šŸ€ Was this the upset of the year?

Plus, this Griz rookie is showing out

Our face when some of the best NBA games of the year happen on non-newsletter days:

Todayā€™s Lineup

ā€¼ļø Sundayā€™s Slate
It really happened. Detroit just beat an ELITE team.

šŸ”„ This Weekendā€™s Madness
LeBron and Steph dueled on Saturday, and Luka had how many?

šŸ˜“ Unsung Heroes
This rookieā€™s journey has been a rollercoasterā€¦

Sundayā€™s (Surprising) Slate

Pistons pull off shocker, beat Thunder 120-104

DEEEEETROOOOIT BASKETBALLLLLLL!

No typos here. The Detroit Basketball Pistons (6-40) beat Oklahoma City (32-14) pretty decisively on Sunday behind a monster game from Jalen Duren (22 PTS, 21 REB, 6 AST) and 49 points from their bench. If thereā€™s any way that a 6-40 team can have a ā€œsignature winā€ā€¦ Detroit just did it.

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Pacers hold off Grizzlies 116-110 thanks to Mathurinā€™s big day

Indiana (27-20) is consistently finding ways to churn out wins without Tyrese Haliburton. This is the Pacersā€™ third straight dub, and everyone contributedā€”two starters scored 16 points, two others scored 19 points, and Bennedict Mathurin led the way with 24 (and one nasty dunk) off the bench.

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Bey plays the hero, ATL escapes with 126-125 win over Raptors

Trae Young givethā€¦ and Trae Young taketh away. The Hawks star put Atlanta (19-27) up with less than 30 seconds left before committing a wild turnover to let Toronto (16-30) snag the lead. Thankfully, Saddiq Bey saved the day by being in the right place at the right time. Deep breaths, everyone:

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Magic lock up defensively in second half, beat Suns 113-98

The Magic (24-22) brought back the feeling of early 2000s basketball last night in the best way possible. Orlando held Phoenix to just 41 points in the second half and pulled away late to ice this one. Devin Booker averaged 53 points per game this weekend, but the Suns (26-20) went 0-2 in that span. And to be honest, weā€™re not exactly sure what that means.

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Dosunmu ices game, Bulls beat Blazers 104-96

After an Anfernee Simons bucket cut the lead to three, Ayo Dosumnu went ahead and put the game on ice for Chicago (22-25). He and Coby White are giving Bulls fans something to be excited about as the team likely enters a new era in the near futureā€¦

Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend was madness. You can check out Friday and Saturdayā€™s box scores here, but bear with us as we try to make sense of the highlights:

  • Fireworks are always guaranteed when LeBron and Steph are on the court together, but Saturdayā€™s game surpassed even the loftiest of expectations. In Saturdayā€™s double-OT classic, Steph Curry hit a go-ahead three with 4.7 seconds left in the second overtimeā€¦ but it wasnā€™t enough. LeBron was fouled with just 1.2 seconds left and he sank the game-winning FTs to seal the 145-144 win for LA. Crazy.

  • If you havenā€™t heard about Luka Doncicā€™s nearly unbelievable 73-point performance on Friday nightā€¦ how? The Mavsā€™ super-duper-star tied Wilt Chamberlain and David Thompson for the fourth-most points ever scored in an NBA game in Dallasā€™ 148-143 win against Atlanta. We know scoring is at an all-time high these days, but we will always be impressed by seventy three. Come on.

  • Donā€™t you hate when your 62-point game gets overshadowed? Itā€™s a common problem we all face (of course) and thatā€™s exactly what happened to Devin Booker on Friday. Phoenix did lose the game to Indiana 133-131, but 62 is impressive anyway! Thoughā€¦ apparently unlucky?

  • The Clippers didnā€™t have anyone score 60+ on Saturday, but they made a statement nonetheless with a 115-96 win over Boston in a game that was much more of a blowout than the final score leads one to believe. This guy is somethinā€™ else.

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Unsung Heroes: GG Jackson

GG Jackson wasnā€™t supposed to be here. Well, he was, but then he wasnā€™t.

Jackson was a five-star recruit coming out of high school, but his stock dropped enough in his one college season that he ended up being the 45th pick in last yearā€™s draft. However, over this past month heā€™s been showing the league why he was such a highly-touted prospect in the first place.

The 19-year-old started to get regular minutes this year due to the Grizzliesā€™ various injuries, but heā€™s proven that he should still be on the court even when the team does get healthy. Jackson has scored 15 or more points in four of his last ten games, flashing real athleticism and a hint of self-creation potential. Oh yeah, and heā€™s shooting over 50% from deep. Using the 45th pick on this man might just end up being a genius decision in Memphis.

Three in the Key

šŸ˜®ā€šŸ’Ø These kids are alrightā€¦
Theyā€™re hitting from the logo during the halftime show!

šŸŖ£ Thatā€™s a lot of buckets!
Another milestone for Kevin Durant.

šŸ¤Æ A Wemby shammgod? Why not!
San Antonio sprung an upset on Minnesota.

What Weā€™re Enjoying

Radiolab: From learning about moons to exploring the science of randomness to finding out why we canā€™t divide by zero, the Radiolab podcast will consistently stimulate parts of your brain you may not even realize need stimulating. Check it out:

Signing Off

And weā€™re out of here! This week, we have an assignment for youā€”read a magazine. Print media is in a rough place right now, and supporting its existence is the only thing that will keep it alive. Trust us, thereā€™s no better feeling than actually physically flipping through pages.

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