Category: Basketball

Gritty, joyful identity Warriors creating has them built to last highs and lows originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – For once, Yaxel Lendeborg seemed to be at a loss for words. 

The Warriors rookie has entertained with his play and his words in the first three weeks of his NBA career. On the court, in the locker room and at the podium, Lendeborg has given answers that have gone viral and have shown what a quick learner he is. This time, he needed a moment to ponder the point he wanted to make. 

Lendeborg squinted his eyes and blew air into the microphone. “Hmmm … that’s a good one,” he began. 

My question was about identity. Who are the 2026-27 Warriors at their core beyond the standings? What describes their collective personality? 

“Ummm … damn,” Lendeborg continued. 

In those eight seconds of contemplation, Lendeborg found his answer. 

“I would say, I mean, I feel like we’re pretty gritty,” Lendeborg said. “Honestly, I feel like we don’t take none of that fake tough guy stuff that everybody tries to throw at us. We feel like we’re willing to get in your face, willing to play as hard as we can, just do whatever we have to do to win, regardless of what kind of game it’s going to be.” 

The Warriors didn’t need to be gritty to beat the New Orleans Pelicans for their eighth straight win Monday night to cap an undefeated six-game homestand. They led by 15 points after the first quarter, 29 points at halftime, 47 through three quarters and won by 51 points for the largest margin of victory ever in Steve Kerr’s 13 years coaching the Warriors. 

But establishing an identity isn’t about the score. It’s about never changing who you are as a whole despite the score, which is why Lendeborg came to his teammate’s aid and received a technical foul early in the fourth quarter against the Pelicans after Derik Queen pushed Graham Ike near his face. 

Being ahead by 47 wasn’t the point. For all 48 minutes, these Warriors want to be the ones to set the ground rules on Won’t Be Punk’d 101.

A few weeks isn’t enough for Warriors coach Steve Kerr. He sets his first sights on the 20-game mark before having an idea of how high his team can climb. Kerr made that clear in his pregame press conference Monday night, yet after plucking the Pelicans apart he was asked again about the potential he sees in his team. 

“The Orlando game the other night, the process was bad,” Kerr said. “And tonight, it was excellent. … Our process was really strong tonight. But we’ve got to do that consistently. And if we do that, you can ask me again after nine more games or so.” 

That right there is another key part of the Warriors’ identity they have been building. The outside had no expectations for then. If anything, they were written off before the season even began. And that’s fine by them. Maybe internally they had their own expectations, but not externally. 

There wasn’t any talk about needing to be a top-six team in the Western Conference, or even top eight. The Warriors have let their play do the talking, and it starts with their own version of trusting the process. 

“Listen, we come in and we do what we’re supposed to do. Like, whether it’s the training staff, lifting, practice, but yes, you hit the nail on the head: Process oriented, where these are the things that we’re trying to accomplish today, and we’re only focusing on today,” Georges Niang said after the Warriors beat the Miami Heat by 20 points last Thursday.

“And tomorrow we’ll try and accomplish these next few things that we’re never looking ahead. We may look back at what happened the game before or practice, and I think that’s what makes it easy because you’re just like, OK, I’m going to show up and and do my job each day, and I think every day that all of us show up, we’re all getting better, and the proof is in the pudding. We still have a lot of work to do, but the proof is in the pudding.”

Niang scored 13 points to lead the Warriors’ rejuvenated Strength In Numbers bench unit in that win against the Heat, and continued to stoke his fiery side by chest bumping Bobby Portis and jawing at one the league’s notorious tough guys.

Players like Niang make Draymond Green believe the Warriors have the right amount of “collective nastiness.” There’s a high level of connectedness that has allowed the Warriors to accept roles after a slow start and having its back against the wall since Day 1 while continuing to be wrought with injury issues. 

Traditional stats, like the Warriors ranking second in points per game (120.4) and second in assists per game (29.0), plus first in made threes per game (16.5), fourth in overall field goal percentage (47.7) and eighth in steals per game (8.9) don’t paint the full picture. Neither do the Warriors ranking second in offensive rating (119.0) and 11th in defensive rating (110.3) for the fifth-best net rating (8.7) in the league. Ranking first in charges drawn per game (1.09) and second in total loose balls recovered (25) get you closer to what’s really going on. 

When the Warriors dropped to 0-3, Kerr delivered a calmingly confident speech that had them feeling closer to 3-0. When Curry saved them against the Magic with his 41 points in an overtime win, including the final 12 points of regulation, the first words he told the Warriors in the locker room were about how much he trusts them and applauded the depth of a team that entered the season down three of its best players.

The main thing has remained the main thing. No looking back, no looking forward for a present group putting its focus on the process over the results.

“We’re not getting ahead of ourselves,” Curry says. “Nobody in there is thinking that we’re something that we’re not. We’re just putting together game after game, which for a team that’s fairly new with each other and some young guys who have a lot of responsibility, that’s the only way you can manage 82 games is separating the forward thinking of where this is going to take us from just the process of how do we win tonight. It’s a hard commitment because it’s a lot of work and a lot of discipline, but it’s the only way to be successful here.”

Forming conclusions after 11 games would be fool’s gold. If they were after three, the Warriors still would be drowning in the gutters instead of riding waves and collecting wins in the sand. 

An 82-game season isn’t a 40-yard dash but an ultra-marathon of highs and lows. The sooner a team can establish who they are in their soul, though, the more they can control the controllables and let the rest take care of itself.

Joy remains a top priority of the culture they’ve created, and equal parts of grittiness has the Warriors feeling up to the task of surviving, and even thriving, a taxing five-game test on the road that begins Wednesday night against the 8-3 Houston Rockets and continues against the only team hotter than them in the 9-2 San Antonio Spurs.

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Jaylen Brown's snub, Jayson Tatum's response and more from C's-Sixers originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Tuesday night’s Boston Celtics-Philadelphia 76ers matchup was circled on NBA fans’ calendars since the schedule was released in August. It lived up to the hype… for Celtics fans, at least.

The C’s cruised to a dominant 123-101 victory at Wells Fargo Center. Jayson Tatum outdueled ex-teammate Jaylen Brown while Boston’s return in the Brown trade, Paul George, put on a show against his former team.

It was an eventful night in Philly from just before the opening tip to the postgame press conferences. Just in case you missed it, we covered all of the key moments and highlights below:

Jaylen Brown snubs Jayson Tatum before tip-off

Leading up to Tuesday’s game, Jayson Tatum said there was “no beef” with Jaylen Brown. Brown agreed there was no beef, but acknowledged (three times) that there was some “lamb chops and gravy.”

