS, +5

All I’ll say is that Niang deserves a better team than this. He can’t carry a bad team and make them good, but he makes the type of winning plays that show up huge for winning squads. So many little plays that just help the team. I loved what I saw from him out there in all phases of the game, even if the stats are pedestrian.

Grade: B+

Gary Payton II

11 minutes, 7 points, 2 rebounds, 1 turnover, 3 fouls, 3-for-6 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 58.3% TS, +6

Pretty solid minutes from GPII. Kind of similar to what I said about Niang: he makes winning plays that don’t necessarily get highlighted on a team struggling to win games, but really show up when on a quality team. He did a good job as the stopper on the red-hot Ty Jerome, which is a … a sentence.

Grade: B

Gui Santos

20 minutes, 5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 fouls, 1-for-3 shooting, 1-for-1 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 64.4% TS, +14

Kerr has been pretty open to the idea of Santos being a starter, but it sure feels like this is the role for him: coming off the bench, giving the team a boost of energy, and helping out all over the court, especially against the opposing team’s second unit. This was just a really good game for Gui: he played strong defense, made hustle plays throughout, kept the offense humming with passes and shots, and attacked the glass. Good stuff.

Grade: A-
Post-game bonus: Best plus/minus on the team

De’Anthony Melton

20 minutes, 10 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 block, 2 fouls, 4-for-6 shooting, 2-for-3 threes, 83.3% TS, -17

Melton played so much better in the second game of the season than he did in the first, but there were still some holes in his performance. His defense looks really rough right now, and he’s not really setting people up the way we’ve come to expect. His offense was a much-needed boost, and the Dubs will have to rely on that all year long, but the rest of his game still looks a little bit like it’s in preseason mode.

Grade: B-
Post-game bonus: Worst plus/minus on the team

Brandon Williams

9 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 1 foul, 1-for-5 shooting, 0-for-3 threes, 2-for-2 free throws, 34.0% TS, +8

Williams didn’t play well, but I’m still a little confused as to why he played fewer than 10 minutes. He can be an offensive spark plug, though he’s not a good enough shooter to rely so heavily on his outside shot. He needs to be attacking the rim relentlessly.

Grade: C-

Al Horford

19 minutes, 3 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1-for-3 shooting, 1-for-3 threes, 50.0% TS, -2

A solid, if not particularly noteworthy game for Horford. He protected the paint, with a nice amount of blocks and rebounds for his minutes total, while not making any mistakes, and dropping in a three. Just played solid basketball.

Grade: B-

Friday’s DNP-CDs: LJ Cryer, Malevy Leons

Friday’s inactives: Charles Bassey, Jimmy Butler III, Moses Moody, Kristaps Porziņģis

SAN FRANCISCO — Brandin Podziemski converted a contested layup, Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo called timeout and the Warriors’ fourth-year guard amped up the crowd as he retreated to his bench.

Podziemski’s bucket put Golden State up 11 with 5:19 to play, and De’Anthony Melton drained a 3 96 seconds later to extend the lead to a dozen with less than 4 minutes left in regulation.

Then, in the words of Steph Curry, “pretty much everything went wrong.”

Curry and the rest of the Warriors were still processing their epic fourth-quarter collapse Friday night as they boarded the bus to take them to the airport. Golden State missed its final nine attempts from the field, allowed the Grizzlies to mount a 17-0 run and treated 18,064 fans to a devastating 111-108 loss in its first game inside Chase Center this season.

“There’s losses,” Curry said, “and there’s ways that you lose like tonight that sting a little bit more.”

In less than 24 hours, the Warriors will have to do it all again in Phoenix, still in search of their first win. 

And will likely have to do so without Curry, who said he will “probably not” suit up against the Suns in the second half of the first back-to-back of the season as the Warriors try to manage his workload.

Podziemski, who missed their season opener after tweaking his back and left briefly after taking a hard fall in the first quarter, also said he will sit out the back end of the back-to-back.

Golden State will have to find a way to beat the Suns without its two leading scorers, lest risk getting off to its worst start since losing the first six games of the 2007-08 season. Curry led the way with 24 points, but it was Podziemski who took the most shots (17) while matching Yaxel Lendeborg with 18.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” Curry said, “considering we played really solid, especially in that second half, to give ourselves a lead and be in control of the game for as long as we did.”

