The Utah Jazz win a close one against the Minnesota Timberwolves, with a final score of 122-127. This marks the first time the Jazz have won without Lauri Markkanen this season.
After a stretch of uncompetitive games, the Jazz played Minnesota wire-to-wire, led by Keyonte George’s career night. George finished with 43 points and three assists. George, now a top-20 scorer in the NBA, continues to emerge as star in the NBA. While he likely won’t earn an All-Star spot this season, his ability to become a late-game offensive engine is a serious boost to the Jazz’s chances of becoming a competitive team once again. In his first two seasons, George’s inability to create space off the dribble limited his effectiveness as an isolation scorer. But his stunning development this offseason has made his this one of his greatest strengths.
The Jazz were also helped by Jusuf Nurkic’s big night. Facing off against former Jazzman Rudy Gobert, Nurkic put up his second-career triple-double, ending the night with 16 points, 18 rebounds, and 10 assists. On the defensive end, Nurkic has obviously lost a step. But on offense, he continues to be one of the more versatile bigs in the NBA. The Jazz are measurably more in control when Nurkic is controlling the offense through a series of back-door passes, high-screens, and DHO’s. The stats show it too – he averages a league leading 4.6 screen assists per game. Regardless of his future with the team, Nurkic has provided a valuable veteran presence for the roster.
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – JANUARY 20: Jusuf Nurkic #30 of the Utah Jazz and Rudy Gobert #27 of the Minnesota Timberwolves play defense during the game on January 20, 2026 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
Utah’s youth also stepped up, with big nights coming from Isaiah Collier and Ace Bailey. Collier played one of the more complete games of his career, finishing with 18 points, 10 assists, and four rebounds. Bailey, who continues to look better with every game, ended the night with 20 points and four rebounds, including this ferocious dunk:
While pro-tank fans will be disappointed with Utah picking up another win, the Jazz have created some separation between them and the Dallas Mavericks in the standings, making this win fairly inconsequential from a draft perspective. Utah hosts the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday.
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Keyshawn Hall scored 19 points, Tahaad Pettiford added 17, and Auburn beat Mississippi 78-66 on Tuesday night, the Tigers' first true road win of the season.
The Tigers have won 10 straight against Ole Miss and lead the series 87-64.
KeShawn Murphy had 16 points and a career-high tying 14 rebounds for Auburn (12-7, 3-3 SEC). Sebastian Williams-Adams had 10 points, two steals and two blocks.
Pettiford and Murphy made back-to-back layups before Elyjah Freeman threw down a dunk that made it 23-19 and Auburn led the rest of the way.
The Rebels used a 14-4 run to trim their deficit to 66-63 but Pettiford answered with a three-point play, threw down a high-flying dunk, and then made two free throws that gave Auburn a seven-point lead with a minute left.
AJ Storr scored 13 of his 18 in the second half for Ole Miss (11-8, 3-3). Travis Perry, who hit five 3-pointers, and Patton Pinkins added 15 points apiece. The Rebels had their three-game win streak snapped.
Auburn made just 2 of 17 (12%) from 3-point range but set season highs for free throws made (32) and attempted (39).
Up next
Auburn: The Tigers visit No. 16 Florida on Saturday.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — B.J. Edwards scored 24 points, and SMU took the lead for good midway through the first half and cruised past Wake Forest 91-79 on Tuesday night.
Edwards shot 8 of 13 from the floor and finished with eight rebounds, seven assists and six steals. Jaron Pierre Jr. added 13 points for SMU (14-5, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). Boopie Miller added 12 points and six assists for the Mustangs. Jaden Toombs chipped in with 10 points to go with nine rebounds.
The Mustangs built a nine-point halftime lead and led 47-36 in the second half. Wake Forest answered with a 10-3 surge to pull to 50-46 with 16:45 remaining but the Demon Deacons didn't get closer.
Pierre's 3-pointer made it 89-67 with 3:33 to play.