Tatum put the drama aside and attempted to greet Brown just before the opening tip. Brown acted like Tatum was invisible:

Jayson Tatum locks down Jaylen Brown

It didn’t take long for NBA fans to get what they’ve been waiting for: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown going head-to-head. Tatum had a highlight-reel play while defending his former teammate in the first quarter as he forced a turnover:

Jayson Tatum and Paul George dominate Sixers

Tatum (21 points) outdueled Brown (13 points), but the real story was George. The 36-year-old dropped a game-high 36 points while playing his usual outstanding defense. He was by far the best player in the game on both ends of the floor:

Jayson Tatum throws one down on LeBron James

Tatum’s biggest moment came in the third quarter, when he threw down an emphatic dunk on LeBron James. It was reminiscent of his unforgettable dunk on James during the 2018 playoffs as a rookie:

Jaylen Brown addresses snubbing Jayson Tatum

Predictably, Brown’s pregame snub of Tatum was a major talking point, but Brown denied intentionally ignoring his former teammate.

“To be honest, I wasn’t paying attention, but credit to Jayson; he played well tonight.”

As for the game, Brown admitted losing in that fashion was “humbling” for his new team.

“We’ve just got to get better,” Brown said. “Tonight was humbling. We got outplayed, out-executed. So we go back to the drawing board and get ready for the next one.”

Jayson Tatum talks playoff-like atmosphere in Philly

It’s only November, but this still was one of the most highly anticipated games of the season. Jayson Tatum was taken aback by the atmosphere at Wells Fargo Center.

“I couldn’t tell if it was November 10th or June 10th. Felt like a f—ing Finals game,” he said in his postgame press conference.

Jayson Tatum reacts to pregame moment with Jaylen Brown

As for Brown’s pregame snub, Tatum took the high road.

“No headlines about anything like that,” he said. “I was just getting ready for the game, ready for jump ball, go out there, compete, have some fun and try to get a win.”

The next Celtics-Sixers showdown will take place Jan. 21 at TD Garden.

One Possession: Paul George knows when it's time to shine originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Paul George continues to turn back the clock in his first season with the Boston Celtics. But it’s not just the solid two-way output he’s providing in green, it’s when he’s doing it.

The Celtics have absolutely dominated the minutes when George is on the court and Jayson Tatum is on the bench. On Tuesday night in Philadelphia, during a showdown with George’s former team, Boston opened the fourth quarter — a stretch where Tatum typically rests — on a 14-0 run that helped them motor away for a 123-101 triumph in a battle of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.

George’s fingerprints were all over what was a larger 26-3 burst after the Sixers rallied to tie the game late in the third quarter. It was George taking advantage of a mismatch with old friend Tyrese Maxey before delivering an and-one fadeaway as part of the fourth-quarter spurt. George then blew past Joel Embiid for a layup that had Boston on top 105-82.

The Celtics have posted a +9.6 net rating in the 181 minutes that George and Tatum have shared the floor this season, a solid number considering the starter-level competition the duo is facing during those minutes.

But it’s the non-Tatum minutes where George has truly shined. Stepping into a larger offensive spotlight early in the second and fourth quarters, the Celtics are posting eye-popping numbers when George runs with reserve-heavy pairings.

Boston is outscoring opponents by 30 points per 100 possessions during the 120 minutes that George has played without Tatum. The team’s offensive rating in those minutes is an insane 131.7, with the team shooting 42.1 percent on all 3-point attempts in that span.

The trend throughout Tatum’s career is the Celtics put up solid numbers when he’s on the court, and they’re usually just trying to survive the short bursts when he’s resting. This season, Boston teammates are giving Tatum every opportunity to refill the power meter, especially early in the fourth quarter, with the way George and Co. have thrived in those stretches.

George is now averaging 22 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.1 steals over 30.1 minutes per game in 10 appearances for Boston. He’s shooting what would be a career-best 48.8 percent from the floor and 44 percent on 8.4 3-point attempts per game.

He might also lead the team in celebratory chest bumps, having come up with big plays repeatedly in key fourth-quarter moments early in his Celtics tenure.

George is playing like an All-Star for the East-leading Celtics. As the very least, he’s making a strong case to be considered again for All-Defense if he reaches the 65-game threshold based on the chaos he’s routinely caused with deflections and steals on that end of the court.

In trading away Jaylen Brown, the Celtics left an obvious void for Tatum’s primary running mate. Expectations were tempered with George based on his age and injury history, but he’s been so much more than Celtics fans could have expected through the early part of the schedule.

What’s more, George seems invigorated by both the way his body feels this season, and the entire Boston experience.

The Celtics are outscoring opponents by 16.6 points per 100 possessions in George’s 301 total minutes. That net rating dips to +7.6 during his 232 minutes on the bench.

It was unfair to expect George to replace all of what Brown did in his role as Tatum’s running mate for the better part of a decade. But he’s fit perfectly in that role, and his strong two-way impact is maybe the biggest reason that Boston sits atop the Eastern Conference through the first three weeks of the 2026-27 season.

Jaylen Brown and Sixers have ‘humbling' night in loss to Celtics  originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Whatever Jaylen Brown and the Sixers dreamed up for their first matchup against the Celtics soon flew out the window on Tuesday night.

Brown was whistled for two early fouls, the Sixers fell behind and their early-season flaws were on full display in a 123-101 loss at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

“We’ve just got to get better,” Brown said. “Tonight was humbling. We got outplayed, out-executed. So we go back to the drawing board and get ready for the next one.”

Over 26 minutes, Brown had 13 points on 4-for-9 shooting and five rebounds against the team that traded him away this summer.

As for the endless dissection of his relationship with former co-star Jayson Tatum, Brown didn’t have much to add Tuesday. There was no public reconciliation, no obvious on-court animosity and generally nothing to satisfy fans hoping for some kind of fireworks on that front. 

“I’m just focused on doing what’s best for my team,” Brown said. “Everything else … to be honest, I wasn’t paying attention. But credit to Jayson; he played well tonight. Credit to the Celtics. They executed, they shot the hell out of the ball and they were the better team tonight.”

Tatum scored 21 points, two of which came on a third-quarter slam over LeBron James. Paul George continued his fantastic start as a Celtic by dropping 36 points and draining six three-pointers.

The Celtics dominated from beyond the arc, shooting 22 for 49 (44.9 percent). The Sixers went just 11 for 37 (29.7 percent) on another night of underwhelming offense. The team sits 22nd in the NBA in offensive rating, 24th in three-point makes per game and 21st in three-point percentage.

“I think that we’ve got some guys that are obviously shooting much lower percentages than their last season or their career average —  almost a handful of guys,” Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said. “And I don’t think it’s because they’re shooting fallaway, totally contested ones. I think they’re shots we want them to take. So I think they’ll continue to take ‘em and I’m pretty sure those will even out into their career averages.”

