About 90 minutes before Monday’s game, Josh Hart was answering questions from a couple of reporters. Someone asked him about the Knicks’ then 2-8 stretch.
“I think it’s a combination of stuff. Just gotta be better defensively, more physical, into the ball, more effort, more energy. That kind of stuff. I can’t say that I’m surprised because obviously January – middle of January especially – those are the kind of dog days of the season. So not too surprised,” Hart said. “You kind of see a few teams around kind of showing that fatigue. You know, it happens every year.”
Hart wasn’t excusing the Knicks’ poor play. But he didn’t sound too worried about it.
“We have to go out there with a sense of urgency,” Hart said. “At this point, (more than) 40 games in, normally you don’t put too much into struggles, because there’s highs and lows, but at this point we have to play desperate, because that’s (where) we are right now.”
Now, the Knicks have lost nine of their last 11 games. They have a bottom 5 defense in that span; New York may have hit rock bottom on that side of the ball Monday when Dallas put up 75 points in the first half.
It was one of the worst losses of the Jalen Brunson era. And one that led to a damning comparison between this year’s team and last year’s team, which reached the Eastern Conference Finals.
“I think last year no matter what we did, the effort was there. I haven’t seen this kind of effort that we had today, it was embarrassing,” Hart said.
He referenced a game last season when the Knicks leaned on effort and physicality to win.
“We didn’t shoot the ball, we couldn’t score, but we said, ‘We’re gonna lock in, and we’re gonna play defense, we’re gonna play physical, and we’re gonna make it tough.’ It’s the same group of guys, so how we’re playing right now is really inexcusable,” Hart said. “We all gotta look in the mirror and do some soul searching.”
How did the Knicks reach this point? How did a team that started the season 23-9 end up here?
In digging around on this, one theme has come up consistently over the past couple of weeks:
This group is not tied together in the way that their early season success would suggest. Players haven't fully bought into their roles under head coach Mike Brown. Those reasons are cited often when you talk to people about the Knicks’ flaws.
Now, these issues aren’t unique to this year’s team. They existed to a degree in the locker room last season. But the Knicks coaching change hasn't rooted them out.
The firing of Tom Thibodeau and hiring of Brown was never going to cure all that ailed the Knicks. But the move definitely raised the stakes for New York.
That was made clear earlier this month when owner James Dolan said in a WFAN interview that he expects the Knicks to reach – and win – the NBA Finals.
A few weeks ago, Dolan’s expectations seemed reasonable. The Knicks started the season 23-9; they won the NBA Cup in Las Vegas last month.
But things have fallen apart since then.
New York is 27th in opponent three-point percentage; the club has one of the NBA’s worst defenses over the past four weeks. Karl-Anthony Towns has struggled on both ends of the floor for much of the season.
It’s easy to point the finger at the new head coach. Certainly, Brown and his staff deserve criticism for the club’s freefall.
But what about the front office? Management’s three biggest acquisitions (Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby) haven’t played at a high level with any consistency this season. The 2025 free agent signings (Guerschon Yabusele, Jordan Clarkson) haven’t provided the depth the Knicks were looking for.
So how does it all get turned around? The Knicks don't have much flexibility from here. They can use draft capital and/or Miles McBride to acquire a significant rotation player. It may be tough for the Knicks to recoup value in a Yabusele trade because of his 2026-27 player option.
Sure, Leon Rose & Co can execute a larger trade. But that would mean giving up on a core that they put together two summers ago.
Would Rose and his group make that kind of move? They probably don’t want to. But more losses like Monday’s may force their hand.
New Englanders know January can be a brutal month. The days are short and bitterly cold. Winter storm warnings seem to exist in perpetuity. All that holiday glee resides in the rearview mirror, and yet spring seems so far away.
January is a brutal month for NBA players, too. The body is feeling the effects of the first 41 games, but there’s still 41 more to go. There are trade rumors and a relentless game schedule. The All-Star break can’t arrive soon enough. Surviving the January doldrums feels like a legitimate chore.
And, if you’re Derrick White, January can’t seem to pass without a maddening shooting slump.
In his four full seasons since joining the Celtics, White has routinely slumped his way through January. It might have cost him an All-Star nod during the 2024 title season. On Monday night, in a showdown of Eastern Conference titans, White missed 10 of the 11 shots he hoisted against the Pistons and turned hesitant during the fourth-quarter moments where he typically thrives.
White was field-goal-less when he stepped to the free throw line early in the fourth quarter to shoot a technical freebie. He missed that one, too — in a game the Celtics would lose by a point, 104-103.
The numbers confirm what’s been hiding in plain sight: January is White’s toughest month. In his four full seasons since joining Boston, White’s scoring plummets to his lowest output of the seven regular-season months. It’s the only month in that span that he’s shooting under 40 percent from the field overall, and his January 3-point percentage is the worst of the seven months as well.
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It’s fair to wonder if White is feeling the effects of Jayson Tatum’s absence. While he’s pushed back on the suggestion that scoring has become more difficult while elevating to the No. 2 option, his shooting woes suggest otherwise.
Of the 154 players averaging at least eight shots per game with at least 25 games played this season, White ranks 149th in field goal percentage at 39.1 percent. Of the 113 players in that same group who average at least four 3-pointers per game, White ranks 105th in 3-point percentage at 32.4 percent.
But January has still been his cruelest month. White, who has now failed to reach double digits in scoring in his last three games, is shooting 36.7 percent from the field and 24.7 percent on 3s in 10 games this month.
Wake White up when January ends.
The good news: History suggests White typically rebounds well in February. That has been both his highest scoring month and his best shooting month (by far) over the past four seasons. White is averaging 17.3 points per game over his last four Februarys, while shooting 49.6 percent overall and 43 percent beyond the arc.
It says something about White’s ability to impact the game in so many other ways that he has lingered in the All-Star conversation despite his obvious shooting woes.
On Monday night, White registered a team-high five assists to go along with nine rebounds (including five on the offensive glass) and two blocks. White was the closest defender on 24 of Detroit’s shot attempts, an insanely high number even by his All-Defense standards. He’ll get votes for Defensive Player of the Year.
The potential in-season return of Tatum could go a long way toward improving the shot quality White enjoys in the second half of the season. Some of the Celtics’ inconsistent ways in recent weeks could be alleviated by White simply getting himself back on track with his offensive output. That Boston is still second in the NBA in offensive rating despite White’s shooting woes is very impressive.
There are six more games to navigate in January. White has played in 40 of Boston’s 41 games this season and could be due for a night off along the way. The Celtics ought to change all the calendars in the Auerbach Center to February to see if they can accelerate White out of his January slump.
LeBron James missed out on selection as an NBA All-Star starter for first time in 22 years, but the Los Angeles Lakers star could still feature in February's event.
On Monday, the NBA announced the 10 players voted as starters, including Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo, Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic, the Lakers' Luka Doncic and San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama.
Fans accounted for 50% of the vote to determine the 2026 starters, while current NBA players and a media panel each accounted for 25%.
The five players with the best score in each conference were named as starters across the three teams, with international players playing for the world team.
James, 41, was ranked ninth overall in the Western Conference by voters.
The NBA's all-time leading scorer can still earn selection as a reserve for the game held in Los Angeles on 15 February, but he will have to rely on a panel of NBA coaches to play as one of the 14 reserves.
James was selected in 2025 but did not play in the event after picking up an injury.