Juke Harris made five 3-pointers and finished with 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting to lead Wake Forest (11-8, 2-4). Tre’Von Spillers scored 19 points and Myles Colvin added 17.
Edwards scored 17 points in the first half to help SMU take a 45-36 lead into the break. Harris scored 11 first-half points for Wake Forest, which had its last lead, 20-18, with 10:48 remaining in the half.
MANHATTAN, Kansas (AP) — PJ Haggerty poured in 34 points and gave Kansas State the lead in the final minute in an 81-78 win over Utah on Tuesday.
Haggerty’s jump shot with 39 seconds left gave the Wildcats (10-9, 1-5 Big 12) a two-point lead that they held onto for their first Big 12 win of the season. He was 15 of 29 to go with eight rebounds and two steals. David Castillo had 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Nate Johnson added 17 points, five rebounds and six assists.
Haggerty entered the game fourth in the country with 22.8 points per game, and as the first Wildcat to score in double figures over the first 18 games since Jacob Pullen in 2009-10. It’s his 14th game this season with 21 points or more. He scored 28 in the second half.
Terrence Brown had 33 points for the Utes (9-10, 1-5), shooting 14 of 24 with four steals. Seydou Traore scored 15 to go with six rebounds. Don McHenry added 15 points and six rebounds, but the career 80% free throw shooter went 2 of 5 at the stripe, costing the Utes in the final seconds.
Starting from the 5:32 mark, Haggerty and Brown each scored eight points, and were the only players to score until McHenry drew a foul with 11 seconds remaining. With a chance to tie the game at the line, he made 1 of 2 attempts.
Johnson made a pair of free throws on the other end, and Brown's game-tying 3-point attempt caromed off the rim as the buzzer sounded.
The Wildcats entered with a five-game losing streak, including two to top-10 opponents in No. 1 Arizona and then-No. 10 BYU.
Up next
The Utes will travel to Provo to face No. 13 BYU on Saturday.
The Wildcats host in-state rival, No. 19 Kansas on Saturday.
Talking to reporters before the Golden State Warriors’ game against the Toronto Raptors — and one night after the tragic ACL injury that befell Jimmy Butler, ending his season prematurely — Mike Dunleavy stated that he has no plans to trade Jimmy Butler’s contract before the February 6 trade deadline.
“I don’t envision that,” Dunleavy said. “Now that you’ve brought it up, I’d say my vision for him is to give us a boost next year the same way he did last year when he arrived.”
This differs the approach the Warriors took with De’Anthony Melton last season. Melton, who tore his ACL after playing only six games with the Warriors, was part of the trade package sent to Brooklyn for Dennis Schröder. Melton was then re-signed in the offseason, during the late stages of his ACL rehabilitation. If Dunleavy is to be believed, the Warriors are taking a different approach by keeping Butler on their books and hoping he can return next year to contribute — shutting down hopes that Butler’s contract could be used to quickly pivot toward contributory players who could give the Warriors a shot at playoff contention this season.
“At his age, to have the year he’s had is impressive,” Dunleavy said. “I think he’s got a style of game that can play for a long time with his skill, his physicality, his mind for the game. So, I guess my vision for him is him returning at some point between now and this time next year.”
Mike Dunleavy said he does not envision he will trade Jimmy Butler’s contract and believes Butler will rehab and return to help the team at some point next season pic.twitter.com/FjU1xzDnb6
Butler is owed $54.1 million this season and $56.8 million next season, the final year of his contract before hitting free agency. Butler’s contract might be more of an attractive trade piece next season for teams looking for expiring contracts. But at such a high price, it still could give teams pause.
As has been extensively reported, Dunleavy stated that they are not willing to give up their trove of draft picks unless it is for a big name.
“If we’re talking about trading draft picks that will be going out when Steph isn’t here, it’s going to have to be a player that we think we’ll be getting back that is going to be here when those picks are going out,” Dunleavy said. “That player’s going to have to be pretty impactful…. But if there’s a great player to be had, we’ve got everything in the war chest that we would be willing to use.”