Joel Embiid is at 37 percent from the floor and 4 for 33 from three-point range (12.1 percent). 

The Sixers’ seven-time All-Star center got through an injury scare when he rolled his ankle late in the second quarter and hit a three early in the third. It was his first long-range make since the Sixers’ home opener back on Oct. 22.

“It’s a work in progress,” Embiid said. “I think the biggest thing is just not thinking. I’m probably overthinking it. The rhythm of the game is different. I’m so used to having to create for myself, so it’s a little bit different. 

“But I think I’m slowly getting better. You could see as soon as I made a three, the next shot in the short corner … I didn’t even think about it. I just shot it and let it fly, and I made it. … I think it’s just about taking what’s in front of you. Make or miss, keep working on your game. It’s going to get there at some point.”

Even with the Sixers second in the Eastern Conference standings at 9-3, Embiid believes the team’s defense has “slacked off a little bit” in recent games. 

“I don’t really look at the record,” he said. “I just look at the process of, ‘Are we getting better every day?’ We can always do a better job at all phases of the game.”

Boston’s now first in the East at 9-2.

“They’re one of the top teams in the league and they’ve been together for a while,” Brown said. “We’ve got a lot to work on over here, so we’ve got to get to work.”

The Sixers will face the Raptors on Thursday night in Philadelphia. 

They’ll have to wait until Jan. 21 in Boston to see the Celtics again. 

“I was looking forward to this,” Brown said. “I was looking forward to playing well, but s— happens. Just get ready for the next one.”

This story originally appeared on NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com.

It feels as though the Chicago Bulls will never escape the cycle of mediocrity that has largely affected the franchise since Michael Jordan’s retirement all the way back in 1998. After the latest handful of meandering seasons, Chicago made the decision last February at the trade deadline to trade or move on from a handful of their better players and go all-in on yet another rebuilding expedition. Between the struggles that are expected to come with any rebuilding roster and a brutal schedule to kick off this year that has seen them play the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, and Philadelphia 76ers two times each already, first year head coach and former championship player with the Spurs Tiago Splitter’s group has limped out to a putrid 1-8 start, with very little relief in sight.

They’re welcoming in a San Antonio Spurs team tonight that’s been firing on all cylinders and is looking for their 10th straight win. While some of the competition has been nothing worth bragging about, San Antonio has been taking care of their business and more or less smashing the opposition. With Victor Wembanyama looking like the apex predator on both ends of the floor that he was destined to become and a supporting group that’s growing along with him, the Spurs are right where they want to be.

San Antonio Spurs (9-2) at Chicago Bulls (1-8)
November 11 2026 | 7:00 PM CT
Watch: DAZN | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)
Line: Spurs -14.5

Spurs Injuries: Tobias Harris, calf (OUT), Devin Vassell, groin (questionable)

Bulls Injuries: Norman Powell, shoulder (questionable), Tobe Awaka, back (questionable), Zach Collins, illness (questionable)

What to watch for

• It’s no secret that Victor Wembanyama has been on a tear since his 1/13 clinker to kick off the season. That performance feels like a lifetime ago, especially in light of two of his most recent games, performances that put him in the same category with two of the greatest big men to ever play the game including San Antonio’s own, the Admiral David Robinson. With Chicago boasting arguably the league’s worst interior defense, there should be no reason at all not to expect Wembanyama to impose his will on Chicago the way he’s done to everyone else this season. Pay attention to how comfortable Wembanyama has become as the roll man out of the pick and roll.
• The Bulls’ offense is going to have their hands full trying to score against this San Antonio defense. The Spurs have been among the elite in terms of defense this year, ranking 4th in defensive rating with a mark of 107.4 points per 100 possessions thanks to Wembanyama and the intensity and activity of wing players like Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell. The Bulls do push the ball early and often, as is explemplified by their first place ranking in pace, but without any consistent play finishers it hasn’t really mattered. Barring a San Antonio no-show, the Silver and Black’s defense should be able to hold Chicago down once again.
• Games like this always bring to mind Gregg Popovich’s, “appropriate fear,” mantra. As rough as Chicago has looked this season, there’s always the fear of the dreaded trap game. A potential 10-game win streak and 6-0 road record to start the season coming to a halt by a league bottom-dweller feels like the sort of sick irony that die-hard sports fans lose sleep over, but this is still the NBA and anything could happen. Mitch Johnson’s group has looked and played pretty determined though during this current streak and have taken care of business against more than one bad team, so it’s easy to see them coming into the Windy City and holding up their end of the bargain.

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

I know as well as anyone that the Jazz are currently on a 9 game losing streak. I also know quite well that moral victories do not make their way onto the win column. However, I do not think it is necessarily wrong to adjust our expectations as the season makes known the true quality of the team and players that we are working with. So, in a game with 4 injured starters against a full strength Miami Heat, finding miniature successes beyond the tracked win or loss is likely our best bet to both (a) prevent a full collapse into despair and (b) track where our players currently are, even if they are not where we wish they would be. It was ugly at points, but most of the Jazzmen showed some flash that could theoretically be translated into winning basketball when the stars are aligned and the injury-bug is vanquished.

Note: These grades are more-or-less relative to the player. An A grade for Darryn Peterson is different than an A grade for Tony Bradley.

Ace Bailey: A-

Scientists are still working out the fine details, but the current consensus is clear; Ace Bailey is physically incapable of missing his signature stop-on-a-dime short midrange jump shot. For the first time in what feels like forever, his range extended beyond his sweet spot – despite a poor three point shooting season overall, Ace went 3 for 5 from downtown tonight. His defense left a little bit to be desired, as he was guarding up the lineup and was sometimes physically outmatched in the paint. Additionally, even though his short midrange is near automatic at this point, his lack of free throw attempts become more and more distressing with each passing game – his 0.7 free throw attempts per game average will not be boosted by his game tonight. He was active and efficient, but the areas of improvement for Ace remain clear.

Mo Bamba: C+

Mo stuffed the stat sheet in his 17 minutes – 7 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocks is nothing to scoff at. However, it was obvious that Giannis was licking his chops whenever he saw Bamba attempting to guard him out on the perimeter – Mo gave Giannis all the space in the world, which isn’t necessarily a bad idea, but when Giannis hits 3 jump shots in a row, the time to adjust has arrived. However, it seemed that he simply didn’t have the athletic capabilities to throw any other look at the Greek Freak, which sparked the Heat’s run in the third quarter. He still brought value by being a large human located in the paint, but Giannis was clearly not an ideal matchup for him.

