Category: Basketball

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Massamba Diop scored 17 points, Santiago Trouet had a double-double and Arizona State used a late 9-0 surge to help beat Oklahoma State 85-76 on Tuesday night.

After a Kanye Clary 3-pointer pulled the Cowboys within 69-68, Arizona State scored the next nine points for a 10-point lead with 1:25 left. Maurice Odum hit a 3-pointer and Noah Meeusen scored the last four points during the stretch. Then the Sun Devils sealed it from the free-throw line.

Diop shot 6 of 10 from the floor and 5 of 6 from the line. Trouet scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Arizona State (13-12, 4-8 Big 12). Odum added 13 points and Meeusen chipped in with 12.

The Sun Devils shot 40% (26 of 65) from the floor and missed 16 of their 21 attempts from beyond the arc, but were 28 of 35 from the free-throw line. They also scored 26 points from 17 Oklahoma State turnovers.

Anthony Roy and Parsa Fallah scored 16 points apiece to lead Oklahoma State (16-8, 4-7). Clary finished with 11 points. Roy was 2 of 10 from distance.

Oklahoma State tied it twice in the second half before Arizona State used a 13-5 surge for a 60-52 advantage with 10:37 left.

The Cowboys led just twice, each time inside the first four minutes of the game.

Up next

Oklahoma State hosts TCU on Saturday.

Arizona State is at home against No. 16 Texas Tech on Tuesday.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

The Dallas Mavericks (19-34) rolled their tank into Mortgage Matchup Center on Tuesday and offered little to no resistance against the Phoenix Suns (34-22) in a fart-and-fall-down 120-111 loss, the team’s eighth in a row. Naji Marshall scored 11 of his team-high 31 points in the fourth quarter in the fakest comeback attempt the NBA has seen this year. Cooper Flagg added 27 points and five rebounds in the loss.

The early returns for Tyus Jones as starting point guard are not pretty, folks. The Suns held the Mavericks without a field goal for the first 5:45 of the game, including two early misses from 3-point range from Jones. His second was an unsightly airball from the right wing. Finally, mercifully, Max Christie found an open driving lane with 6:14 left in the first for the Mavs’ first bucket of the contest, pulling Dallas to within 16-6. Christie followed that bucket up with another airball on his next 3-point attempt.

The Hateable Dillon Brooks shot 7-of-9 from the floor through the first nine minutes on his way to a game-high 15 points after one quarter. It was Brooks’ highest-scoring first quarter of his career, but Brooks scored just eight points the rest of the way in the Suns’ win. Jalen Green scored nine more off the bench in the first, as Phoenix tried to put the Mavs to bed early, extending their lead to 36-16 at the end of the first. The Mavs shot an anemic 6-of-22 (27.3%) from the field in the frame. The 16 points are a new season-low in any quarter this year.

The Mavs made Phoenix reserve Ryan Dunn look like an All-Star early in the second, as he made mincemeat of the Dallas defense with 8:20 left in the half on a basic give-and-go along the baseline for an easy dunk to put the Suns ahead 47-20. The Suns coasted to a 65-48 lead at the half. The Mavericks backed themselves into a corner before storming back with an 18-1 run late in the second to make it that close.

At some point in the third quarter, as the Mavericks gave back all the ground they gained with that second quarter run, the utter futility of watching this team flail forced your faithful correspondent to devour an entire pint of Ben and Jerry’s Americone Dream. It was a far more productive exercise than anything the Mavs were perpetrating on the court. As the last creamy bite slid down my gullet, I looked up at the television screen to see Dunn finish off an alley-oop slam from Isaac Ighodaro to put the Suns ahead 96-74. Phoenix led 96-75 going into the fourth.

The fourth quarter was barely worth mentioning, as the Suns played just bad enough to give the Mavericks some hope and just well enough to keep Dallas at arm’s length down the stretch. To add insult to injury, Phoenix used up all five of its fourth-quarter team fouls in the first four minutes and change of the fourth, putting the Mavs in the bonus and extending the game with meaningless free throws and extra stoppages. Pain.

This team has packed it in

The Mavericks’ complete lack of effort and desire on either end of the floor was evident from the game’s opening tip. The starting lineup reflected the business decision made, and the Mavs’ footwork on defense bolded the point in all caps.

Dallas didn’t so much fail to close out Suns’ offensive possessions on the defensive glass as much as they simply didn’t care to try. The Mavs’ effort was an affront to the game, but hey, it may net them another lottery ball or two, am I right? The recent additions to the roster continued to simply take up space on Tuesday

The Mavericks gave up 17 offensive rebounds in the loss, turned the ball over 16 times and got beat 26-10 on the fast break.

Cooper Flagg: Still doing his thing

As ugly as this game was early on, Flagg showed off his wheels in the open floor, gliding down the court in transition for opportunistic scores while the rest of the Mavs’ offense looked completely lost. He sealed off his defender in close to the basket late in the second and scored on the receiving end of a nice find from Naji Marshall to pull Dallas to within 62-40 and led the Mavs with 15 points in the first half. His final bucket of the first half was at the end of a fast break when Flagg reared back and stuffed it in Brooks’ face to inch Dallas back to within 62-45.

