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Oklahoma City was missing recently injured star or near-star players in Jaylen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and Cason Wallace. Most knowledgeable fans expected an uphill battle for Phoenix, as the Thunder still possess loads of talent, size, and culture. Our preview predicted an 8-point loss, with improvements in our early-season process issues, such as ball movement and boxing out glass-crashers. This was happening, until it wasn’t. The Thunder pulled away for a 125-114 victory.

Sadly, the main storyline is Devin Booker’s milk carton-level disappearance. Your superstar-paid player needs to assert himself in a game like this. Not just another “one of 82”, but a fork-in-the-road type game for a team finding its footing. According to Google Sports Data, his 3 points in 33 minutes is a career low for games over 30 minutes. Anyone could have a rough shooting night, but winning star players force the action, and he never seemed to attempt this. It was a big letdown after the 43-point game Saturday.   

Phoenix moved the ball slightly better, getting up 50 three-point shots and connecting on 36% of them. After a promising start at this, the Suns allowed 29% of the Thunder’s missed shots to be rebounded by them (2% worse than league average). Current lack of center depth with Mark Williams out definitely played a role in this.

Khaman Maluach is going through growing pains, but taking some developmental baby steps. Of the rotation players, he had a team-best -2 plus/minus. Miles Bridges demonstrated his varied offensive skills in the second half, but his overall defensive play and cold first half were an overall negative. Jalen Green actually looked somewhat under control and had 4 assists to one turnover while producing 20 points on an efficient 8-13 shooting.  

The Suns had a few spurts in this game, but every time they got some momentum, drives to the basket by the Thunder came about as easy as a Sunday 5 am drive down the 202.

The Suns have four days to use as a “get well retreat” ahead of NBA Cup play.  

Game Flow

First Half

Through how many centers have broadcast listeners heard Eddie Johnson say “keep that ball high, young man”.  Apparently, none have listened to this advice. The game opens with a Maluach offensive rebound…but then he brought the ball down and was stripped.

Some nice plays on both ends by Jalen Green, and the Suns led by one after the first 5 minutes. 

Alex Curoso, another one of those players that seems to elevate versus the Suns, came off the bench to hit consecutive threes. Collin Gillespie hit two of his own, finding his range. A success out of the gate, avoiding another bad start against an emotional team and crowd.

A Jordan Goodwin hustling offensive board and subsequent three limited a bad end to Q1, and Phoenix trailed 27-33. Ajay Mitchell with 13 points after one quarter.

Ryan Dunn once again looked more confident than last year, starting Q2 with a forced turnover, block, and corner three of his own.

Miles Bridges had several first-half blunders, but he added a nasty dunk over Isaiah Hartenstein.  Suns still hanging around, but allowing penetration and second chances – things on the radar for process improvement from our preview article.

Man Man was holding his own against rising rookie Aday Mara, but received his third foul with 5 minutes remaining in the half. Phoenix went “small ball” with no true center. This contributed to another strong quarter-end by OKC, up 14 in spite of a Dillon Brooks buzzer-beating three.  Looks like I missed Devin Booker highlights. He did play but was largely invisible.

Second Half

Jalen Green looked like someone had moved up his NBA 2K awareness slider, making several well-paced attacks at the basket. Phoenix overall seemed to ratchet up their effort. A Miles Bridges three cut it to nine. OKC responded with another McCain three to put the deficit back to 14. 

Free-throw “yips” again raised their head for Phoenix with 7-of-19 misses.  

Bridges got it going in Q3 with a traditional 3-point play and another long-range three. More OKC drives that met little resistance and back to a 14-point lead going into Q4.

A watch item was preventing offensive rebounds. While Phoenix had only allowed 23% offensive rebounds through three, this started to become a problem, with Hartenstein alone up to six of them at the 7:56 mark of Q4. A Book airball out of the timeout, and this one’s starting to look like a route.

It had been a frustrating night for Dillon Brooks. After an incidental knee-to-knee with Aday Mara, he shoved him and was assessed a flagrant foul for excessive contact and then a dead-ball technical after the call. Thunder by 20. And in the end, Thunder by 11.

Up Next

Nuggets at Suns, Friday, October 30, 7:00 pm MST (first game of NBA Cup).

The Cleveland Cavaliers picked up an inspiring comeback win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.