Tony Bradley: B

Worse counting stats than Bamba, but the eye test tells me that his impact was a little bit greater. His one block from this game was shocking to someone who remembers how out of shape Bradley was when he first entered the league – he rotated from the other side of the paint to swat Bam Adebayo with a mobility that a Jazz fan from 2018 would relish. Consistently, he seemed to be in the right place at the right time, which matters a lot when he is also consistently the player with the most mass on the court. The other Jazz center options are long and springy but without the size to really hold up in certain matchups, so Bradley operated as a nice change of pace against the burliness of the Heat frontcourt. This isn’t advocating for Bradley to be given more consistent minutes, but he certainly made the most of them tonight.

Isaiah Collier: B+

I originally wrote that this was a tale of two halves for Isaiah Collier, but that doesn’t accurately reflect how rapidly his grade rose as the game progressed – really, a better description would be that this was a tale of 3.5 quarters and 1 miraculous end-of-game revival. Throughout most of the game, Collier was actively and obviously detrimental; the Heat weren’t respecting his three pointer, he wasn’t able to get to the paint consistently to aid the offense through kickouts, and the decision making was jarringly off. However, one of the only moments of real electricity in the Delta Center occurred when Collier drained 4 threes in the 4th quarter and single-handedly dragged the Jazz back into the ball game. He didn’t impact the game in a very sustainable way, to be sure; I’m not sure if he’ll ever again have a three point shooting game this good in his career, and his bread-and-butter value adds (passing, paint pressure) just weren’t clicking. However, sustainable or not, going 4/4 from three in the fourth quarter made this contest competitive and ignited an otherwise stagnant Jazz offense.

Kyle Filipowski: B

Filipowski snags a solid grade simply for not making very many mistakes. His presence was not always actively felt, to be sure, but if you watched him with any intentionality you could tell that the team functioned just a bit better with him on the court. He makes quick decisions, he has the ability (or at least the semblance of it) to dribble+pass+shoot, and he brings one of the better combinations of strength and mobility on the roster. I’m not sure what the tracking data says, but it appeared to me that Filipowski was the Jazz’s best matchup against Giannis, where his size and speed clearly didn’t rival Miami’s star but was enough to at least act as a roadblock on his path to 30 points and 11 rebounds.

Josh Green: C+

The shooting was rough (I recall both an airball and a backboard hit from his corner three attempts) and you still don’t ever want him to dribble the ball, but Green consistently brings positive value in just about every other area of the game. His passing was solid (the bounce pass to the cutting Ace Bailey before his reverse jam in the fourth quarter was a highlight) and the rebounding always seemed to come in a timely manner, putting a stop to seemingly never-ending Miami offensive possessions. On top of all this, you can always count on the defense. However, there’s only so much value you’re actually bringing when you shoot an ugly 1-5 on a team that needed an offensive spark, and that puts a ceiling on Green’s grade.

Jaxson Hayes: D

By my eyes, Hayes was clearly the worst of the three Jazz big men who got any run against the Heat. He was physically overmatched going against Giannis and Bam, which created a snowball effect of fouls to frustration to more fouls. Hayes is the big man who I believe is most benefitted by playing with capable offensive players – he doesn’t have the strength or ball skills to make anything happen on his own, but his athleticism becomes exponentially more valuable when he has stars to take some of the gravity off of him. Tonight, with 3 key scorers out of commission, you could tell that Hayes was floundering in his search for what he was supposed to provide. On the plus side – I’ve been relatively impressed with his top-of-the-key playmaking recently: he had a few nice passes to Darryn throughout.

Svi Mykhailiuk: D

One of the benefits that Svi had last year over his shooting guard peers was that he was one of the few who seemed to try at all defensively. He was never good, mind you, but he was big enough and had enough experience around the NBA to barely surpass some of the guys he was competing against for minutes. This year, however, that is no longer the case. Josh Green and Josh Okogie have made a living off of the defensive end, and Darryn Peterson is also a natural two with higher highs on defense than Svi could ever reach. So, when Svi isn’t making his shots, he no longer has the safety net of yesteryear that says “well, he’s better than the alternative”. I understand that shooters have a short memory, but maybe Svi’s could be broadened just a bit, because some of these attempts are really only permissible in the context of a heat check. For Svi’s sake, something has got to change, because I currently see him on the fast track to being an international league star, as opposed to someone with a legitimate future in the NBA.

Josh Okogie: C-

Much of what I wrote for Josh Green could be copy-and-pasted over to fellow Josh, Okogie…except this time the shooting was slightly worse and his decision-making was a bit less snappy. I liked Okogie’s defensive effort a bit more in this game than Green’s (his tie-up on Antetokounmpo in transition should’ve been a jump ball), but it wasn’t enough to either (a) prevent Giannis, one of his main matchups, from getting to his spots or (b) prevent his +/- from being by far the worst on the team, with a -22. We all know, at this point, what we’re getting from Okogie, and his game-to-game value is mostly determined by the dice roll that is his shooting variance. Today, with poor shooting and no star combo guard for him to pester defensively, Okogie was not particularly valuable.

Darryn Peterson: A-

In terms of how much excitement Peterson drummed up within me, this grade would be an easy A+. His poise in the pick-and-roll was immaculate, his touch was impressive from all over the court, and his passing looks slightly ahead of the schedule implied by the Kansas tape. For large swaths of his game, he was the offense: he brought the ball up the court, and the remainder of the shot clock was spent trying to free him up with screens and handoffs. Most impressively to me, he functioned with comfort against the hounding, disruptive nature of Davion Mitchell – on paper, this was an easy matchup to predict giving Peterson loads of trouble, but he still always felt like he had control over his offensive attack, even in spite of the 5 turnovers. However, purely in terms of his output on the court tonight, he was still a few steps away from perfect. He fouled out in the 4th quarter on a pretty ticky-tack call, but a good percentage of his penalties were legitimate and foolishly committed. Additionally, his defense is still very much the defense of a rookie guard; he has the tools to make big plays, but often falls asleep or misses key rotations. I give him plenty of grace due to the context of this being his first game as the true #1 offensive option on an NBA team, but his missteps tonight prevent him from getting the grade that matches our excitement.

Brice Sensabaugh: C

You know what, I haven’t given up on Brice Sensabaugh. The prevailing opinion seems to be that he cannot positively impact winning, but I just can’t agree with that quite yet. Tonight, his scoring isn’t what you would have hoped. Only 5 shots for a team clearly in need of a scoring punch was odd and out of character, and does hurt his grade. However, I think he did provide marginal value in a few other areas. For example, there were a few plays where I was quite impressed with his defense against Miami’s wings – he met them near the half court line and used his mass to make life a little difficult. In general, he filled the stat sheet, outside of the points column: 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and a steal in 14 minutes isn’t too shabby for the microwave scorer archetype. Of course, I can’t give too high of a grade – he isn’t quite good enough at anything besides scoring for a non-scoring night to be immensely valuable – but I do think that we need to give Brice a bit more grace and a bit more priority minutes-wise as the season progresses.