Flagg and Marshall combined for 27 of the Mavs’ 48 points in the first half. Flagg scored eight of his 10 second-quarter points during the 18-1 run that opened the door for a second-half comeback. He scored seven more in the third before canning a baseline jumper through Amir Coffey’s foul with nine minutes left to play to bring the Mavs to within 13, down 102-89.

Negative three

Dallas shot a putrid 1-of-15 from 3-point range through the first three quarters against the Suns. Marshall finally hit the Mavs’ second 3-ball of the game with 10:40 left in the fourth quarter. Middleton knocked down another one on the Mavericks’ next possession, but it was far too little, far took late.

The Mavs made four of their seven attempts from deep in the fourth quarter to finish a paltry 5-of-22 (22.7%) in the loss. Phoenix outscored Dallas 48-15 from 3-point range in the win. 48-15, for the love of God. On the other side of that coin was the Mavs’ plus-35 differential in free-throw attempts in the loss. The Mavs went 32-of-44 from the line in the loss, while the Suns shot just nine in the win and made six of them.

We’ll keep watching these games as the 2025-26 season wears on, Mavs fans, so you don’t have to.

NEW YORK (AP) — Chicago Bulls guard Collin Sexton has been fined $35,000 for making an inappropriate hand gesture during a game, the NBA said Tuesday.

The incident happened during Chicago's 123-115 loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday. He made the gesture after making a free throw with 1:31 remaining in the third quarter.

Sexton scored 21 points in the game, but made just 7 of 18 field goals.

___

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

The Pacers (14-40) brought a conference-worst record into Madison Square Garden tonight. They average 110 points per game, practically the worst in the league. Their hosts, the New York Knicks (34*-20), had won nine of their last ten and were climbing up the power rankings again. Games don’t get more lopsided than this. Still, somehow, the dregs of the league always want to stick it to the Knicks, playing like it’s the deciding game of a playoff series and some degenerate gambler has their dog at gunpoint. It took 39 lead changes, the most in an NBA game this season, and an overtime period to declare a victor: Pacers, 137-134.

Quoth RandleTripleDouble: “I hate the Pacers. That’s all.”

Congratulations to Josh Hart, who moved into third place for most triple-doubles in franchise history. He was New York’s most consistent player, finishing with a team-high +13, 15 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, and two steals on 5-of-8 shooting.

In a fast-paced first quarter, the Pacers got three-pointer fever. Indy averages 36.5 attempts from deep and tried 17 in the first period alone, swishing seven of them. Andrew Nembhard (24 PTS, 10 AST) and Ben Sheppard (10 PTS, 7 RBS) combined for five of those dingers. Meanwhile, the Knicks whiffed on five of their seven triple-tries, and although Brunson recorded 11 points in the frame, he struggled to find the touch from range, missing thrice. Jalen finished the night with a stat-line of 40 points, eight assists, five boards, and 15-of-31 FG, 4-of-14 3PT.

Playing without OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson, Coach Brown inserted Landry Shamet in the starting lineup. He finished tonight with 17 points on 6-of-14. Lacking Landry’s punch, the bench scored 18 points.

This was very much a defense optional game from the start. Before the midway point, the Knicks held a seven-point lead, but in a quarter with 12 lead changes, no advantage lasted long. The pesky Hoosiers were determined to give our heroes a fight, and neither team bothered to apply defensive pressure. Then, with two minutes left in the quarter, Jose Alvarado and his trademark hustle made his Madison Square Garden debut. On the Pacers’ final possession of the quarter, Jose stabbed the ball from Pascal Siakam, helping to preserve a 33-32 Knicks lead. Siakam finished with 30 points, six boards, three steals, and shot 11-of-26 FG, 3-of-10 3PT, and 5-of-10 FT.

For the second straight game, Alvarado handled the playmaking duties to start the second quarter, while Tyler Kolek watched from the bench.

The Knicks continued to patiently stand by while their guests rained threes. How hospitable! In a 13-point turnaround, the Pacers went up by seven by the middle of Q2. Siakam led the offense, scoring at all three levels, while Sheppard and Quenton Jackson produced at both ends.

When Brunson returned, he and Towns finally gained some separation late in the half. Towns exerted himself inside, scoring on a dunk and putbacks, drawing fouls, and sweeping the glass. Hart filled in the gaps, dishing nine of New York’s 17 first-half assists. Josh was the only Knick not in double-digit points by intermission, with the Knicks ahead 69-63.

Here’s a beauty of a pass from KAT. He’d finish with a 22-point, 14-board double-double.

Through the first half, the home team shot 59% from the floor and won the glass (22-14), paint (30–20), and fast-break points (16-7). The visitors, who normally shoot 35% from deep, had hit 11-of-25 from three (44%). Go figure.