After last night’s victory against the Utah Jazz, Victor Wembanyama was asked about being selected to the All-Star staring five. Immediately after discussing the honor, the focus shifted to baldness.
When asked about Carter Bryant’s standout performance, Wemby responded,
“It was great, it was great. Feels like now he makes dunks, he don’t want to let the hair go.”
Wembanyama is referring to the recent posts that Carter Bryant was offered $20,000 to shave his head. Thus far, Victor and Keldon Johnson have ceremoniously shaved their heads while Jordan McLaughlin was ahead of the curve.
Bryant was offered the stipend to join in the festivities. When he turned it down, De’Aaron Fox said that if Bryant blew three more dunks he’d not have an option to shave his head.
Wemby believes despite making the dunk and turning down the money, Bryant will come around.
“I think everybody needs more bald players. I think it’s a show of dedication, at least from my point of view. I think Carter’s coming next if I had to bet on it.”
When asked if Wemby, as a team leader could exert his power and influence to lobby for more shave players, he replied wryly,
“I definitely am. And we need to start having contracts and conditions.”
His influence thus far has garnered the respect of his fans and peers in the Jackals as well as members of the Spurs crew.
We all know when Wemby wraps his head around an idea, he gets people on board. After all, the Jackals was his brainchild.
Now the head is bald and he’s putting his energy behind getting his teammates on board.
In his postgame interview, Harrison Barnes stated he wasnt against shaving his head as long ias it was his decision. He also hypothesized that Stephon Castle will be the last to shave his head.
Even NBA on Prime got in on the trend.
Who will be next to go under the shaver? Only time will tell.
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It probably was not as smooth as you would have drawn it up, but the Suns took care of business in Brooklyn on Monday night. They never fully shook the Nets, yet they controlled the game anyway. Brooklyn was doing it on the second night of a back-to-back, which made it even more impressive, especially after falling into an early 20-point hole. You could feel the Nets gaining confidence as the night went on. They shot 50.6% from the field and 39.5% from deep and kept pushing.
The difference came on the defensive end, specifically in how Phoenix handled Michael Porter Jr. The plan was clear: let the kids around him fire. Make everything he wanted uncomfortable. It worked. He finished with 23 points, but it took 23 shots to get there, including 2-of-10 from beyond the arc.
The Suns led nearly wire-to-wire after a brief 6-3 deficit, though a 15-2 run to close the second quarter let Brooklyn linger longer than ideal. Same story in the fourth. Not perfect. Still effective. Phoenix held on for win number 26.
It was a full team effort to reach 126 points. Three players cleared 20. Six finished in double figures. Scoring came from everywhere. The road trip now sits at 2-2 with two games left, and the Suns are back to even at 12-12 away from home.
Bright Side Baller Season Standings
It was close after the Suns’ win over the Knicks, with the entire bench mob pulling in 28% of the total vote. But one guy separated himself from the pack, and that was Jordan Goodwin.
His 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc, paired with the defensive pressure he brought as part of that second unit, helped steady the game when it started to wobble. That impact did not go unnoticed, and it earned him his third Bright Side Baller of the season.
The Atlanta Hawks suffered their fourth successive loss, and a loss at home on MLK Day on Monday afternoon in a closely fought 112-100 defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks. Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the Hawks’ charge in the fourth quarter, scoring 32 points. Jalen Johnson added 28 points and 16 rebounds. For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 21 points, and Bobby Portis scored 19 points.
Off the back of a massive loss against the Boston Celtics, the Hawks welcomed back Dyson Daniels and Luke Kennard to the rotation, while Hawks head coach Quin Snyder made an additional change to the starting lineup by inserting Corey Kispert in place of — the struggling of late — Vit Krejci. CJ McCollum, meanwhile, returned to the bench with Daniels returning.
The story of the first, undoubtedly was the Hawks’ struggles shooting the three-pointer, missing their first 21 attempts from distance — basically going through the entire first half without making a three before McCollum made the Hawks’ first three with 27 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Hawks have looked leggy on jump shots of late — which, they hope, will be helped by a lighter schedule coming up — and Monday afternoon was no exception. Some of these shots they were unlucky not to see go down — the Hawks worked their opportunities well in the first half but had almost nothing to show for it.
The Hawks, finally, found their feet shooting the three-pointer in the second half, but did so as the Bucks — and Myles Turner — briefly found their own form shooting three, keeping the lead around 20 points in the beginning stages of the third quarter. A 10-0 run brought the Milwaukee lead down to 13 points, before an 18-4 run brought the lead below single digits — hope had returned. The Bucks looked as though they had stabilized in the fourth quarter, taking a 13-point lead in the early exchanges in the fourth quarter after a Kevin Porter Jr. and-one.
An Alexander-Walker brought the Milwaukee lead down to nine points with 6:57 remaining (leading to a timeout), and from this point forward it was the Alexander-Walker and McCollum show. Alexander-Walker would take the starring role, igniting for five threes in the fourth quarter, and his shot-making was instrumental to the Atlanta comeback.
McCollum chipped in too and, starting from that 6:57 mark on that Alexander-Walker three, combined with Alexander-Walker to score the next 24 points the Hawks scored — finally broken by a three from Jalen Johnson with 1:10 remaining (from which point forward, normal service was resumed between Alexander-Walker and McCollum).
These baskets from Alexander-Walker (especially) and McCollum brought the Hawks back within the game, and Atlanta faithful was rewarded with a clutch game down the stretch. Let’s look at how it unfolded and where the game was lost on this occasion.
Down four points with just over two and a half minutes remaining, Alexander-Walker continues his fourth quarter effort by coming off of a pin down set by Onyeka Okongwu, coming around the screen, receiving the ball, and rising into the three:
A good switch by Porter Jr. here to get a good contest. It’s just an even better shot by Alexander-Walker, and a good screen from Okongwu to facilitate it.
On the probe by Porter Jr., Dyson Daniels does an excellent job defensively to get through the Antetokounmpo screen and contest the shot, forcing the Milwaukee miss, and now, giving the Hawks a chance to take the lead:
Just brilliant on-ball defense from Daniels, especially to get through the screen and stay with Porter Jr.
After two missed free throws by Johnson — denying a great opportunity to give the Hawks their first lead since the first half — and a missed shot by Antetokounmpo, the Hawks take the lead thanks to made free throws from McCollum. This was short-lived, as the threat of the Antetokounmpo screen (which he slips) puts Daniels behind the play, and forces McCollum to switch from Green to Porter Jr. Daniels switches to Green, but it’s not enough to prevent Green draining his sixth three of the game:
It’s a well worked play from the Bucks, and the slip from Antetokounmpo really puts Daniels behind the play, who likely expected having to go around the stationary Antetokounmpo on the screen.
The Milwaukee lead itself was, briefly, short-lived, as McCollum draws the Bucks’ defense in the corner and kicks the ball out to Johnson above the break, who rises into the three to give the Hawks a 105-104 lead with 1:11 remaining:
It’s a good job by McCollum, operating in a tight space in the corner — with Daniels keeping Porter Jr. close-by — and another shot that is well contested by Porter Jr. Just another better shot made by the Hawks, in this case, by Jalen Johnson.