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Mark Scheifele had two goals and an assist to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night.
Josh Morrissey added a goal and two assists as Winnipeg scored three goals on 16 shots. Eric Comrie made 22 saves for Winnipeg (20-23-6), which won for the fifth time in seven games.
Jordan Kyrou scored for St. Louis. Joel Hofer stopped 13 of 15 shots for St. Louis (19-23-8), which lost its second straight and for the fifth time in seven games.
The Jets took advantage of a four-minute high-sticking penalty to the Blues’ Nathan Walker, who clipped Winnipeg defenseman Isaak Phillips, scoring twice in a 1:33 span midway through the first period.
First, Morrissey beat Hofer on a slap shot from the blue line with Scheifele and Kyle Connor assisting at 9:52. Then, Scheifele lifted the puck over Hofer from close range, with Morrissey getting the assist, at 11:25.
The Blues had pulled to within 2-1 late in the second. With Vladislav Namestnikov serving a four-minute minor for high-sticking Jonathan Berggren, Kyrou scored past Comrie.
Scheifele put the game away with an empty-net goal with 2:23 left.
Nino Niederreiter saved a goal with about six minutes left in the first. After a shot by Cam Fowler trickled through Comrie, Niederreiter swept the puck off the goal line.
The San Antonio Spurs’ tour into Houston was a failure because they got satisfied with their work late and lost interest in guarding the 3-point line. It was their second matchup of the season with the Rockets, and now they are even with two outings to go.
The first quarter ended with a 39-28 lead, as their hot 3-point shooting carried them and made up for struggles in the lane, while the Rockets were getting nearly everything at close range. Victor Wembanyama subsequently heated up after jamming over Clint Capela, and the team drained three more trifectas, but their open-court offense failed to pick up easy points.
They still went to halftime ahead by 10, more than doubling Houston’s 3-point makes, and keeping them at bay on the glass. The long-range shooting slowed down in the third quarter, but it took a while, and at one point, coach Ime Udoka looked numb on the bench when the cameras caught him following the Spurs’ 14th trey.
The Rockets then started playing with more urgency, quickly erasing all of San Antonio’s cushioning early in the fourth quarter as the latter started settling for outside shots. The Spurs even suffered a six-minute drought extending from the end of the third quarter, but they still couldn’t get it together after that amid Houston’s Tsunami.
Observations
This is one of the team’s biggest meltdowns of the season. They failed 11 3-point tries in the fourth quarter, giving the game away because they refused to go to the body more. They were outscored in the fourth quarter by 15.
The Rockets have a top-seven defense, but it’s no surprise the Spurs were blazing from 3-point range for three quarters because Houston allows 20.8 wide-open attempts per game. It makes no sense why the strategy is to pack the paint first when three is more than two.
Houston had a problem with the rim’s leveling and had to bring in a new one 20 minutes after the scheduled tip-off. The Spurs went back to the locker room for a bit, while the Rockets kept warming up, but everything got rolling after the maintenance crew fixed it. This played a role in the Spurs being shaky on defense early because bizarre things like this can mentally throw players off, as they are creatures of routine. The rim needed a brief second look early in the fourth quarter, which cut the flow of the game as Houston was taking control, but they were fine. San Antonio was shellshocked the entire period.
Julian Champagnie was the team’s top marksman, making eight 3-pointers. Four of them came in the first quarter, and that was a big reason why the Spurs maintained their early mental edge after the delayed start. But he later went colder than an ice box.
Alperen Şengün’s objective against the Spurs is to get physical with Wembanyama, and it will continue to work until the latter gets stronger. Bumping and driving to the chest are how Şengün counters the length. Wemby can’t bail him out by leaving his feet, like when he picked up his third foul with seven seconds left of the second quarter.