In the third quarter, the Knicks played better defense, but the game repeated the flip-flop pattern of the first half. Fatigue was setting in. The refs weren’t calling a lot of fouls, so the pace was steady and exhausting through most of the period.

For Indiana, Jackson and Aaron Nesmith hit early threes, and Siakam scored at the line. New York stayed close through Brunson’s shot-making and Hart’s all-around play—he hit pull-up threes, grabbed more boards, and nicked a timely steal. Despite all that, T.J. McConnell sliced up the Knicks defense and cut the score to 94-93 heading into the final frame.

Refusing to quit, Indiana countered every one of New York’s punches in the fourth. McConnell and Jalen Huff scored inside, and the see-saw on the scoreboard persisted. Mikal Bridges answered with a fadeaway, but turnovers proved costly for the home team. Midway through the quarter, Nembhard led Indy on a 9-3 run to go ahead by three.

Down by two with just under five minutes left, our heroes needed someone to provide some pep after such a slog of a game. Enter: Jose. After a juke at the corner, Alvarado snaked his way along the baseline for a sweet layup that brought the crowd to its feet. Jose finished the night with four points on 1-0f-5 shooting and dished three dimes.

Briefly, the momentum teetered in our direction, but was snatched back by Nembhard, Nesmith, and Siakam.

Captain Clutch drove for a layup and converted a free throw after drawing contact to pull the Knicks within one, 121–120, with 1:30 left. Both sides missed (Siakam, Brunson), and with 42 seconds left, a coach’s challenge overturned a Shamet foul. New York got possession from the jump ball, but Cap missed an off-balance 14-footer. At 13 seconds, Siakam made a jumper, pushing Indy’s lead to three.

Out of a timeout, Brunson missed again from beyond the arc. KAT and Potter crashed the boards; Indiana knocked it out of bounds. Bridges was fouled and hit the two freebies. The Hoosiers regained possession with a 1-point lead and six seconds left. New York fouled Siakam, who missed the first free throw. He made the second, the ball reached Shamet, who bricked from deep, which seemed to end the game. But wait! Towns thundered in for the rebound and was fouled by Nesmith with 0.2 seconds left!

KAT made them both send the game to overtime. For as maddening as his offensive fouls and complaining to refs can be, moments like that at the end of the game are sweet redemption.

During bonus basketball, New York looked very thirsty for Gatorade. Hart and Shamet combined for three misses, Towns fouled with a moving screen, and Brunson was blocked by Nesmith at the rim. On the other end, Jackson, Siakam, and Nembhard scored to go up by nine with 50 seconds on the clock. Brunson scored on a drive, and Shamet added a trey to make the deficit four with 12 seconds to go, but it was too little, too late.

Hart fouled Siakam, who missed both free throws. Diawara grabbed the rebound and called a timeout. Nine seconds left. Bridges inbounded to Hart, who got the ball to Captain Clutch—who shook off Nesmith to nail the three. Five seconds left. Out of a timeout, Brunson fouled Jackson. He made both. Three-point game, four seconds left. Shamet got the ball on the next possession, but was fouled before he could attempt a three. He missed both at the stripe. Ballgame.

Up Next

The Knicks zip down to Philly for a scrap with the Sixers tomorrow. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.

Box Score

* Should be one more, but the NBA Cup Final doesn’t count.

After the Los Angeles Clippers traded away James Harden at the NBA trade deadline, the luster of a Rockets versus Clippers matchup in Toyota Center make gave dulled a bit. Especially since the Clippers biggest return in that trade, Darius Garland would not be playing either.

However, for a Rockets team that needs to gain some momentum heading into the All-Star break, a shorthanded Clippers squad was a sight for sore eyes. While the Rockets did build a lead as high as 15 points in the third quarter, the Clippers scrapped and fought as they have all season. In fact they lead at the half 52-51. However, as they have all season, they came up short even after a last ditch effort in the fourth quarter.

The Clippers had to rely heavily on Kawhi Leonard for their offense, but the Rockets were able to key in on him, holding him to 24 points on 7-of-19 shooting, and only allowed one other Clippers player (John Collins) to score in double figures (17 points). The Rockets defense allowed the team to survive a less efficient night for Kevin Durant who had 22 points on 8-of-22 shooting.

The Rockets had four other players in double figures with Alperen Sengun scoring 22 points on 64-percent shooting, Jabari Smith chipping in with 13 points and 10 rebounds, Amen Thompson with 16 points on 60-percent shooting, and Reed Sheppard adding 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists off the bench. The Rockets only allowed the Clippers to score 43 points in the second half of the game and held them to 40-percent shooting from the field and 26.7-percent from the three-point line.

It was by no means the Rockets most impressive win this season, but it was an important win as the Rockets move to 12-1 against sub .500 teams at home. As a team that has let a few games slip that they had no business losing, taking care of Game 1 of this double-dip aganst the Clips was important. These two teams get to run it back tomorrow night, same bat-time, same bat-channel! As always we will be right here on TDS coving the game from every angle with Game Preview, Rockets Discussion during the game, and the post-game recap! See ya tomorrow night!