The Warriors fell behind by as many as 13 points in the first half as they struggled to manufacture offense without Curry or to contain Grizzlies rookie Cameron Boozer, who outclassed Lendeborg in the first NBA clash of the former college rivals and first-round picks.

The last of Boozer’s 25 points came on a spinning shot in the lane over Podziemski with 20 seconds to play that gave the Grizzlies their first lead since late in the third quarter, 108-106. On the Warriors’ ensuing trip down the floor, Draymond Green was called for an illegal screen — his third of the game — and Ty Jerome was able to drive uncontested for a layup to finish off his 28-point night as the Warriors’ collapse.

Kerr was given a technical for arguing Green’s illegal screen on Jerome that gave up the ball on the Warriors’ final possession. Kerr said it was a “shocking” call by the referees.

“We probably had six illegal screens tonight, and those were really tough because the flopping that was happening on every single one,” he said. “[It] looked like guys were going down like they’ve been hit by a car or something. …

“All those illegal screens really hurt us.”

A few possessions earlier, Podziemski and Melton collided while going after a loose ball that Podziemski had poked free. It ended up in the hands of a Memphis player.

It was, as Kerr said, one of “like eight different things [that] had to happen.”

“I think if any one of those eight doesn’t happen, we win the game. It was just an avalanche.”

After their 127-105 loss to the Lakers on opening night, the Warriors are 0-2 for the first time since 2020-21. That’s two games with a healthy Curry they won’t get back.

“Everybody says there’s another game tomorrow,” Curry said. “But the idea of how important every game is for us … and the fact that we gave one away like this, you might lose a little sleep over it.”

Kerr, however, took a more measured stance.

“There’s 80 [more] games. We’ve lost a couple. We’ll bounce back,” he said. “You don’t think, ‘Does this sting more than any other game?’ You just move on.”

LOS ANGELES — As Walker Kessler gazed up and down the box score at the podium in the middle of his postgame presserfollowing the Los Angeles Lakers’ 125-117 win over the crosstown Clippers, something caught his attention and stopped him mid-answer.

“Oh geez,” he said, “we had a lot of steals, man. That’s crazy.”

Kessler has been everything the Lakers hoped so far, including anchoring a defense that nabbed 13 steals on Friday, three of those from him. It’s been two games and Kessler has already made his statistical mark on the storied Los Angeles franchise.

In his debut against the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, he became the first Laker since Wilt Chamberlain to shoot 12-for-12 from the field in a game, making it the second-best shooting performance in franchise history. Two days later, he became the eighth Laker to ever record six blocks and three steals in a game, according to Stathead.

Walker Kessler is the 8th Laker in history to record 6 blocks and 3 steals in a game, according to @Stathead.

He joins:
Kareem (7 times)
Anthony Davis (3)
Elmore Smith (3)
Shaq (1)
Wilt (1)
Vlade Divac (1)
Elden Campbell (1)

— Connor Moreno (@cmorenoNBA) October 24, 2026

Of course, in his rim-protecting nature, he deflected the opportunity to recognize himself among some of the best players to ever play for the Lakers… by turning the compliment on them.

“I mean, it’s definitely an honor,” Kessler said of the stat. “It’s kind of crazy that there have been seven guys who have done it before. But, I know there’s some absolute legends in the Lakers franchise — definitely an honor.”

The presumed-lowly Clippers scored 64 points in the first half, matching the Lakers and holding onto the lead for much of it. There was potential for the game to get completely out of LAL’s hands if it weren’t for Kessler’s floor-raising defensive ability.

The Clippers were getting whatever they wanted in the non-Kessler minutes. Brook Lopez made eight of his first nine shots in the first half, feasting on the heavy-stepped Kevon Looney and undersized Sandro Mamukelashvili.

But out of the locker room, things changed, in part thanks to Kessler.

“That third quarter, I don’t know what his stats ended up being, it just felt like Walker was everywhere in that third,” JJ Redick said postgame. “[He] really was a huge spark for us getting this win. … There were multiple times [in the game] where it felt like they had a layup and he either came over and blocked the shot or created an altered shot.”