Player of the game

Donovan Mitchell

26 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists

Mitchell is quietly off to a great start this season. His three-point shooting helped spur the Cavalanche that put Cleveland back in front after trailing by 10 points at halftime. In the fourth quarter and overtime, it was Mitchell who played closer — dueling with Anthony Edwards and coming up with the last laugh.

Grade: A-

Grades

James Harden

19 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, 1 turnover

Harden looked slow and ineffective in the first half. His usual floater was off the mark, and his three-pointer wasn’t falling.

It wasn’t until the third quarter that Harden finally looked like the player Cleveland traded for last season. A healthy dose of isolation scoring is what dug the Cavaliers out of their hole and back into this game.

Grade: B

Evan Mobley

18 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks

Mobley had trouble establishing himself in the paint against Minnesota’s size, but he unleashed multiple three-pointers in the second half to compensate. His clutch shooting from outside helped save the day.

Grade: B+

Peyton Watson

15 points,8 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, 4 blocks

Watson had his most comfortable and effective game as a Cavalier to date. He was emboldened to handle the ball more throughout this game, and that seemingly helped him settle into a groove. Watson was everywhere defensively and a constant threat to break free in transition and attack the basket.

A special shout-out to his game-saving block on Edwards in crunch time.

Grade: A-

Jarrett Allen

10 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks

This was a subdued performance from Allen. He played his usual role for most, until watching the final battle take place from the bench as Kenny Atkinson opted for a one-big lineup to close.

Grade: B-

Jaylon Tyson

11 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds

Tyson shot 0-of-4 from downtown but a perfect 5-for-5 inside the arc for an impactful night. He’s continued to flash the tertiary playmaking that Cleveland needs from its bench, dishing 5 assists in this game. Tyson finished as a team-high plus-15 despite not having a box score that jumps off the page.

Grade: B

Mario Hezonja

3 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist

This was the first dud of Hezonja’s career in Cleveland. He wasn’t super effective at anything, and the box score reflects this.

Grade: D+

Sam Merrill

9 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

Merrill brough this usual contributions, sprinting around the perimeter and making it so Minnesota’s defense couldn’t form a solid wall. It wasn’t his most electric three-point shooting performance, but it was enough.

Grade: C+

Meleek Thomas

16 points, 2 rebounds

Thomas was fantastic in his debut. He played with a sense of urgency that hasn’t been seen from any of the other Cavs’ guards attempting to win the backup point guard position.

Within just a few minutes, Thomas was nailing three-pointers and forcing turnovers. He was engaged on both ends of the floor and led the team in scoring at halftime.

Thomas carried his momentum into the second half, where a pair of three-pointers sent Cleveland’s crowd into a frenzy. It’s safe to say the rookie has already become a fan favorite. If it wasn’t for Mitchell’s late-game scoring, I would have given Thomas the Player of the Game.

Grade: A+

The Milwaukee Bucks won their first game of the season, 110-102, against the Indiana Pacers! Tyler Herro’s near triple-double of 23 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists, along with Kel’el Ware’s 16 points and 14 boards, helped the Bucks ride a third-quarter rally to overcome a weary Pacers squad on the second night of a back-to-back. The win ends the Bucks’ three-game losing streak and lets them keep bragging rights after the chippy preseason game. Tyrese Haliburton led Indiana with 22 points and nine assists, while Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin added 20 and 14, respectively.

Game Recap

The Pacers opened the scoring when Pascal Siakam grabbed an offensive rebound and found Aaron Nesmith in the paint for a layup, but the game saw a back-and-forth start. After Haliburton’s floater tied it at six, the Bucks responded with their own 6-0 run, punctuated by Kyle Kuzma’s and-one dunk over Jay Huff. Contradicting my Prescient prediction, the Pacers started cold from beyond the arc (1/8), but gradually warmed up after the first timeout. Jarace Walker’s triple from the top of the arc cut Milwaukee’s lead to just one point. However, Kasparas Jakucionis found Kel’el Ware on two separate dimes to put the Bucks back up five with 90 seconds left. But of course, the Bucks failed to close the quarter strongly, turning it over in the final moments as Haliburton went end-to-end for a transition layup. Milwaukee up 31-29 after one.