The Knicks fell short in their back-and-forth battle on Tuesday night, losing in OT to the Pacers, 137-134.

Indiana outscored New York, 13-10, in the overtime period and held on to earn their 14th victory of the season behind Pascal Siakam's 30 points and the team's 18 three-pointers.

Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with a game-high 40 points, Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges both scored 22 points, Landry Shamet had 17, and Josh Hart notched a 15-11-11 triple-double, but it just wasn't enough. 

Here are the takeaways...

-- With OG Anunoby (right toe, toenail avulsion) out for a third straight game, Mike Brown inserted Shamet into the starting lineup. After Towns opened the scoring, Bridges scored seven straight points and Shamet drilled his first three-pointer to put the Knicks up early. Bridges kept it going with an acrobatic tip-in, helping Hart record his fifth assist midway through the first quarter.

Despite shooting 65 percent on offense, New York's defense looked lackadaisical and allowed the Pacers to reclaim the lead, 29-28. Brown called a timeout with 2:05 left in the first and subbed in Jose Alvarado for his home debut to help turn things around.

-- Brunson and Ben Sheppard traded three-pointers after the timeout and then the Knicks' captain gave his team a 33-32 lead at the end of the first quarter. Brunson led the way with 11 points and Bridges had nine plus a quarter-ending block. Indiana made seven threes to keep it close as Siakam led the team with 10 points and Andrew Nembhard had nine points.

-- New York's defense continued to struggle in the second quarter, allowing Siakam and Co. to stay hot. Alvarado's intensity was on full display by diving for loose balls, but he picked up a third foul and was subbed out for Brunson with 7:17 left in the second. Turnovers began to hurt the Pacers as Brunson got a steal and scored his 18th point of the first half to go up 62-59 with about two minutes remaining. Towns then scored six straight points, including a dunk in transition to give him 15 first-half points.

The Knicks led, 69-63, at halftime thanks to 59 percent shooting and a 22-14 lead in the rebound battle through two quarters. Indiana did its best to hang around, shooting 51 percent from the field with 11 three-pointers. Brunson (20) and Towns (15) combined for 35 points at the break, while Bridges and Shamet had 12 points apiece. Hart scored just four points, but already recorded eight rebounds and nine assists.

-- Brunson's big night continued in the third quarter as he sank his third three before Quenton Jackson did the same for Indy to tie the game at 76-76. The game's pace slowed down throughout the third, but the scoring didn't stop. Indiana won the period, 31-24, and took a 94-93 lead heading into the fourth quarter. T.J. McConnell's layup with the clock winding down to put the Pacers ahead was the 33rd lead change of the night.

-- Towns made his first three of the night after four misses, scoring his first points of the second half to give the Knicks a two-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Jay Huff gave the Pacers a 105-104 lead with about seven minutes left in the game, as it was the 35th lead change of the night, tied for the most in an NBA game this season. 

Hart picked up his triple-double on an assist to Bridges, and then Alvarado got his hometown crowd on their feet with a hanging layup to tie the game at 110-110. The season-high 36th lead change of the game came on a Hart layup as the back-and-forth battle continued.

-- Brunson took a bump from Aaron Nesmith and banked in a floater plus the foul to cut the Indiana lead to one point with 1:31 left in the game. The Knicks had a chance to take the lead after winning a coach's challenge and the jump-ball tip, but Brunson missed a forced three-point attempt. Siakam then drained a jumper to put the Pacers up three points with 13.2 seconds left and later up two with 5.2 seconds left, but missed a crucial FT to leave the door open for NY.

Shamet missed a three-point attempt for the win, but Towns was fouled crashing the glass for the putback, placing him on the foul line with 0.2 seconds remaining. The All-Star made both to tie the game and force overtime.

-- Towns fouled out for the fifth time this season with the Knicks down four points in OT. Nesmith then blocked Brunson and Jackson drained a three-pointer to go up seven points, Indiana's biggest lead of the night, which they'd barely hold on to for the win.

Game MVP: Pascal Siakam

Siakam scored 30 points on 11-for-26 shooting with six rebounds, four assists, and three steals in the win. 

Highlights

Mikal with a couple early buckets 🔥 pic.twitter.com/8oygw1M4iz

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) February 11, 2026

Hart ➡️ KAT 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/ienwWToj0l

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) February 11, 2026

Jose Alvarado hustling in his MSG debut 😤 pic.twitter.com/9jSnoLItvb

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) February 11, 2026

Landry Shamet with the 4-point play! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/8exayc8NRC

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) February 11, 2026

Josh Hart for 👌 pic.twitter.com/6bdNKlHu4i

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) February 11, 2026

What's next

The Knicks head down I-95 to Philadelphia for a matchup with the 76ers on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. It's their last game before the 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend festivities in Los Angeles.

Last season, the Pacers handed the Knicks their worst loss at Madison Square Garden. It was for a different reason this time around, but the worst Knicks loss this season at MSG came against the Pacers yet again. 

So much has changed since the last time these two teams met in this arena. 

