After a trip to the Warriors’ locker room in the second quarter, Jimmy Butler was not on the floor to begin the second half of Golden State’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night at Chase Center.
The Warriors star ultimately was ruled out of the game with a sore left knee near the end of the third quarter.
Butler originally was listed as questionable for the game with a glute contusion after a hard fall in Saturday’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans, but was cleared to play shortly before Tuesday’s tip-off. He appeared to be in discomfort following a play — which included losing his shoe — with 6:36 to go in the first half before heading to the Warriors’ locker room, and he then returned to the bench shortly after.
Jimmy Butler is not on the floor for the second half after showing discomfort following this play in the second quarter pic.twitter.com/K7Cn0dP9fu
Butler didn’t come out of the locker room following the halftime break, however, and Gary Payton II started the second half in Butler’s place as Golden State trailed 63-44 against the defending NBA champions.
Up until his exit, Butler had scored six points on 2-of-7 shooting with three rebounds and one assist in 15 minutes of play. The Warriors already are without Steph Curry in Tuesday’s game, who is missing time with a quad contusion.
After a trip to the Warriors’ locker room in the second quarter, Jimmy Butler was not on the floor to begin the second half of Golden State’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night at Chase Center.
Butler originally was listed as questionable for the game with a glute contusion after a hard fall in Saturday’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans, but was cleared to play shortly before Tuesday’s tip-off. He appeared to be in discomfort following a play — which included losing his shoe — with 6:36 to go in the first half before heading to the Warriors’ locker room, and he then returned to the bench shortly after.
Jimmy Butler is not on the floor for the second half after showing discomfort following this play in the second quarter pic.twitter.com/K7Cn0dP9fu
Butler didn’t come out of the locker room following the halftime break, however, and Gary Payton II started the second half in Butler’s place as Golden State trailed 63-44 against the defending NBA champions.
Up until his exit, Butler had scored six points on 2-of-7 shooting with three rebounds and one assist in 15 minutes of play. The Warriors already are without Steph Curry in Tuesday’s game, who is missing time with a quad contusion.
They notched a 121-102 victory over the Wizards and moved to 11-9 on the season.
Tyrese Maxey posted 35 points, six assists, four steals and four rebounds.
The Sixers were down Joel Embiid (right knee injury recovery), Quentin Grimes (right calf soreness), Kelly Oubre Jr. (left knee LCL sprain) and Trendon Watford (left adductor strain).
The Sixers will host the Warriors on Thursday night. Here are observations on their win over Washington:
Strong second unit
The Sixers ran plenty of first-quarter plays for Paul George and he was aggressive as a jump shooter. George sunk two catch-and-shoot three-pointers in the first.
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse turned to his bench relatively early. Justin Edwards, Jared McCain and Adem Bona were all on the floor after a little over five minutes.
Bona committed a foul on his first defensive possession, biting on a Marvin Bagley III pump fake. The Wizards took the game’s first six free throws and went up 18-12 on a CJ McCollum mid-range jumper.
The Sixers’ bench then started to cook.
McCain swished a three off of a baseline out-of-bounds play and made two driving layups in his first stint. Edwards also knocked down a pair of threes in the first quarter, breaking through a recent slump. He’d gone 4 for 24 beyond the arc over his past seven games. Bona had several possession-earning hustle plays that didn’t show up on the stat sheet, including a forced backcourt violation.
Maxey in his comfort zone
Jabari Walker and Eric Gordon joined the mix in the second quarter. Walker drilled two straight corner threes and a Maxey jumper gave the Sixers a 54-40 lead.
Maxey looked extremely comfortable leading the Sixers’ offense.
He followed up a season-high six turnovers Sunday with zero giveaways and seemed to get wherever he wanted to go.
Seconds after Maxey sat late in the second quarter, he had the pleasure of watching an explosive, audacious Edgecombe slam.
The Sixers led by a dozen at halftime, but the Wizards scored the first seven points of the third quarter. George and Drummond missed jumpers late in the shot clock. Drummond picked up his fourth foul with 9:16 left in the third.
Edgecombe’s effort and athleticism helped the Sixers snap out of their funk and avoid another poor third quarter. He grabbed gritty offensive rebounds on consecutive possessions. The first board led to a George three, the second a Dominick Barlow and-one layup.