A pivotal moment in the third quarter came with 4:30 left and the Lakers up 86-76, amidst a 9-0 run, where Clippers guard Darius Garland drove by Luka Dončić and drew help from Quentin Grimes before dumping it off to Derrick Jones Jr. in the dunker spot. Jones Jr. elevated above Dončić and Grimes, sure he had an easy bucket, only to get his shot swatted off the glass by Kessler.

The Lakers corralled the rebound and Austin Reaves hit an above-the-break 3-pointer, adding to what was a stellar offensive night, totaling 28 points and nine assists on 10-for-13 shooting.

Kessler was just as dominant on the offensive end, his 22 points on 10-for-14 from the field — yes, he’s capable of missing shots — brings his two-game season total to 48 points on 84.6% shooting. Between the dunks he gets rolling to the basket, rim running in transition or following up a missed shot, the 25-year-old is getting some of the easiest buckets of his life.

And yet, his defense is what is lifting the Lakers in these games.

“He’s a fantastic basketball player,” Redick continued on Kessler, “And I think he’ll continue to get better. That was one of the reasons that we wanted him and he was so appealing to us, it was because of his age and feeling like the fit with our two stars was really good.

“Someone that can continue to grow and become just a fantastic player in the NBA.”

SAN FRANCISCO ― The Golden State Warriors collapsed against the Memphis Grizzlies in the final three minutes Friday night. Memphis closed on a 17-2 run and won 111-108 at the Chase Center.

Coming off a blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Warriors looked like a team itching for home cooking. Golden State was welcomed by a sellout crowd in its home opener. The roaring crowd was ecstatic for the return of Warriors basketball, but instead they really got the return of former Warriors guard Ty Jerome, who finished with a game-high 28 points.

The game had a bizarre ending after Grizzlies rookie Cameron Boozer hit the go-ahead field goal with 19.7 seconds left. Warriors guard Stephen Curry answered right back with a fadeaway 3-pointer. However, it was waved off after an illegal screen was called on Draymond Green.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was furious with the call and was assessed a technical foul as the Grizzlies sealed the deal.

"I thought we had a couple of bad breaks," Kerr said. "We probably had six illegal screens tonight. Those were really tough because the flopping that was happening on every single one. It looked like guys were going down like they'd been hit by a car or something. It's difficult when you're setting a screen and you see that and the refs are calling it over and over."

The Warriors were led by Curry's 24 points. He didn't shoot it particularly well, going 5-of-15 from the field, but he connected on all 11 free throws on Friday night.

"Missed a bunch of shots," Curry said. "Pretty good possessions for the most part, obviously there was a lot of 3s. Ball bounced their way, a couple of tough calls, a couple of tough offensive rebounds. I fouled a 3-point shooter. Breakdown down the stretch to give Ty (Jerome) an open look."

"So, pretty much everything went wrong," he added. "It's a tough pill to swallow considering we played really solid, especially in that second half to give ourselves a lead and be in control of the game for as long as we did."

GRIZZLIES 17-0 RUN IN THE 4TH AND STUN WARRIORS AT HOME 😳

Cam Boozer and Ty Jerome making an IMPACT in Memphis! pic.twitter.com/r3yMZmVqHJ

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 24, 2026

Brandin Podziemski started after missing the season opener with a sore back. He scored 18 points against Memphis. There's an underlying expectation that Podziemski will become a player the Warriors can lean on for production, especially after signing a five-year, $110 million contract extension just before the season started.

"I don't think the contract necessarily means anything. I think the contract just states they paid you for what you've done and what you're good at," Podziemski told reporters. "For me I just try to go out there and continue to do those things that I know I'm good at. Obviously there's more opportunity now with the roster structure, with injuries and stuff, but I don't look at it as I need to do more or anything like that. I just do what's asked of me."

The Warriors were down practically the entire first half but played a spirited third quarter where they outscored Memphis 34-24.

"I thought we competed like crazy that second half," Kerr said after the game. "I thought it was really inspiring watching our guys play. But you have to close games in this league and we didn't do it."

The Warriors have a back-to-back. They go on the road to face the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, Oct. 24.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Warriors 0-2 after stunning fourth-quarter collapse against Grizzlies

A packed sports weekend in Austin tipped off Friday night with the San Antonio Spurs delivering a stronger overall performance but falling short in a 114–110 loss to the Houston Rockets at Moody Center. The gave the Spurs their second straight loss after they fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder in their season opener on Tuesday.