Who stood out for you? Which grades would you change? Sound off below!

Karl-Anthony Towns will match a legend’s franchise record with another double-double.

The Knicks center scored 21 points with 16 boards during Tuesday’s blowout victory over the Bucks, notching his 10th straight double-double — which is one off Willis Reed’s mark to start the 1970-71 season.

And just like that campaign for Reed, Towns is racking up the rebounds while defending an NBA championship.

The Knicks face the Cavaliers on Wednesday at MSG, where Towns can tie Reed.

“I didn’t know that. I just know that this team right now, we’re on a good winning streak, we’re playing good basketball, and that’s the most important thing,” Towns said. “That’s what the fans really want to hear about.”

Towns leads the Eastern Conference in rebounds per game at 13.8.

It’s a much better start than last season, when KAT’s efficiency dipped as he struggled to adjust to Mike Brown’s system.

“It’s just another year with this team and just experience and just another year with a better understanding of what Mike wants and what I can do to help his system,” Towns said.

Taylor Jenkins said coaching the Knicks “just wasn’t meant to be” as he reflected on interviewing for New York’s open gig last year.

“It was a great experience. I obviously spent a lot of time with the front office — Leon [Rose] and his group. Not sure how close it was in the end. It just wasn’t the opportunity at that time,” said Jenkins, who lost to the Knicks on Tuesday as the Bucks head coach.

“Very blessed to be where I am right now. But excited to go through the process of interviewing with the Knicks. Learned a lot. Obviously it was a special year last year for the Knicks. Mike [Brown] did a great job. Learned a lot about this organization, the high standards they had. And obviously the great work that they had done even leading up to last season. So it was a fun process to be a part of. Hopefully I performed well and it just wasn’t meant to be.”

Jenkins and Brown were considered the front-runners for the Knicks job as Rose’s search hit the homestretch.

Jenkins had recently been fired by the Memphis Grizzlies, who played well under his watch but failed to get out of the second round of the playoffs.

The Knicks tried to interview several head coaches under contract, but their requests were rejected by the involved teams.

Jenkins was interviewed once, along with former Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori and South Carolina women’s coach Dawn Staley.

Brown was the only candidate called back for a second interview — which, according to sources, happened after he was already picked for the job.

Jenkins was unemployed for a year before accepting the Bucks job.

It became a total rebuild project in Milwaukee after Giannis Antetokounmpo was traded to the Heat, leaving Jenkins with a bottom-tier roster and a pitiful 1-10 record.

I’m really running out of ways to voice my disgust with the current state of Utah Jazz basketball. Despite a furious comeback effort in the fourth quarter that shrank Miami’s lead from 23 to 5, it was too little, too late for Utah in their homecoming.

They fell to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Heat squad 115-109, inflating the Jazz’s total in the loss column to double digits, still tied for last place in the entire NBA at 1-10. The Greek Freak elevated an uneven roster despite battling through a wrist injury, dropping a game-high 30 points. A shocking number of those were delivered via pull-ups from the deep mid-range.

It’s hard to blame a team as injury-riddled as Utah’s — especially at this point in the season. Losing four starters is nearly unbelievable luck now that the Jazz are earnestly committed to making a playoff push. Losing that many starters in the first 10 games is unthinkable. The season is still incredibly young, and rosters are fresh. Fresh legs and minimal fatigue make for healthy rosters, which means the hobbled Jazz are limping on to battle against full-strength foes.

Without Jackson Jr., Markkanen, Nurkic, or even Keyonte George, this team has been a charity, giving out free victories to those in need. Or want. Or are simply in the general vicinity.

The only remaining member of Will Hardy’s starting lineup is rookie Darryn Peterson, who has managed to get his feet beneath him with three straight performances of 20-plus points. Peterson’s rookie year got off to a slow start in terms of scoring consistency, but he hasn’t looked back since notching a then-career-high 21 points two games ago, with follow-up acts of 26 and 25.

He has scored 50% of his field goals or better in each of those games, seasoning the dish with 44% three-point shooting and 4 assists. Peterson has also posted at least one steal in eight of his last nine appearances.

But DP isn’t the only young Jazzman bringing defensive effort back to the forefront in SLC; Ace Bailey has been heartless on the defensive end, a constant disruptor whose Plastic Man arms can constantly be seen swinging at shot attempts and deflecting passes.

Better yet, Bailey already has a signature move in just his sophomore season: the 10-foot dribble pull-up.

He picked Miami’s defense apart from that sweet spot, but also found comfort behind the three-point line. He had been ice cold in his last six outings. After going 5-for-34 (14.7%) in that stretch, he quenched his three-point thirst with a 3-for-5 outing, 10-for-15 from the field overall.

But Utah’s late fourth-quarter burst was jump-started by the most unlikely source: Isaiah Collier’s long-range heat checks. Collier went a perfect 4-for-4 from distance and delivered the scoring punch his team needed in a critical moment.

“You saw Zay’s reaction,” Coach Hardy shared during the post-game presser. “You can see the emotion that Zay plays with and shows, and how much it means to him. Zay has had some things not go his way personally lately, [but] he’s been an incredible teammate, he’s worked really hard, he’s not had one moment of complaining.”

In a stretch like this, the Utah Jazz are forced to measure progress in ways that go deeper than the final score, and Collier’s timely step-up was massive in igniting that final spark of hope for his teammates.

The Jazz will look to double their win total tomorrow against the Orlando Magic.

Calvin Barrett is the Associate Editor for SLC Dunk and a Utah Jazz columnist for the Standard-Examiner. Originally from Springville, Utah, he currently writes from his desk in Japan.

DALLAS — Nets guard Egor Dëmin is expected to make his return from a right leg injury Wednesday in New Orleans.

Dëmin practiced Tuesday in Dallas and is listed as probable against the Pelicans.

“Yeah, Egor practiced with the rest of the team,” Jordi Fernández said. “Now we’re doing a little extra session just to push him and see how he feels, and then we’ll make a decision that he has a chance to play.”

Dëmin suffered a bone bruise in his right leg during an Oct. 27 loss in Boston, and the second-year pro hasn’t played since, missing the past six games.

Brooklyn has missed the 6-foot-8 Dëmin’s secondary playmaking and plus size in the backcourt.

“Yeah, yeah, it’s good to see him back,” Michael Porter Jr. said. “He looks good.”

Even before the injury, Dëmin was off to a slow start. He was averaging just 7.8 points, 2.8 assists and 2.3 rebounds on 31 percent shooting and 28.6 percent from deep. All of those stats are down from his rookie campaign.

After making strides with his downhill juice and touching the paint in summer league, Dëmin’s 2-point shooting has backslid.

