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The Cleveland Cavaliers picked up their sixth win in their last seven games thanks to a 40-ball from Jarrett Allen that helped lead them past the Portland Trail Blazers130-111.

Allen is incredibly skilled offensively. His footwork, touch around the rim, quickness, and passing are advanced for someone at his position. That was on display as he ran around, over, and through Portland’s hapless center, Donovan Clingan, all evening.

The 40-point performance is what’s going to get the headlines, but the variety of ways Allen was able to score is what was most impressive.

He was a force in transition, beating his man down the floor. This created easy baskets if the defense forgot about him, and also allowed him to get smaller defenders caught in deep seals. This created driving lanes for others, as there are very few things that disrupt a defense as much as a mismatch right at the start of a possession.

Allen also consistently made the right move out of dribble-hand-offs. If his defender gave him room, Allen created space for the guard. If the center came up, Allen went around him for the drive to the hoop.

Then, there was the pick-and-roll game. He found ways to finish and create space for the ball handler in those situations. The vertical spacing he provides is incredibly valuable when the team is down two of its top scorers.

And lastly, Allen just did a good job of scoring on the block. He displayed his post moves, using up-and-unders and hook shots, to create angles inside.

Overall, it was just a completely dominant offensive showing from Allen, who did all of this in under 30 minutes and registered five assists as well.

As if the 40-ball wasn’t enough, Allen was also the best defender on the court. He completely controlled the glass with 17 rebounds, had four rejections, and added two steals just for fun. His defensive effort buoyed the Cavs on a night they started a little helter-skelter on that end.

Allen put up one of the most ridiculous stat lines in NBA history. I’m generally not a fan of cherry-picked stats, but you can tell if one is good based on the company of the other people in the club. And if you’re a center, you want to be in any group that features Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal.

The only @NBA players EVER to record 40+ PTS, 17+ REB, 5+ AST, 4+ BLK and 2+ STL in a game:

JARRETT ALLEN (TONIGHT at POR)***
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (12/13/75 at PHX)
Joe Barry Carroll (2/1/87 vs. NJN)
Shaquille O'Neal (3/23/01 vs. WAS)
Joel Embiid (2/19/21 vs. CHI)#LetEmKnow

— Cavs Notes (@CavsNotes) February 2, 2026

Games like this show how good Allen is, but also why his typical inconsistent play can be so infuriating. It’s fair to point out that Portland isn’t exactly built to stop Allen. Their defense wasn’t disciplined, which allowed someone who was steadily and consistently executing to have a big night. But that doesn’t account for all of Allen’s success.

We’ve consistently seen that Allen is at his best when Evan Mobley is unavailable. Allen’s most impressive stretch of basketball as a Cavalier came in the 2023-24 season with Mobley out of the lineup. And now, we’re seeing that again in a similar situation.

This would be explainable if it were simply that Allen’s offensive game doesn’t mesh with Mobley’s. And while it’s true that Allen now has much more room to operate offensively, he also plays just over half of his minutes each game with Mobley when both are available. The duo is playing an average of 15.4 minutes a night together. Overall, Allen is averaging 27.1 minutes per game.

If it were simply a spacing issue, we should see some version of this Allen when Mobley is on the bench. However, the difference is more so in how Allen seems to approach the game when he’s the only center.

Allen plays with much more force and aggression when Mobley is unavailable. His skill set requires him to play that way to be effective. A center coasting through games isn’t going to have the necessary impact on either end of the floor. Their presence needs to be felt at all times if they’re mostly a paint-bound big.

I’m not sure how you get around this issue. Force-feeding Allen early in games would help. It’s certainly something the team should be prioritizing. But it’s also true that Allen’s effort shouldn’t be dependent on who’s in or out of the lineup. He’s far too good a player to have his energy fluctuate so dramatically on a night-to-night basis.

Ultimately, that’s only something Allen can fix.

Sam Merrill’s shooting can open up the game for everyone else. He went 6-8 from beyond the arc. This went a long way in Cleveland, finishing the game going 16-34 (47.1%) from three.