Quenton Jackson tied the game with a pull-up midrange jumper less than 30 seconds into the second quarter, kickstarting a 9-0 run for Indy in the first 90 seconds. The Pacers threatened to stretch their lead to double digits after a pair of threes from Jay Huff and Haliburton, but the Bucks surged back. Ryan Rollins hit a three, Kel’el Ware finished a lob over Huff, and Rollins hit another bomb to give the home side a one-point lead about four minutes in. But, as they are wont to do, the Pacers responded with an 8-0 run as the Bucks went cold; Haliburton splashed a stepback three to push Indiana’s lead to nine, then got in Rollins’ face afterwards, continuing theirpreseason feud. Siakam closed out the half with a nice fadeaway, putting the Pacers up 61-50.

The Bucks started the third quarter well, trimming Indiana’s lead to six points via a pair of Herro threes in semi-transition. The Bucks found success passing around Indiana’s defense and finding open guys on the outside. Another Herro three trimmed Indiana’s lead to two with 6:33 remaining, and a Rollins layup tied it. Indiana slowly worked its way back out to a five-point lead, though, after Haliburton found Toppin in the restricted area for his ninth assist of the game. A nice moment followed with Nate Ament connecting on a wing triple for his first NBA field goal, but Haliburton responded almost immediately with a three from the top of the arc. Indiana ended the quarter up just one, 85-84.

The Bucks began the fourth with a defensive focus; most of all, they did a great job limiting Siakam’s effectiveness in the paint. Milwaukee’s defence was leading to offence, getting them easy transition shots. The Pacers, meanwhile, took quick threes without letting their offence develop. Before long, a smooth Rollins layup put Milwaukee up 101-92 with 5:27 minutes left. But the Bucks would not make it easy on themselves, giving up a 6-0 run in what felt like 30 seconds to cut Milwaukee’s lead to just three. The home team needed a veteran to step up, and after a tough start to the season, Myles Turner rose to the occasion with a steal and two blocks within 45 seconds, allowing Milwaukee to get the game back on their terms—he was huge. Milwaukee also got key second-chance points, including a Turner offensive rebound that eventually led to an open Kuzma three that pushed the Bucks’ lead to eight with less than two minutes left. Indiana couldn’t overcome the deficit, and Milwaukee registered its first regular season win of the Taylor Jenkins era. Yew!

Stat That Stood Out

13 of Milwaukee’s 24 second-chance points came in the fourth quarter, largely thanks to Myles Turner’s hustle on the offensive glass. Those plays gave Milwaukee’s struggling offense another chance at a bucket. Whether Milwaukee’s bigs could handle Siakam and Huff on the glass was a real question entering Monday’s win—Turner answered it decisively.

Obscene Overreaction

Nate Ament might need to be a regular in the rotation. After struggling in Saturday’s loss to Philadelphia, Ament showed real growth tonight, offensively and defensively. He looked willing to initiate contact despite his slender build, especially against Siakam on the block, and his defensive awareness improved, as he got only one foul. Ament posted seven points, going 1/2 from long range and 3/8 from the field. Ament’s shooting struggles are real—three of his missed field goal attempts were long twos—but the rookie showed some great signs today.

What a damn game, y’all. Cooper Flagg willed the Dallas Mavericks (2-2) to a 113-109 win over the Heat (0-4) on Monday at the Kaseya Center, giving Miami its worst start to a season in the Erik Spoelstra era.

Walter Clayton Jr. was super efficient in his minutes off the bench, and PJ Washington continued his stretch of quality play to start the season in an effort that helped offset a huge triple-double from Heat superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who led all scorers with 29 points, pulled down 15 rebounds and dished 11 assists in the loss.

The arrow is pointing emphatically upward at this early juncture in the 2026-27 season. It’s exciting, and it’s fun to watch the Mavericks play basketball at the moment. Savor it.

Cooper Flagg: A+

29 PTS / 6 REB / 11 AST / 5 STL / 3 BLK / 40 MIN

Flagg dropped two early dimes to get Irving going, including an incredible lob find for the star guard’s first bucket of the game. He delivered four assists before the game was four minutes old and five in the first quarter. He connected on a fancy finish of his own on an up-and-under dipsy-do in close after Daniel Gafford’s offensive rebound with 7:10 left in the first.

Flagg took a steal on a drive by Giannis Antetokounmpo with seven minutes left in the first half and delivered his sixth assist to PJ Washington on the ensuing break as Dallas tried to remain within shouting distance of a Heat team playing with more urgency. His first 3-pointer of the game came with just over a minute left in the half and tied the game, 50-50, during a 17-5 Dallas run.

