Reporting Articles - Page 39

OKLAHOMA CITY — For the second consecutive game, head coach Mark Daigneault saw the Oklahoma City Thunder’s free-throw shooting differentials stand out in a box score that showed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander attempted only two free throws. After Gilgeous-Alexander attempted a whopping 26 free throws in a 141-135 double-overtime win against the Indiana Pacers, he went a […]

LOS ANGELES – With seven players out on the injury report, Monday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers presented an opportunity for some of the seldom-used players on the Los Angeles Lakers’ roster to step up. One of those players in particular was Dalton Knecht, the Lakers’ first round draft pick from 2024, and a […]

OKLAHOMA CITY — Head coach Mark Daigneault and the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder erased a 10-point, second-half deficit in Tuesday’s 107-101 win against the Sacramento Kings to remain undefeated through the first five games of the 2025-26 campaign. The Thunder were without starting forward Chet Holmgren, who joined a long list of injuries that […]

MIAMI – After another Miami Heat offensive explosion in the blowout win over the Charlotte Hornets, 144-117, some fans might feel that the team is unrecognizable compared to the last few seasons. While the Heat aren’t satisfied yet with their new offense, since they want to sustain it throughout the year, captain Bam Adebayo speaks […]

MIAMI – After the Miami Heat had a huge win over the New York Knicks last Sunday, the team came back on Tuesday night and continued their momentum with a 144-117 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. While fans could see the win as the Heat getting payback for the Terry Rozier situation, star Bam Adebayo […]

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson is joining his peers in pleading for a shortened NBA schedule. On Monday night, before his team’s 116-95 victory over the Detroit Pistons, Atkinson went on a tangent about having a three-game-in-four-night stretch during the opening week of the regular season. Avid fans of the league are well aware […]

The Los Angeles Lakers are coming off a tough, 122-108 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, a game in which they were missing five key rotation players due to injury. The Lakers are set to embark on a brief, two-game road trip this week, and following the loss to the Blazers, head coach JJ Redick […]

On Monday, the Denver Nuggets beat their division rival, the Minnesota Timberwolves, 127-114. The win was powered by dynamic performances from Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Jokic, the three-time MVP, made history alongside Russell Westbrook and Oscar Robertson, becoming only the third player in NBA history to post triple-doubles in each of his first three […]

Amid the Oklahoma City Thunder’s laundry list of injuries to its roster, including All-Star Jalen Williams and reserve guard Isaiah Joe, no one’s stepped up more than sophomore guard Ajay Mitchell, which didn’t go unnoticed by veteran Isaiah Hartenstein. Williams and Joe have yet to make their regular-season debut. Before Tuesday’s game against the Sacramento […]

MIAMI – With the Miami Heat’s huge win over the New York Knicks on Sunday night, 115-107, the team once again displayed its new up-tempo offense that has led to everybody thriving to start the season. While the Heat aren’t satisfied yet with the results, since they want to sustain it throughout the season, one […]

Four games into the 2025-26 regular season, Isaiah Hartenstein knows that Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren’s production is a big reason the defending champion’s undefeated thus far. Ahead of Holmgren’s first night off due to back soreness amid the campaign’s first back-to-back, Hartenstein identified the specific growth he’s seen in Chet. Hartenstein revealed he […]

The Brooklyn Nets have been the NBA’s worst team to start the season, and a historically bad defense has been at the center of their struggles. Through four games, the Nets have allowed 522 points (130.5 per game), the most in franchise history. Brooklyn’s 131.2 defensive rating ranks last in the NBA, 7.5 points below […]

In a 101-94 loss to Mark Daigneault and the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks’ first-overall pick, Cooper Flagg, had possibly the worst outing of his rookie campaign, thus far. He finished with two points on 1-for-9 shooting, including 0-for-3 from deep. Then, making matters worse, Chet Holmgren posterized Flagg on a transition dunk, which could […]

The Brooklyn Nets were just what the doctor ordered for the Houston Rockets, as the Rockets picked up their much-needed first win of the season in Monday’s home opener, 137-109. The Rockets were 15.5-point favorites against an already 0-4 Brooklyn team that has surrendered the most points through four games in franchise history. This was […]

A 1-3 record isn’t appealing to the Phoenix Suns, but the progression by Mark Williams has been a welcome sight, especially after the team’s overtime loss to the Utah Jazz. After the Suns traded for Williams on draft night, many thought it was a mistake because of his injury history. However, throughout the offseason, head […]

The Detroit Pistons put up one of their worst performances in recent years Monday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Their sluggish effort ended with a rough final score of 116-95, dropping the Pistons back to a .500 record with a 2-2 mark. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff kept it honest with his reflection on the team’s […]

The Brooklyn Nets parted ways with fan favorite Drew Timme before the start of the 2025-26 campaign. Yet, some speculated that the former Gonzaga star could return to fill the team’s final two-way spot. Any hopes of a reunion ended on Saturday. The Long Island Nets traded Timme and their 2027 first-round pick to the […]

The Brooklyn Nets assigned rookies Drake Powell and Danny Wolf to their G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, on Monday. Both players are recovering from ankle injuries. Powell injured his ankle during the Nets’ season-opening loss to the Charlotte Hornets, while Wolf hurt himself the same day during the team’s shootaround. The rookie duo […]

SAN FRANCISCO– The first three games of the season were rough for third-year guard Brandin Podziemski, especially with some of the pressure on his shoulders. Entering the Memphis Grizzlies matchup with only three total assists and multiple off-nights on offense, his head coach, Steve Kerr, admitted his guard was struggling. “He’s not at his best […]