The Sixers blew the game open late in the third quarter. McCain drained a transition three. Maxey found a groove and rapidly piled up points. After burying a step-back three, he snagged a steal and coasted the other way for a fast-break dunk that put the Sixers up 99-73.
Maxey subbed out to start the fourth quarter and it was soon abundantly clear he (and all the Sixers’ regulars) would be able to stay on the sidelines the rest of the night.
Drummond threw down a put-back dunk and splashed a corner three. The Sixers led by as many as 36 points, rookies Johni Broome and Hunter Sallis checked in, and Maxey finally finished a game with under 30 minutes. The NBA’s minutes leader logged a season-low 29.
SAN FRANCISCO — Steve Kerr knows better than anyone in NBA history what it takes to break the single-season wins record.
He has done it twice.
First, as a player on the iconic 1995-96 Chicago Bulls team that went 72-10 in the regular season before securing its fourth of six NBA championships in eight years.
Then, as the coach of the 2015-16 Warriors, who went 73-9 in the regular season before losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.
Fast-forward to this season, and Kerr and the Warriors are preparing to face off against the defending-champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who enter Tuesday’s game at Chase Center with an NBA-best record of 20-1.
Not only are the Thunder off to a blistering-hot start, to put it mildly, but OKC currently is on pace to go 78-4 this season, which would shatter the records set by both of Kerr’s iconic teams.
While there is a long, long, long way to go before we officially are on Record Watch, this is the first team since the Warriors broke the record nine years ago that actually feels like they have a very real — if not likely — shot of doing the previously unthinkable.
So what will it take? Nobody knows better than Kerr.
“Overall team mindset of zero agendas, just win every night,” Kerr said pregame Tuesday when asked about the formula to win 70-plus games. “Obviously great talent, but I think high-IQ players [that those teams] had really high IQs individually and as a team, and that’s what I see with OKC. Really, really smart players, good coach, really connected. They’re on pace to shatter the record, it’s pretty remarkable what they’re doing.”
Oklahoma City went 68-14 in the regular season last year before notching 16 more victories in the playoffs, which gave the Thunder 84 total wins on the season, the third-most in NBA history.
Care to guess which two teams had more?
Not only have the Thunder picked up right where they left off in June, but they’re arguably more well-rounded as a team and playing better this season than they did throughout all of last year.
“They have a deeper level of confidence now that they’ve won it all, and then the continuity is so powerful,” Kerr explained. “All their actions that they’re running, they’re so comfortable with. They’ve expanded their offense a little bit, they have a little more motion than they did a year ago. And so these are all things that, in my experience, happen after the championship. After the first one. You’ve got a little different swagger, a little different belief. Next year is the harder one.”
We’re only 21 games into the regular season, and months away from Oklahoma City potentially needing to have some difficult conversations about how to approach the stretch run and how to put its stars in the best position to hoist another Larry O’Brien Trophy this summer.
However, if the Thunder’s potential record chase is anything like Kerr and the Warriors’, there might not be many conversations to be had.
And if there are, the message should be simple.
“We had a game late in the year in Memphis, maybe four or five games remaining, and I was really intent on playing a lot of people and not wearing our guys out,” Kerr recalled when asked if there was a moment where the Warriors decided they were going for the record. “At halftime, Draymond [Green] pulled me aside. He said ‘We really want this thing, let’s not mess around in the second half.’ That was the only discussion I really remember around the record.”
At some point, Oklahoma City will suffer its second loss. Will that be on Tuesday night against a Golden State team, or pieces of one, that once reached the mountaintop that the Thunder currently are climbing?
It seems unlikely, as the Warriors on Tuesday will be without superstar Steph Curry (quad contusion), who led his team to 73 wins nine years ago, but even the mightiest of teams can fall on any given night.
The expectation in league circles is that the new front office in Dallas — either the current interim one or whoever takes the job full-time — will explore the trade market for Anthony Davis. One of the names that comes up as a potential landing spot is the Chicago Bulls, sending Davis back to the city where he grew up, ideally to become the two-way big man this improving team needs.
Chicago has had "internal discussions" about a Davis trade, reports Jamal Collier of ESPN — but the Bulls wisely would not give up any of their young core in a deal.