The havoc Merrill causes when he shoots this well is incredibly helpful for an offense. Defenders were closing out incredibly hard every time Merrill came off a screen. This led to him having four assists and helped open up lanes inside for his teammates.

It’s no surprise the Cavs had a 141.3 offensive rating when Merrill was on the floor. That number tied Allen for the highest mark on the team. Merrill playing this well simply unlocks the entire offensive attack.

Craig Porter Jr. continues to have an impact as a facilitator. He didn’t look to score, but was able to get his teammates involved by picking up a career-high 12 assists.

Porter’s feel for the game was on complete display. He did a great job of finding the open man by making the simple, correct pass time after time. This included hitting Allen in the pick-and-roll, Jaylon Tyson in the short roll, and Merrill coming off screens.

The Cavs needed someone to provide extra playmaking duties while they wait for Dennis Schroder to join them for Wednesday’s game. Porter more than stepped up on Sunday.

Why a Sixers trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo is not a good idea originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The NBA trade deadline is three days away, and the Sixers could face a big decision regarding the future of their franchise.

This time of year, trade rumors are heaved like end-of-quarter 70-footers. As we approach this deadline, several of them are scenarios involving Bucks megastar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

There aren’t many teams who can even entertain a deal to acquire the 2-time league MVP. Many don’t have the combination of young talent, salary, and draft capital Milwaukee would want to level a trade of this magnitude.

The Sixers happen to be able to foot the bill, but they shouldn’t try.

Giannis is a singular talent. A perennial All-Star and MVP short-lister. He’s also crazy expensive, commanding $58.5 million next season, with a player option for 2027-28 worth $62.8 million. Its difficult enough to fill out a roster with three players commanding $145 million.

Acquiring Antetokounmpo would require the Sixers to move on from Joel Embiid or Paul George. But not just Embiid or George. The Sixers would have to include more salary. To give up their franchise player, Milwaukee will probably ask for young talent. By young talent, they mean rookie guard VJ Edgecombe, or second-year man Jared McCain. In addition, the Bucks will likely ask for a minimum of three, even four first-round draft picks or pick swaps.

Giannis is blessed with an amazing amount of natural ability. What he most likely won’t bring to his new team is availability. He is currently sidelined with a self-diagnosed calf injury. This season will be the sixth of his last seven where he will miss at least 15 regular season games.

Having Giannis on your team will make it better, but how much better? Since the Bucks won the NBA title in 2021, they’ve won exactly one playoff series since.

Let’s not forget the fact that he is actively requesting to be traded. What happens if he becomes a Sixer, then he doesn’t love it in Philadelphia? He’s likely to force another trade right out again, a year or two older, with less value than you gave up for him, and likely less interest. Sixers fans lived through this already with James Harden. Did we forget so quickly?

This move would a nuclear option for a team who truly believes it is one player away from title contention, and one that screams “To Hell with the future.”

The Sixers are not currently one player away. They already are short on roster depth, something a trade would only worsen. And this move would send away much of its future in actual talent, and draft capital.

If the Bucks are actually selling, maybe Daryl Morey can attack on the margins, perhaps making a move for frontcourt help, like Bobby Portis. He could certainly help the Sixers in the rebounding department, and comes relatively inexpensively at $13.4 million. Would the Sixers try reserves Andre Drummond and Quentin Grimes for Portis?

There’s no question that Larry Bird was the beating heart of the 1980’s and early ‘90’s Boston Celtics, but no one wins championships by themselves and one of Bird’s greatest teammates was Kevin McHale.

Hailing from Hibbing, Minnesota, McHale attended Minnesota before entering the NBA in 1980 when Red Auerbach pulled off a legendary trade: he swapped the #1 pick to Golden State for the #3 pick and Robert Parish.

The Warriors then took Purdue’s Joe Barry Carroll – quickly named Joe Barely Cares by NBA fans – and Boston had two future Hall of Famers.

McHale came off the bench as a sixth man for a few years before joining Bird and Parish as starters. And what a career he had.

McHale was celebrated for his footwork and his elegant post moves. In today’s game, there is less demand for this kind of play, but the guy was essentially unstoppable inside. Basketball is cyclical like most things, prone to fashionable ideas.

