Enjoyers! In case you missed yesterday’s Numbers on the Board episode, we’re excited to announce the start of the Enjoy Book Club!

Our first reading is The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, and Kenny, Pierre, Mike, and Darrick will be discussing the first 50 pages of the book in 2 weeks on Numbers on the Board. You can fill out this survey to be entered in a drawing for one of ten free copies—winners will be announced here on Friday!

Today’s Lineup

🎉 Happy birthday to Jalen Johnson and Enjoyers Joseph, Shawn, Luke, Thomas, Ryan, and Almustafa! 🎉

Game Recaps

NBA Cup Champs! Bucks stifle Thunder 97-81 behind Giannis’ triple-double

Defense wins championships, and the Bucks just proved it in the NBA Cup final. Milwaukee forced 17 turnovers and held OKC to just 5-for-32 shooting from deep, making it nearly impossible for the Thunder to find any rhythm offensively and powering the Bucks to a big win.

On the other end, the Bucks were cool and collected from beyond the arc, with Damian Lillard (23 PTS) and Brook Lopez (13 PTS, 9 REB) knocking down timely threes that kept OKC at bay before Milwaukee pulled away for good in the 4th quarter.

But let’s be real—the night belonged to Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak put together a game for the ages, finishing with 20 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists, and five combined stocks. After starting the season 2-8, the Bucks have completely flipped the script on their season—now, here’s a perfect reward for their incredible turnaround: 🏆

Nuggets go perfect late, steal 130-129 thriller from Kings

It was an absolute rollercoaster for Denver on Monday night, as the Nuggets ended the first quarter against the Kings with a 20-point lead that Sacramento completely erased just a few minutes into the third, led by D’Aaron Fox (29 PTS) and Domantas Sabonis (28 PTS, 12 REB). The Kings then built up a double-digit buffer of their own, and so down 10 with just under four minutes left, the Nuggets needed perfection to walk out of the Golden 1 Center with a win. 

And somehow, they did it. Perfection isn’t even an exaggeration—the Nuggets didn’t miss a single shot in the clutch, going a sterling 7/7 to steal the game from the Kings. Russell Westbrook (18 PTS, 10 AST) capped off a great game with a couple clutch assists, Nikola Jokic (20 PTS, 13 AST) hit some huge shots, and Jamal Murray (who else?) saved the day with a midrange dagger in the closing seconds:

Elsewhere around the NBA…

• You know what they say, Paul George (33 PTS): better late than never! The Sixers’ star offseason addition dropped his first 30-piece of the year as he and Tyrese Maxey (40 PTS) led Philly to their fifth win in seven games, a 121-108 W over the Hornets.

• Things we love to see: Lonzo Ball (8 PTS, 7 AST) coming through in the clutch again. He did a little bit of everything for the Bulls during their 122-121 win over Toronto, including burying a huge trey with just over a minute to go.

• James Harden proved yet again that he can still get buckets with the best of them. The Beard outscored the Jazz by himself in the 1st quarter on his way to 41 points and a Clippers 144-107 blowout dub.

• Finally, the Pistons’ 125-104 OT win over Miami had it all. In a game where Jimmy Butler (35 PTS, 19 REB, 10 AST) and Cade Cunningham (20 PTS, 18 AST) put up insane numbers and Tyler Herro (23 PTS) finished a crazy Heat run with a clutch three to send it to OT, Tim Hardaway Jr (16 PTS) came out of nowhere with nine points in a minute to give Detroit the W:

Hoops History Spotlight

Las Vegas has become an important part of the basketball world, as the host of the NBA Summer League, the NBA Cup, and (most likely) a future expansion team. But did you know that decades before its current relevance, Sin City played host to one of the most iconic record-breaking moments in hoops history?

Let’s take it all the way back to 1984. At the time, the Utah Jazz were a recent expansion team struggling to get any sort of footing in the NBA. Needing an attendance boost, the Jazz management decided to play 11 home games during the 1983-84 season in Las Vegas. When they made that decision, they probably had no idea that one of these games would be the site of something truly special. And yet, on April 5th, 1984, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Lakers came to town with a chance to make history.

Kareem needed just 22 points that night to pass the legendary Wilt Chamberlain for the NBA’s all-time scoring record. And in the 4th quarter, playing in a city that still doesn’t even technically have an NBA team, it happened. A sweeping skyhook along the baseline over the outstretched arms of future DPOY Mark Eaton to make it 31,420 career points—you couldn’t have asked for a more Kareem-esque shot:

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Three in the Key

Signing Off

The NBA Cup has been a blast, but for the guys on the end of the bench, it’s about more than just the games—it’s about the reward. That prize money might not mean much to the stars, but for two-way guys and rookies, it can be life-changing. It’s a good reminder to go all out, even when something might not matter as much to you: it might mean the world to someone else.

Talk soon,

-Spencer Poole