Wednesday will be Noah Clowney’s first opportunity to get back on the floor since losing his poise and fouling out in just 7:47 during Sunday’s loss in Dallas.

Fernández acknowledged Clowney’s need to curtail his emotions. Porter alluded to the impact coming off the bench has had on the young forward’s headspace after he started 60 games last season.

“Noah’s a great player. He’s one of my favorite players I’ve played with,” Porter said. “Obviously, his role changed this year. But Noah, when he’s at his best, he helps. He can help any unit he’s out there with. He could help any team, and he can obviously help us.

“We just have to have him in the right headspace. And I know it looks different for him than this year. But we need Noah to win games for sure.”

The Nets monitor ground covered during games, who is running and who is not.

“Atlanta was very simple — a team that was on the second night of a back-to-back outworked us … so that’s not good,” Fernández said. “We had the highest-intensity running in the first quarter of the whole season, which was a pretty good first quarter. And we had the lowest intensity of the season in the fourth quarter. So, it’s pretty self-explanatory.

“It also goes to us on how we rotate. Are they too tired because I’m running them too long? It’s all those things … why and how we can fix it.”

Nolan Traore is questionable with right calf soreness. Joshua Jefferson, Ben Saraf, Tyler Bilodeau and Grant Nelson are all out on G League assignments.

New Orleans’ Yves Missi (left knee contusion/bone bruise) is out, along with Trendon Watford (right ankle sprain).

Trey Murphy III is probable with bilateral patellar tendinopathy.

Paul George had a message for one 76ers fan.

George put up 36 points in the Celtics’ 123-101 win over the Sixers on Tuesday night in Philadelphia in a highly anticipated matchup that pitted star players against their former teams.

But George caught the attention of many fans who saw a video of him giving the middle finger to someone at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

The ex-Sixer and current Celtics star crouched down and then lifted his middle finger in the direction of a fan after he hit a 3-pointer. 

George said the fan was “being an a–hole,” according to the Boston Herald’s Zack Cox. 

“He looked me dead in my eyes, dropped the ball on the ground as if I’m a dog to go fetch or go get it, instead of passing the ball to me like a normal fan would do. So then I rolled him a middle finger in return,” George explained. 

The decision to allegedly antagonize George seemed like a questionable decision by the fan, considering the dominant game he had against his former team. 

George brought his A-game on Tuesday night, shooting 14-for-28 from the field and 6-for-11 from 3-point range, while putting up 14 straight points in the fourth quarter. 

“He’s been incredible all season. The joy he’s playing with, what he’s brought to our team so far has been great,” Jayson Tatum told NBC after the game. “We’re lucky to have him and keep it going.” 

The showdown in the City of Brotherly Love pitted George, who played in Philadelphia last season, against the 76ers, who now have ex-Celtics star Jaylen Brown. 

George was part of the 76ers’ return in order for them to acquire Brown in the blockbuster trade in July. 

Though George had a big night, Brown underperformed, putting up just 13 points on 4-for-9 from the floor.

They say “It’s not who you play; it’s when you play them.” Well, this isn’t when you want to play the Golden State Warriors. Much like how Steph Curry returned from an absence of over two months last season just to play the Rockets, it seems like it’s never a good time to see the San Francisco squad.

In case you haven’t been following the NBA at large, the Warriors dropped their first three games. Since then, they’ve reeled off eight straight wins, including wins over the Nuggets in Denver (yes, Nikola Jokic played), the Timberwolves in Minnesota (no, Anthony Edwards did not), and at home against the Los Angeles Lakers (yes, all the white guys played). They’ve also handily beaten the Clippers, Heat, and Pelicans.

The Warriors basically found out that Kristaps Porzingis was done with basketball around the same time they realized that Yaxel Lendeborg might finally fulfill the “two timelines” prophecy. Lendeborg has emerged as a legitimate Rookie of the Year candidate (and you could easily argue he should be leading the race at the moment) and has made plenty of people forget that the Warriors are still missing Jimmy Butler. If Yaxel continues on this trajectory, the Warriors suddenly become quite terrifying at the deadline armed with Butler and Porzingis as trade chips.

Look, the Warriors are going to play extra well against the Rockets. They always do. There is something in their franchise’s DNA that tells them that no matter what, they will play their best basketball against Houston. But the Warriors are playing well right now no matter what, and with the game being on national television, it’s another chance for Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and the new kid on the block to torment my favorite basketball squad. Do I have PTSD? You’re damn right I do. Honestly, I have no idea why Houston is favored in this one.

The Warriors are starting a five-game road trip against the Southwest Division. If Houston doesn’t get them tonight, they will have to get through the streaking Spurs on Friday, a New Orleans team that exists, and then a Dallas-Memphis back-to-back next week. Three of those games are on television (the ones against the Texas teams), so expect Steve Kerr to rest his guys against New Orleans and Memphis. Houston has an extended road trip of their own starting next week. We’re officially getting into the grind.

Tip-off

8:30pm CT

How To Watch

Space City Home Network and ESPN

Injury Report

Rockets

Clint Capela: OUT

Steven Adams: OUT

Warriors

Gary Payton II: OUT

Will Richard: GTD

Brandon Williams: OUT

Moses Moody: OUT

The Line (as of this post)

HOU -5.5

Check here for updates

Schedule Advantage Counter

Rockets: 2

Opponents: 2

Looking ahead because we can

Friday night at home against the Utah Jazz

Bell Ringer Standings:
Tyrese Maxey – 3.5
Jaylen Brown – 2.5
VJ Edgecombe – 2
Joel Embiid – 1
LeBron James – 1
Anfernee Simons – 1

Well, that could have gone better. The Philadelphia 76ers were absolutely buried by a barrage of three-pointers from the Boston Celtics and fell 123-101 on Tuesday night.

It was a highlight anticipated matchup of Eastern Conference teams, with Jaylen Brown facing his former squad for the first time as a member of the Sixers. This also meant the return of Paul George, who now sports Celtics green… and he made himself known in this one, to say the least.

It was a rough first half for the Sixers, who looked completely flat offensively and lacked any foundation on defense. They’d manage a bucket, then immediately allow the Celtics to knock down another three. Looking back, Philadelphia were fortunate to only be down 11 points going into halftime. A minor miracle.

The Sixers came out a much better team in the third, finally knocking down some shots and chipping away at the Celtics lead to bring things back even… for a moment.

Boston stayed red hot from beyond the arc, and rebuilt their lead to nine going into the final frame. And they just didn’t stop. Three after three after three. They hit nine threes on a run spanning from late in the third into the fourth. It was relentless. Meanwhile, the Sixers didn’t score for nearly five whole minutes to start the fourth. Hard to keep a game close with that kind of math going against you!

The Sixers are off Wednesday night and will return on Thursday evening hosting the Toronto Raptors.