He was quiet in the third quarter, but hit what might have been the biggest shot of the game to that point in the clutch, an and-one turnaround jumper through the foul of Pelle Larson with five minutes left as part of an 18-7 Dallas run that gave Flagg 22 points for the game. He one-upped himself with two minutes left to play though, raising up for his second 3-pointer of the game, which put the Mavs in front 111-105. His defense was sensational throughout, and he took over in the fourth, scoring 12 of his 29 points to will the Mavs to their second win of the season. Just an amazing performance.

Kyrie Irving: B-

18 PTS / 6 REB / 6 AST / 2 STL / 33 MIN

Irving sprinted out of the gates for seven points in the game’s first five minutes, serving as the primary engine for the Mavs’ offense. As it all fell apart late in the first and early in the second for the Mavs’ offense, he steadied the ship with a nifty little leaner in the lane to pull Dallas to within 41-32.

He connected on a slashing bucket through the defense of Andrew Wiggins early in the third. His 3-pointer midway through the third was an important one to keep the Mavs connected, down 74-67 at the time. He found a cutting Zaccharie Risacher along the baseline late in the third for a pretty assist that busted Risacher’s offensive slump and pulled Dallas to within 83-78. Irving then pulled up with just a second left on the third-quarter clock, hung in the air to let the defender pass him by, and cashed in the bucket that made it an 84-83 game headed to the fourth. It was good to see Irving push past the 30-minute mark in the win, but he shot just 2-of-10 from 3-point land in the win.

Max Christie: C+

11 PTS / 5 REB / 3 AST / 26 MIN

Corner Christie drained his first 3-point attempt on Flagg’s third assist of the game, which put the Mavs up 7-4 early on. He hit a second, this time from the top of the key, early in the second to pull Dallas to within 27-26. He does not do much else, though, which sometimes makes Christie a liability.

Zaccharie Risacher: B

6 PTS / 9 REB / 1 AST / 2 STL / 3 BLK / 30 MIN

Risacher sucked the life out of the Mavericks’ offense on his first possession on the floor with five minutes left in the first, suffocating the last 10 seconds of the shot clock before trying to turn around for a desperation heave over Bam Adebayo, which was, predictably, blocked. He then missed a wide open bunny after an offensive rebound, then hustled for a blocked shot and bricked his first 3-point attempt in a helter-skelter exchange late in the first. He turned the ball over when the ancient Bobby Portis knocked the ball out of his hands on a baseline drive with 1:57 left in the first.

He was not a contributor for much of the game, but nailed a wide open 3-pointer at last, early in the fourth, to pull Dallas to within 90-89, before making 1-of-2 at the free-throw line to tie it at 90-90 seconds later. His grade is boosted here due to the number of plays he made on the defensive end, including a huge fourth-quarter block of Antetokounmpo.

P.J. Washington: A-

20 PTS / 9 REB / 2 AST / 2 STL / 1 BLK / 41 MIN

Washington continued his run of form to start the year throughout the first half. he canned a couple of 3-pointers, including one on Flagg’s eighth assist of the half to give the Mavs a 53-52 lead at the half, took away a pair of steals and was part of the defensive effort that at least limited Antetokounmpo’s game-wrecking ability.

Early in the third, though, Antetokounmpo beat Washington on a drive on a play where Washington overcommitted on an inbound play, leaving Gafford to receive a flying knee below the belt as he rose up, but not high enough, in help defense. He would later atone with his fourth 3-ball of the game to pull Dallas to within 83-81 with less than a minute left in the frame. Washington played winning basketball again. This is becoming a welcome trend.

Daniel Gafford: B

8 PTS / 8 REB / 3 AST / 1 STL / 3 BLK / 26 MIN

Gafford made some awkward plays on both ends in the first quarter, but did come up with a nice blocked shot on Portis’ baseline drive in the frame’s final minute. His coach put him in a bad spot with the defensive assignment against Antetokounmpo in the second quarter, and when he hacked Antetokounmpo on the way to the bucket, Portis took exception, and a scrum ensued, resulting in a flagrant-1 for Gafford and double technicals for Gafford and Portis, both former Arkansas Razorbacks. Later in the second, Gafford made good by meeting Antetokounmpo at the rim for his second blocked shot of the first half.

He stepped up in help defense as Antetokounmpo barreled down the lane early in the third and received a knee to the groin for his troubles. He came back in just minutes later, which was good to see, and cleaned up Flagg’s miss to bring Dallas to within 70-64. He fouled out with just over four minutes left to play in the win. It was a solid effort, with a slight bonus for the violence perpetrated against his midsection.