Without Tyrese Haliburton, the Pacers — who have essentially taken a gap year since opening night — now own the worst record in the East.

After two straight years eliminating the Knicks in the playoffs, they will be no threat this postseason. The Knicks, meanwhile, entered having won nine of their last 10 games. 

But some things haven’t changed.

The Pacers, despite a nightmare season, still own the Knicks, who fell 137-134 in overtime Tuesday night in the penultimate game before the All-Star break. 

“Regardless of what their record is, they’re great,” Jalen Brunson said. “Great coach, they do everything well, they play hard, they play to the last second. Those qualities that they have, they’re gonna play every single night, regardless of what the record is.” 

• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NBA STANDINGS AND KNICKS STATS

The Pacers, though, gave the Knicks a second chance.

Up three with 6.2 seconds left, they intentionally fouled Mikal Bridges. He made both free throws, then fouled Pascal Siakam on the other end with 5.2 seconds left. Siakam made just one of two, meaning the Knicks were down just two.

Landry Shamet missed his 3-pointer on the end, but Karl-Anthony Towns was fouled by Aaron Nesmith while going for the rebound.

And Towns calmly made both free throws to send the game to overtime. 

The Pacers scored the first nine points of overtime, however. On cue, after fans had begun to leave, the Knicks went on a 10-2 run. A Jalen Brunson 3-pointer cut the deficit to one point with 5.1 seconds left. But it wasn’t enough. The Knicks fouled Quenton Jackson, who hit both free throws, the Pacers intentionally fouled Shamet, who missed both free throws, on the other end, and an embarrassing Knicks loss was complete. 

If there is one thing these two teams do well, it’s create chaos. There were 39 lead changes — the most in any NBA game this year. 

Every time you blinked, another Pacers shooter had a wide-open 3-pointer. The dominant Knicks defense that had powered their resurgence completely disappeared, allowing the Pacers to shoot 51.5 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range. 

A trio of Knicks villains — Aaron Nesmith, Andrew Nembhard and Siakam — did the most damage late in the game. Siakam finished with 30 points, Nembhard had 24 and Nesmith added 11. Jackson also recorded 19 points for the Pacers. 

“We didn’t reach that standard of defense that we’ve shown in recent games,” Towns said. “And it came back to bite us today.” 

It didn’t help that Brunson, the NBA’s reigning Clutch Player of the Year, was uncharacteristically off in crunch time. 

He had two chances to give the Knicks the lead, both with his team down 120-121. He missed a 3-pointer with 1:02 left and missed a midrange jumper with 33.7 seconds left. Then with 10.8 seconds left, he missed another 3-pointer that would have tied the game. 

“I thought Jalen down the stretch had some pretty good looks and got to the spots he normally gets to but he just came up short,” coach Mike Brown said. “We got the ball where we needed to get the ball. We got the looks that we wanted to look for during that time. Sometimes they just don’t go in and tonight was one of those nights.” 

Towns picked up his third offensive foul — and fifth total foul — for hooking Jay Huff with 9:06 left in regulation and was immediately taken out for Ariel Hukporti. He was on the bench until 3:07 left. Then with 2:14 left in overtime, he fouled out after being called for an illegal screen, his fourth offensive foul of the game. 

Tuesday was the first meeting between these two teams at MSG since Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals last year. They squared off earlier in the season, when the Knicks escaped with a one-point win in Indiana.

Two matchups, two scorelines that are not close to indicative of their spots in the standings.

No matter how bad they are, the Pacers continue to have the Knicks’ number.

Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Portland Trailblazers
Date: February 11th, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM CST
Location: Target Center
Television Coverage: FanDuel Sports Network – North
Radio Coverage: KFAN FM, Wolves App, iHeart Radio

After a completely embarrassing, effort-free faceplant on Super Bowl Sunday, the Minnesota Timberwolves did the one thing that makes them endlessly fascinating and deeply exhausting: they flipped the switch. The effort switch. On the second night of a back-to-back, they suddenly looked like a team that remembered it has playoff aspirations, flying around on defense, sharing the ball, playing with purpose, and generally acting like they’d rather not be roasted for another 48 hours.

Monday night felt like the antithesis of Sunday afternoon. Energy instead of apathy. Cohesion instead of chaos. A team that looked engaged rather than mildly offended that it had to be there. And now, as the Portland Trail Blazers roll into Target Center, the only real question is the one that has haunted this season from October onward:

Which version of the Wolves shows up?

The optimist says Sunday was rock bottom. That the Clippers embarrassment, on the heels of two other fairly indefensible losses to Memphis and New Orleans, finally sank in. That Monday night wasn’t a fluke, but a correction. A team rediscovering its identity just in time to close the pre–All-Star stretch strong.

The pessimist, who, let’s be honest, has watched a lot of Timberwolves basketball, sees a midweek game with All-Star Weekend looming, beaches and warm climates calling, and thinks, Uh oh. Because this team has shown us before that “one good response game” does not necessarily lead to sustained focus. Sometimes it just buys them enough goodwill to fall back into old habits, just like they did against Brooklyn and Atlanta around the holidays.