“We haven’t been sharp, so I really commend the group tonight. I thought our competitiveness and our effort was A-plus,” Spurs Head Coach Mitch Johnson said after the game. “It was good to see that our habits had improved since game one. But we have to keep putting the energy into that stuff.”

Victor Wembanyama rebounded from a poor outing on Tuesday to score 25 points on 9-21 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds, and two blocks. With San Antonio trailing by two, the Spurs called timeout to draw up the last play. De’Aaron Fox found Wemby inside, but as he turned to shoot, Amen Thompson made a game-sealing block to win the game for Houston.

De’Aaron Fox continues to look healthy as ever since arriving in San Antonio, finishing with 19 points, nine assists, and two steals. Dylan Harper turned it on in the second half as he scored 20 points on 53 percent shooting. Stephon Castle added 15 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.

“I feel like we have a lot of lapses on defense. I raise my hand to that. I feel like I, and the team, we’ve all got to get better,” Harper said.

After the game, Wembanyama was asked if he would do anything different on that final shot.

“I would have dunked,” he replied.

San Antonio had no answer for Alperen Sengun, who finished with 29 points and seven rebounds while shooting 50 percent from the floor. Coach Johnson threw everyone from Wemby to Luke Kornet, but the Turkish center was on a mission and could not be stopped. Kevin Durant and Thompson each added 20 for the Rockets, who improved to 2-0 to start the young season.

Still, despite the winless start to the season for the Spurs, they still remain confident.

“As the season goes on, we’re going to get more comfortable playing with different lineups that are out there. And I feel like when we get deeper in the season, I think we’re going to look like a completely different team,“ Harper said.

Game Notes

• Victor Wembanyama may have rebounded from a poor season opener, but there is something still off about his start to the season. He is shooting 10-for-34 through two games, including 2-for-10 (20%) from three-point range. After his postseason last season, I was expect better from him to begin the new campaign.
• While fans may question the three-guard lineup, it is proving to be successful. It was the biggest positive factor in Tuesday’s loss for the Spurs, and Friday saw Harper, Fox, and Castle combine for 54 points.
• Luke Kornet has had his struggles to start the season, which is a cause for some caution. He has not looked the same since the Western Conference Finals.
• No Cooper Flagg for the Mavericks tomorrow. This might be the best chance for San Antonio to get a win on the opening week.

How a small Philly production company brought the Sixers' hype to life originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

When a sports team is starting one of the most anticipated seasons in franchise history, it needs a hype video that does it justice.

On Tuesday morning, Sixers fans woke up to the team’s 2026 hype video on social media. NBA tip-off was that night, and LeBron James was set to make his Sixers debut. 

The video was a huge hit, with more than 1.25 million views on Instagram and X alone. But the Sixers didn’t ask just any corporation to help piece it together. When outsourcing the project, the team wanted a local production company. 

Enter JTWO Films.

#throwtheballuppic.twitter.com/puzRmnpXZW

— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) October 20, 2026

JTWO Films is a small production company based in Old City, and it started over a couple of beers shortly after the 2008 recession. Co-founders Justin Jarrett and Travis Capacete, who both worked in sports production at the time, decided that instead of continuing to look for production assistant jobs in New York or Los Angeles, they’d start their own company. 

Fast-forward nearly two decades later, they’ve built a small empire and have now launched their most recent of several projects in collaboration with the major Philadelphia sports teams. It’s as Philly an origin story can get.

“Anytime we get to collaborate with a pro sports team, especially one like the Sixers in our backyard, it’s absolutely incredible because we’re all fans here,” co-founder Jarrett said. “It’s kind of like playing in the most fun sandbox you could play in creatively.”

JTWO has worked with the Sixers before, when they produced the visual effects for the team’s 2024-2025 in-arena hype video. This year’s project begame production about two weeks before the regular season.

The Sixers asked JTWO to help piece together a short hype reel that embodies what this Sixers season is all about. The footage outlines themes of community, grit and sports – three major pillars of the City of Brotherly Love. The best part? The Sixers gave JTWO full creative freedom.

