Kawhi Leonard: certified Fun Guy, certified bucket.

Today’s Lineup

🎉 Happy birthday John Henson and Tracy Moore! 🎉

Game Recaps

Kawhi drops career-high 55 PTS as Clippers down Pistons 112-99

Kawhi may have shed his “robotic” persona in recent years, but on Sunday, he was in full Terminator mode.

In a home clash with Detroit, Leonard racked up a career-high 55 PTS along with 11 REB, 5 STL, and 3 BLK to helm LA’s double-digit win. It was the first career 50-piece for Kawhi, whose previous career-best of 45 PTS came with the Raptors in 2019. He was surgical all night long, getting to his lethal mid-range jumper and hitting 16 of his 17 free throws, but a 26-point third quarter served as the primary fuel for the explosion.

Kawhi’s big night coincided with a poor shooting performance from the Pistons, who went just 24% from three and 41% from the field. Detroit remains atop the East at 24-7, while LA is still attempting to climb into the West’s Play-In picture. But with a four-game win streak in hand and a career-high on the board, things are looking up.

Scottie Barnes drops 23-25-10, ties Raps rebound record in 141-127 OT win over Warriors

We’ve known for a while that Scottie Barnes was one of the most versatile players in the league, but his effort against the Warriors was something different.

On Sunday, Barnes dropped his seventh career triple-double to lead Toronto to an OT win over Golden State, but that alone doesn’t sum up his colossal impact. Barnes was unstoppable on the boards all night long, corralling 25 rebounds to match Bismack Biyombo’s franchise record. Immanuel Quickley also added 27 PTS and five threes for the Raps, who outscored the Dubs 9-2 in the final minute and a half of regulation to force OT.

Toronto has definitely come back down to earth after their hot start, but they still sit fourth in the East and have exceeded most preseason expectations. And even if they hit a rough patch, at least we know they can rebound.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

• Part of being one of the league’s best teams is getting every opponent’s best punch, and the Nuggets got a knockout blow from Orlando on Saturday. Nikola Jokic followed up his Christmas masterclass with 34 PTS, 21 REB, and 12 AST, but despite his monster triple-double, Denver came up short against the Magic and Anthony Black, who scored a career-high 38 PTS and nailed seven threes to key Orlando’s 127-126 victory.

• After their Christmas Day win against OKC, many assumed the Spurs would blow right through the 11th-place Jazz two nights later. Now, they’re singing a different tune. Utah earned arguably its best win of the season with a 127-114 road victory over San Antonio, a dub fueled by 29 PTS from Lauria Markkanen and 28 from Keyonte George. While Victor Wembanyama did his thing in his long-awaited return to the starting lineup (32 PTS, 7 REB, 5 BLK), Utah’s 46% clip from three as a team was enough to knock off the red-hot Texas crew. This year’s Jazz are a great example of a team progressing through its rebuild— though they likely won’t be a playoff team, Utah is only six wins away from matching its dub total from a season ago. And with young studs like Ace Bailey still developing, we can’t wait to see what comes out of Salt Lake in the years to come.

• Giannis made headlines in his return to the lineup on Saturday night, serving up 29 PTS, 8 REB, and one controversial dunk in Milwaukee’s 112-103 win. With under five seconds to go and the game already in hand, Giannis threw down a fastbreak windmill dunk that drew the ire of the Bulls and caused a short scuffle. Afterward, Giannis did not mince words. “We’re not champs. Why should we play the clock out and have respect and fair play? We’re fighting for our lives right now.”

• At halftime of their trip to the Paycom Center, the 76ers looked to have a shot at becoming just the second team to beat OKC on their home floor this season. Then, Thunder struck. After leading by just two at the break, OKC outscored Philly by 23 PTS in the second half en route to a 129-104 win. The Thunder were led by strong showings from Chet and SGA, who combined for 56 PTS to snap a two-game losing streak.

Stock Market

Welcome back to the Enjoy Stock market, where we evaluate the players, teams, and trends on the rise this week. Let’s break it down.

💪 All-Star Avdija?

This year’s All-Star format gives special attention to international hoopers, and one foreign-born Trailblazer may just earn his first-ever nod. Deni Avdija is averaging massive career-highs across the board, notching 25.6 PPG, 7.1 RPG, and 6.6 APG for Portland. Most recently, Deni dropped 24 PTS and 10 AST to lead the Blazers to a 114-108 win over Boston. Just a pure bucket-getter.

💯 Brooklyn Ballers

After a tough start to the season, the Nets are 7-3 in the month of December and recently earned Ws over a pair of playoff contenders. On Tuesday, Brooklyn went into Philly and emerged with a win after holding the Sixers to 26% from three. Then, on Saturday, the fun continued as they shot 55% in a 123-107 dub over Minnesota. Michael Porter Jr. is thriving as the team’s first option, averaging 25.8 PPG on 49.4% shooting for the year, and Cam Thomas just returned from a 20-game absence. Don’t sleep on Brooklyn!

📈 League Parity

This segment typically looks to highlight teams in the midst of a lengthy win streak, but that’s difficult when there are none. As of Sunday, the Clippers’ four-game roll is the longest streak in the league, while no team in the top six of either conference has won more than two in a row. While the Thunder, Pistons, and others gave us our share of hot stretches early in the year, it seems the season has officially settled in. From here on out, every night is a battle!

Three in the Key

Signing Off

And we out! Thanks for spending a portion of your day with us. This week, as we head into a New Year, take some time to reflect on your biggest wins from 2025. We’re always looking for the next rung on the ladder, but sometimes it’s worthwhile to look back on how far you’ve already climbed! See you soon.

Walker Carnathan