Reporting Articles - Page 22

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder were 35-7 last season, as the defending champions doubled up at the start of the second half of the 2025-26 campaign with the same record. No easy task for a team receiving every team’s best effort, especially after a historic 24-1 start. And after losing half a dozen […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers have lost eight of their last 13 games, with their most recent loss coming at home against the Charlotte Hornets, a game in which the Hornets shot 54 percent from the field and 48 percent from 3-point range. Both were way above their season averages of 46.1 and […]

DALLAS — Cooper Flagg has enjoyed a strong rookie season. The Dallas Mavericks’ 19-year-old star is currently dealing with an ankle injury and won’t play on Saturday against the Utah Jazz as a result, but that did not stop Jason Kidd from giving Flagg his flowers before the contest. The Mavs head coach was asked […]

Head coach Mark Daigneault noticed a shift in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder amidst an impressive five-game winning streak. Coming off of blowout wins against the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets, respectively, Gilgeous-Alexander revealed how lasst year’s championship run changed his perspective on winning. Gilgeous-Alexander explained how the ups and downs […]

Cleveland Cavaliers second-year swingman Jaylon Tyson dished out the game-winning assist to Evan Mobley and set a career high with 39 points, leading his shorthanded squad to an admirable 117-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Tyson added five rebounds and four dimes in 38 minutes in the team’s second straight triumph over the Sixers on […]

The Arizona Diamondbacks recently acquired veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado in a trade with the St. Louis Cardinals. While he isn’t the same player he once was, the Arenado trade provides Arizona with a quality veteran ball player. On Thursday, the Cardinals made another move, as they announced the signing of right-handed relief pitcher Taylor […]

The Washington Wizards will try their luck in the NBA Draft Lottery again this year after missing out on generational superstar Victor Wembanyama in 2023 as well as star prospects Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper in 2025. Luckily for the Wizards, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, and Duke forward Cam Boozer have […]

The Chicago Bulls are treading water with Josh Giddey sidelined by a hamstring injury. Losers of four of their last six games, the Bulls sit in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. They could receive a significant boost with Giddey’s return. With Giddey’s absence approaching three weeks, Billy Donovan said the team hopes to have […]

After Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault commended his leaders for adapting to the defensive hurdles in a 111-91 win against the Houston Rockets, All-Star Jalen Williams revealed the mindset of his team amidst two impressive wins. The Thunder defeated the second and third best teams in the Western Conference standings in the San […]

For three quarters, Chet Holmgren and the Oklahoma City Thunder fought to keep the Houston Rockets at bay before cruising to a 20-point win after outscoring their opponent 34-16 in the fourth quarter. Extending their winning streak to five, the Thunder defeated the Rockets 111-91 on the road. Amidst Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was held to […]

PHOENIX– Jordan Goodwin’s perpetual positivity and contagious energy make everyone around him wonder where it comes from. “Honestly, I don’t know. I just wake up the same way every day, bro,” the Phoenix Suns guard said, while chuckling to ClutchPoints before Sunday’s game against the Washington Wizards. “I’ve got the best job ever playing basketball, […]

The Detroit Pistons bounced back to their winning ways with a tough 108-105 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night. Their 29th regular-season win did not come with ease. The Pistons showed clear signs of rust as three starters came back to the starting lineup. Cade Cunningham, Jalen Duren, and Tobias Harris returned from […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers will take on the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night for the second time in three days at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Darius Garland is listed as out on the injury report with right great toe soreness. Sam Merrill has also been ruled out with a sprained right hand, so the Cavs will be down […]

The Milwaukee Bucks will be among the NBA’s most active teams in conversations at this year’s trade deadline. While a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade has been the talk of the NBA for over a year, league executives expect the Bucks to be a buyer ahead of Feb. 5 as they aim to surround their franchise player […]

SAN FRANCISCO– Jimmy Butler perfectly described the state of the Golden State Warriors in one word just one game ago. “Mediocre,” he said, completely deadpan, while completely encompassing their play and their record. But after their 10th win in 14 games in their no-nonsense 126-113 win over the New York Knicks, the Warriors are starting […]

Victor Wembanyama enjoyed a huge night in the San Antonio Spurs victory vs. the Milwaukee Bucks. The love he received from Giannis Antetokounmpo right after their first meeting of the year might’ve been more impressive. ClutchPoints asked the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player and 2021 Finals MVP how the young star compared to the version […]

SAN FRANCISCO– In the shadow of the Golden State Warriors’ 10th win in 14 games after their 126-113 win over the New York Knicks was the Jonathan Kuminga situation. It permeated the questions posed to Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, it permeated the pre-game question to Steve Kerr, and it hangs around Golden State with […]

LOS ANGELES – The struggles continued for the Los Angeles Lakers as they fell to the Charlotte Hornets, 135-117 on Thursday. With the loss, the Lakers have now dropped eight of their last 13 games. And the Lakers’ schedule does not get any easier with nine of their next 10 games on the road. Their […]

MIAMI – While there were encouraging signs from the Miami Heat after the win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday to start the three-game home stand, the momentum turned sour quickly with a crushing loss to the Boston Celtics on Thursday, 119-114. The Heat’s downsides were on full display on Thursday night, as the team […]

Tuomas Iisalo’s Memphis Grizzlies did not set out to replace Ja Morant. Not publicly, anyway. Morant remains the franchise’s most electric talent, its most recognizable face and, when healthy and available, its emotional engine. But NBA front offices plan for contingencies, and coaches who survive in this league tend to think two steps ahead. Over […]