The Bucks would trade another blow to the Hawks’ newly found lead, with the Bucks using the threat of the two-man between Antetokounmpo and Green (which yielded a lot of success in this game) to open up an avenue offensively. In this case, the threat of a Green three prompts McCollum to chase around the screen to cover Green opens up the roll for Antetokounmpo. When Porter Jr. slips the pass to his roller, it prompts Johnson to slide over to plug the gap. This opens up Portis in the corner, and good use of a fake sends Johnson into the Hawks’ bench, while Portis hits the three to give the Bucks the lead once again:
Portis is shooting over 47% from three this season; it’s hard to blame Johnson a ton for committing to the challenge on Portis here. Prior to that, the Bucks run the play exactly as they should through Giannis and Green — it was their most consistent avenue to score, and with Green shooting as he did in this game the Hawks couldn’t afford to be burned by another three from him.
Faced with a favorable switch onto Ryan Rollins, Johnson looks to take it to the chest of Rollins, but as he bounces into Rollins the force of the bump knocks the ball loose and picked up by Antetokounmpo, who pushes the ball in transition and finishes at the rim to give the Bucks a four point lead with 36 seconds remaining, and an Atlanta timeout:
A tough break for Johnson, who on the last two possessions was sent to the shops by Portis for the three and then turns the ball over for a costly fastbreak basket (and, arguably, lucky not to be called for the foul on Antetokounmpo).
A tough, fading shot from McCollum at the rim out of the timeout brings the Hawks back within two, and once the Bucks get past half-court the fouling game begins. Kyle Kuzma hits both free throws to restore the four-point lead, and the Hawks take their final timeout. Out of which, Daniels (who was a threat for the Bucks inbounding the ball and then cutting), delivers the ball to Alexander-Walker back on the perimeter, who hits the three to bring the lead to one point:
The play provided an insight to how the Hawks were willing to play this one out: everything rode on this three. A quick two — which Daniels could have driven to the rim — and the Hawks can still play the foul game. Missing the three would have ended the game there and then. Fortunately for the Hawks, Alexander-Walker had the hot hand, and he keeps the Hawks’ hope alive:
A very quick foul on Ryan Rollins gives the Hawks plenty of time to get down the court — no matter how Rollins shoots from the line — and get a chance for a decent shot. Rollins splits the pair, meaning even just a two would give the Hawks a chance to send the game to overtime. Johnson inbounds the ball to McCollum, who brings the ball up the floor, gets stuck, stumbles, and puts up a tough shot which is missed, and the game comes to an empty end:
It’s a horrible possession for McCollum, who had a good fourth quarter right up this point. He just gets stuck and has to find a way to get the ball anywhere, away from the situation he found himself in. For one of Johnson, or, especially, Alexander-Walker to not get the final shot is tough for the Hawks. Alas, this was the way of things, and the Hawks’ comeback from a terrible shooting half falls agonizingly short.
Asked about the final possession, Quin Snyder discussed that while the Hawks didn’t have a timeout these are scenarios they try to prepare for. Snyder was pleased with the Hawks’ spacing on the play and believed it just unfortunate that the ball was tipped away.
“We didn’t have any timeouts and those are situations you work on in practice, and it was one of the ones we had touched,” said Snyder of the final possession. “Really trust CJ with the ball and thought we got into a position where we were going to get a good shot: either he was going to get one or he was going to kick it out, and the ball just got tipped. It’s hard to fault. I should preface it by saying it’s not just one play, but we actually executed. Sometimes you do that and don’t get the right result, but the floor was open, we had guys spaced, JJ was on the trail. The ball just got tipped.”
Nickeil Alexander-Walker provided a more detailed perspective of the final play and his perspective of it, and how the play began to unravel before his eyes.
“The last play I know coach had a call,” began Alexander-Walker. “I was running to the corner to be prepared for said call. CJ was coming down. I was waiting for the action to begin. Based on the spacing, I was hesitant to continue just because I guess the live read was different from the call. It was just about me staying spaced and being ready. The help guy gambled — and I was kind of shocked that he did just with it being Corey, and usually in late game you want to stay as solid as you can be. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the shot we wanted.”
As Snyder mentioned, the Hawks losing this game went beyond this missed shot from McCollum. It’s hard to look anywhere else other than the Hawks’ first half shooting: 1-of-22 from three (0-of-21 to start). By the end of the first half, the Bucks had eight three-pointers (outscoring the Hawks 24-0 in that department) and led by 16 points. Despite this, Snyder was pleased with how the Hawks continued to play the right way on both ends of the floor.
“It was our whole team,” said Snyder of the Hawks’ shooting struggles. “I think we were 1-of-21 from three — we’re better shooters than that. We were getting great looks. It’s really easy when that happens to stop doing the things that got us those shots. You can lose your resolve to keep playing that way. That was a big topic for us at the half: ‘Let’s keep doing what we’re doing, eventually we’re going to make some shots.’ When we score 72 points in the second half, 33 assists on 39 field goals, that’s how we want to play. If some of those shots go in it’s a different ball-game. Those are the things that are hard to control: whether the ball goes in. What we can control is the kind of shots we’re getting, and we were getting great looks — we were open.
“Having said that, it’s very easy — when you’re not seeing the ball go in the basket — to let up, get frustrated, and it carries over to the defensive end. That didn’t happen either. Holding a team like that to what we did and just continuing to grind and play, in spite of the fact we were missing shots, gave us an opportunity to stay in the game until we did make some. This is one of the games you wish you got the affirmation of a win, but I think our guys took a big step as far as their connectivity and how we need to play. I thought we ran well, even late in the game, and a couple of shots that went in that Milwaukee shot that you tip your hat — they’re not easy shots. What we take from this is how we play, if we continue to play that way the scoreboard will reflect it.”
“The good thing about it is we kept shooting, despite all the misses,” added Jalen Johnson. “That’s tough, and rare to go for 0-for-21, it’s unlike us. Sometimes, you’ve got to adjust. We came out in the second half and started making shots.”
The Hawks shot 11-of-20 from three in the second half, with Alexander-Walker shooting 5-of-6 from three in the fourth quarter alone, describing how the Hawks’ shooting would eventually even out. He also outlined his belief in how the Hawks’ energy and their approach to their play would be a dictating factor in the Hawks’ shooting and general play.
“It goes back to the law of averages of basketball and understanding the realities of the game,” said Alexander-Walker. “You’re not going to make shots all the time. Sometimes the ones that feel good miss, sometimes the ones that feel nasty go in somehow. That was the tale of the night, but we found a way to chip away at it. We understood a lot of shots we were getting were good shots. One thing I did learn and could feel: despite the shots going in or going out — whatever the game was giving us — our energy and mentality towards it will change everything. I feel the game follows the energy, and our energy changed our — I want to say — spirit, to a degree… You can feel it more in the second half than the first half. The first half, we were getting great looks. We make those shots, maybe it’s a different outcome. Nonetheless, woulda, coulda, shoulda.
“The main thing is our energy is what gave us a fighting chance, and we played through mistakes and the game went up and down, and they responded to our run. We threw another punch, and those are the things that carry on for the rest of the 37-something games (remaining in the season).”
The Hawks were unlucky in the first half, it must be said. They missed a lot of threes that on different nights would go in — to shoot 0-of-21 for, basically, an entire half is almost unheard of (the Pacers came close this season, shooting 1-of-20 in a half). Despite these struggles shooting the three, there were some strong, solid individual games from the Hawks.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s game in the second half was transformative in this game. Often this season, Alexander-Walker has stepped up in the fourth quarter for the Hawks and Monday afternoon was another such example. Having begun the game 2-of-10 from three through three quarters, Alexander-Walker finished shooting 43% from three — an achievement given how he began shooting in this game. While Johnson hit a big three, and McCollum hit some tough shots too — his threes galvanized the Hawks in this game. Alexander-Walker finished with 32 points on 9-of-20 from the field, 7-of-16 from three, and 7-of-7 from the free throw line.
