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If the Denver Nuggets don’t turn this pass by Nikola Jokić that grazed Domantas Sabonis’ lettuce into some kind of barber gimmick, then what are we even doing here? Jokić just won a game of chicken that Sabonis had no idea he was playing.
About last night
Giannis steps up for Myles Turner
The Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers have had bad blood of late. They’ve been involved in a kerfuffle over a game ball during the NBA Cup. They got into each other’s faces in the playoffs. Giannis Antetokounmpo even beefed with Tyrese Haliburton’s dad after Indiana eliminated the Bucks last postseason.
The big storyline on Monday night was Myles Turner coming back to Indy after leaving the Pacers for Milwaukee in free agency this summer. He still has all the love for Indiana and its fans, but they booed him during the game. Turner didn’t have some big revenge game or anything. He scored nine points, grabbed seven boards and blocked five shots in 32 minutes.
Turner left all the revenge room for his new teammate, Giannis. The Greek Freak had 33 points, 13 rebounds and five assists while making 14-of-21 from the field. The Pacers put up a great fight in this game, overcoming a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit to tie it on the final possession. Unfortunately for Indiana, the last shot was in the hands of Giannis. And he calmly hit the game-winner.
That classic Giannis post-up from the left elbow into a fadeaway jumper! It was an incredible shot, and Giannis seemed to have a little extra for the Pacers crowd. He didn’t like them booing his new teammate (Turner, not Thanasis, who is most definitely back). He shushed the crowd and then booed them back.
The Bucks are 5-2, and the Pacers have fallen to just 1-6.
Rockets 110, Mavs 102: Dallas (2-5) put up a great effort without Anthony Davis, but P.J. Washington’s 29 and 12 just weren’t enough. Amen Thompson got to the hoop whenever he wanted on his way to 27 points. The Rockets (4-2) also received 26-11-6 from Alperen Şengün and 21 from Kevin Durant.
Heat 120, Clippers 119: Kawhi Leonard missed the game-winning shot, and the Clippers (3-3) couldn’t overcome their 20 turnovers. Norm Powell had 21 in his return to the Intuit Dome, and Bam Adebayo had 25 points and 10 boards. Miami (4-3) and its fast pace continue to cause chaos.
Jazz 105, Celtics 103: Keyonte George led the Jazz (3-4) with 31 points, and Jusuf Nurkić (11 points and 11 rebounds) had the winning putback with 0.6 seconds. The Celtics (3-5) got 36 points from Jaylen Brown, but they lost a game in which the Jazz turned it over 19 times. Maybe the Utah rebounding advantage of 55-36 had something to do with it. Somehow this was a no-call!
Lakers 123, Blazers 115: No Luka Dončić. No LeBron James. No Austin Reaves. But the Lakers (6-2) did have a Deandre Ayton revenge game on deck. He had 29 points and 10 rebounds, while Nick Smith Jr. put up 25 off the bench to give the Blazers (4-3) a pretty bad loss. Deni Avdija had 33 for them, though.
Pistons 114, Grizzlies 106: The Grizzlies (3-5) were down 21 in this game and brought it back to a three-point deficit late in the fourth quarter. However, Cade Cunningham had 33 points and eight assists, while Isaiah Stewart complemented him with a monster game. Beef Stew put up 26 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and four blocks for the Pistons (5-2).
Nuggets 130, Kings 124: Russell Westbrook was looking for revenge against his former Nuggets teammates (lots of that going around Monday) and his 26 points, 12 rebounds and six assists were a great start to that. And the Kings (2-5) had seven players in double figures. Denver (4-2) had Jokić, though, and his 34 points and 14 assists.
Wolves 125, Nets 109: Julius Randle had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to rack up the triple-double. Donte DiVincenzo led all Wolveswith 25 points. And Minnesota (4-3) climbed back over .500 as it played without Anthony Edwards again. The Nets are now 0-7. Someone asked me if they were going to win before December. I legitimately don’t know.
Knicks 119, Wizards 102: The Wizards (1-6) got off to a great start and led after the first quarter. If I had to put my finger on it, I’d say the Knicks (4-3) outscoring them 76-48 in the second and third quarters combined is probably why Washington lost. Karl-Anthony Towns led everybody with 33 points and 13 rebounds. Alex Sarr had 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
The last 24
Are the Rockets the league’s second-best squad?
📈 New Rankings! Law Murray has the latest Power Rankings, and a bit of a shocking team ranked No. 2. The 3-2 Houston Rockets!
🏀 Top prospects. Sam Vecenie covers the NBA Draft better than anybody. He’s got what scouts are saying about the race for the top pick. And a two-round 2026 mock draft.
📹 This is just a tribute. What is the bar for a tribute video on a returning former player?Was Turner good enough for one in Indy?
💰 Yoink! A former Hawks executive was charged with embezzling $3.8 million from the team. He bought a Porsche and tickets?
🎧 Tuning in. The latest “NBA Daily” discusses why Bucks-Pacers is the most fun rivalry in the league right now.
Stream the NBA on Fubo (try it for free!) and catch out-of-market games on League Pass.