Marcus Sasser: C-

0 PTS / 1 REB / 8 MIN

Sasser was not a factor in his eight minutes on the floor. He was supplanted in the rotation by the red-hot Walter Clayton Jr. He was 0-for-3 from the floor and missed badly on a pair of 3-point attempts.

Sergio De Larrea: INC

0 PTS / 1 REB / 6 MIN

De Larrea played just six minutes in the first half, didn’t have much of an impact on the proceedings, then left the game with what the team called a left knee strain after bumping (getting shoved by?) former Maverick Tim Hardaway Jr.

Morez Johnson Jr.: C

6 PTS / 2 REB / 1 AST / 15 MIN

Johnson picked up his first two fouls in his first 20 seconds on the floor against the Heat, so, yea, that’s about how things are going right now for the rookie. He looks like a rookie. He showed some nice touch, however, early in the second quarter on a short turn-around jumper, but lost Portis on defense on three consecutive possessions, resulting in Portis 3-pointers on three straight possesions, extending the Miami lead to 39-30 early in the second.

He left Sasser out to dry late in the shot clock with 8:45 left in the first half on a possession that ended in a shot clock violation. Johnson just couldn’t get out of his own way, committing his fourth foul after just eight minutes on the floor, barely more than three minutes into the second half. Johnson put back a big bucket off a missed 3-pointer by Washington with 3:40 left to play to give the Mavericks a 108-103 lead. He battled, whether it was against himself or against the Miami bigs.

Walter Clayton Jr.: A

15 PTS / 4 REB / 4 AST / 1 BLK / 17 MIN

Clayton came in 18 minutes into the game and immediately hit a little leaner in the lane, played the two-man game with a cutting Flagg to perfection for a pretty reverse bucket, then nailed a corner 3-ball with 3:44 left in the first half to pull Dallas to within five, down 50-45. He was one of the engines behind the Mavs’ 17-5 run late in the second.

He hit another big 3-pointer in response to a hot stretch by Miami that kept Dallas within 79-72, putting Clayton at eight points in his first seven minutes on the floor. Talk about efficiency. But he wasn’t done putting his fingerprints all over this game. He drove for a tough score to pull Dallas to within 93-92 with 8:27 left to play, then converted an even tougher drive through a Portis foul on the fast break the next time down. He completed the three-point play to give him 13 points in 13 minutes and put the Mavs ahead 95-93. He shot 6-of-7 from the field in what we may look back on as his breakout game.

The Hawks looked to rebound from their first loss of the season, this time in the Lone Star State against the Houston Rockets.

Atlanta kept their usual starting lineup whereas the Rockets welcomed back Fred VanVleet to their lineup after a one-game absence, joining Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr., and Alperen Sengun.

Neither team took control of the game, and so the lead passed back and forth multiple times in the first quarter alone. The Hawks had trouble protecting the paint with the Rockets backcutting them to death at times.

But the Hawks hit a couple of transition threes off stops, including a big one from Onyeka Okongwu to hopefully break a cold spell:

The bench came in and injected some energy on both ends with the likes of Kingston Flemings, Aaron Wiggins, and Jock Landale asserting themselves:

After one quarter, the Hawks led 35-32.

The second quarter was more of the same, with a couple of extended runs from either side mixed in.

First, the Rockets went on a 14-3 scoring run. But the Hawks later countered with a 14-6 run of their own.

CJ McCollum got hot and provided some buckets when the offense went cold. And Aaron Wiggins continued his solid play off the bench, including coming in to finish the half when Nickeil Alexander-Walker picked up his third foul.

At halftime, the Hawks held a three-point advantage, 66-63. McCollum finished the first half with 15 points which led all scorers.

Early in the third quarter, ‘NAW’ picked up his fourth foul trying to stop Kevin Durant in transition, so it was another extended stretch for Wiggins.

But midway through the quarter, the Rockets went on a 10-0 run as the Hawks’ offense hit the skids. But Lu Dort of all people helped spark a 7-0 run in response to prevent the game from getting away:

After three quarters, the Rockets turned the tables with a 91-85 edge.

The Hawks continued to be plagued by poor three-point shooting, and after taking care of the ball for the majority of the night, they coughed the ball up after driving into the teeth of Houston’s aggressive defense over and over.

Atlanta fell without much of a late fight, 120-110. Alperen Sengun was the star with 29 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

Wednesday, the Hawks return home to take on the reeling Miami Heat.