Until then, let’s get to the Bell Ringer, if we must.

Tyrese Maxey: 24 points, 1 rebound, 4 assists

Tyrese Maxey got his night going quickly with a 3-for-3 start from the floor for eight quick points in the first. He ended up leading the Sixers after their lackluster first half with 12 points on 4-for-6 field goal, 1-for-1 three-point shooting. It was a rough first half for really every Sixer, but his contributions were part of why they were only down a dozen at the break. And he wasn’t done. In the third, things really started to heat up for Maxey, who put up another dozen points in the frame with some silky smooth 4-for-5 field goal shooting to help give the Sixers their only real taste of momentum all game, including knocking down two big threes.

It wasn’t nearly enough to survive the Celtics absolutely onslaught from long range, but Maxey was the only Sixer to shoot well throughout the night and was critical to the brief, fleeting moment the Sixers looked like they might turn this one around.

Maxey finished leading the Sixers with 24 points on 8-for-12 field goal, 3-for-4 three-point shooting with a rebound and four assists.

Dean Wade: 8 points, 9 rebounds

Honestly, Dean Wade was one of the only players I thought put in good minutes throughout the entire first half, rather than just a moment here or there. Wade put up some incredible defense on Jayson Tatum at times in the first frame, was grabbing boards left and right and even knocked down a few buckets. At the half, he actually led the Sixers in +/- as a 0. Not bad for a game they trailed by 11 at the time. He got right back to work in the third, putting up more some extremely-respectable defense and adding a triple that briefly tied the game up.

Wade has done this a few games now where he really just does all the little fundamental things right. Even if it’s just going up for every defensive board he can get his hands on, or just putting up solid defense that never really shows on basic stat sheet, to simply knocking in a few points when the opportunity presents itself. Wade has been an absolute asset for the Sixers off the bench and he deserves some recognition for it.

Wade finished with eight points and nine rebounds (two offensive). And that’s part of what I mean, it hardly sounds like a crazy stat line, but he was truly one of the more consistently productive players for Philadelphia all night.

VJ Edgecombe: 8 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block

Of the rough first half performances from the Sixers, VJ Edgecombe put up one the of the least-rough. Thinking positive, people! The sophomore filled the stat sheet with six points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block by the break. Edgecombe came out to start the second half and hit a truly insane finish through contact from Neemias Queta. It was part of the only little run the Sixers could really string together tonight in the third frame.

The bar was pretty low tonight, so I honestly was giving a nomination to VJ regardless just to show off this play. It was one of the very few exciting moments of the night for Philadelphia. Edgecombe finished with eight points, four rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block.

Celtics rout 76ers in first matchup between Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Round 1 of the new-look Sixers vs. the new-look Celtics decisively went Boston’s way on Tuesday night.

In the first meeting between the teams since the July trade that sent Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia and Paul George to Boston, the Celtics earned a 123-101 win at Xfinity Mobile Arena. 

The Sixers dropped to 9-3 and the Celtics improved to 9-2. 

George was the game’s brightest star, scoring 36 points on 14-for-22 shooting. Jayson Tatum added 21 points.

Tyrese Maxey’s 24 points led the Sixers. Brown was hampered by foul trouble in his heavily anticipated first outing against Tatum. He posted 13 points, five rebounds and two assists in 26 minutes.

The Sixers will host the Raptors on Thursday night. Here are observations on their blowout loss to the Celtics:

Brown vs. Tatum takes center stage 

To no one’s surprise,  Brown and Tatum guarded each other to open the night. 

VJ Edgecombe defended a former teammate in George, who scored Boston’s first four points with a pair of pure jumpers. On the other end, Maxey made the Sixers’ first three field goals. 

Judging by volume, the home fans cared most about the much-scrutinized Brown vs. Tatum matchup. The crowd was excited early when Brown snagged a steal and then dished to Maxey for a fast-break three-pointer. The fans also dialed up the noise when Brown sized up Tatum in isolation. He wound up dribbling the ball off his foot and out of bounds. Tatum pointed to signal it was Celtics ball.

Boston’s star forward had a productive first quarter, posting 11 points. He scored an easy two when he used a back screen to break free from Brown and convert a layup that put the Celtics up 11-7. Boston began 9 for 12 from the floor as a team.

As for Brown, he sat shortly after being called for his second foul with 6:48 left in the first quarter. 

Rough going for Sixers from long distance 

Brown re-entered at the start of the second quarter. The Sixers still struggled to eat into Boston’s lead. 

A Sam Hauser triple extended the Celtics’ advantage to 12 points. There was some audible frustration in the building after Brown missed two free throws on the next possesion. 

The Sixers’ deficit hit 16 points on a Hugo Gonzalez jumper. Meanwhile, the Sixers missed 12 of their first 14 three-point tries. While some of those shots were open looks that simply didn’t go down, the Sixers also rushed up several contested jumpers before they made Boston’s defense do serious work.

In the bigger picture, it wouldn’t be remotely surprising if shooting stands out as a weak area for the Sixers come the trade deadline. They entered the game ranked 27th in the NBA in three-point frequency outside of garbage time and 22nd in three-point accuracy, according to Cleaning the Glass.

George and Tatum lead the way

Joel Embiid (16 points, six rebounds) had an injury scare late in the second quarter when he fell hard after missing a layup in transition. He rose gingerly and limped through the final 30 seconds or so of the first half. 

The Sixers’ star big man was fine to start the third quarter and even drained a long-overdue three on the opening possession. He’d been in a terrible outside shooting slump (3 for 32 from deep on the season) before that shot. 

Brown’s foul trouble persisted. He picked up his fourth personal with 10:40 to go in the third quarter.

The Sixers stormed back without him and their defense played a large role. After LeBron James rumbled in for a layup, Dean Wade stonewalled Payton Pritchard on the perimeter to force a shot-clock violation. Wade later canned a three to even the contest at 76-all. 

The Celtics responded and Tatum led the charge. His third-quarter exploits included a highlight slam on James and a top-of-the-key three to build Boston’s lead back up to nine points.

Pritchard buried a three on the first possession of the fourth quarter and the Celtics’ advantage kept growing. George celebrated a triple that stretched his team’s lead to 100-82. The Sixers’ spirits were considerably lower as they headed to their bench for a timeout. As a Sixer, George only had one higher-scoring game (39 points) than his performance Tuesday.

George and Tatum were each excellent in Philadelphia. Outside of Maxey, who finished 8 for 12 from the field, the Sixers didn’t receive similar games from their stars.

Brown will be back in Boston on Jan. 21 when the Sixers visit the Celtics. He’ll try to even the score.