Alexander-Walker and McCollum went on a combined run in the fourth quarter, scoring 24 straight points between them, and the ever-insightful Alexander-Walker outlined the adjustment playing next to McCollum.
“I think it’s just about reading points of attack and playing off-ball with movement,” said Alexander-Walker. “I know in the first half I had drove, he had hit to me, set a screen, then I got stopped, he peeled off, I hit him, he was able to drive a close-out and get a layup — small things like that. The more we use our skillset and tools together, I feel it’s going to benefit us. There was times where it did, and it’s just about communication and learning CJ. He’s also learning us and what our system is and where he can be effective. I’m trying my best to be better at communicating. The tough thing it is (me) being in year 7, and him being in year 13/14 — I’m not trying to come off as the guy that’s talking down to someone who has done this before, but still having that open communication and saying ‘Hey, trust me,’ or ‘What do you see here?’ Just getting the feel.”
I believe this is the play Alexander-Walker is referring to:
As the relationship grows, there’ll probably be times where McCollum is able to recognize Alexander-Walker’s movement to the corner and find him there when the layup isn’t as open as it was in this instance.
During an interview prior to the game, McCollum himself promised Peacock that he would shoot better in this game, and he did. McCollum scored 17 points on 5-of-11 from the field, 2-of-4 from three, and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. If Johnson’s missed free throws are something that is remembered from this game, there’s a whole different bracket for McCollum’s final possession of the game. Irrespective of the fact there was no timeout available, it was a bad possession that fell in McCollum’s hands, and a costly one — but a better game overall.
Johnson’s contributions to this game were, by no means, small, scoring 28 points on 11-of-24 from the field, 3-of-6 from three, 16 rebounds, and six assists. It was good to see Johnson be a little more forceful attacking the rim in this game; the Boston game was tough for many reasons, one of them being that between all the Boston makes, the Hawks couldn’t get out and run. Johnson was able to do that a little more in this game and also find his feet with three-pointer in this game.
“JJ just continued to play,” said Snyder of Johnson’s shooting. “He missed a couple early on that he can make, and he didn’t get discouraged at all.”
It’s hard not to think about Johnson missing those two free throws in the fourth quarter, which would have given the Hawks their first lead since the first half (McCollum would right this wrong moments later to give the Hawks the lead). In a game as close as this was down the stretch, those moments can go a long way.
Dyson Daniels had a solid return to action: 17 points on 8-of-16 from the field to go with nine rebounds, 10 assists, and three steals. Daniels was excellent defensively, and he was able to get on the offensive glass in the first quarter for some put-backs, and some great cuts in this game too. That said, it’s so hard to ignore his three-point shooting — the Bucks were more than happy to let him shoot, and even though there were possessions where Daniels could have shot the three (kicking it to another teammate instead, there were also possessions where he was so open that he had no choice but to shoot it, and he missed his two attempts. Daniels last made a three on December 14th, and has missed his last 19 attempts from three when he has shot.
Late in the game, Snyder made the ‘offense-defense’ switch for the last possession of the game, and it was Kispert to come in for Daniels. It’s just tough that it’s come to this — perhaps after the season there’ll be an explanation behind Daniels’ incredible regression from three. He’s really solid everywhere else — and great defensively — but it’s difficult from three.
Still, pretty good games from those three players, led by the efforts of Alexander-Walker.
“We had a number of guys, from a statistical standpoint, had good numbers but I also thought that none of them were thinking that way when they were playing,” said Snyder. “They were connected, and those things happen naturally when you’re playing as a team and playing the way we want…”
Onyeka Okongwu had a difficult game: four points on 0-of-6 shooting from the field and 0-of-4 from three, scoring all four of his points from the free throw line — just a difficult game for Okongwu, his hook shots just weren’t falling, and he wasn’t able to get deep enough inside, nor get amongst the offensive rebounding for his own offense, but did help contribute for others with his four offensive rebounds.
Corey Kispert didn’t add a whole lot more than Vit Krejci in the starting lineup, scoring two points on 1-of-4 shooting and 0-of-3 from three in (…drumroll!) 20 minutes — that magical 18-22-ish minutes for the starting small forward spot. A return to the bench did not solve Krejci’s shooting struggles, shooting 0-of-6 from the field and three — now shooting 14-of-49 from three (28.6%) in the month of January.
All in all, a solid comeback from a 23-point hole and a 0-of-21 start from three. Alexander-Walker was excellent in the second half (28 of his 32 points coming in the second half), Johnson was much more impactful than he has been lately, and Dyson Daniels was solid too. The Hawks executed well down the stretch, but that three from Portis followed by the Johnson turnover put the Hawks on the back foot, and when Alexander-Walker gave the Hawks a chance to tie or win the game, the last possession was an unfortunate dud.
The Hawks (20-25) are now on a four-game losing streak and head to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies (18-23) on Wednesday night. The game is Memphis’ first game back on home soil since their games in Berlin and London — perhaps a good time as any to play a Grizzlies side adjusting back to a vastly different time zone.
For the third time in four matchups against the Detroit Pistons this season, the Celtics have lost in very close fashion. This was an incredible game of basketball overall. It was a back and forth game all night long and Jaylen Brown just missed the game winning shot by an inch. Definitely not the desired outcome for Boston, there were a lot of mistakes and very cold shooting but it was a great fight. In the three losses this season, Boston has only lost by 6,7, and 1 point. The Pistons are first in the East for a reason and the Celtics showed that they were able to hang with them even without Jayson Tatum.
Jaylen Brown gets a great look — just doesn’t fall
Tobias Harris and Duncan Robinson have been no strangers to the Celtics over the years. Harris spent 6 seasons on the Philadelphia 76ers and Robinson spent 7 years on the Miami Heat. Boston has battled and matched up with them numerous amounts of times, but I can’t say I have seen both of them play actually productive games against the Celtics until this game. Tobias Harris finished with 25 points on 11-20 shooting from the field and Duncan Robinson finished with 15 points on 5 three points. In a game where Boston was able to slow down Cade Cunningham, it was really demoralizing to see them go off in this game.
Robinson made some really timely shots for Detroit all night long but none were bigger than his three in the fourth quarter. He got the ball on the wing, shook Derrick White out of his shoes on a pump fake, and splashed the three
Harris also made some timely threes in the fourth quarter but his biggest came at the 1:37 mark. The shot clock was running low and Cade Cunningham was looking to pass the ball. Hauser stepped up to Cunningham and left Harris wide open in the corner for three that made it a 4 point Pistons lead that basically won them the game.
One big advantage the Pistons are always going to have over the Celtics is their big man rotation. Jalen Duren finished with 18 points and 9 rebounds while Isaiah Stewart finished with 8 points and 5 rebounds. When Detroit ran their double big man lineup, it really killed Boston, especially with both Luka Garza and Neemias Queta getting into foul trouble.
Duren had a stretch in the third quarter where he showed how much of a dominant force he really was. At the 4:26 mark, the Pistons were running the fast break off of a Celtics miss. Cunningham ran to the corner, threw up an alley-oop pass to Duren who was streaking down the court and he finished a thunderous slam over Anfernee Simons. Then later in the quarter at the 3:33 mark, Duren again was a force in the paint, following a missed layup by Stewart for a put-back slam.