We’re basically out of the small ball era and a player who can consistently score inside is going to be a valuable asset. McHale is a great role model for those players.

Incidentally, for a small town, Hibbing has produced some remarkable people. Aside from McHale, Hibbing is the hometown of baseball legend Roger Maris, Vincent Bugliosi, who prosecuted Charles Manson and his stooges, Robert Mondavi, who sold a whole lot of wine, Gus Hall, who ran four times for U.S. president as the nominee of the U.S. Communist Party, Gary Puckett of Gary Puckett and the Union Gap and perhaps most famously, legendary musician Bob Dylan.

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Celtics trade deadline rumors tracker: Who might be on Boston's radar? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

First, a disclaimer: Brad Stevens often works in the shadows.

Some of Stevens’ most notable acquisitions as Celtics president of basketball operations have come relatively out of the blue (Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis and Anfernee Simons, to name a few examples), while he’s tended to avoid popular names linked to Boston in trade rumors.

So, if you hear a name mentioned in the same sentence as the Celtics ahead of the NBA trade deadline (Thursday at 3 p.m. ET), that certainly doesn’t mean the player will wind up in Boston.

But that won’t stop us from keeping tabs on the latest reporting surrounding the C’s as the trade market heats up. The Celtics enter Monday tied for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, and with the possibility of a Jayson Tatum return looming, there’s a case for Boston to add at least one piece before the deadline to position itself as a true title contender.

As you’ll see, the Celtics’ top priority appears to be adding frontcourt depth to augment Neemias Queta and Luka Garza. Stevens is hard to predict, however, so we’re not ruling out anything between now and Thursday.

Here’s a roundup of Celtics-related rumors, which we’ll update as the deadline gets closer.

Wednesday, Jan. 28: According to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, Celtics big man Chris Boucher is drawing “exploratory interest” from the Hawks, Sixers and Suns, among other teams. Boucher has appeared in just nine games for Boston this season, so he’s an obvious trade candidate if the C’s can find a willing partner.

Tuesday, Jan. 27: Earlier this season, the Celtics reached out to the Clippers about a trade for big man Ivica Zubac, per HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. While Zubac would be a great fit in Boston, Los Angeles has rebounded from a slow start to become a fringe playoff contender, which makes a deal seem unlikely.

Friday, Jan. 23: The Celtics are “in the marketplace” for “a big-time starting center,” ESPN’s Shams Charania reports. While Charania didn’t mention any specific names, Mavericks center Daniel Gafford is among potential trade candidates to watch this week.

Wednesday, Jan. 15: The Athletic’s Jay King cited Nets big man Nic Claxton as a potential target to watch ahead of the trade deadline. Claxton still has two additional years remaining on his contract and is making $25.4 million this season, so he wouldn’t come cheap.

Tuesday, Jan. 14: Matt Moore, author of the Hardwood Paroxysm newsletter, reports the Celtics have “long held interest” in Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. Memphis very well could move Jackson before the deadline, but the C’s would have to give up a haul for the former Defensive Player of the Year.

1. Dominant Defensive Performance

The Celtics held the Bucks to only 79 points, the lowest point total that a team has finished with against Boston this season. The previous low was 90 points against the New Orleans Pelicans on October 27th. After allowing 26 points in the first quarter, Boston only allowed 16 in the second, 19 in the third, and 18 in the fourth quarter.

When asked postgame if Joe Mazzulla changed any part of his defense after the first quarter, he said that they were just playing “a little bit more physical” but nothing else changed a whole lot. He highlighted the Bucks shooting 5-8 from three in the first quarter which is over their average three point percentage and that led to the defensive physicality going up and the Bucks shooting 5-26 from beyond the arc for the rest of the game.

2. Jaylen Brown Big Second Half

For the 26th time this season, Jaylen Brown has scored 30+ points in a game, finishing with 30 points and 13 rebounds on 12-20 shooting from the field and 4-6 from three. A lot of Brown’s impact came in the second half, scoring 22 of his 30 points and really iced the game early with a couple of big runs.