So which Wolves team are we getting Wednesday night?

Because on paper, this should be straightforward. Minnesota has more talent. More size. More experience. More at stake. If they come out locked in and impose their will, this is a win. If they sleepwalk, Portland is young, scrappy, fearless, and perfectly happy to steal a game from a team that doesn’t take them seriously.

That’s the tension. That’s the season.

With that, here are the keys to the game.

#1: Bring energy immediately. No more waiting for the panic button.
We all know the routine by now. If the Wolves spend the first three quarters “feeling things out,” playing with their food, and assuming they can flip the switch later, we’re heading straight toward another unnecessary sweat, or worse. When they came out against Atlanta, they played like a team that wanted to be done with nonsense. That’s the blueprint. This is the final game before the break. There’s plenty of rest coming. Empty the tank. Don’t spot a young team confidence by being casual.

#2: Keep the ball moving and the offense fluid.
Monday night worked because the Wolves played basketball like it’s supposed to be played. The ball popped. Multiple guys touched it. Shooters were involved early. The offense didn’t devolve into late-clock desperation or “your turn, my turn” isolation. Getting players like Donte DiVincenzo and Ayo Dosunmu engaged matters, not just for scoring, but for rhythm. If this turns into Ant-and-Randle hero ball for long stretches, Portland will hang around longer than it should.

#3: Dominate the paint, even if Naz Reid can’t go.
There’s still uncertainty around a Naz Reid suspension after his altercation with Mouhamed Gueye, and if he’s unavailable, the Wolves will need Joan Beringer to soak up real minutes alongside Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle. The assignment doesn’t change: use the size advantage. Clean the glass. Create easy offense through putbacks, lobs, and interior touches. This is how you stabilize games.

Like so many Wolves games this season, this one isn’t about scheme or matchups or some secret adjustment. It’s about professionalism. Win this game, and you head into the All-Star break with momentum, confidence, and a sense that Monday wasn’t just a one-off. Lose it, or barely survive while sleepwalking, and the questions come roaring back.

The Timberwolves have shown they can be locked in. They’ve shown they can dominate. Now they just need to prove, one more time before the break, that Monday wasn’t the exception, it was the reminder.

Finish strong. Enter All-Star Weekend on a positive note. And maybe, just maybe, give us reason to believe the switch can stay on.

All Times EST

Wednesday, Feb. 11

NBA

Atlanta at Charlotte, 7 p.m.

Milwaukee at Orlando, 7 p.m.

Washington at Cleveland, 7 p.m.

Chicago at Boston, 7:30 p.m.

Detroit at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

Indiana at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.

New York at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.

L.A. Clippers at Houston, 8 p.m.

Miami at New Orleans, 8 p.m.

Portland at Minnesota, 8 p.m.

Memphis at Denver, 9 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Phoenix, 9 p.m.

Sacramento at Utah, 9 p.m.

San Antonio at Golden State, 10 p.m.

T25 MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

No. 2 Michigan vs. Northwestern, 8:30 p.m.

No. 6 UConn at Butler, 7:30 p.m.

No. 14 Florida at Georgia, 7 p.m.

No. 16 Texas Tech vs. Colorado, 8 p.m.

No. 20 Clemson vs. Virginia Tech, 7 p.m.

T25 WOMEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

No. 1 UConn vs. Creighton, 6 p.m.

No. 2 UCLA at No. 13 Michigan St., 8 p.m.

No. 15 Iowa vs. No. 25 Washington, 7:30 p.m.

No. 19 West Virginia vs. UCF, 7 p.m.

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Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Timberwolves fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

Since trading for Jaren Jackson Jr., the Utah Jazz have been an exciting team to watch. Since February 7th, when Jackson joined the team, the Jazz have had a top ten defense. Offensively, it’s not been as good, but that has not included having Keyonte George (who injured his ankle in Jackson’s debut) and Walker Kessler. The question is, how well can the Jazz play next season with their complete team?

In this edition of Utah Jazz Reacts, I wanted to see what Jazz fans thought. Do you think the Jazz will be a playoff team next season? Will they be able to find cohesion with Keyonte George and Walker Kessler? Or will it be a dissapointing season?

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Jazz fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

Welcome to the Game Thread. Veterans of the Game Thread know how we do things around here, but for all you newbies we have a few rules. Our community guidelines apply and basically say be cool, no personal attacks, don’t troll and don’t swear too much.