The Bulls have had internal discussions about how to proceed, including conversations about Dallas Mavericks star Anthony Davis, sources told ESPN, whom they believe could help the team's porous rim protection and defensive interior ... However, team sources said the Bulls will not sacrifice any of their young core to execute such a deal until the team is closer to contention.
"I don't think going out and chasing X megastar is the way to proceed -- at least today," one source told ESPN.
The Bulls picture their young core as Josh Giddey (23), Coby White (25), Matas Buzelis (21), and, hopefully, rookie Noa Essengue (18), along with whomever they draft in the next couple of years. Isaac Okoro, 24, might fit in that group as well.
Anthony Davis is 32, turning 33 in March, and comes with a history of nagging injuries. What's more, Davis is making $54.1 million this season, has a guaranteed $58.5 million next season, and will be seeking a contract extension this summer. He does not fit Chicago's retooling timeline and takes up a lot of cap space for a team where ownership rarely spends into the luxury tax (three times in the past 13 years). First, Davis will have to stay healthy and produce on the court throughout December and into November before any team will even seriously consider a trade.
Because of his massive salary and the fact that the Mavericks are up against the second apron, where they are hard-capped, constructing any reasonable Davis trade in-season is next to impossible. Chicago could make it work financially with an offer of Nikola Vucevic, Patrick Williams and another player making less (maybe Jevon Carter) plus a pick, but that's not going to interest Dallas (remember what they gave up to get Davis).
No doubt the Bulls have had internal discussions about Davis, but in the NBA "internal discussions" are nearly meaningless — front offices are always throwing around ideas and thinking through options, even ones they have little to no interest in actually executing. Call it due diligence, but front offices want to think through every reasonable scenario.
If Davis gets traded, it's far more likely an offseason move. But the rumors are not going to stop until the trade deadline passes.
Thanksgiving is a great time to be a college basketball fan with all the holiday tournaments and marquee matchups. The feast of high-level hoops doesn’t end there.
Darryn Peterson will not play for No. 21 Kansas against fifth-ranked UConn at Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday night, Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. Peterson sat out a loss to Duke at Madison Square Garden in New York and three games last week at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas. The Jayhawks still managed to go 3-0 over power conference schools without Peterson.
Injuries can be a real drag on a team’s season, especially one with expectations as high as the Knicks’, but there’s a silver lining to them as well. Guys buried deep on the bench get an opportunity they may not otherwise receive, and teams can often be pleasantly surprised by what’s been hiding outside of their usual rotation.
We’re seeing such a case play out with Tyler Kolek, New York’s 34th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, who’s stepped up in the wake of injuries to OG Anunoby and Landry Shamet to help the Knicks to a nice stretch of wins. This comes after Kolek failed to meaningfully crack the early season rotation despite some leash during the preseason and the first few games of the regular season.
Should this continue, it would make for a great turnaround for Kolek and huge development for management after not seeing real returns from any of their draft classes after 2021. But most importantly, Kolek’s emergence potentially gives the Knicks another weapon in their chase for a championship.
Kolek was a gifted scorer and creator at Marquette who fell deeper into the draft due to the inherent limitations in his age and athletic build. After some dealing around with their picks, the Knicks scooped him up, desperately needing some added ball-handling off their bench.
Offensively, he actually looked the part relatively early in Las Vegas, preseason and even some early-season NBA minutes in 2024-25. He was a clear-cut floor general who could run an offense, dribble-drive into opportunities and score when confidently looking to.
He didn’t get the chance to see sustained NBA minutes his rookie year though, spending a few games in Westchester but not displaying anything spectacular. After a head coaching change that emphasized experimentation and depth, pressure was on heading into Kolek’s second year.
To make matters tougher, the Knicks brought in a host of veteran guards - Jordan Clarkson, Shamet, and Malcolm Brogdon - to compete with Kolek for reserve guard duties. Kolek held his own in the preseason despite seeing his name in trade rumors, but even with Brogdon retiring, he fell out of the rotation after a couple of appearances in late October.
When Shamet went down with a shoulder strain in Orlando almost two weeks ago, Kolek stayed ready as the next man up, and hasn’t disappointed. He’s averaged 5.6 points, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals in 14.6 minutes a night, shooting 45.5 percent from the field.