Stewart made a ton of great defensive plays in this game but none were bigger than the block he had on Neemias Queta in the second quarter. Queta got the ball in the middle of the floor and rose up for a two-handed jam. However, Stewart came out of no where to jump perfectly with Queta to swat the ball away.
The Celtics finished this game with 14 turnovers but with the way they were throwing the ball around, it really felt like they had more. Detroit was able to take advantage almost every time, scoring 19 points off of Boston’s turnovers and at times it was the only reason why the Pistons were able to stay in the game. A lot of them were turnovers where the Celtics would just lose the handle on the ball or make an errant pass that lead to an easy basket for the Pistons. Take this play from Jaylen Brown for example, Brown loses the handle and the Pistons go down the court the other way for easy layup. This was an all night problem for Boston and it really felt like they just shot themselves in the foot.
Jaylen Brown was voted as an All-Star Starter before tonight’s game and showed why he was deserving of his spot, finishing with a double-double of 32 points and 11 rebounds on 11-28 shooting. Brown did all he could to will the Celtics to a win in this game but just came up short in the end. The outcome shouldn’t deter the great game he had however because he made some incredible plays against a tough Pistons defense late in the game to keep Boston in striking distance.
One of my favorite plays of the night from Brown came at the 2:30 mark in the first quarter. Defended by Ron Holland, Brown pump faked the three to get him to jump, then went to the midrange, created seperation with his off arm, and sank the jumper.
His fourth quarter was probably the biggest for Boston however, scoring 10 of the Celtics 21 points. Brown started with a play where he got to his spot at the free throw line, pump faked to get Caris LeVert in the air, and finished the midrange jumper through contact. He then matched up with Duncan Robinson at the three point line and blew by him. Brown then met Duren at the rim and finished a tough basket over him. Next was a play where Tobias Harris was all over him on defense but Brown was able to get by him and finish the layup with his right hand. Finally, Brown was once again matched up with Harris but this time he blew right by him to score a floater that made it a one point game with 45 seconds left.
After hitting 10 threes against the Hawks in his last game, Sam Hauser continued his great run of play into this matchup with the Pistons, finishing with 16 points on 6-9 shooting from the field and 4-7 shooting from three. You can argue that Hauser was the second best player on the court for Boston as he had a huge stretch of scoring in the third quarter.
Hauser began the third quarter doing a great job running around the court to get to the top of the three point line for a pull-up jumper over two Pistons defenders. On his next basket, he made another cut to a similar spot at the three point line but a little farther. White found him and Hauser made another three over a great contest by Ausar Thompson. Finally, Hauser pulled out his midrange bag, taking Duncan Robinson off of the dribble. He drove, got Robinson up in the air, and hit the jumper looking a little bit like Jaylen Brown. Sadly this stretch got interrupted with him picking up his fourth foul but this was a great stretch that gave the Celtics energy coming out of halftime.
After a tough game in Miami and missing the Celtics last game in Atlanta, Payton Pritchard made his return to the lineup for this matchup and had a pretty solid game, finishing with 17 points on 5-8 shooting. Although there were times he looked hesitant to shoot, he was able to make an impact. Like Hauser, Pritchard had a great third quarter where he dropped 10 points.
Pritchard’s third quarter started off of a nice pass from Jaylen Brown. Brown was double teamed on the block and found Pritchard who was wide open on the wing for three. His next play started with a pass from Queta where he pump faked Robinson and drove to lane. He then hit a hesitation dribble and put up a midrange shot over Duren for a tough bucket. His final play of the third quarter started with him blowing by Harris on the perimeter where he was picked up by Isaiah Stewart. Pritchard did a good job of getting to the basket and was able to finish a reverse layup over the contest from Stewart. I hope this game is able to get Pritchard going again for a while because the Celtics are in desperate need of a consistent number two option next to Jaylen Brown right now.
This was arguably the worst game of the season for Derrick White, finishing with 4 points on 1-11 shooting and 0-6 from three. He did have 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks on Cade Cunningham but this was the worst game in a string of rough games. In his last 4 games, White is averaging 9.3 points, 6.8 assists, and 6.0 rebounds, on 28% shooting from the field and 15% from three. This after White had a great month of December and looked to be shaking off the rust from his slow start to the season. It feels like there is a correlation between the Celtics winning and losing games this season and at times it feels like it comes down to if White is going to have a good game or not. I’m sure he will bounce back from this rough patch just like he did before but I just hope this doesn’t become a more concerning trend.
9. Brown vs Cunningham
Brian Scalabrine did a pregame interview with Jaylen Brown on NBC where he said that he would be the primary defender on the Pistons All-Star Starter Cade Cunningham in this game. Despite the loss, Brown and the Celtics did a pretty good job of defending Cunningham as a whole. He finished with 16 points and 14 rebounds but shot 4-17 from the field and 0-4 from three.
Jaylen Brown on guarding Cade Cunningham tonight
I’m gonna guard him tonight. I’m gonna pick him up, test him a little bit, and we’ll go from there.” pic.twitter.com/9b8VV8iO3i
Out of the shot attempts where Brown looked to be the primary defender, Cunningham shot 1-5. On the first attempt, Brown rode Cunningham’s off hand all the way to the basket where Cade missed the layup. The second attempt saw Cunningham attempt a midrange jumper that Brown was able to block and even though they called it a foul, it was overturned on a Celtics challenge. The third attempt was another midrange jumper where Brown was able to get around a Duren screen for a nice contest. The fourth attempt saw Cunningham once again try to shake off Brown but Jaylen stayed glued to him and forced another contest jumper. The final attempt was the only attempt that Cunningham got the win on and was a big one. At the 2:21 mark of the fourth quarter Brown was stuck behind a screen from Thompson that allowed Cade to get into the lane for an easy floater.
If these two teams match up in a playoff series, I can see Brown being the primary defender on Cunningham again and hopefully holding him to a similar result in this game.
All four games that the Celtics and Pistons have played this season have been down to wire, good old fashioned slugfests that have felt like the Game 7 of a playoff series. This is due to the intensity that comes out of both teams when they step foot on the floor and it feels like it will be a disservice to everyone who enjoys basketball if these two teams don’t matchup in the playoffs this season. Detroit has become a juggernaut behind their aggressive defense and timely offense while Boston is going to have Jayson Tatum back in a playoff series which increases almost every attribute on both sides of the ball for the Celtics. Ideally we get a rematch of the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals with the same result but either way I love this budding rivalry and I hope we get to see it for years to come.
CLEVELAND — Last January, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ win over the Oklahoma City Thunder seemed to signal the arrival of a new era. It was an official announcement to the league that their team, powered by two undersized, dynamic guards and defensive-oriented bigs, wasn’t just a gimmick. They teased that they could win on the biggest stage and just needed to wait until the spring to officially prove it.
Looking back a year later, after the Thunder humiliated the Cavs with a 32-point beatdown on Monday, it’s fair to wonder if that Jan. 2025 win wasn’t the arrival of the core-four era, but the high point before the gradual, steady decline.
The difference between the Thunder and Cavs from a talent standpoint was stark. Cleveland had one player in their starting lineup who could break down the defense off-the-dribble and very few reliable shooters around him. The Thunder dared Cleveland’s bigs — Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen — to beat them inside, which they couldn’t consistently do.