After scoring 8 points in the first half, Brown finished the third quarter with 12 points. Brown operated flawlessly in the midrange and scored the Celtics first 7 points of the second half. He started with a beautiful jumper over Kyle Kuzma on the baseline, then hit a wide open pull up jumper coming off a Neemias Queta screen, and finally he ended his midrange mastery with an And-1 jumper over Ryan Rollins. Brown wasn’t done in the third quarter however, splashing a three and drawing a goaltending against Myles Turner.

Moving on to the fourth quarter, the Bucks were on a 9-0 run midway through the quarter and cut the Celtics lead to 19. That was when Brown started another scoring tear, going on a personal 10-0 run to ice the game for Boston.

He started the run with a nice driving layup on Ryan Rollins. Then he moved on to a wide open three pointer on the wing. The next basket came off of a missed shot by Brown, but Queta made a nice save before it went out of bounds and he was able to get a second chance and make an easy layup. The final basket felt like the dagger in this game as Derrick White made a nice cross court pass to Brown for a wide open corner three, a Bucks timeout, and a loud cheer by the TD Garden crowd.

3. Anfernee Simons Huge First Quarter

Anfernee Simons had a great game against the Bucks, finishing with 27 points shooting 10-18 from the field and 6-10 from three. This is the 9th time this season that Simons has scored over 20 points off of the bench this season and in this game he had an offensive explosion in the last 2:25 of the first quarter, scoring 11 straight points.

Simons began his offensive explosion with getting Gary Trent Jr. on an island and making a straight line drive to the basket for a layup. Next, Derrick White got a steal and found Simons wide open on the fast break for three. The third basket was arguably his best play of the night. Guarded by Pete Nance, Simons hit him with a nasty crossover and hit a step back three in his face. Finally for final bucket of the quarter, he shot a heat check three over Amir Coffey at the buzzer to tie the game.

If this was Anfernee Simons’ last game in TD Garden, he sure did go out with a bang and to a standing ovation from the TD Garden faithful as he checked out of the game.

4. Derrick White Great Offensive Performance

In a season with some offensive inconsistency from Derrick White, this game was one of his better all-around games this year. White finished with 17 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds on 6-14 shooting and you could feel the impact that he made with his scoring and playmaking.

After hitting two threes in the first quarter, White started to find his groove with two buckets in the second quarter and one in the third. In the last minute of the second quarter, White hit Myles Turner with a nice crossover and finished a layup over a good contest. The next basket had AJ Green on an island and White hit a pull up midrange jumper over him. Finally, around the start of the third quarter, he had another nice mid range jumper, getting wide open on bad defense by Kyle Kuzma.

Out of White’s eight assists, I would say he had three that really were really impressive. The first came in the first quarter off of a stolen pass by White where he found Anfernee Simons on the fast break for a three. The second came in fourth quarter where he drew the attention of three Bucks players and was able to find Neemias Queta wide open for a hook shot. Finally, White made a cross court pass to Brown who was wide open in the corner for three to seal the victory for the Celtics.

5. Neemias Queta vs. Myles Turner

One battle that I was paying attention to in this game was Neemias Queta against Myles Turner. Queta was coming off of a dominant performance against the Sacramento Kings and I thought that with the lacking inside presence that Myles Turner presents, he could feast. My theory was proven correct in this case with Queta finishing with 14 points and 8 rebounds on 7-10 shooting while Turner finished with only 7 points and 4 rebounds on 2-8 shooting.

The first bucket he had came on play where he faked a handoff to Brown and turned the corner for a big slam that Turner just let happen because he wasn’t paying attention. Next one came when Queta was streaking down the court and took Turner one-on-one under the basket. After a few pump fakes, he was able to hit a nice hook shot. The third came in the second quarter when Jordan Walsh was cutting to the basket, Turner decided to double him on the baseline and was late to contest Queta who hit a wide open shot. Finally, Pritchard made a nice bounce pass to Queta under the basket that he was able to finish with a reverse layup over Turner.