The Berlin setting was grand, but the ending felt all too familiar for the Memphis Grizzlies. In the first of two NBA Europe events, Tuomas Iisalo’s squad squandered a 20-point lead against the Orlando Magic, wasting a dominant first from Jaren Jackson Jr. and exposing late-game issues that traveled just as far as the team […]

LOS ANGELES – In what’s been a common theme for the Los Angeles Lakers this season, the injury bug continues to strike. The Lakers recently got Rui Hachimura back, but Jaxson Hayes is currently sidelined due to a groin injury. Hayes will miss his second straight game as the Lakers take on the Charlotte Hornets […]

The Houston Rockets are still trying to figure out who they want to be. Team broadcaster Craig Ackerman remarked this week that the Rockets haven’t been playing “Rocket basketball’’ of late. Which raises the question: what exactly is Rockets basketball these days? The answer was clear a season ago. Without a discernible star, Houston adopted […]

MIAMI – With the Miami Heat showing encouraging signs in Tuesday’s win over the Phoenix Suns, like Bam Adebayo getting out of a slump and the synergy brewing between Norman Powell and Tyler Herro, there was a change in the offensive game plan. As the Heat work through the process of finding consistency in their […]

The optics have been complicated, the noise unavoidable, and the questions persistent. Ja Morant’s fence-mending has not been on the floor, the Memphis Grizzlies have slipped into the Western Conference’s play-in tier, and a season that once carried top-six expectations now requires nightly grit just to stay afloat. Still, Jaren Jackson Jr. does not believe […]

The Washington Wizards took a low-risk swing this past offseason when they sent two second-round picks to the Houston Rockets for Cam Whitmore, a 2023 first-round pick who is supremely athletic and explosive when driving to the rim. However, the 21-year-old wing has been out for weeks with a blood clot in his shoulder named […]

MIAMI – With the Miami Heat beating the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night, there were a bunch of contributions on the team, but an aspect that shone was the effectiveness of the connection between Tyler Herro and Norman Powell. As the Heat have been through an inconsistent season thus far, the outlook on the backcourt […]

The Washington Wizards almost certainly won’t have an All-Star for the fifth straight season given their lack of wins, but the Rising Stars Challenge is a different story. Second-year forward Kyshawn George visited the NBA TV panel on Tuesday and explained why he deserves to be selected for the latter competition this year. Kyshawn George […]

Victor Wembanyama is sporting a new look, kind of. The San Antonio Spurs superstar showed up for shootaround ahead of a game against the Milwaukee Bucks with a bald head. So did teammate Keldon Johnson – who says their haircuts came courtesy of each other the night before. ClutchPoints asked the longest-tenured Spur about getting […]

Has Ja Morant played his last game for the Memphis Grizzlies? After seeing Trae Young traded from the Atlanta Hawks to the Washington Wizards, Morant has become the focus around the league heading into the NBA trade deadline, especially since his tensions from earlier in the 2025-26 season never dissipated. Drama surrounding Morant and the […]

The NBA’s All-Star process has never been kind to teams buried at the bottom of the standings, and Trey Murphy III understands that reality as well as anyone. The new-look New Orleans Pelicans started training camp with playoff aspirations, but the season has been derailed by injuries to its most established stars. Dejounte Murray and […]

Expansion has long been on the minds of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA league office. Although domestic expansion remains on the league’s agenda, a new venture overseas in Europe is beginning to take shape, and the NBA continues to bring a new league to life. Over the years, the game of basketball has […]

As soon as the Memphis Grizzlies made Ja Morant available for a trade, plenty of suitors emerged. One of the quiet potential destinations could be the Phoenix Suns. NBA writer Matt Moore detailed that Phoenix has done “exploratory work” for a point guard. That was also a looming question surrounding the team heading into the […]

After three consecutive losses to the San Antonio Spurs, the Oklahoma City Thunder brought their rivals from South Texas back to earth a bit. And Mitch Johnson gives all credit to the defending NBA champions. “We were out of place a lot,” the Spurs head coach admitted. Though San Antonio played relatively well in the […]

Austin Rivers delivered a cautionary message to Orlando Magic fans regarding recent discourse surrounding star forward Paolo Banchero, saying public criticism can have a tangible effect on players during the season. Rivers addressed the topic on a recent episode of Off Guard with Austin Rivers, pointing to how team success in games without a star […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers played their most complete game of the season, blowing out the Philadelphia 76ers on the road 133-107, but two players couldn’t cross the finish line on Wednesday. Darius Garland injured his right foot, while Sam Merrill reaggravated an injury on his right hand, meaning the Cavs will likely be shorthanded in the […]

On Wednesday, the Chicago Bulls avenged their 119-113 defeat to the Houston Rockets on Tuesday. They fought tooth and nail to defeat the Utah Jazz at home 128-126.  A significant factor was the performance of their 35-year-old big man, Nikola Vucevic. Not only did he finish with a season high of 35 points, but he […]

DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks star rookie Cooper Flagg exited Wednesday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets with a left ankle sprain. The Mavs made the announcement shortly after halftime. Flagg suffered an apparent ankle injury concern on Monday, but it did not seem to be especially serious. He then left Wednesday’s game for a few […]

OKLAHOMA CITY — Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs’ physicality played a significant factor in their three wins against the Oklahoma City Thunder in December. Without starters Lu Dort and Isaiah Hartenstein, two of the team’s defensive catalysts, the Thunder dominated Wembanyama and the Spurs in a 119-98 blowout win at the Paycom Center. […]