Reed Sheppard is a sharpshooter who torched the Spurs in the fourth quarter, but he is one of the worst defenders in the league, and he took on the easier assignment of guarding a weaker offensive player- Carter Bryant- so he didn’t have to contend with the quicker-footed ball handlers. Then there was a substitution, and he had no choice but to pick one up, and he looked lost out there. If the offense fails apart, he’s an option to hunt to try to reestablish a rhythm instead of settling for jumpers.
This was the sixth time the Spurs have scored at least 70 going into halftime. Their record is 4-2 on those nights.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Bennett Stirtz scored 20 points, reserve Tate Sage added 17 and Iowa held off Rutgers 68-62 on Tuesday night for the Hawkeyes' second straight win.
Tavion Banks had 12 points for Iowa (14-5, 4-4 Big Ten), which shot 47% (24 of 51) from the field.
Darren Buchanan Jr. scored 17 points and reserve Tariq Francis had 15 for Rutgers (9-10, 2-6). The Scarlet Knights have lost back-to-back games and three of their last four.
Francis made a pair of foul shots with 22 seconds left to get Rutgers within 64-62. After being intentionally fouled, Sage went to the line and made two free throws.
Lino Mark missed an off-balance 3-pointer for Rutgers with 10 seconds left and Iowa guard Isaia Howard made a pair of free throws to seal the win with eight seconds left.
Stirtz's driving layup with 8:22 left to play gave Iowa a 46-45 lead and they never trailed again. The Hawkeyes led 31-24 at halftime before Rutgers emerged from the break and used a 9-0 run to take a 33-31 lead.
DALLAS (AP) — Jason Robertson scored two goals, Justin Hryckowian had a goal and two assists, and the Dallas Stars ended a three-game skid while snapping the Boston Bruins' six-game winning streak, 6-2 on Tuesday night.
Wyatt Johnston, Mavrik Bourque and Esa Lindell also scored for the Stars, who had just three goals in their previous three games. Miro Heiskanen had three assists and Jake Oettinger had 16 saves.
The Bruins trailed 6-0 when Morgan Geekie scored on the power play to end Oettinger's shutout bid with 7:49 to play. Geekie ended a personal 12-game goal-scoring drought when he tipped in David Pastrnak's shot.
Fraser Minten also scored for Boston while Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves before he was lifted in favor of Joonas Korpisalo, who had three stops.
The Stars played without leading scorer Mikko Rantanen (19 goals, 44 assists), who was out with an illness.
Johnston's goal with 3:52 left in the first was his NHL-leading 16th power-play goal this season. Bourque's first-period goal also came on the power play.
Johnston has six goals and six assists over the past 12 games.
Robertson scored his 28th and 29th goals of the season early in the third period.
The Bruins had allowed two goals or less per game during their six-game winning streak.
The Stars outshot the Bruins 37-18 and won 65% of the faceoffs.
Up next
Bruins: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.
Stars: Visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night.
Miami (Ohio) basketball made MAC history on Tuesday, Jan. 20, and is on track to be among the top non-Power Four contenders come March Madness time.
The RedHawks (20-0, 8-0), who received 19 votes in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll, improved to 20-0 with their 107-101 overtime win over Kent State behind a near-triple double performance by Peter Suder, who scored 27 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists in the win.
The win marks the best start ever by a MAC program, as Miami is now 8-0 in conference play. The RedHawks have a long way to go before the NCAA tournament starts and are currently ranked No. 52 in the NCAA's Net Rankings, but an at-large bid could potentially be in their sights if they keep at its current pace.
20-0!
Miami (OH) wins an OT thriller at Kent State to remain one of the nation’s three unbeatens 🤯 pic.twitter.com/sSEjqgaaUr
Kent State took a 92-88 lead on a 29-foot 3-point shot by Cian Medley with 57 seconds left in the second half. Suder then responded with a layup before Luke Skaljac tied the game at 92-92 with six seconds remaining. The RedHawks then outscored the Golden Flashes 15-9 in the first overtime to secure the win.
Fourth-year coach Travis Steele could be one of the hottest potential names in the coaching carousel after the regular season ends, given Miami's strong start to the season and his previous experience at Xavier, a solid Big East program.