Defensively, the Thunder showed what a team that prioritizes that end of the floor should look like. They were consistently in passing lanes forcing turnovers, and made it incredibly difficult to finish anything at the rim. This stood in contrast to a Cavs team that was forced to cheat off of one of Oklahoma City’s weaker shooters to make good contests at the rim. This came back to bite them as the Thunder converted nearly 50% of their three-point attempts.
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In many ways, the Thunder were the complete, defensive-first, well-oiled machine led by an MVP candidate guard and dynamic, modern big that the Cavs were hoping to be when they first put this core together four years ago.
Last year, it felt like that was a possibility. This season, it seems like a fantasy. Where did the Cavs go wrong?
The Thunder have a style of play they want to enforce every time they go on the court, regardless of who’s in the lineup. That’s instilled through years of targeting guys who have certain physical and mental traits. And once those players are in the organization, they’re meticulously taught how to fit into that system.
The Cavs, conversely, don’t have a certain type of player or style that they’ve targeted. Their core four players of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen were each brought in on moves that targeted the best available player. There wasn’t a shared skill or personality trait that led to them eventually becoming Cavaliers.
Acquiring talent is the number one goal of a front office. From that perspective, Cleveland’s has been successful. Figuring out how to get that talent to play a cohesive style has been a much more difficult process.
The Cavs went all in on defense, anchored by their oversized front court and hard-nosed coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Then, they found out defense wasn’t enough as their offense fell flat in their 2023 playoff series loss to the New York Knicks. They then pivoted to prioritize the offensive side of the ball with shooters that summer in Max Strus, Georges Niang, and Ty Jerome.
The Cavaliers took another step towards being an offensive team by hiring head coach Kenny Atkinson in 2024. He transformed Cleveland into a movement-based offense that prioritized the three-ball. This worked, until they fell in the playoffs to the Indiana Pacers.
Instead of continuing down that path, Cleveland pivoted again by trying to find well-rounded players who can handle the ball and switch defensively with Lonzo Ball and Larry Nance Jr. Both have struggled mightily this season, but the issue remains the same.
There isn’t an overarching guiding principle about what a Cavalier player is or what skills they should have. Instead, it’s been a revolving door of different skillsets, each brought in as a reaction to what went wrong during the previous postseason.
This has culminated in this current team that hasn’t found an identity despite being over halfway through the season. They don’t have the personnel to be the defensive-first team they were three years ago, and they also don’t have the shooting that resulted in them being one of the best regular-season offenses of all-time last year. They’re a bad hybrid of both ideas and lack the consistent principles or fundamentals to hang their hat on anything.
The Cavs still have time to right the ship. There’s enough talent on the roster — when healthy — to climb the standings over the back-half of the season and make a postseason run. But there presumably isn’t enough time to cobble together an identity with these disparate and underperforming pieces to make the title run that seemed possible coming into the season.
The individual loss on Monday wasn’t that big of a deal. The Cavs had their worst outside shooting night of the season, while the Thunder had one of their best. That’s generally going to lead to a blowout loss, no matter the skill level of your opponent.
The issue comes from the different processes that led both teams to this point. The Thunder, without two starters, were a team that clearly knew who they were, what they wanted to be, and were disciplined enough to execute their gameplan. Their process was flawless. Conversely, the Cavs weren’t able to function without their starting point guard, had no one who could come close to replicating that missing skill, and didn’t have anything to fall back on.
It’s easier to point out problems than it is to fix them. There isn’t a magic bullet or trade that is guaranteed to get the Cavs back on track. All we know is that the gap between the reigning champs and the team that was on their level at this time last season is wider than it’s been in years. And the Cavs are running out of time to close it.
The battle between the top two Eastern Conference teams came down to one final shot on MLK Day, with Jaylen Brown firing with 4.4 seconds left.
Brown got to his spot but came up short, and the Boston Celtics fell for the third time this season to the Detroit Pistons in Monday night’s 104-103 loss. There was nothing about his game-winning attempt that left head coach Joe Mazzulla second-guessing once the ball bounced off the back rim.
“It was a great move by Jaylen. It’s a shot that he makes, and it just didn’t go down,” Mazzulla told reporters, per CLNS Media. “So it was great execution. I’ll take that shot 100 times out of 100.”
Typically, that’s Brown’s bread and butter. He’s converted 45.4% of his five mid-range attempts per game from eight-plus feet, while shooting 53.6% on all 2-pointers this season. In Detroit, he released a 14-foot fadeaway over heavy contest from Tobias Harris — a difficult shot for anyone. Still, it’s one Brown has become accustomed to sinking routinely during his breakout run as Boston’s No. 1 option.
Hours after being named a first-time starter for this year’s NBA All-Star Game, Brown reflected on the final shot.
“Last play — catch, get to a spot, go up — gotta make a play for your team at the end,” he told reporters, per CLNS Media. “We had some opportunities — didn’t convert. We still got some room for growth. That’s what the regular season is for, so we need to be better.”
Brown has been among the most lethal mid-range scorers in the league, making every spot inside the perimeter his domain. So going for it all with an off-balance shot from the elbow is something the Celtics are happy to live with, make or miss. He finished with a game-high 32 points, taking 20 of his 28 shots from the mid-range. In the first quarter, he got going quickly by scoring 13 of the team’s 29 points, but as the defense intensified as the game progressed, the offensive firepower slowed for Brown, the Celtics, and the Pistons.
Mazzulla’s sentiment for Brown’s all-or-nothing look extended to the locker room.
“That’s the shot you wanna take for a game-winner, and we live with it,” Payton Pritchard told reporters in support of Brown, per CLNS Media.
Both sides were held to fewer than 25 points in the fourth quarter, making every shot a critical attempt.
The Celtics turned the ball over 14 times, allowing the Pistons to score 19 points off their own miscues.
“Honestly, I think the game came down to six 50-50 balls that we didn’t come up with in the first half,” Mazzulla told reporters.
Following their Dec. 15 meeting with Detroit over five weeks ago, Brown described his scuffle with Isaiah Stewart in the third quarter as “fun,” adding that he was “all for it,” despite the physicality. That tension flared once more just 29 seconds into Monday night’s game, with the two needing to be separated. Both received double technical fouls, and the Pistons followed Stewart’s lead until the final buzzer.
Pritchard admitted that’s something they’ll have to get used to.
“They’re a very physical team — probably the most physical in the NBA,” Pritchard told reporters. “I thought it was a hard-fought battle, and we came ready to play, and it just didn’t go our way in the end. But you just learn from it and get ready, especially if we see them in the playoffs.”
Paying homage to the “Bad Boy” Pistons of the mid-1980s has, so far, worked for J.B. Bickerstaff’s team. Unlike Boston, Detroit lacks the experience of a team that’s been there before. Over the last 10 years, they’ve secured only three playoff appearances, including two sweeps and three first-round exits. So any edge to impose on the surging Celtics would help bridge that gap.
DETROIT, MICHIGAN – JANUARY 19: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics reacts against the Detroit Pistons during the third quarter at Little Caesars Arena on January 19, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. 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. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
In a game that lived up to the hype of a best-of-seven series, Mazzulla doesn’t believe the Celtics mailed it in — at all. Detroit’s largest lead never reached beyond 12 points, Boston won the offensive boards battle (14-9), and perhaps most importantly, they got to the free-throw line far more than in recent weeks despite ongoing frustrations with NBA officiating.
Brown was fined $35,000 for criticizing the referees one night. On another night, Mazzulla spoke only two words — “illegal screen” — during a 44-second postgame presser, and the sense of being wronged by the whistle remained strong in the locker room.