The streaking Lakers (10-2) continue their current four-game road trip in Milwaukee where they will take on the Bucks (1-10). This is the first matchup between the teams this season.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Milwaukee Bucks

When: 5 p.m. PT, Nov. 11

Where: Fiserv Forum

Watch: Spectrum Sportsnet

The Lakers have been playing a lot of basketball lately.

Although the Lakers have been playing like a very good team, their schedule hasn’t made it easy. They’ve played four games in the last seven nights and this East Coast road trip has only added to the challenge. They have a well-deserved three-day break coming up. But first, they’re going to face arguably the worst team in the league.

This certainly has all the makings of a trap game.

They should be able to win given how serious they’ve approached every game ahead of them thus far this season. The theme of this road trip has been their next-man mentality, which has kept their winning streak to six straight games. On Wednesday, it’s another chance to keep building.

Los Angeles will take on a Milwaukee team led by Tyler Herro (who is currently listed as day-to-day with an injury), Kyle Kuzma and Jaime Jaquez Jr. Basically, it’s a rebuilding Bucks team that moved on to its next chapter without franchise legend Giannis Antetokounmpo. They’ve been experiencing some growing pains on both ends of the floor, where they rank in the bottom five in the league. While they’re a very good rebounding team, the Bucks don’t have the firepower to keep up with the Lakers — at least they shouldn’t.

The only way this match becomes a threat for the Lakers is if one of their streaky players — like Kuzma, Jaquez Jr. or Ryan Rollins — turns out to be the best player on the floor. That’s going to be extremely hard to do with Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves set to play.

Hopefully, it won’t take much from Dončić and Reaves to get the Lakers through. It would be nice to see the role players and bench continue to build on the momentum they’ve gained.

Remember, it’s games like this that end up being huge in the standings down the line. These are must-win games for the purple and gold, especially in the competitive Western Conference where they’re currently sitting on top of the standings.

Let’s see if the Lakers can take care of business and avoid a trap-game stumble on Wednesday.

Notes and Updates

• For the Lakers’ injury report, only Quentin Grimes (right finger sprain) is listed as questionable.
• As for the Bucks, no injury report has been released since they’ll be playing on the second night of a back-to-back. They’re coming off a 32-point loss against the New York Knicks.
• It’s also worth noting that Tyler Herro (right knee contusion) didn’t play on Tuesday.

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.

Do you see what happens when you go from Victor Wembanyama to *checks notes* Brook Lopez? (with all due respect to the vet)

The Suns’ second unit took this one over early and never gave it back. Phoenix beat the Clippers 133-110 Tuesday night, improving to 4-6. The bench poured in 81 points, Phoenix hit 22 threes to LA’s 15, and the Suns led for 44 of the 48 minutes. Seven Suns finished in double figures.

It was a much-needed bounceback win for the Suns. We are now 10 games deep into the NBA season, and Phoenix sits at 4-6 after a brutal schedule to open up. All things considered, it could be worse.

Suns Leaders:

Jordan Goodwin led Phoenix with 18 points in under 14 minutes, going 6-of-7 from the field with all six makes from three. Devin Booker added 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting with 5 assists. Luke Kennard scored 14 on 5-of-7 shooting, and Jalen Green had 13 on 5-of-7, including 3-of-4 from deep, with 5 rebounds. Collin Gillespie scored 12 points, all on threes (4-of-9), and dished out a game-high 8 assists. Man Man finished with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. Ryan Dunn added 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and 8 rebounds, and Oso Ighodaro grabbed 8 rebounds and finished +18.

Clippers Leaders:

Darius Garland and Rui Hachimura each scored 13 for Los Angeles. Garland shot 5-of-12 with 6 assists, and Hachimura went 4-of-10 with 3 threes and 5 rebounds. Baba Miller also had 13, all in the fourth quarter, on 4-of-4 shooting. Max Strus added 12 points, and Derrick Jones Jr. and Keaton Wagler each scored 11.

Game Flow

First Half

The Suns jumped out to an early 6-2 lead, led by 4 points from Devin Booker.

This quarter was tight for most of the first quarter. Los Angeles took an 18-16 lead behind 8 points from Rui Hachimura, who hit two of his three attempts from deep. Then the Phoenix bench took over.

The Suns closed the period on a 13-0 run. Collin Gillespie went 2-for-2 from three, Ryan Dunn was perfect at the rim, and Jordan Goodwin added a triple.

The Phoenix bench outscored LA’s reserves 13-0, and the Clippers’ second unit went 0-for-4 from the field.

Man Man didn’t attempt a shot, but he still had 3 rebounds and 3 assists in under five minutes. Phoenix won the glass 17-8 and the paint 12-4. Devin Booker led all scorers with 8, though he turned it over three times.

Phoenix led after the first quarter, 29-18.

Jordan Goodwin turned the second quarter into his own shootaround. He went 4-for-4 from three for 12 points in just over six minutes, and Luke Kennard added two more triples off the bench. Phoenix shot 8-of-14 from deep in the quarter.

The Clippers found more offense this time, shooting 50 percent with eight different players scoring. Isaiah Jackson and Max Strus gave LA’s second unit some life after it went scoreless in the first. Phoenix still stretched the lead to 17 at 48-31, its biggest of the half.

Devin Booker went 0-for-4 from the field in the quarter, and his only point came at the line. Ryan Dunn did not play in the second half after his strong first quarter. Collin Gillespie drilled a deep three at the buzzer to close out the half.

Phoenix led at halftime, 64-47.

Second Half

The Suns opened the second half with a bang.

Miles Bridges finally got going after a scoreless first half. He scored 8 points in the third on 3-of-4 shooting, including 2-of-3 from deep.

Devin Booker played all 12 minutes and found his rhythm with 8 points on 2-of-4 from three. Phoenix hit 7 threes in the quarter, while LA went 4-for-15 from deep.

The Suns did damage on the offensive glass. They scored 16 second-chance points in the quarter, compared to 7 for the Clippers, and the lead hit 32 at 91-59.

Man Man added 7 points on 2-of-2 shooting and a perfect 3-of-3 at the line.

After three, Phoenix led 99-72.

With a 27-point cushion, both benches took over. No Phoenix starter played in the fourth, and the Suns closed with an all-reserve group.

Luke Kennard led the way with 8 points. Jamaree Bouyea made all five of his shots, going 2-of-2 from the field and 3-of-3 at the line for 7 points, and added 3 assists. Koa Peat chipped in 5 points, and Rasheer Fleming knocked down his only three. Phoenix shot 12-of-16 in the quarter.

Baba Miller made the most of his minutes for Los Angeles, scoring 13 points in the fourth on 4-of-4 shooting and 4-of-6 at the line. The Clippers took the quarter 38-34, helped by six Phoenix turnovers.

Up Next

The Suns’ never-ending homestand continues as they take on the Hornets on Thursday night.