His team plays an exciting style on offense, as well. Miami (Ohio) ranks first nationally in 3-point percentage (41.92%) and ranks second in scoring offense (93.9 points per game), both of which could bode well come March.
Miami (Ohio) is looking to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2006-07 season, when it was a 14 seed despite finishing the season with an 18-15 record under former coach Charlie Coles. Steele went 12-20 in his first season and 15-17 in his second, but improved to 25-9 in 2024-25 and already has 20 wins this season.
There are only three unbeatens remaining in college basketball, as Miami (Ohio) is joined by No. 1 Arizona (18-0) and No. No. 7 Nebraska (18-0). The RedHawks are a team to watch in the final half of the college basketball regular season.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — David Punch had a double-double and scored the go-ahead basket with 6.3 seconds remaining to give TCU a 68-65 comeback win over Oklahoma State on Tuesday and end the Horned Frogs four game losing streak.
Punch had 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting, pairing it with 10 rebounds and three blocks.
The Horned Frogs (12-7, 2-4 Big 12) used a 10-0 run starting at the 4:13 mark to turn a seven-point deficit into a three-point advantage, with Punch driving the lane to finish a layup and take the lead with 6.3 seconds remaining.
Xavier Edmonds also had a double-double, with 18 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Liutauras Lelevicius had 10 points and six rebounds, and tied the game with a 3-pointer with 1:10 remaining.
Isaiah Coleman had 14 points to go with six rebounds for the Cowboys (14-5, 2-4), who have now lost eight consecutive games at Schollmaier Arena. Anthony Roy scored 13 and had three steals. Kanye Clary added 11 points, six assists and two steals.
The Cowboys stacked up a 41-37 lead at the half after falling behind 9-0 to open the game. They used a 15-4 run with back-to-back 3s from Roy to flip a seven-point deficit into a four-point lead. Vyctorius Millers' 3 less than two minutes into the second half sparked a 10-3 run to build as much as a nine-point lead.
Up next
Oklahoma State will host a meeting with No. 9 Iowa State on Saturday.
TCU will travel to face Baylor on the road on Saturday.
Tyrese Maxey – 18 VJ Edgecombe – 5 Paul George – 5 Joel Embiid – 4 Andre Drummond – 2 Dominick Barlow – 1 Adem Bona – 1 Justin Edwards – 1 Quentin Grimes – 1 Jared McCain – 1 Kelly Oubre Jr. – 1 Trendon Watford – 1 15th roster spot – 1
Hello, darkness third quarter struggles, my old friend.
On Tuesday night, we got to watch a classic Philadelphia 76ers episode: the team getting their doors blown off in the third quarter. Going into halftime down by four, the Sixers actually had a nice couple minutes to open the second half and take the lead, but were then outscored, 38-18, by the Phoenix Suns to close the third quarter. The Sixers were completely out of sorts defensively, and it was a curious move by Nick Nurse to play a bigger lineup against a Suns group that features a lot of guard/wing types who are very capable outside shooters. Philadelphia went small in the fourth quarter and did make it a two-possession game late, but it was not an especially encouraging performance in the 116-110 loss.
Now losers of four of their last six contest, the Sixers have two games remaining on this homestand, with Houston next up on Thursday night. Tonight, though, let’s talk Bell Ringer.
The rookie looked to have somewhat fresher legs than most on the second night of the back-to-back. Edgecombe helped the Sixers get off to a good start with 10 points in the first quarter, hitting a handful of tough middies that are a continued evolution to his game. All night long, he was everywhere on the court, tracking down loose balls and corralling offensive rebounds. Edgecombe’s transition block of Jalen Green in the waning seconds of the first half was the ultimate combination of hustle and athleticism. He missed a couple more threes than you’d like, and had a few “learning on the job” turnovers as a primary ball handler, but overall, it was an outstanding 37-minute run from Edgecombe. I missed the headband, however.
