NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Porter Jr. tied his season high with 35 points, Nic Claxton had his second triple-double and the Brooklyn Nets beat the New Orleans Pelicans 119-101 on Saturday.
Porter matched his career best by reaching 30 for a third straight game, having also done it last Feb. 3-6 during his final season with Denver. He made five 3-pointers and had nine rebounds after sitting out Thursday to rest his back in the second night of a back-to-back.
Claxton finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He’s the first Nets player with multiple triple-doubles in a season since James Harden (nine) and Kevin Durant (four) in 2021-22, and the second Nets center with multiple career triple-doubles. Shawn Bradley had five from 1995-97.
Day’Ron Sharpe added 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting as Brooklyn won for the third time in four games to improve to 6-17.
Trey Murphy III scored 23 points for the Pelicans, who lost their sixth straight game and fell to 3-21. Saddiq Bey added 18 points and Bryce McGowens had 16.
The Nets shot 63.6 percent and had 13 assists on their 14 baskets in the first quarter, taking a 35-24 lead. Porter scored 13 points in the second quarter on 5-for-6 shooting as Brooklyn made it 62-44 at halftime.
Morez Johnson Jr. scored 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting, and No. 3 Michigan won its fifth consecutive game by 25 or more points, beating Rutgers 101-60 on Saturday.
Doncic missed the last two games, but before Friday’s game against Boston, coach JJ Redick was open to the possibility of him rejoining the team in time for Sunday’s road trip finale. The Lakers (16-6) went 1-1 to begin the trip with a thrilling, three-point win in Toronto on Thursday before getting blown out in Boston.
LeBron James, who also missed Friday’s game because of sciatica and joint arthritis in his left foot, is questionable to return Sunday. The 40-year-old has played in only six of the Lakers’ 22 games.
Guard Marcus Smart will miss a sixth consecutive game because of a left lumbar muscle strain.
Doncic, who shared a photo of his new daughter, Olivia, on social media, leads the NBA with 35.3 points per game. If he returns against the 76ers (13-9), the game will feature three of the league’s top five scorers.
Philadelphia guard Tyrese Maxey ranks third with 31.6 points per game and Lakers guard Austin Reaves is fifth with 29.3 points. Reaves’ career season has helped the Lakers go 4-2 in games without Doncic, as Reaves is averaging 40 points per game without Doncic in the lineup.
The Kings went to South Beach and played their best game of the 2025-26 NBA season, coasting to a 127-111 win over the Miami Heat on Saturday at Kaseya Center.
Yes, you read that correctly: Sacramento, in the midst of a losing skid and on the road, put together four impressive quarters against one of the league’s best defensive teams in a city notoriously known for distracting its visitors.
To many teams in the league, it could’ve been any other victory. For the Kings, especially at this juncture of the season, it’s a moment to exhale – and release some built-up tension.
“The preparation has been the same,” Zach LaVine told Kyle Draper, Morgan Ragan and Deuce Mason on “Kings Postgame Live.” “We’ve been fighting through it. Everyone in this locker room is a competitor. I’m a competitor. No one is quitting. No one wants to lose.
“We are fighting through a little bit of adversity from top to bottom with the whole team. We’re just trying to figure out how to make it happen. Everybody in this locker room is going to stick with it regardless of what people say on the outside. We don’t care about that. We’re going to keep doing what we have to do.”
Sure, among the Heats’ inactives were guards Tyler Herro and Davion Mitchell, but the Kings, propelled by a season-high 42 points from LaVine, left coach Doug Christie – and Sacramento fans – with plenty to be proud of.
“We work on the defense when get practice days, and when these guys are locked in, we’ve seen them play some really good defense,” Christie told reporters.
“Now, they have some guys out, so you got to understand that. At the same time, they played on a back to back, so there are some things there. But still, their style of basketball plays to everyone on their team. I know with [Heat coach Erik Spoelstra], it’s the next man up. There are no excuses, and for us to come out and play that way mightily impressive.”
"For us to come out and play that way was mightily impressive."
LaVine, who also tallied eight 3-pointers, was supported by a pair of King rookies.
After gaining Christie’s confidence through several strong performances, rookie Maxime Raynaud made his first career start tonight.
The Stanford product finished with a double-double, registering 12 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks.
Meanwhile, first-round pick Nique Clifford, coming off the bench, demonstrated his best performance of the season, adding 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting.
Before returning home, the Kings will make a stop in Indiana to face the Pacers on Monday.
In the meantime, they’ve earned every right to take in some of the Miami experience.
The Warriors wobbled into Cleveland on Saturday and, for the first time this season, summoned the kind of performance that delivers a warm cup of encouragement to everyone on the payroll.
Coming off a distasteful loss Thursday night in Philadelphia, they vanquished a quality opponent, on the road, without the services of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler III and Al Horford.
The Warriors’ 99-94 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers was accomplished behind the horsepower of a patchwork starting lineup, their 12th of the season, and a rotation that mostly made sense even if at times it looked as if the names were drawn from a hat.
No one was more vital to this stunning triumph than Pat Spencer, the Bay Area’s latest unlikely superhero. The two-way guard, making his first NBA start, submitted something of a movie trailer for his own Linsanity moment.
Spencer this week has moved from reliable part-time energizer to critical component of the Warriors. He is vastly outplaying his two-way contract.
“We’ve seen the competitiveness,” Kerr told reporters at Rocket Arena. “We’ve seen what a good player he is over the past couple years. But he’s really improved his jump shot. That’s the big thing. Last year, he would turn down a lot of threes, drive in, shoot a lot of floaters. He’s never going to be Steph, but he’s a threat out there. That’s what it takes. You have to be a threat from the line to pull the defense out. I just think now the shot quality we’re getting with him on the floor is way better than it was the last couple years.