The Spurs have two games left before the All Star break, tonight against the Lakers, and tomorrow night against the Warriors, both late night games on the west coast. It’s the back-to-back series of games with a LA face and an Oakland booty. Another interesting fact is that both the Lakers and Warriors will be missing their best players on both nights. Out for the Lakers tonight will be LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and Marcus Smart, and Ayton is listed as questionable. The Spurs have not been exactly dominant against teams that sit out a lot of their starting lineup, and the Spurs could be a bit distracted with several of their players taking part in All Star festivities this weekend. This will be an interesting test of Mitch Johnson’s coaching to see if he can get his team to play with intensity against a team whose best player is probably … Rui Hachimura? Don’t get me wrong, Rui is good, but he doesn’t have the ability to create trips to the free throw line from thin air like Luka. And LeBron is old, but still can take over a game in short stretches. Even with all those players missing, the Tinseltown torch bearers have a lot of players who can score. Dalton Knecht can hit shots, as can Rui and Luke Kennard. Jaxson Hayes is one of my least favorite NBA players, but he can dunk the ball well enough that he was invited to the dunk contest this year. If the Spurs allow the Lakers to stay in the game until the fourth quarter, it could be a tough night for the Silver and Black, when what they really want to do is save their energy for tomorrow night’s 9:00 PM game against the Curry-less Warriors in San Francisco (not actually Oakland any more).

The newly crowned Western Conference Player of the Week [Stephon Castle] will look to have a big night, and De’Aaron Fox should be able to get whatever shot he wants to, because the Laker defense is normally bad, but without Smart, it’s going to be terrible. Best case scenario, Victor Wembanyama puts this game away early and cheers on the Spurs garbage time crew from the bench for most of the fourth quarter. But the more likely outcome involves the starters having to play big minutes to put the Lakers away late. Ugh.

It’s a late night game, so you might want to check your coffee reserves before the game starts. GO SPURS GOO!!

Game Prediction:

Jordan McLaughlin puts on a show with 20 points in the fourth quarter as he repeatedly blows past Luke Kennard.

San Antonio Spurs vs Dallas Mavericks
February 10, 2026 | 9:30 PM CT
Streaming: NBA League Pass
TV: NBATV/FanDuel Sports Southwest
Reminder: It is against site policy to post links to illegal streams in the comments.

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Malik Reneau scored 16 points, Ernest Udeh Jr. had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Miami never trailed while beating No. 11 North Carolina 75-66 on Tuesday night for the Hurricanes' first victory over a Top 25 opponent in two years.

Tre Donaldson finished with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Shelton Henderson added 12 points for the Hurricanes (19-5, 8-3 Atlantic Coast Conference).

Udeh made a free throw with 2:11 remaining, then rebounded his missed second attempt and scored on a layup to put Miami ahead 66-60.

After Donaldson’s layup with 1:20 left made it 69-62, Jarin Stevenson’s layup 5 seconds later got the Tar Heels (19-5, 7-4) within five. Despite finishing 14 of 23 from the foul line, Miami clinched the win with six free throws in the final minute.

As soon as the horn sounded, Hurricanes fans stormed the court, celebrating their first win over a Top 25 team since beating No. 16 Clemson 95-82 Jan. 3, 2024.

Stevenson scored 13 points, Caleb Wilson had 12 and Henri Veesar added 11 for the Tar Heels.

Wilson, the Tar Heels' leading scorer with 20 points per game, left briefly for the locker room midway through the second half and had his left hand wrapped when he returned with 8:47 remaining.

The loss snapped North Carolina’s five game-win streak.

Miami outscored North Carolina 46-28 in the paint. Udeh made seven of eight shots, including five on dunks. After shooting 7-of-13 from 3-point range in the first half, the Tar Heels were 1 of 14 from behind the arc in the second half.

The Hurricanes opened a 10-point lead on Reneau’s three-point play seven minutes into the first half that made it 22-12.

North Carolina chipped away and stayed within striking distance the remainder of the half. Kyan Evans’ 3-pointer with 1:01 remaining got the Tar Heels to 41-40 before Timo Malovec’s two free throws with 27 seconds left gave the Hurricanes a 3-point lead at halftime.

Up next

North Carolina: Host Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Miami: At North Carolina State on Saturday.

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“What the Utah Jazz are doing is messing around with the integrity of the game.”

Bobby Marks took to national television to reiterate the discourse that has been poisoning recent NBA discussion — the Utah Jazz are dismantling the sanctity of competition. They’re shredding the fabric of competition; defiling the tapestry of professional basketball. How are they doing this? By losing basketball games

The Utah Jazz have been at the forefront of NBA debate for the past few months, taking digital body blows from outraged observers and tanking scrutinizers.

Assuming you haven’t kept a tight watch on the bottom of the NBA standings, you’d understandably assume that a team sparking so much controversy would be far and away the ugliest example of their strategy. Surely, considering the growing wave of scrutiny, the Utah Jazz must have the worst record in the league, right?

Nope.

Bottom three?

Wrong again.

Utah sits with a 17-37 record, which is currently sixth-worst in the NBA and 5.5 games ahead of the last-place Kings. So what’s the rub?

I have a theory, but let me warn you that I’m about to get biblical.

On the Day of Atonement, the ancient Israelites would ritualistically place the burden of their nation’s sin upon a goat. This animal’s role removed all guilt of wrongdoing from its community as it carried the nation’s burden into the wilderness. Distancing themselves from all of their shortcomings and wrongdoings

The Utah Jazz are not the villains of the NBA; they’re the scapegoats. The poster boy for the tankathon. They’re the tanking franchise bearing the weight of the basketball world’s sins.