“The Sixers are super collaborative,” Jarrett said. “They reached out to us and said these are the types of things we want to capture, but you guys have creative freedom to run wild within that space. So we basically started tracking down fans in all parts of the city because we wanted to represent every corner of the city.”

One of JTWO’s various film sites took place in West Philadelphia at the Rufus Williams Basketball Court, a place of vast significance to the community. In June 2025, the Sixers collaborated with Penn Medicine to renovate the community court and hosted an event for the neighborhood with Allen Iverson. This year, members of that same community got to play a role in a symbolic representation of the Sixers fan experience.

Jarrett put a lot of thought behind creative decisions he and his crew made when filming. 

“We were shooting on both digital and 8-millimeter Kodak film stock to give it a raw and very silly vibe to it. We tried to put our own little spin on it by making it a little gritty, handheld, everything very much as if you’re in the city. We didn’t want it to feel fabricated, we didn’t want it to feel commercial. We wanted it to feel raw and real.”

When shooting in the field, JTWO also got to see firsthand how excited Sixers fans were through their storytelling. The crew shot Sixers-themed murals around the city and visited small businesses to capture the excitement.

“We actually interviewed about 20 fans,” Jarrett explained. “It’s so cool to see fans and the local business owners talk about how excited they are for the season. If you’re a fan, it’s been a long drought for a title, so these people have true hope.”

You could write a book about all the ways this offseason has affected the people of Philadelphia. The Sixers’ additions of Jaylen Brown and James opened the floodgates for one of the most exciting season openers this franchise has ever seen. 

“There wasn’t one fan we talked to that wasn’t overjoyed that LeBron chose Philly. Out of all the places he came here, chose us. … He sacrificed a lot to come here and try to win a ring with his crew, and I think that means a lot to people because it kind of represents what Philly’s about. It’s like, put your head down, work hard, and good things will come.”

It’s been a long, long time since the Lakers have had a defense like the one they appear to have this season. With the caveat of it just being the second game of the season, the 26 turnovers forced against the Clippers were more than they forced in any game last season.

Pair that with the 16 turnovers forced against the Warriors in the first game — nine of those coming in the third quarter — and the Lakers have a defense that can swarm teams and create chaos. That’s not been a quality of the Lakers’ defense in recent seasons, or for a long time, really.

It lets them not only disrupt the opponent’s offense but also get easy buckets. They scored 33 points on those 26 turnovers and took more shots in the first three quarters, even while shooting 61% from the field. If it’s a trend that continues, these Lakers will be able to get out and run and be a particularly fun team this season.

And for those wondering, yes, I did completely forget about these articles throughout the preseason and opening game of the year. But we’re back and you can yell at me all you want now.

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

Matisse Thybulle

23 minutes, 13 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 fouls, 5-8 FG, 3-6 3PT, +13

Thybulle showed off a no-dip 3-pointer in the preseason and apparently fell in love with it because I’m not sure he dipped on any of his six 3-point attempts tonight.

Grade: B+

Ziaire Williams

30 minutes, 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 fouls, 5-7 FG, 1-3 3PT, 3-3 FT +9

It was a great showing on both ends from Williams. He gives the Lakers as athletic a wing as they’ve had in years. His ability to hound players defensively also is something the team hasn’t had from someone that size in a long time either.

Grade: A-

Walker Kessler

34 minutes, 22 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 6 blocks, 1 turnover, 2 fouls, 10-14 FG, 2-5 FT +18

A truly awful performance from Kessler as he only shoots 71.4% from the field and not a perfect 100%.

Jokes aside, he’s truly revolutionized this offense. It’s immediately clear why the team wanted him and, even then, he’s been in the 100th percentile of outcomes through two games. What a start to his Lakers career.

Grade: A

Austin Reaves

38 minutes, 28 points, 2 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 steals, 6 turnovers, 4 fouls, 10-13 FG, 3-5 3PT, 5-6 FT, +14

A big second half from Reaves not only helped the Lakers create some cushion after being tied at halftime, but also was necessary with Luka struggling. Nearly half of his points came in that third quarter where LA went ahead by as many as 14. Then it was Austin who got the big basket late to calm things down late in the game.