Oct 26, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; New York Knicks guard Tyler Kolek (13) drives to the basket against Miami Heat guard Dru Smith (12) and center Bam Adebayo (13) during the third quarter at Kaseya Center. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Even extrapolated over 36 minutes a game, these numbers aren’t anything crazy. But Kolek has brought in a steady hand and surprisingly stout defense, which is impacting winning.
If there were numbers to call out they would be Kolek’s plus-17 in those 36 minutes, and a 6.5 assist-to-turnover ratio. When Kolek is on the court, you know the offense is going to be organized, with his commitment to pushing the ball up and getting into an action with pace on every play apparent.
He’ll defer to the stars when asked, but otherwise Kolek units feel like fully fleshed out conduits of Mike Brown’s system -- and all that zip and movement is tangible. It’s a healthy dose of action that’s completely controlled, as Kolek rarely turns the ball over, which is a valuable and unique trait for someone with high passing volume.
A lot of this was the case before this stretch, but Kolek has taken this opportunity with a newfound aggressiveness and desperation that elevated his game. He’s only hit a third of his threes but looks more prepared to put them up, and has even looked comfortable in the paint.
Cut through the film and he’ll almost look unrecognizable, posting up Desmond Bane for a fadeaway, trying shoulder bump floaters, and hitting tough sweeping lays. It seems like his confidence is only growing with each passing game.
The offense has been a great if not totally surprising spark, but it’s the defense that will keep Kolek on the court long-term. He’s no weapon on that end, but if he keeps rotating this hard and playing with this physicality, his scouting report will date itself quickly.
Once Shamet returns, the rotation could look a little guard-heavy, but the Knicks should still have room for Kolek’s ball-handling. Even if it gets tricky at full health, having Kolek earn his stripes now could prepare him for the trials of late April and May hoops, when the Knicks might really need him.
The small and moral victories may not do it for Knicks fans thirsting for the franchise’s first title in half a century, but accumulating them can help New York in achieving that goal. It may have taken an unfortunate injury, but Kolek proving himself worthy of playing with the big club is nothing to scoff at, and could pay even bigger dividends down the line.
Tonight's Coast 2 Coast Tuesday doubleheader begins at 8:00 PM ET, as the New York Knicks face the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Then, at 11:00 PM, the Oklahoma City Thunder go-head-to-head with the Golden State Warriors. Live coverage begins at 7:30 PM on NBC and Peacock. See below for additional information on how to watch both games and follow all of the NBA action on NBC and Peacock.
The Oklahoma City Thunder have not lost a game in nearly a month. Their only loss of the season came on November 5 against the Trail Blazers, and since then, they have won 12 straight games.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to excel for the Thunder. He is averaging the second-most points in the NBA (32.5 ppg) and is on pace to average over 30 points per game for his fourth consecutive season.
The Thunder (20-1) currently have the best record in the NBA and hold a four-game lead for the top seed in the Western Conference.
Golden State Warriors:
The Warriors are coming off a 104-96 victory over the Pelicans on Saturday. Jimmy Butler had 24 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds, while Gary Payton II added 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds off the bench.
Peacock NBA Monday will stream up to three Monday night games each week throughout the regular season. Coast 2 Coast Tuesday presents doubleheaders on Tuesday nights throughout the regular season on NBC and Peacock. On most Tuesdays, an 8 p.m. ET game will be on NBC stations in the Eastern and Central time zones, and an 8 p.m. PT game on NBC stations in the Pacific and often Mountain time zones.
Check local listings each week. Both games will stream live nationwide on Peacock. NBC Sports will launch Sunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock on Feb. 1, 2026. For a full schedule of the NBA on NBC and Peacock, click here.
How to sign up for Peacock:
Sign up here to watch all of our LIVE sports, sports shows, documentaries, classic matches, and more. You'll also get tons of hit movies and TV shows, Originals, news, 24/7 channels, and current NBC & Bravo hits—Peacock is here for whatever you’re in the mood for.
NBA on NBC 2025-26 Schedule
Click here to see the full list of NBA games that will air on NBC and Peacock this season.
