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Today’s Lineup

🎉 Happy birthday to Karl-Anthony Towns and Enjoyers Michael, Gil, Wrigley, and Nolan! 🎉

Game Recaps

Wemby goes for 50, Spurs outlast Poole-led Wizards 139-130

When a big man goes for 50+, it’s usually because they dominated the paint and found great looks at the basket. Not Wemby!

Victor Wembanyama (50 PTS, 8 3PM) led the Spurs to a convincing win over the Wizards—aside from a couple minutes on either side of the halftime break, San Antonio led the entire way. And let’s not forget that he eclipsed 50 points after playing just 28 minutes. This kid is special, although we know that’s not a hot take in the slightest.

And shoutout to Washington, because they did try and put up a fight. Jordan Poole (42 PTS) came within a point of tying his career high and the Wizards had seven players in double figures. But with Wemby on the other side of the court, it just wasn’t enough.

And before we move on, we wanna send our thoughts to Gregg Popovich. The Spurs announced that a mild stroke was what sidelined him a few weeks ago, and thankfully he’s expected to make a full recovery. 🖤

Giannis’ 59 powers Bucks over Pistons in 127-120 comeback win

If Wemby hadn’t done what he did, this would have been the #1 game everyone was talking about. Heck, it still might be!

Without Damian Lillard, Khris Middleton, or even Bobby Portis by his side, Giannis Antetokounmpo (59 PTS, 14 REB, 7 AST) led the Bucks to an incredible comeback win over Detroit, who still saw great nights from Cade Cunningham (35 PTS, 11 REB, 7 AST) and Malik Beasley (26 PTS, 10 REB, 8 3PM).

The Pistons led by as many as 18 in the third quarter, but 20 second half points from Giannis and a three-point barrage from Brook Lopez (14 2H PTS) and Gary Trent (11 2H PTS) got Milwaukee back in the game and forced OT. It was then when the Greek Freak really turned up, as he scored 11 in the extra period to put the Bucks up for good.

Elsewhere around the NBA…

• The Cavs won. At this point, we should just copy and paste that into every newsletter from here on out. (If you’re curious, they’re 13-0 after a 114-106 W over Philly.)

• The Jazz beat the Mavericks 115-113 thanks to a John Collins (28 PTS, 9 REB) jam with six seconds on the clock. Luka (37 PTS, 9 AST, 7 REB) still got his!

• It was the Shaedon Sharpe (33 PTS) show for Portland, who beat the Timberwolves 106-98 thanks in part to Anthony Edwards’ (24 PTS) cold night from three (0-9 3PT).

• Another night, another LeBron James (35 PTS, 14 AST, 12 REB) triple-double. The Lakers are winners of three straight after the King led them over Memphis 128-123 on Wednesday.

• He didn’t get all the way there, but a near-triple-double from Jayson Tatum (36 PTS, 10 AST, 9 REB) led the Celtics to a blowout 139-114 win over Brooklyn. Shoutout to Payton Pritchard (23 PTS, 8 AST, 6 REB) as well.

• Karl-Anthony Towns (46 PTS, 10 REB, 6 3PM) joined in on the fun with his own high-scoring night… but three late free throws from Coby White (22 PTS) ended the chance of a miracle at MSG. Bulls win, 124-123.

Top Five Friday

For this week’s edition of Top Five Friday, we wanna take a look at a few old faces in new places. Here are our top five performances so far this year from players who switched teams this offseason!

1. Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN → NYK)

STATS: 26.5 PPG, 12.2 RPG, 2.7 APG, 53.6%/50.8%/82.3%

After joining the team just over a month ago, KAT leads the Knicks in points, rebounds, blocks, and threes made—we think it’s safe to say that the New York City Towns experiment is working. His 26.5 PPG average would tie for his highest single-season mark, as he averaged exactly 26.5 in 2019-20. But what’s better than that is Towns’ win-first mentality:

2. Buddy Hield (PHI → GSW)

STATS: 17.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 1.9 APG, 49.6%/46.7%/85.7%

What a start to the season for Buddy Hield! Off the bench for the Warriors, Hield has been an absolute laser from three (what’s new?) while not losing a step in his 32nd year. He ranks second in scoring on the Warriors’ roster while staying SUPER efficient, which suggests the question: should GSW bring him into the starting five?

3. Klay Thompson (GSW → DAL)

STATS: 14.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 2.1 APG, 41.5%/37.2%/100%

Speaking of the Warriors…

In all seriousness, we’ve loved what Klay is bringing to the Mavericks. Is he in a slightly smaller role than what he had in his Golden State heyday? Sure—Klay’s current 14.5 PPG average would be his lowest since his rookie year. But is he still making a positive impact on a championship contending team? Absolutely.

4. Paul George (LAC → PHI)

STATS: 17.2 PPG, 5.8 RBG, 5.2 APG, 42.5%/30.6%/86.7%

PG13 has only played in five games for the Sixers so far, so his efficiency numbers may still have that early-season “figuring-it-out” flavor to them, but we like what we’re seeing from George in Philly. He’s dealing with a knee injury as of now, but watch out when he, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey are back in town.

5. Mikal Bridges (BKN → NYK)

STATS: 15.6 PPG, 3.8 RPB, 3.5 APG, 48.0%/30.4%/63.6%

Bridges had a bit of a slow start this season, with many Knicks fans panicking about what looked like a kink in his shooting motion in October. The former Net now seems to be working it out—he leads the Knicks in minutes (38.0 MPG) and continues to provide impactful defense game in and game out.

Three in the Key

Signing Off

TGIF, right? Thanks for sticking with us this week. We hope you’re able to use this weekend to relax, recharge, and refuel before Monday. Enjoy it while it lasts!

Austin Zeglis