Facing his former club, Oubre assumed more offensive responsibility with Joel Embiid and Paul George sidelined. He generated some points as a driver, and also knocked down open looks when defenses paid extra attention to Tyrese Maxey and Edgecombe. Kelly’s five made three-pointers were his most in a game since March 2024. He also was the Sixers’ primary wing defender with George unavailable, and put forth a tough, spirited effort on that end of the court. After this outing and his 18 points on Monday night, it looks like Kelly might now be back in the swing of things following the sprained LCL injury.
MONTREAL (AP) — Cole Caufield scored the winner with 15 seconds remaining to lift the Montreal Canadiens to a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday night.
Caufield took a pass from Nick Suzuki and fired a shot from the top of the right circle for his 25th of the season.
Phillip Danault — with his first of the season — Alexandre Carrier and Lane Hutson also scored for Montreal.
Rookie winger Ivan Demidov provided two assists and Jakub Dobes made 16 saves.
Vladimir Tarasenko scored twice and Brock Faber also scored for Minnesota, which beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-3 on Monday. Jesper Wallstedt stopped 29 shots.
Tarasenko opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 10:44 of the first period, beating Dobes on Minnesota’s second shot with a one-timer.
Danault jammed in a rebound to break his goal drought and tie the game at 15:22.
Carrier doubled the lead with 52 seconds remaining in the opening period, redirecting Mike Matheson’s point shot after carrying the puck into Minnesota’s zone.
Faber equalized with a wrist shot from the point that trickled under Dobes’ left pad at 10:16 in the second, but Montreal regained the lead when Hutson hammered home a Demidov pass from a sharp angle at 12:35.
Penalties to Hutson and Matheson put the Wild on a 5-on-3 power play with 8:11 remaining in regulation, and Tarasenko converted his second of the game moments after Hutson exited the box to make it a 5-on-4.
Canadiens forward Kirby Dach returned to the lineup for the first time since breaking his foot from blocking a shot on Nov. 15. Winger Alexandre Texier missed the game with a lower-body injury.
The Wild played without forwards Marcus Johansson, Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy, and defensemen Jonas Brodin and Zach Bogosian.
The Golden State Warriors need to do right by Steph Curry.
That’s what they did last season when they pulled off a big swing at the Feb. trade deadline, acquiring Jimmy Butler from Miami in an attempt to breathe new life into the league’s flailing modern day dynasty.
It worked.
Ayehsa Curry and Steph Curry watch the match of Jannik Sinner of Italy against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain at the Men’s Final of the US Open Tennis Championship. Annie Wermiel/NY Post
The first night that Butler was around the Warriors — during a game in Los Angeles against the Lakers on Feb. 6 — Draymond Green told me that acquiring Butler “1,000 percent” put them in contention to compete for a championship. Butler told me: “We’re going to bring hell to a lot of people.”
Those hopes were dashed Monday when Butler suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during a game against Miami. Butler needs surgery and will miss the rest of the season, a major blow for a team that had won 12 of their last 16 games.
Now, the Warriors’ future remains incredibly fuzzy.
Do they tank in an attempt to get a high draft pick? Do they keep Jonathan Kuminga, who requested a trade as soon as he became trade eligible Jan. 15?
Stephen Curry arrives to the arena before the game against the Toronto Raptors on January 20, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
No and no.
As long as Curry is on the Warriors, they need to have a win-now mindset.
He’s 37. He’s healthy.
The four-time NBA champion, who’s the oldest All-Star starter by six years, is averaging a stunning 31 points on 47 percent shooting from the field, 4.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists a game.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry is fouled by San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama. AP
The Warriors need to figure out a way to give Curry another fighting chance.
They’re in eighth place in the Western Conference with a record of 25-19, but they’re only 2 1/2 games behind the fourth-place Minnesota Timberwolves and 1 1/2 games behind the sixth-place Lakers. They’re still very much in the playoff hunt at the midway point in the season.
