Happy New Year, Enjoyers! Fancy yourself a little Julian Champagnie? 🥂

Today’s Lineup

🎉 Happy birthday to Kirk Hinrich and Aaron Wiggins! 🎉

Game Recaps

Julian Champagnie sets franchise 3PM record in 134-132 San Antonio win over Knicks

Have a day, Julian Champagnie (36 PTS, 11-17 3PT)!

Leading the Spurs to a two-point win over one of the top teams in the East, Champagnie set a new Spurs franchise record with eleven three-pointers made—aside from a few free throws, those threes were the only shots he made the whole game. Champagnie smashed the previous record of 9 3PM that had been set by Chuck Person in 1998.

Victor Wembanyama (31 PTS, 13 REB) dominated down low for the Spurs, but the Knicks had jumped out to a 20-point lead midway through the game thanks to Jalen Brunson’s efficient shooting (29 PTS, 8 AST). San Antonio was able to slow down New York’s centers and forwards just enough in the second half to come back and tie it halfway through the fourth quarter, with Champagnie delivering a magical NYE performance the whole way.

Needless to say, the timing couldn’t be more perfect.

Powell-led Heat power past Pistons 118-112 in Detroit

After placing 18th in the first 2026 All-Star voting returns, Miami guard Norman Powell (36 PTS) might be playing his way into the game.

Against Cade Cunningham (31 PTS, 11 AST, 8 REB) and the first-place Detroit Pistons, Powell and the Heat took control halfway through the first quarter and didn’t look back. Outrebounding the Pistons and relying on Powell’s 7-14 three-point shooting, the Heat shut down most of the Pistons’ offensive output outside of Cunningham, with Marcus Sasser (18 PTS) and Javonte Green (11 PTS) the most impactful off the bench for Detroit.

While Isaiah Stewart (6 PTS, 5 BLK) was the one putting up crazy block numbers, Andrew Wiggins (17 PTS, 7 REB), Bam Adebayo (15 PTS, 14 REB), and Kel’el Ware (4 PTS, 13 REB, 4 stocks) put up a solid defensive effort against the Pistons frontcourt.

To all the All-Star voters out there: take note.

Elsewhere around the NBA:

• Wizardry! CJ McCollum (18 PTS) hit a fadeaway jumper in the final seconds to hand Washington the 114-113 win over Milwaukee on Wednesday—the Bucks had jumped out to an early lead in the first half with Giannis (33 PTS, 15 REB) going up against Alex Sarr (20 PTS, 11 REB), but Bub Carrington (20 PTS, 6-11 3PT) helped them regain the lead and stay in the drivers seat throughout the second half.

• KD (22 PTS, 11 AST, 5 REB), Alperen Sengun (20 PTS, 6 AST, 6 REB), and Amen Thompson (23 PTS) led the Rockets to a blowout 120-96 win over the Nets, who were led in scoring off the bench for Cam Thomas (21 PTS) and benefitted from Ziaire Williams (14 PTS, 5 STL) on both ends.

• The Cavs got back on track with back-to-back wins thanks to Donovan Mitchell (34 PTS, 10 REB, 7 AST), whose great game against Devin Booker (32 PTS) and the Suns lifted the Cavs to a 129-113 win. Six Cavaliers scored 15+ points, with Evan Mobley (16 PTS, 10 REB, 5 AST, 5 STL) standing out on the defensive end as well.

• A game-winning shot from Paolo Banchero (29 PTS, 10 REB) was what put Orlando over the Pacers 112-110 after a back-and-forth that saw Indiana, led in scoring by Pascal Siakam (26 PTS) and Bennedict Mathurin (23 PTS), take control in the second and third quarters.

New Year’s Trade Resolutions

It’s the day after New Year’s, but that doesn’t mean we’re too late to give out some resolutions! There are a few players who have already been in trade rumors and discussions this year, so we wanna wish them the best ahead of a year where they could be due for a major life change.

After Kawhi Leonard’s record-breaking performance against the Pistons this week, the rumors about a potential trade away from Los Angeles got even louder than they already were. We’re hoping Kawhi finds a place where he can contend for another championship, and with Detroit atop the wide-open East for the time being, it’s not a bad match.

After failing to meet expectations with a sub-.500 start, the Hawks might be breaking up with Trae Young sooner rather than later. We’d love to see Trae go to a competing team without an established PG—maybe the Timberwolves? What about Milwaukee?

Finally, it’s seeming like Lauri Markkanen may have outgrown the Jazz. Utah has really struggled without Walker Kessler, and both the Jazz and Markkanen could benefit from a trade that sends the 28-year-old to a contender in need of a big forward and kicks draft capital back to Salt Lake City. The Warriors could be an interesting target if the Jimmy Butler experiment needs a change down the stretch; the Pistons could also be intriguing if they strike out on Kawhi.

Three in the Key

Signing Off

Two days in, we hope 2026 has been everything you hoped. Never stop celebrating! Talk on Monday. ✌️

Austin Zeglis