The 6-foot-9 senior averaged 17.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.3 blocks as Michigan won all three games by at least 30 points, the last two over ranked teams. A transfer from UAB, Lendeborg had 15 points, six rebounds and four assists in a 40-point win against San Diego State in Las Vegas.
Danilo Gallinari, the sharp-shooting power forward from Italy who spent 16 seasons in the NBA, announced on Instagram that he is officially retiring from basketball.
Today, with a heart full of gratitude, I am announcing my retirement from a career I've always dreamed of. A career built through hard work, sacrifice, victories, defeats, teammates who became brothers, guidance from my coaches, and, of course, family and friends that were with me every step of the way.
It's been an incredible journey filled with countless memories that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. To those who believed in me, to all those who supported me, and to those who shared every moment with me - thank you, from the bottom of my heart. ❤️
I'm beyond excited for the next chapter!
Today, with a heart full of gratitude, I am announcing my retirement from the career I’ve always dreamed of.
It’s been an incredible journey filled with countless memories that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/UjRhTL8ZdP
Gallinari was the No. 6 pick of the New York Knicks in 2008 and spent the next two-and-a-half seasons playing in Madison Square Garden before he was traded to Denver as part of the Carmelo Anthony deal. Gallinari played the next six seasons for the Nuggets, then went on to play for the Clippers, Thunder, Hawks, Wizards, Pistons and Bucks before leaving the NBA in 2024.
At 6'10", Gallinari was a classic NBA stretch four (a role that doesn't exist in the same way any more). He averaged 14.9 points and 4.7 rebounds a game, shooting 38.1% from 3-point range for his career. He played in 777 NBA games and hit 1,456 three-pointers for his career.
Gallinari had also played professionally in Europe and Puerto Rico, and the last we saw of him on the court was for Italy at last summer's EuroBasket. There was a thought he could play in Europe this season, but instead he has decided to step away from the game at age 37.
Tonight's Coast 2 Coast Tuesday doubleheader features an exciting lineup. First, at 8:00 PM ET, the New York Knicks face the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Then, at 11:00 PM, the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Golden State Warriors. Live coverage begins at 7:30 PM on NBC and Peacock. See below for additional information on how to watch both games and follow all of the NBA action on NBC and Peacock.
The Knicks defeated the Toronto Raptors 116-94 on Sunday, extending their win streak to four straight. Josh Hart had 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists in the win. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 22 points and 8 rebounds, and Jalen Brunson added 18 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds.
Brunson currently leads the Knicks in scoring (28.5 ppg) and assists (6.2 apg). Anthony-Towns is right behind him in scoring (21.7 ppg) and leads the team in rebounding (11.9 rpg).
The Knicks have the longest active win streak in the conference and are second in the East behind the Detroit Pistons.
Boston Celtics:
The Celtics have won six of their last games, most recently defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 117-115 on Sunday. Payton Pritchard led the way for the Celtics with a season-high 42 points.
Jaylen Brown finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists, earning his fourth career triple-double.
With Jayson Tatum still sidelined due to a torn Achilles tendon last season, Brown has emerged as a leader for Boston.
The four-time All-Star is on pace for career highs in the following categories: scoring (28.4 ppg), field-goal attempts per game (21.6), field-goals made per game (10.6), and free-throw attempts per game (6.8).
Peacock NBA Monday will stream up to three Monday night games each week throughout the regular season. Coast 2 Coast Tuesday presents doubleheaders on Tuesday nights throughout the regular season on NBC and Peacock. On most Tuesdays, an 8 p.m. ET game will be on NBC stations in the Eastern and Central time zones, and an 8 p.m. PT game on NBC stations in the Pacific and often Mountain time zones.
Check local listings each week. Both games will stream live nationwide on Peacock. NBC Sports will launch Sunday Night Basketball across NBC and Peacock on Feb. 1, 2026. For a full schedule of the NBA on NBC and Peacock, click here.
How to sign up for Peacock:
Sign up here to watch all of our LIVE sports, sports shows, documentaries, classic matches, and more. You'll also get tons of hit movies and TV shows, Originals, news, 24/7 channels, and current NBC & Bravo hits—Peacock is here for whatever you’re in the mood for.
NBA on NBC 2025-26 Schedule
Click here to see the full list of NBA games that will air on NBC and Peacock this season.
Raphielle Johnson