6. Jordan Walsh Energy Plays

Jordan Walsh’s final stat-line of 6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block on 2-6 shooting might not look impressive but if you watched the game you would know how much of a menace he was on the Bucks all night long.

Starting with the two baskets Walsh made, both of them were an instance that he was able to make something out of nothing. The first came on a pass from Brown who wasn’t intending to pass it to Walsh, but it ended up with on the perimeter. To save the play, Walsh pump faked a wide open three that Pete Nance bit on and drove to the basket to finish a tough layup. The second bucket he scored was a similar driving layup over Nance that he finished with an and-1.

Walsh’s rebounding was the big story however, as all 5 of his rebounds on the night came as offensive rebounds. These were the highlights of his hustle play in this game and was a big reason why the Celtics won the rebounding battle.

7. Hugo Gonzalez Defensive Impact

Hugo Gonzalez finished with 0 points in this game so you would think there isn’t anything to talk about with his performance but I really liked the way he played in this game. He also had 5 rebounds and 2 steals and similar to Jordan Walsh, Hugo was terrorizing the Bucks on defense, making the extra effort.

His 2 steals in this game were some great plays, the first coming on a play where Ryan Rollins air mailed a pass that Hugo was tracking like Christian Gonzalez on the Patriots, and started a fast break. The second came in the fourth quarter where White back-tapped Kyle Kuzma. Gonzalez ran with the steal and found Derrick Whtie who ended up getting fouled on his shot attempt. Hugo had a couple miscues on offense in this game that would have given him some easy baskets, but in 17 minutes that were played, he was a +11 overall, showcasing his positive impact.

8. Bucks Dominated in the Paint

Without Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks really have no presence under neath the basket and it showed in the points in the paint battle. Boston outscored them 42-28 and with Milwaukee’s three point shooting falling off a cliff throughout the game, that was the biggest outlier for their loss. Not only did they get manhandled there, they lost the rebounding battle as well. The Celtics out-rebounded the Bucks 52-40 and 17 of Boston’s rebounded were on the offensive side. Just a dominant paint performance by the Celtics.

9. Positive Assist-Turnover Ratio

After only turning the ball over 7 times against Sacramento on Friday, Boston continued their streak of limiting turnovers with only 9 against Milwaukee while forcing 10 against the Bucks. This is huge for the Celtics because turnovers have been a big deal in a lot of Boston’s losses so the face they were limited today was great. Not only were the Celtics great with the turnovers, but they also finished with 24 assists on the night. A lot of these assists resulted in wide open shots as the Bucks defense was a step behind the Celtics on what felt like every possession. If Boston shot even a little bit better than the 15-42 (36%) from three, the Celtics probably win this game by 50 points.

10. Pioneers Classic Champs

The Bucks vs Celtics game today was the Pioneers Classic Game celebrating the 75th anniversary of the NBA’s first black players Chuck Cooper, Earl Llyod, and Nathaniel “Sweetwater” Clifton. Cooper made history with the Celtics, becoming the first black player to get drafted to the NBA in the second round of the 1950 NBA Draft. Cooper is in the Basketball Hall of Fame and played 6 seasons in the NBA, 4 of which with the Boston Celtics but also with the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks and the Fort Wayne Pistons. Boston also honored other legends in this game, including the families of Bill Russell, Tom “Satch” Sanders, K.C. Jones, and Sam Jones.

Boston was able dominate Milwaukee all night long, winning 107-79 and receiving the inaugural Pioneers Classic Trophy. Jaylen Brown was given the trophy in his postgame interview and said “What an honor to be able to celebrate the legacy of the people that came before us.”

"What an honor to be able to celebrate the legacy of the people that came before us."

Jaylen Brown on the Celtics playing in the NBA Pioneers Classic 👏 pic.twitter.com/LLJwsjCZXD

— NBA (@NBA) February 1, 2026

Bucks reportedly submitted Giannis trade counteroffers to some interested teams originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

It appears the Milwaukee Bucks might actually be interested in dealing superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo before the NBA’s Feb. 5 trade deadline.