The fans paid for tickets to watch the Utah Jazz, and that is exactly what they got: Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, Ace Bailey, and the newly-acquired Jaren Jackson Jr each appeared in this game to Utah’s advantage, pushing the visiting Jazz ahead by as many as 17 points before the game turned to the fourth quarter and those starters reclined on the bench. Fingers laced behind their heads, legs outstretched with ankles crossed, Utah’s stars would not re-enter the game even as the Magic whittled their lead down to single-digits, then one possession, until eventually claiming the lead and victory away from the tanking Jazz.

Coach Will Hardy employed a similar strategy in the next game, pulling his starters in the fourth quarter and watching as the second unit beat Miami outright, thanks in part to a clutch three-pointer courtesy of third-year player and former first-round pick, Brice Sensabaugh.

Will Hardy has every right to employ the lineups of his choice — that’s what it means to be a head coach — and the NBA won’t punish him or the Jazz for the players he opted to play in crunch time. The moment Adam Silver steps in to declare who can and cannot play in the fourth quarter of a basketball game, that is when the integrity of competition will be compromised, not when a subpar team gives playing time to its bench.

Possibly the loudest whistle-blowers regarding Utah’s sins are the Dallas Mavericks. Yes, that’s right, the very same team that traded away Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis in a ‘win-now’ move to push themselves closer to championship contention. That team was rewarded with a shocking jump to the number-one pick and Cooper Flagg. Just one year prior, the Mavs were hit with a $750,000 fine for tanking, the largest such fine in league history.

Yet it’s Dallas, the team with the seventh-worst record, just behind the Utah Jazz, who choose to virtue signal, casting the finger of shame toward the unethical Utah Jazz all across social media. They started the movement, and the NBA community is running with it.

‘Ethical tanking’ is a myth. It’s baffling to suggest that one team’s intentional losing is commendable while another’s is vile. It’s hypocrisy. It’s selective outrage. Yet this perspective has leaked into the mainstream, as evidenced by Mark’s ESPN spot.

Where is the outcry toward Washington, a team resting its two All-Star acquisitions, as Davis was announced out for the season, and Young still awaits his debut? Where is the hatred for Sacramento as they sit their core on the way to a league-worst standing? The Indiana Pacers, last year’s NBA Finals runners-up who are clinging to a top-four protected pick, announced that their newest center, Ivica Zubac, won’t be making his debut any time soon.

But the Utah Jazz are ridiculed for running their best players for three quarters and cratering in the fourth? Those outraged at the Jazz’s tanking methods are misguided. Tanking is tanking is tanking. Regardless of execution, plenty more NBA teams are losing deliberately — they just have far less press coverage.

Internet sleuths have their magnifying glass hovering directly over the Jazz; there’s no escaping their dutiful watch now. But the Jazz didn’t invent tanking, nor are they the only one of the NBA’s 30 teams to employ tanking strategies this season or any of the last decade-plus since Philadelphia installed “The Process”.

The system is flawed, and smart teams (especially those who historically struggle to lure in top free agents) are taking advantage. Don’t hate the player, hate the game, because the Utah Jazz are just one cog in the tanking machine.

So what can we do about tanking?

Seemingly, everyone has an idea about how to solve tanking in the NBA. Ideas span from flattening draft odds, employing lottery bans for teams that received a top pick, and even eliminating the lottery altogether, opting for a 30-team rotation that shifts one spot every season.

I won’t pretend to know the solution for the NBA’s tanking problem — and yes, it is a problem that teams don’t want to win — but I’d suggest that all proposals are taken to Occam’s Razor. In other words, the best solution is often the simplest solution. I don’t subscribe to the idea that small-market teams should be barred from building through the draft in subsequent years. A one-and-done type of draft would be both complicated and unusual.

Basketball is a simple game at its core; complication isn’t the cure for its shortcomings.

Flattening the odds accomplished its original purpose: being detrimental to the worst records in the league and minimizing the reward for hunting that bottom spot in the standings. Since flattening lottery odds, the number-one odds have never been actualized into the number one pick.

Few understand this better than Utah (a franchise that has never had the pleasure of drafting first overall), which finished with the top lottery odds and a 52.1% chance of landing in the top four before sliding to five and picking up Rutgers’ Ace Bailey with their pick. Bailey is the symbol of Utah’s punishment for playing the game the ‘right way’ in 2025. He’s evidence that being the very worst guarantees nothing in the draft lottery, and the physical manifestation of his team’s shortcomings.

The idea behind dissuading tanking was sound, but more teams than ever are still hunting lottery odds. Utah is no exception, nor are they a red stain on the flawless reputation of the NBA. There are at least seven Utah Jazz equivalents in 2025-26, and it’s time we stop singling out the Jazz for their part in the movement.

Calvin Barrett is a writer, editor, and prolific Mario Kart racer located in Tokyo, Japan. He has covered the NBA and College Sports since 2024.