During the most recent homestand, which ended on Jan. 10, the Celtics averaged 12.8 free-throw attempts per game. In Detroit, they more than doubled that number.
That’s where Mazzulla recognized noteworthy improvement.
“The free-throw line,” Mazzulla told reporters. “We took 30 free throws. In the first three games we played against them, they averaged 30 free throws. Our ability to be physical, get into the paint, play with contact, and shoot 30 free throws against them — I think that’s where we handled it.”
Mazzulla stressed that the team’s philosophy remains the same, no matter the outcome: “The effort, the physicality was there. If that shot went in, we’d still be watching the exact same clips that we have to get better at. That’s just how we have to approach it.”
Let’s address the elephant in the room first, Dub Nation. Jimmy Butler went down with a knee injury against Miami on Saturday night, and while the Warriors pulled out a 135-112 victory, the mood feels less celebratory and more cautiously optimistic. Butler’s status for Tuesday remains uncertain, which means the Warriors might be walking into Toronto without one of their most important two-way weapons.
Golden State Warriors at Toronto Raptors When: January 20, 2026 | 7:00 PM PT TV: NBC Sports Bay Area Radio: 95.7 The Game
Jimmy Butler's been a top 15-20 player this season at 36 years old.
Words cannot describe how big of a loss it would be for the Warriors if he misses significant time. Not just in terms of the on-court product but for their roster building.
This isn’t just any road game. This is a revenge game wrapped in psychological warfare. The last time these teams met in Toronto, Scottie Barnes put together a performance that belonged in a museum, dropping 23 points and grabbing 25 rebounds in a 141-127 overtime victory that left Warriors fans questioning the meaning of existence itself. That loss exposed Golden State’s kryptonite in the most painful way possible: getting physically dominated on the glass and watching leads evaporate like morning fog.
Toronto enters this game after getting handled 110-93 by the Lakers on Sunday, a contest where Luka Doncic and LeBron James reminded everyone what veteran excellence looks like. The Raptors shot just 39.8% from the field and got outscored 30-17 in the fourth quarter, the kind of finishing struggle that should give the Warriors hope if Butler can’t go. But here’s the thing: this Toronto team is 25-19 for a reason. Barnes remains one of the most versatile young players in basketball, and Brandon Ingram still provides silky mid-range assassination and is playing at an All-Star level.
For the Warriors, this game represents a critical test of depth and adaptability. If Butler sits, Steph Curry will need to shoulder an even heavier offensive burden, something he’s done brilliantly this season but which carries real physical costs. Draymond Green’s ability to facilitate and control pace becomes absolutely essential. Can he replicate the 21-point, 7-assist performance he delivered in that Toronto loss?
The rebounding battle will define this game. Toronto grabbed 55 boards in their last matchup with Golden State while the Warriors managed just 42. That 13-rebound deficit translated directly into second-chance points and momentum swings. Without Butler’s physicality and rebounding presence, guys like Trayce Jackson-Davis need to play with controlled aggression on the glass.
This isn’t just about winning a regular season game in January. It’s about exorcising demons, proving Butler’s absence doesn’t crater the entire operation, and showing that the December 28th collapse was an aberration rather than a blueprint. The Warriors need this win psychologically as much as they need it in the standings.
BOTTOM LINE: Miami (OH) comes into a matchup against Buffalo as winners of seven straight games.
The RedHawks have gone 7-0 at home. Miami (OH) is 1-0 in one-possession games.
The Bulls are 0-6 against MAC opponents. Buffalo has a 0-1 record in games decided by 3 points or fewer.
Miami (OH) averages 70.7 points per game, 0.2 more points than the 70.5 Buffalo gives up. Buffalo averages 58.2 points per game, 0.4 fewer than the 58.6 Miami (OH) gives up to opponents.
The RedHawks and Bulls square off Wednesday for the first time in MAC play this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Amber Scalia is shooting 36.3% from beyond the arc with 2.1 made 3-pointers per game for the RedHawks, while averaging 13.5 points. Amber Tretter is averaging 15.7 points and 6.2 rebounds over the last 10 games.
Aniya Rowe is averaging 11.1 points and two steals for the Bulls. Paula Lopez is averaging 1.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: RedHawks: 9-1, averaging 67.7 points, 26.6 rebounds, 16.4 assists, 11.4 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 44.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 58.7 points per game.
Bulls: 1-9, averaging 60.4 points, 34.3 rebounds, 9.8 assists, 9.9 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 37.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.3 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Golden State Warriors crushed the Miami Heat on Monday night, winning 135-112, and giving them their 12th win in their last 16 games. But it came at a serious, and heartbreaking cost. In the third quarter, star forward Jimmy Butler III left the game after falling to the floor in agony following a non-contact injury to his knee. Butler was helped off the court, unable to put weight on his leg.
And as the clock struck midnight and the day flipped from Monday to Tuesday, the worst fears were confirmed: ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that Butler has suffered a torn ACL.
That officially will end his season, and unofficially will end whatever slim chances the Warriors had of competing this year following their recent surge.
The Warriors have experience with torn ACL timelines, most recently with Butler’s current teammate, De’Anthony Melton, who returned in early December from ACL surgery. Melton’s return came just shy of 13 months after he initially suffered the injury. It’s not uncommon for players to return from ACL tears after 11 or 12 months, but given Butler’s age (36), and the fact that this is his third serious injury to his right knee, and it’s safe to pencil him in for the long end of the spectrum. A return shortly after the 2027 All-Star break seems like the most likely scenario for Butler.
We’ll see if he’s still on the Warriors then, as his enormous contract now becomes salary that the Warriors may look to move, either at the deadline or in the offseason (it will be an expiring contract if they wait until the latter, so it will have some value). But that’s something to think about on another day.
For now, it’s just sadness. For Butler, and for the Warriors.
Tobias Harris was one of four Detroit players to score at least 10 points [Getty Images]
Tobias Harris scored 25 points as NBA Eastern Conference leaders Detroit Pistons held on to beat the second-placed Boston Celtics 104-103 on Martin Luther King Jr Day.
Jaylen Brown, who registered 32 points and 11 rebounds for the Celtics, almost snatched victory when his shot in the final seconds bounced off the rim at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
Jalen Duren contributed 18 points and nine rebounds and Cade Cunningham 16 points and 14 assists for the Pistons.
"We wanted this game. It's a heck of a win for us," said Harris.
"Two of the best teams in the East - our group is always up for the challenge."
The Pistons improved their record to 31-10, while the Celtics are 26-16.
Western Conference leaders and defending NBA champions Oklahoma City Thunder got back to winning ways with a 136-104 victory at the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Thunder went into the game on the back of a defeat by the Miami Heat and dominated the Cavaliers as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points.
Victor Wembanyama scored 33 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs, who are second in the Western Conference, to a 123-110 home win against the Utah Jazz.
Wembanyama scored a season-high seven three-pointers in a display which also included 10 rebounds, while six other Spurs players reached double figures in points.
In a way, it kind of feels like the Spurs have switched places with their IH-10 Rivals this season. While they’re close in the standings, it has been two entirely different seasons for the Spurs and Houston Rockets. Both teams have been on similar rebuild schedules, with the Rockets being a year ahead, and it culminated in them rising to the second seed in the West last season before they were upset in the first round by the Warriors. They appeared to address most of their depth issues in the offseason and added more star power with the addition of Kevin Durant, but so far, it has been a letdown season in no small part due to the loss of Fred VanVleet.