The one silver lining of Butler’s awful injury is that it happened just over two weeks ahead of the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
The Warriors still have time to prevent this season from swirling the drain. They can get their ducks in a row to give Curry another shot at a fifth title, even though it’s unlikely with young powerhouses like Oklahoma City and San Antonio lying in wait.
But Curry deserves a shot.
Stephen Curry plays against the LAkers. Brian Prahl / SplashNews.com
And if he’s healthy in the playoffs, the Warriors have one. They can’t wait until he’s a year older, which, at this point in his career, should be calculated with a similar equivalency to dog years.
As for Kuminga, they must trade him. He wants to leave. His relationship with Warriors coach Steve Kerr has long soured, with him not having played since Dec. 18, missing the team’s last 16 games.
Jonathan Kuminga looks on during the game against the Miami Heat on January 19, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images
Kerr said “sure, absolutely” when asked if Kuminga could re-enter the rotation in Butler’s absence. And in the short-term, Kuminga should absolutely start playing again, which could benefit both him and the Warriors by raising his trade value. But ultimately, he just can’t be on the roster past Feb. 5. The trust between him and Kerr has eroded too much to try to put a bandaid on that wound.
Curry deserves to share the court with a player who really wants to be here. And Kuminga deserves the opportunity to turn into the star he believes he can become elsewhere. The fit wasn’t right. And even though Kuminga shined at times, his inconsistency ultimately became his greatest consistent.
So, what do the Warriors do now?
Do they use some combination of their three tradable future first-round picks, gambling with their future? Do they try to bolster their roster with the likes of Trey Murphy III, Michael Porter Jr. or Lauri Markkanen, the latter of whom they were linked to two summers ago before he signed his four-year, $196 million extension with Utah.
Do they trade Butler, who has a $56.8 million expiring contract next season? Do they attempt to go after another star like Ja Morant?
Jimmy Butler III holds his right knee as he goes down with an injury during the third quarter against the Miami Heat at Chase Center. Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
This much is for sure: They have to do something.
Franchises always have to weigh whether it’s smarter to gamble on the now or play the long game, an equation which is especially tricky given Curry’s current skills combined with his short runway.
But here’s the thing. Curry is still Curry. He’s still the player who’s capable of erupting with jaw-dropping scoring sprees. Green is still a defensive wiz. De’Anthony Melton is starring in his role. Al Horford is capable of swinging things on any given night.
Losing Butler was a huge blow, but the Warriors still have a chance to make things right. And they must go all in, trading some combination of their first-round picks alongside Kuminga…or even Butler to give it a shot.
The Warriors may be a fading dynasty, as Kerr recently called the team. But Kerr knows better than anyone how quickly a gerund can transform into the past tense after witnessing it first-hand with the Chicago Bulls.
The Warriors aren’t necessarily there yet.
For Curry’s sake, they need to put one last great effort into tweaking the ship’s direction before it’s forever lost at sea.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Meechie Johnson scored 20 points and Kobe Knox scored 18 points and South Carolina beat Oklahoma 85-76 on Tuesday night and ended its three-game losing streak.
Johnson made 13 of 15 from the foul line and Knox went 7 of 11 from the floor. Elijah Strong scored 17 points, Miles Stute 10 and Mike Sharavjamts 10 for South Carolina (11-8, 2-4), which saw all five starters reach double figures in scoring.
Xzayvier Brown scored 22 points, Tae Davis scored 20 points and Derrion Reed 13 for Oklahoma (11-8, 1-5), which has dropped five straight.
The Gamecocks built an 11-0 lead and never trailed. Stute made a pair of foul shots with 7:26 before halftime and the Gamecocks doubled-up Oklahoma 28-14.
Oklahoma recovered and proceeded to outscore South Carolina 22-11 for the rest of the half to get within 39-36 at intermission. Mohamed Wague made 1 of 2 foul shots 59 seconds in to get Oklahoma within 51-47 but the Sooners never got closer.
Up Next
The Sooners will travel from one Columbia to another when they face Missouri on Saturday.
South Carolina travels to play Texas A&M on Saturday.