“And the other thing is that his coach realizes that Pat is that motherf–ker. That became clear.”
"His coach realized that Pat is that motherf–ker."
Spencer scored a team- and career-high 19 points, on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, including 3 of 4 from distance. He recorded a game-high seven assists, while committing only one turnover, and was plus-nine in 29 minutes.
He was at his best in the fourth quarter, when the moment grew in magnitude and the Cavs intensified their defense, trimming a 13-point deficit with 5:17 remaining to two with 20.9 seconds left. Spencer scored 12 of Golden State’s 27 points in the quarter and assisted on two more buckets.
“It took a collective effort,” Spencer said on NBC Sports Bay Area’s “Warriors Postgame Live.” “We had 10 guys, but we had 10 pretty young guys today. And [the Cavaliers] were coming off a back-to-back [set]. We knew if we played with pace, got up and down, we’d find some shots that were beneficial for us.”
Pat Spencer discusses how the banged-up Warriors pulled out a big road win tonight 🙌 pic.twitter.com/imK3iKZRcs
All 10 available Warriors provided something that helped the carve out the victory. Buddy Hield finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Quinten Post produced 12 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks while battling NBA All-Star big man Even Mobley to a virtual standoff. Jonathan Kuminga, making his first start since Nov. 11, scored four only points on 1-of-10 shooting but yanked seven rebounds.
The bench came through with enough solid play at both ends to ensure there would be no significant drop-off from the starters. Golden State generated leads as high as 14 points. Gui Santos gave the Warriors 14 points and three assists, with two crucial free throws with 11.3 seconds remaining. Brandin Podziemski, struggling of late, delivered 10 points, three rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes.
The Warriors pestered the Cavaliers into 34.6-percent shooting from the field, including 23.8 beyond the arc. Stars Donovan Mitchall, Darius Garland and Mobley combined to shoot 25 of 60 from the field.
“We were on a string,” Kerr said. “We were connected. We did a pretty good job taking care of transition, which was our No. 1 key. They are so fast in transition, one of the best teams in the league at scoring in the first eight seconds of the clock. They get the ball down the floor. I thought we took that away.”
There is no doubt, though, that the high-velocity spirit of Spencer was contagious enough to push the entire squad to levels that must be as dynamic as they can reach without the team’s best players.
When Spencer went the line to shoot two free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining and the Warriors up 97-94, he followed his first make by waving goodbye to the crowd. He then dropped in the second for the final score.
“We’ll take any win we can get right now,” Spencer said. “Great energy in the locker room, just competing our butts off tonight. We’re trying to weather the storm until we get healthy. But yeah, we’re fired up.”
As well they should be. Who could have imagined the Warriors getting a quality road win with Curry, Green and Butler inactive? Who could have dreamed Spencer would be the driving force?
To be sure, this victory doesn’t mean Golden State’s failed two-timeline plan has been revived – goodness, no. But it’s proof that the supporting cast is hearing the pleas the veterans have been urging for a few weeks.
Given the turbulent play so far this season, there is legitimate value in that.
If you’re not familiar with Pat Spencer by this point, then you probably should be.
After his defiant declaration on Thursday in Philadelphia, Spencer backed it up in the Warriors’ 99-94 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night at Rocket Arena. The 29-year-old point guard — in his first career NBA start — scored a career-high 19 points to go with seven assists and four rebounds.
Steve Kerr offered a priceless moment in his postgame presser, repeating Spencer’s audacious quote that could end up being iconic in Warriors lore.
“I think the other thing is that his coach realized that Pat is that motherf–ker,” Kerr told reporters. “I think that became clear.”
"His coach realized that Pat is that motherf–ker."
Was Kerr previously aware of that quality Spencer possesses? That was the next question for Golden State’s coach.
“No, I was getting the inkling, you know,” Kerr replied. “It was starting to creep in, but I didn’t realize it until he told the world, and tonight it was very clear.”
Minutes later, Gui Santos similarly agreed with Spencer’s assertion.
“A huge compliment for Pat, that guy,” Santos explained to reporters, before asking if he could swear. “Pat is that motherf–ker, you know. He’s great. It’s great to have a guy like that on the team.”
Southern California guard Amarion Dickerson will be out three to four months after injuring his right hip in the 24th-ranked Trojans' win over Oregon this week, coach Eric Musselman said Saturday. The combo guard-forward was averaging 4.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and nearly 22 minutes in eight games for the Trojans (8-0, 1-0 Big Ten). The senior from Cleveland, Ohio, started 31 of 35 games last season at Robert Morris, where he was the Horizon League defensive player of the year.
Bulls rookie Noa Essengue will undergo season-ending surgery on his left shoulder.
On Saturday, the Bulls made official what coach Billy Donovan had said a few days earlier: surgery was required, and the usual recovery time is six to seven months. Essengue injured his shoulder in a G-League game and, while the team first said it was a contusion, it turned out to be more than that.
Essengue was the No. 12 pick in last June's draft and at Summer League showed his fluid athleticism and potential, but also was raw (as expected). He was mainly remembered for being on the wrong end of a meme during his first trip to Las Vegas. The Bulls wanted to deal with this injury now so that Essengue will have next summer to work on his game (whether he will play in Summer League remains to be seen).
This season, Essengue played just six total minutes for the Bulls. In four G-League games, Essengue averaged 23 points a game on 50.8% from the floor, plus grabbing 8.5 rebounds a game.