Grade: A-

Luka Dončić

37 minutes, 23 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 block, 11 turnovers, 2 fouls, 8-21 FG, 2-8 3PT, 5-7 FT, +10

A bit of a deceptive scoreline from Luka as he never really had his rhythm in this one. He started the game 2-10 from the field and didn’t have Yaxel Lendeborg to fire him up. Then, in the fourth, he turned the ball over four times and while they weren’t all his fault, he was at the center of the Clippers comeback, and not in a good way.

Grade: C+

Quentin Grimes

30 minutes, 13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, 2 fouls, 3-6 FG, 3-5 3PT, 4-4 FT, +2

It’ll be interesting to see how much longer Grimes will stay out of the starting lineup. Perhaps head coach JJ Redick is committed to the starting lineup, which is fine so far. But Grimes did close the game on Friday, so he has a lot of trust, too.

Grade: B+

Sandro Mamukelashvili

23 minutes, 7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 fouls, 3-4 FG, 1-2 3PT, -8

Mamu has taken a step back in the regular season after riding a high through the preseason. It’s still early, so there’s nothing to worry about yet.

On Friday, though, his defensive shortcomings were noticeable. The Lakers played him at the five and the Clippers spread the floor out and drove by him multiple times.

Grade: B-

Collin Sexton

16 minutes, 5 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 3 steals, 1 turnover, 2 fouls 2-6 FG, 1-3 3PT, -9

Sexton’s long-awaited debut was a mixed bag at best. Predictably, he looked rusty and like someone who missed the whole preseason. He had flashes of what could come, including a nice drive and drop-off to Kessler for a dunk.

Grade: C-

Kevon Looney

He only played four minutes, but it’s pretty clear that he’ll be unplayable most nights. Redick didn’t have him play a shift in the second half, opting for a Mamu-at-center lineup instead.

JJ Redick

A solid game from Redick, who did a good job of finding the right combinations. He quickly pulled out of playing Looney and went to Grimes to close after a solid game.

Grade: B+

Friday’s DNPs: Jaden Hardy, Bronny James, Arthur Kaluma, AK Okereke, Jarred Vanderbilt

Friday’s inactives: Cameron Carr, Adou Thiero, Jake LaRavia, Chris Mañon

Surprise, surprise: the Golden State Warriors just blew another lead to lose another heartbreaker of a game, a disasterclass of epic proportions. Truth be told, however, with how they’ve been playing the past couple of seasons, we should all have seen this coming.

To add insult to injury, the Warriors will have to fly to Phoenix right away for their second night of a back-to-back slate against the Suns. The immediate question following that situation: Will the Warriors’ 38-year-old superstar play on that back end of the slate?

Steph Curry himself provided that answer — and it didn’t bring hopes up that the Warriors could rebound from the loss.

Steph Curry said he "probably" won’t play tomorrow in Phoenix in the Warriors’ first back-to-back of the season. Plans to talk to training staff, but clear they are easing him into the season.

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 24, 2026

This decision was made with the intention of easing Curry into the season and hopefully prolonging his ability to play meaningful minutes as the season progresses. However, starting the season 0-2 — and in all likelihood, 0-3 after tomorrow night — means that anything of meaning from this season is quickly starting to slip from the team’s grasp.

Well, it sure didn’t take long for the Dallas Mavericks (1-1) to find their first back-to-back of the season, did it?

After a night game in Indianapolis against the Pacers (1-1) on Friday night, the Mavs head to Dallas for the home opener against the San Antonio Spurs (0-2). Dallas pulled off a 121-105 upset over Indiana on Friday night.

DUSTY ON 3!#MFFLpic.twitter.com/lKFyzzBwiQ

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) October 24, 2026

However, the scoreboard is secondary to the main news of the night, as Cooper Flagg left the game with a shoulder injury just before halftime. The injury, which was termed “shoulder soreness” by Mavs PR, figures to hold Flagg out of the home opener on Saturday night. Head coach Dusty May said after the game that Flagg, who had 17 points, five boards and six assists in just 17 minutes on Friday, will be evaluated over the coming days.

Meanwhile, the Spurs fell to 0-2 after a four-point loss to the Houston Rockets at the Moody Center on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin. The schedule has seen them play two pre-season contenders in the West, but no one in San Antonio would’ve expected an 0-2 start after last year’s NBA Finals trip. Urgency to avoid a three-game skid will be high for the reigning Western Conference champs.