For the second time in his young career, Victor Wembanyama has earned the NBA’s Western Conference Player of the Week. The 21-year-old generational talent captured the honor following an opening stretch of the season that proved historic. ClutchPoints asked Wemby his reaction to capturing the Western Conference’s side of the award. “A little bit of […]

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill caught an unfortunate break on Monday night, injuring his right hip against the Detroit Pistons in the third quarter. He was hurt on a play in the first half where he came up holding his hip, but continued to play through it until the Cavs made the call to err […]

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks were defeated by the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night, losing by a final score of 101-94. Dallas finally solved its turnover problem, recording just eight total turnovers in the game. However, a number of other issues still need to be fixed. The defense endured ups and downs once again, […]

The Boston Celtics were expected to struggle more than usual heading into the 2025-26 regular season, but not so much so that they made history. The C’s hadn’t gotten off to a 0-4 start since the 1970-71 campaign. However, heading into a Monday night showdown with the New Orleans Pelicans, there was a chance they’d […]

As the Los Angeles Lakers continue to navigate the absence of LeBron James and Luka Doncic due to injury, they were dealt another blow amid the second night of a back-to-back against the Portland Trail Blazers. Gabe Vincent, who had been one of the Lakers’ starting guards to begin the season, was ruled out for […]

LOS ANGELES – As the Los Angeles Lakers prepared to face off against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, much of the chatter pregame was still on Austin Reaves’ incredible performance from the night before when he dropped a career-high 51 points against the Sacramento Kings in a win. Reaves stepped in in the absence […]

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks will play a big game on Monday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder following Sunday’s 139-129 win over the Toronto Raptors. While speaking to reporters before the matchup, head coach Jason Kidd was asked who his favorite teammate to play with was during his NBA career. Kidd provided an answer […]

If the first week of the 2025-26 NBA season is an indication of anything, it’s that this will be some MVP race over the course of the 82-game season. The level of competition in the NBA is at an all-time high right now, and that is reflected through the many historic performances we’ve witnessed over […]

Just one game into the 2025-26 season, Willie Green found himself addressing a painfully familiar narrative with resigned acceptance. The embattled New Orleans Pelicans coach, standing before reporters after Zion Williamson’s squad was taunted by Ja Morant’s Memphis Grizzlies, delivered the same message repeated throughout his tenure. It was expected since Kevon Looney, Karlo Matkovic, […]

After Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren was listed as questionable for Monday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, he was upgraded to available. The starting big man will be in action for the Thunder’s final stop on their three-game road trip before returning home to the Paycom Center for the first time since Opening Night. […]

After Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren recovered from a dislocated thumb in a 117-100 win against the Atlanta Hawks, he’s listed as questionable for Monday’s matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. Holmgren, who’s been dealing with lower back soreness throughout the beginning of the regular season, returned in the second half of Saturday’s win against […]

The Dallas Mavericks will play the second of a back-to-back on Monday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Mavs have some momentum following Sunday’s 139-129 win over the Toronto Raptors, however, the latest injury update is far from ideal. According to the NBA injury report, Dereck Lively II is dealing with a right knee […]

Sunday featured another case of the Detroit Pistons “controlling the chaos” by defeating the Boston Celtics 119-113. The franchise has spoken about embracing and fighting through adversity as its identity. Their matchup against Boston called for that same gritty mentality. After being down as many as 17 points in the first half, the Pistons needed […]

Since taking over as head coach, Kenny Atkinson has always been constructive in his criticisms of the Cleveland Cavaliers. This endearing quality has earned him the buy-in of his players, the adoration of the fan base, and the trust of the organization. But Wednesday’s words before the wine and gold’s season opener against the New […]

Brooklyn Nets rookie Egor Demin will be sidelined for Monday’s matchup with the Houston Rockets. Following Sunday’s 118-107 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, the Nets ruled out the No. 8 pick for the season’s first back-to-back due to left plantar fascia tear injury management. Demin missed a large chunk of the training camp and […]

The New York Knicks’ new offensive philosophy has been on full display through the team’s first three games this season. New head coach Mike Brown has encouraged the Knicks to shoot, pass, and run more freely. And the players have been listening—especially when it comes to shooting. New York is shooting significantly more 3-pointers so […]

If we can make one conclusion from the first week of the 2025-26 NBA season, it’s that we should expect plenty of close matchups in the Western Conference and for offenses to reign supreme. There are plenty of storylines to pull from the first week of games, but as far as the NBA power rankings […]

Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots were able to pick up another convincing win on Sunday, moving their win streak to five following their 32-13 victory over the Cleveland Browns. But not everything was sunshine and roses, especially when it came to the bizarre situation surrounding Christian Barmore. The Patriots’ defensive tackle was benched […]

Cam Thomas’ latest scoring outburst put him in rare Brooklyn Nets company. The 24-year-old posted his 10th career 40-point game during Sunday’s 118-107 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, tying him with Kevin Durant for the third-most in the Nets’ NBA history. Only Vince Carter (17) and Kyrie Irving (14) have more. Thomas has flashed […]

The Dallas Mavericks are planning to retire franchise legend Mark Aguirre’s No. 24 jersey on January 29, 2026, the team announced Monday. Aguirre was the Mavericks’ first ever No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick. He is also the only other first overall pick aside from Cooper Flagg in Mavericks franchise history. Dirk Nowitzki’s No. 41, […]