After the Bucks reportedly started listening to trade offers for the two-time MVP last week, when he expressed his desire to play elsewhere, Milwaukee is doing more than just listening while deciding whether to trade its franchise icon before Thursday’s deadline or wait until the offseason.

ESPN’s Shams Charania joined “SportsCenter” on Sunday night and shared the latest on where negotiations stand between the Bucks and interested teams.

“Over the weekend, the Bucks remain engaged with NBA teams that have interest, that have given aggressive proposals,” Charania said. “My understanding is they’ve submitted counteroffers to those aggressive proposals as well.”

The Warriors, as sources confirmed to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole, are one of the teams pursuing an Antetokounmpo blockbuster, with many believing Golden State might have one of the most compelling packages.

Whether the Bucks trade the 10-time All-Star before Thursday’s deadline or wait until the offseason remains to be seen and almost certainly will depend on whether one of the interested teams can put together an offer compelling enough to convince Milwaukee to deal Antetokounmpo now as opposed to over the summer, when his trade market could be more robust.

“The Heat, Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors, the New York Knicks, those have been the most serious suitors in the mix so far for Giannis, but it all comes down to the price point for him, right?” Charania explained.

“A young player and a surplus of draft picks. So who meets that mark between now and the next four days up until Thursday’s NBA trade deadline? The Bucks have to manage the risk and reward, whether you do a deal now or you wait until the offseason when Giannis only has one year left. That gives him even more control to figure out and dictate his future in the offseason.”

If the Bucks indeed are sending out counteroffers to interested teams, that’s a strong indicator that one of the biggest trades in league history might be right around the corner.

And it could happen in the next 72 hours.

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LeBron James has been selected for a record-extending 22nd consecutive NBA All-Star game by being named among the reserves from the Western Conference.

The 41-year-old Los Angeles Lakers star was not selected as a starter in January but was among the seven reserves chosen from each of the Eastern and Western Conferences by NBA coaches.

James, who missed his side's first 14 matches of the 2025-26 campaign because of sciatica, has played 31 times this season and is averaging 21.9 points per game.

"It wasn't a goal of mine to come into the season, miss the first 14 games and say, 'OK, I can be an All-Star'," James told reporters after playing in the Lakers' 112-100 defeat against the New York Knicks.

"I just wanted to get back to playing the game at a high level I knew I was capable of once I kind of worked the rust off of missing pre-season, training camp and my summer workouts, which I've never done in my whole career.

"So I didn't think about the All-Star Game, to be honest."

James was selected for the NBA All-Star game in 2025 but did not play because he picked up an injury.

Kevin Durant, who plays for the Houston Rockets, Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns and Anthony Edwards from the Minnesota Timberwolves were also selected as a Western Conference reserves.

The All-Star game has been revamped this season and will feature two teams of players from the United States and one team of international players.

They will compete in a round-robin tournament of four 12-minute games. The top two teams will then face each other in a championship game.

Starters selected from Eastern Conference:

Giannis Antetokounmpo* - Milwaukee Bucks

Jaylen Brown - Boston Celtics

Jalen Brunson - New York Knicks

Cade Cunningham - Detroit Pistons

Tyrese Maxey - Philadelphia 76ers

Reserves selected from Eastern Conference:

Scottie Barnes - Toronto Raptors

Jalen Duren - Detroit Pistons

Jalen Johnson - Atlanta Hawks

Donovan Mitchell - Cleveland Cavaliers

Norman Powell - Miami Heat

Pascal Siakam* - Indiana Pacers

Karl-Anthony Towns - New York Knicks

Starters selected from Western Conference:

Stephen Curry - Golden State Warriors

Luka Doncic* - Los Angeles Lakers

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander* - Oklahoma City Thunder

Nikola Jokic* - Denver Nuggets

Victor Wembanyama* - San Antonio Spurs

Reserves selected from Western Conference:

Deni Avdija* - Portland Trail Blazers

Devin Booker - Phoenix Suns

Kevin Durant - Houston Rockets

Anthony Edwards - Minnesota Timberwolves

Chet Holmgren - Oklahoma City Thunder

LeBron James - LA Lakers

Jamal Murray* - Denver Nuggets

* denotes international player