A complicating factor here is the travel. With both teams on the butt end of a back-to-back, and Dallas traveling quite a ways from Indiana, we could see a bit of rest and workload management by both squads. Dallas will certainly get a boost with this game being the home opener, but this Spurs team is still awfully tough to beat. As you get ready for tipoff, here’s a couple things you should be aware of.

Victor’s vengeance

After shooting an abysmal 1-for-13 against the Thunder on opening night, Wembanyama didn’t get much of a reprieve on the physicality and defensive intensity against the Rockets. Well, the Mavericks do not present near the level of physical or tactical defensive challenge that those two teams did.

Wemby has found success against Dallas in the past. Last year, Wembanyama went off for 40 points against Dallas twice, scoring 29 in another meeting. I expect the Frenchman to have a lot of success in this matchup.

Who joins the fray?

Flagg picked right back up where he left off last season in the opener, scoring 32 points on a very good Rockets defense. The issue for the Mavericks in that contest was a complete lack of help from everyone not named Marcus Sasser. In game two, Flagg was his usual self before getting knocked out of the game, but others stepped up enough to hold the fort down.

Now, seemingly without Flagg, where does Dallas go for production? Does Kyrie Irving play in this game, give it’s the second night of a back-to-back? Can some of the vets who have gotten off to slow starts get a bit of flow going at home? Will these Mavericks be able to guard anyone at all? It’ll be an interesting test for the depth that Dallas has accrued.

The Kyrie of it all

If Irving is indeed a go in this one, it should be a wonderful reception for now the longest tenured Maverick. Irving hasn’t seen the floor in a regular season game in Dallas since he tore his ACL against the Kings in March of 2025. Now 19 months later, he’ll make his return. Regardless of how he plays or how the Mavericks do, this will be a big moment for him and I expect that it will feel that way as well.

How to watch

Standard operating procedures are in place for this contest. KFAA Channel 29, MavsTV or NBA League Pass will have the coverage, depending on where you are viewing from. Tip between the Mavs and Spurs is slated for 7 p.m.

Put Wednesday night’s embarrassing 20 point drubbing in Memphis down to first night jitters, a team still finding its offensive and defensive chemistry, and an other worldly performance by Grizzlies guard Ty Jerome. Friday night’s home opener against the New Orleans Pelicans gave the Utah Jazz the chance to regroup in the friendly confines of the Delta Center. And regroup they did behind double doubles from Jaren Jackson Jr. and Keyonte George, and the raucous roar of the home fans.

Ace Bailey got the start after an impactful 24 minutes off the bench on Wednesday night, especially on the defensive end. But it was Jaxson Hayes, entering the game after the Pelicans scored their first 12 points in the paint, who set the defensive tone in the first quarter. Keyonte George ran the point like an experienced floor general, getting both Markkanen and Jackson involved early, and firing a left hand heat seeking missile to Hayes for a dunk.

The Jazz led 31-28 after the first quarter and used their aggressive defense to stifle the Pelicans and extend their lead to 10 in the second. Jackson and Markkanen both had double figures by the break, Darren Peterson eclipsed his nine point outing in Memphis and Keyonte tallied 7 assists. Hayes in just 10 minutes off the bench hadn’t missed a shot, scoring 10 points and amassing 1 assist, 2 rebounds and a block as the Jazz took a 10 point lead into the locker room.

The Pelicans clawed their way back into the game in the third quarter, using a 19-5 run to tie the game at 73. The Jazz caught the turnover bug and struggled from the free throw line, going into the fourth quarter down 90-86.

The Jazz used scrappy defense and the Pelicans’ fouls to retake the lead with 7:24 left (101-100). Keyonte extended the lead to 5 with a three pointer. From that point on it was a back and forth affair, leading to Dejounte Murray’s last second shot, which careened off the rim to Jaren Jackson Jr.

The win certainly wasn’t perfect—the Jazz had 18 turnovers, many of them in the third quarter, and struggled at times from the free throw line—but the team’s defense and ball movement were greatly improved. And the fight the team showed when faced with adversity bodes well for the tough game on Sunday versus Walker Kessler and the Lakers.