Author: Zane Chalk

Twice on Thursday night, the Detroit Pistons thought they had escaped Washington. Trae Young buried a three-pointer at the regulation buzzer. Rookie AJ Dybantsa followed with a midrange jumper in the final fraction of the first overtime, dragging both teams back into the fight. By the time the second overtime arrived, Cade Cunningham had spent nearly an entire game negotiating defenders, absorbing contact and creating shots for Detroit. Washington wanted five more minutes. Cunningham gave the Wizards something they would spend years trying to explain. Fifty-two points. Eleven assists. Zero turnovers. Detroit defeated Washington 144-140 in double overtime on November…

The three-pointer dropped. Stephen Curry grabbed his right side. With 7:22 remaining in the first quarter at Houston’s Toyota Center on November 11, 2026, Curry curled around a Draymond Green screen and buried a deep three. Golden State trailed 17-10. Instead of retreating comfortably on defense, Curry winced and signaled toward the bench. Less than a minute later, during a timeout with 6:25 remaining and Houston ahead 19-10, he headed down the tunnel. His night ended with three points in five minutes and 35 seconds. Golden State had dragged itself out of an 0-3 hole with eight consecutive victories. Houston…

Damian Lillard crossed half court on a repaired left Achilles, spotted the Moda Center logo, and prepared to torment Oklahoma City all over again. With 1.1 seconds remaining in the third quarter, the 36-year-old guard buried a 30-foot three-pointer that sent Portland’s home crowd into a frenzy. The shot pushed the Trail Blazers ahead 97-80 and supplied the perfect image for a 123-103 victory that ended Portland’s two-game losing streak and snapped Oklahoma City’s four-game winning run. Lillard scored 25 points in just 23 minutes and 30 seconds. Deni Avdija added 24 points, eight assists, and six rebounds, while Portland…

By halftime Monday night, the New Orleans Pelicans looked like a team begging for the final buzzer. Stephen Curry had already helped dismantle their defense. Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg attacked the basket with the confidence of a veteran, while Brandin Podziemski punished every defensive rotation that arrived a second too late. The scoreboard at Chase Center read 72–43. Golden State wasn’t finished embarrassing New Orleans. By the final buzzer, the Warriors had completed a 138–87 demolition, their largest victory at Chase Center and the fourth-biggest winning margin in franchise history. Curry scored 25 points in barely 20 minutes. Podziemski matched his…

By the closing minutes at Madison Square Garden, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns had little reason to leave the bench. The New York Knicks had already done enough damage. Milwaukee’s defenders looked worn down, its offense had disappeared again, and the scoreboard displayed another ugly result. Knicks 117, Bucks 85. New York didn’t need another heroic performance from its stars. Brunson scored 23 points, Towns added 21 and 16 rebounds, and OG Anunoby buried five three-pointers. The defending champions won their fourth straight game. For Milwaukee, the numbers cut much deeper. Seven consecutive losses. A 1-10 record. Eight defeats by…

Jayson Tatum reached toward Jaylen Brown before tipoff. Brown kept spinning a basketball on his finger, barely acknowledging the teammate with whom he had won a championship. A few moments later, Tatum embraced LeBron James. That chilly exchange at Xfinity Mobile Arena captured the tension surrounding Boston’s return to Philadelphia. By the fourth quarter, though, another former teammate had taken over the building. Paul George punished the franchise that traded him away. He buried six three-pointers, scored 14 consecutive Boston points in the fourth quarter, and left Philadelphia staring at a 123-101 defeat on November 10. The Celtics walked out…

Cooper Flagg didn’t need to outrun Pascal Siakam. He stopped, rose into an 18-foot pull-up and shot over him. Dallas needed that kind of nerve on Monday night. Indiana had built a 13-point lead, and its veteran forward had spent the first half shooting holes in the Mavericks’ defense. By the end of Dallas’s 125-122 victory at American Airlines Center on November 9, Flagg had supplied something considerably tougher than a promising performance. The 19-year-old had dragged his team through a game it kept threatening to give away. Siakam’s Barrage Siakam made eight of his nine first-half shots. From behind…

With 9:13 left Monday night, Mitch Johnson finally gave Phoenix a break: he took Victor Wembanyama out. San Antonio led by 34. Its 7-foot-4 center had already delivered 40 points, 11 rebounds and nine blocks in 25 minutes and 21 seconds. Wembanyama missed four shots all night, finishing 15-for-19 with one turnover. The Spurs beat the Suns 122-96 at Mortgage Matchup Center on November 9, collecting their ninth straight victory. Keeping him out there to chase a triple-double would have been lousy coaching. Phoenix had supplied enough evidence. San Antonio bullied the glass 55-35 and handed out 30 assists to…

Three hundred and eight points in eight games. Luka Doncic has opened the season with the kind of scoring binge that usually leaves the rest of the NBA chasing shadows. Then Victor Wembanyama turned a November game against Dallas into a personal assault on the record books, swatting shots and swallowing rebounds while San Antonio escaped with a one-point victory. Two superstars. Two radically different definitions of dominance. One award. Doncic makes defenses choose between surrendering his step-back jumper and leaving a teammate uncovered. Wembanyama makes opponents reconsider whether attacking the basket deserves the trouble. Behind them, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wants…

Stephen Curry’s 26,711th career point came with 7:03 left in the first quarter, when another three-pointer dropped through the net at Chase Center. The basket pushed him past Oscar Robertson into 17th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. For a few seconds, Golden State had its celebration. Then basketball got ugly. Curry missed seven of his first eight shots. Miami punched out an early 10-point lead, and Klay Thompson, his former Splash Brother, stood on the opposite side wearing a Heat jersey. By halftime, Curry had scored just seven points on 2-for-10 shooting. Golden State had scratched its way…