Meanwhile, the Spurs are experiencing the same rise the Rockets did last season, from play-in-contender who ultimately missed out the season before, all the way up to the second seed the next (although hopefully the similarities end there when all is said and done). Additions like Dylan Harper, Luke Kornet and a healthy version of De’Aaron Fox have shored up depth issues from last season and helped them not only survive a spate of injuries, but even thrive.
Today, the two rivals meet up for the first time since early in November, when the Spurs won a tight contest that was ultimately the launching point to them winning their group and making the NBA Cup Finals.
San Antonio Spurs (30-13) at Houston Rockets (25-15)
January 20, 2026 | 7:00 PM CT
Watch: NBC/Peacock | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
Spurs injuries: Not due until 1 PM.
Rockets Injuries: Steven Adams — out (ankle); Tari Eason — questionable (ankle); Fred VanVleet — out (knee)
What to watch for
No point guard for the Rockets
In a situation the Spurs can relate to from a couple of seasons ago, Houston has been playing the entire season without a true point guard after VanVleet suffered a torn ACL in September. As a result, it has been a point-guard-by-committee approach, with those duties being split between players like Amen Thomson and Reed Sheppard. The result has been a bottom 10 team in the league in turnovers and an offense that can get stagnant and lean too much on Durant at times, but that doesn’t mean the Spurs can take them lightly. They have improved a decent amount in taking care of the ball in the month of January and still rank 4th overall in offensive net rating.
Can the Spurs take their newfound offense on the road?
The Rockets played a very road-heavy schedule to start the season, playing 23 of their first 36 games away from home. (I don’t know why; I work just up the street from the Toyota Center, and unlike the Rodeo for the Spurs, there was nothing of note going on there.) The trade off was fewer games and back-to-backs, but still exhausting. Regardless, they have still have the second best record at home in the West at 14-3 and are currently 3-1 on their five-game homestand, including a win over the Timberwolves, and will look to cap it off with a win tonight.
At the same time, while the Spurs are a good road team this season at 13-8, Houston has been one of those places that gives them trouble over the years, even during their dynasty days. It’s probably safe to say they rediscovered their offensive form while sweeping their three-game homestand, and now they have to take it on the road into a hostile environment. They showed it was no problem earlier in the season, so hopefully the offense starts traveling with them again.
Size on size
Even without Steven Adams, who suffered a scary looking ankle sprain in their last game against the Pelicans and whom the Rockets have played much better with than without, they are still a long, strong team with players like Alperen Sengun, Durant and Jabari Smith. The Spurs also have plenty of length alongside Wemby, especially when they go French Vanilla by playing him with Kornet. I imagine they definitely would have broken it out if Adams was available, but they still might, especially if Wemby keeps shooting threes at this rate, having hit 16-27 over the last three games.
Jimmy Butler’s aggression on offense had been on an uptick as of late. But this night against his former team felt entirely personal.
With just under eight minutes and thirty seconds left in the first quarter of the Golden State Warriors’ rematch against the Miami Heat (Butler, Steph Curry, and Draymond Green were unavailable for the first matchup in Miami), Quinten Post hauled in the rebound and promptly passed the ball to Curry, who brought the ball up. Scanning the floor, Curry throws a rocket to Will Richard in the corner, with Bam Adebayo sauntering back and becoming visible on the NBCS Bay Area broadcast.
At that point, Adebayo and the television audience had one thing in common: none of them saw Butler zooming toward the half-court view like a bullet shot out of a gun. With his “stampede” cut, Butler caught the pass from Richard on the run, blew past the unsuspecting Adebayo, and rocketed all the way to the rim for the easy finish:
Butler made it a point to make an example of his former teammate, going at him at every opportunity he could get. Despite good defense from Adebayo under the paint, as he is wont to do as one of the league’s preeminent defenders, Butler was able to create ample separation from Adebayo using a turnaround fadeaway jumper:
If ever there was a night for Butler to move differently — in the sense of having that extra motivation to perform better than usual — it would be against the Heat, a squad Butler led to the Finals in 2020 and 2023. Butler fell short of achieving a championship in both instances, but those runs stamped his reputation as a big-game performer and playoff riser.
A rather acrimonious exit with the organization that Butler toiled for is certainly a catalyst for showing off. The proverbial fire was lit underneath him on both ends of the floor:
Players who have something to prove often get lost in the tunnel vision accompanies wanton aggression. Butler could’ve easily fallen victim to ball-hogging ventures born out of a desire to stick it to his former employers, coaches, and teammates. But in true Butlerian fashion, he refrained from waging a one-man crusade and still sought to create good looks for his teammates.
With Moses Moody setting a “Pistol” screen for him in the possession below, Butler coaxes a switch out of the Heat on the drive. Warriors legend Andrew Wiggins drifts too far off of Moody and Butler simply finds the open Moody for a three:
Things were looking dandy for Butler and the Warriors. In his 20 minutes and 50 seconds of time on the floor, the Warriors outscored the Heat by a total of nine points, buoyed by Butler’s versatile floor game and steadiness on defense (as evidenced by the Warriors’ 94 defensive rating in such minutes). However, a story that was seemingly on its way toward a happy ending quickly turned into a nightmare scenario.
Jimmy Butler had to be helped to the locker room after appearing to injury his knee pic.twitter.com/sOSpAxbbAP
Unable to put much weight on his injured right knee, Butler was taken to the locker room and was promptly ruled out for the rest of the game. As of this writing, he is currently having an MRI to determine the nature and severity of the injury.
Words cannot describe how consequential a potential extended Butler absence would be for the Warriors. Butler has played at a top 15-20 level this season, ranking highly in several advanced metrics such as Estimated Plus-Minus (plus-4.2, 14th), Box Plus-Minus (plus-5.5, 12th), and DARKO Plus-Minus (plus-2.8, 19th). He leads the team in total plus-minus (plus-176) and the Warriors have been 10.9 points per 100 possessions better with Butler on the floor.
Most notably, non-Curry minutes spearheaded by Butler have outscored opponents by 8.9 points per 100 possessions in 561 low-leverage minutes. To not only be a positive during Curry’s bench minutes but be a significant positive is unheard of. With Butler potentially missing time, the fear is that the previous status quo — that of non-Curry lineups having trouble creating any sort of positive impact — will return.
At 36 years old, Butler’s prime years are past him; to be playing at this level, with impact that contributes to winning basketball, is quite an amazing feat. But should Butler miss a year or more, he will be 37 years old. For injuries such as this, the extensive rehabilitation and re-acclimatization process isn’t as kind to older players as it has become to younger ones.
Butler still very much wants to contribute to winning, desiring that championship that has eluded him twice. That window was already somewhat narrow before this injury; it has become much closer to being shut with the untimely and unfortunate inward buckle of his knee.
In the grand scheme of things, if the diagnosis turns out to be what everyone isn’t hoping for it to be, the Warriors’ window for contention will be equally close to being shut. The Warriors will have little incentive to move off of their tradeable assets in Jonathan Kuminga (besides the fact that this relationship has run its course) and their treasure trove of picks. Without a keystone for championship contention, what leverage the Warriors had in trade talks would be eliminated, as well as reasons for front office and ownership to go all in on the remaining years of the Curry era.
Most important of all, let us not forget the human element — and hope that Butler will recover expeditiously and in a manner that will allow him to return to play, without any hindrance and setbacks.