Back to college
Men’s hoops primer with Brendan Marks
Last night, we had an epic beginning to the men’s college basketball season with incredible talent taking the court all over the country. No. 13 Arizona took down defending champion and No. 3 Florida thanks to 30 points by Koa Peat. We also saw AJ Dybantsa go for 21 points as BYU beat Villanova.
With so much already happening on the men’s side, I needed to call in an expert to prepare us. The Athletic’s Brendan Marks is one of the best in the business and a college fixture when we need answers at The Bounce.
Zach: Who is a team you feel is underrated going into the season, and who is a team you think is overrated?
Brendan: I’m not sure if the No. 11 team in the preseason top 25 truly counts as “underrated,” but most teams with Louisville’s sheer talent would be top 5 (or even top 3) entering the season. The Cardinals are getting dinged because Pat Kelsey has never won an NCAA Tournament game … but neither had Florida’s Todd Golden before last spring. Louisville retained two starters, signed three top-35 transfers and brought in a lottery pick freshman point guard. Why can’t the Cards win it all?
For overrated, wild as it sounds, give me … the defending national champs. Florida brought back its entire frontcourt but lost all three starting guards from last season, including Final Four MOP Walter Clayton Jr. UF should still be good, but I need to see the Gators’ new backcourt perform before seriously entertaining if Golden’s team can go back-to-back.
Zach: In terms of excitement to watch all season, rank Dybantsa, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson and Duke’s Cameron Boozer and why.
Brendan: Oh, lord. There’s no right answer here, but …
Dybantsa: Narrowly, but his athleticism at 6-foot-9 — plus his arsenal of pro-ready offensive moves — is just mesmerizing. Give him the ball and get out of the way.
Boozer: Possibly controversial, but people 250 pounds are not supposed to move the way Boozer does. His shooting and passing are guard-esque.
Peterson: Putting Peterson third here is like saying Shaq is the third-best center of all time. A stupidly skilled guard with athleticism for days, who should fall somewhere on the scale from Cade Cunningham to Donovan Mitchell.
Zach: Outside of the top prospects, who is a player you think will really surprise people (doesn’t have to be a freshman)?
Brendan: The Big 3 freshmen have (rightfully) stolen most of the headlines, but two other rookie guards — Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. and Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. — could easily be their respective teams’ best players, too. It wouldn’t be surprising if both emerge as top-10 prospects in their own right. As for older players, casual fans may not know Iowa point guard Bennett Stirtz — who followed new Hawkeyes coach Ben McCollum from Division II to Drake and now to Des Moines — but he’s one of my favorite players to watch. If Iowa is going to make the NCAA Tournament, it’s because Stirtz has an All-America-caliber season.
Back to college, Part 2
Women’s hoops primer with Sabreena Merchant
Sadly, we know we’re not going to see USC’s JuJu Watkins this season. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t poised for an amazing women’s season. Reigning champion UConn return an incredible squad. South Carolina looks to get back to winning it all. And UCLA is loaded.
To break it all down, we turned to The Athletic’s Sabreena Merchant, who always drops basketball knowledge for us.
Zach: Who is a team you feel is underrated going into the women’s season and who is a team you think is overrated?
Sabreena: Is it OK to call a top-10 team underrated? I’ll go for it. Maryland looks Final Four-caliber this year with the additions of Yarden Garzon (a top-five shooter in the country) and ACC tournament MVP Oluchi Okananwa. The Terrapins are deep and balanced, and they have an identity (pace, pace, pace), which is sometimes a rarity in the portal era. On the other end, I’m confused about the Iowa State hype. We did this last year with the Cyclones, and they fell all the way from preseason top 10 to a No. 11 seed in the tournament. Until Audi Crooks proves she can defend the paint, there is a limited ceiling on this team, and it isn’t the 12th-ranked team in the country.
Zach: If I give you Azzi Fudd as the best player to watch this season, can you give me a better answer?
Sabreena: Fudd certainly has an aesthetically pleasing game — there is arguably no one with a purer jump shot in all of college basketball, women’s or men’s. But she’s not even the best player on her team. That would be Sarah Strong, the do-it-all combo forward who seems destined to fall in the lineage of Breanna Stewart as a multi-time champion at UConn. Strong is as smooth as can be and has something in her game for everyone. For those fans with specific stylistic preferences: Lauren Betts (UCLA) is the most fundamentally sound post player in America, Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) literally never stops moving, and MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU) has the most ridiculous handle.
Zach: Which incoming freshman are you most excited to watch this season?
Sabreena: The L.A. freshmen lead the list: Jazzy Davidson at USC and Sienna Betts at UCLA. Both starred for Team USA in the U-19 World Cup this summer and have opportunities to play big roles in their first collegiate seasons. If you squint, Davidson is in the mold of Watkins with her playmaking on both ends, and she’ll be assuming a lot of the offensive and defensive responsibilities Watkins took on last season.
Betts is the modern big partner to her older sister Lauren on the Bruins, and she can rack up double-doubles while also stretching the floor, assuming she gets back from a foot injury that will cost her the start of the season.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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