The East’s hottest streak and a dunk at the top.
This Jalen Smith rim-rocker ignited Chicago’s game-winning run.
BUT FIRST … ⏰
An NBA TV doubleheader leads a nine-game Saturday, beginning with the Kings hosting the Mavs in a SoFi Play-In Tournament rematch (5 ET | Tap To Watch) and followed by the Knicks visiting the Hawks (8 ET | Tap To Watch).
Name Your All-Stars: Fans can vote for the 2026 NBA All-Star starters every day through Jan. 14 using their NBA ID. Make it count, vote now.
1. EAST STREAKS: BULLS, CELTICS KEEP ROLLING
When Philly and Chicago met earlier this season, the Bulls erased a 24-point deficit to win a thriller.
Friday night’s Bulls comeback wasn’t as steep, but Jalen Smith made sure to match the thrill-factor.
Bulls 109, Sixers 102: Smith’s mountaintop poster (a Friday-best 119.2 Dunk Score) brought the Bulls back within one and sparked a 10-0 closing run for Chicago’s fifth straight win.
Coby White contributed nine of his 13 points in that 4th quarter, with Tre Jones adding seven of his team-high 15. | Recap
- Bulls’ Run: Chicago capitalized on Smith’s detonator with White’s stepback 3 for the lead inside 2 minutes to play…
- Nikola Vučević then stuffed Tyrese Maxey at the rim, and Jones finished the game from there with five straight points
- Fueling Philly: Joel Embiid (31 pts), Maxey (27 pts, 8 ast) and Paul George (15 pts, 12 reb) combined for 73 Sixers points
The Celtics opened the 2025-26 season as a mystery.
They had lost three starters and two key reserves from a team just two seasons removed from winning the NBA title.
- Injured: Jayson Tatum was lost to a torn Achilles in the Playoffs
- Traded: Jrue Holiday & Kristaps Porziņģis were dealt last summer
- Departed: Al Horford & Luke Kornet moved on in free agency
When predicting the East in the preseason, the NBA GM’s voted the Celtics eighth, NBA.com’s writers had them anywhere from seventh to 10th.
Through 30 games, Boston sits third in the East, with Jaylen Brown’s career-best season being a catalyst for the Celtics’ success. That continued on Friday.
Celtics 140, Pacers 122: Powered by Brown’s eighth straight 30+ point game and 20+ point efforts from Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Derrick White (who combined for 73 more), the Celtics rolled past the Pacers for their fourth straight win. | Recap
- ‘Legend’ary Run: Brown’s eight consecutive 30+ point games have been matched by only one Celtic in team history: Larry Bird’s nine straight in 1985. JB can tie Larry Legend on Sunday in Portland
- Another One: Brown now has 18 30+ point games this season, four shy of his career-best for an entire season (22 in 2022), as he trails only OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (23) this season
- New Heights: Brown has carried more of Boston’s offense in Tatum’s absence, evidenced by the highest usage rate of his career (35.5%, up 7.3 from last year). The result: Career-highs in points (29.4 ppg) and assists (4.9 apg) over 27 games
2. GAME-WINNER IN UTAH, 3 STRAIGHT FOR CLIPS, SUNS COME UP CLUTCH
The Jazz were staring down the East’s best team, attempting to avoid a fifth straight loss, after their 15-point lead had been erased.
Keyonte George got the ball, feeling “poised.”
Jazz 131, Pistons 129: George (31 pts, 7 reb, 8 ast) dropped in the game-winning floater with 2.1 seconds left as Utah survived Detroit’s 4th quarter rally and Cade Cunningham’s (29 pts, 5 reb, 17 ast) answer attempt at the buzzer. | Recap
- “I felt like I worked on [that floater] every single day,” George said postgame. “So when the ball left my hand, I knew it was gonna… drop down.”
- Team Up: Lauri Markkanen added 30 points, marking an NBA-best 4th time he and George have each scored 30+ in the same game
- Giving Season: Cade’s 29 points led seven Detroit double-digit scorers, and he joined Reggie Jackson and Brandon Jennings as the only Pistons with at least 13 assists in any half
- Back And Forth: Utah took command with a 44-point 3rd quarter and held on as Detroit clawed back with a 40-25 run to tie the game. George’s winner snapped Detroit’s three-game win streak
- What’s Next? Utah’s reward for beating the top team in the East? A game vs. the West’s hottest team in San Antonio tonight (8 ET, League Pass), as the Jazz move to within a game of Play-In position
The Blazers started fast on Friday, leading by as many as 12 points and never trailing in the opening half, before the Clippers responded with a commanding finish.
Clippers 119, Blazers 103: LA outscored Portland 63-41 in the 2nd half as the Clippers’ trio of James Harden, Brook Lopez and Kawhi Leonard combined for 93 points to propel LA to its third straight win. | Recap
- 2nd-Half Surge: Harden (20 of his game-high 34 pts) and Leonard (21 of his 28 pts) combined for 41 points in the 2nd half – matching the Blazers’ second-half total – to spark LA’s rally
- Splash Mountain: Lopez kept the Clippers in striking distance with 19 of his 31 points in the 1st half as he hit a career-best nine 3s
- Finding Its Way: LA has won a season-high three straight and it hosts Detroit on Sunday (9 ET, League Pass)
Suns 115, Pelicans 108: In a contest that featured 13 lead changes, eight ties and no double-digit leads, the Suns were down three entering clutch time. They closed the game on an 18-8 run with all five players scoring for their third win in the last four games. | Recap
- Suns Standouts: Devin Booker led all players with 30 points, while Mark Williams added 24 points (including nine in the game-ending run) and 13 boards to counter Zion Williamson’s team-high 20 points for the Pelicans
3. ROUNDUP: GRIZZLIES, HEAT, HORNETS, WIZARDS WIN BIG
Grizzlies 125, Bucks 104: Jaren Jackson Jr. delivered on both ends (24 pts, 9 reb, 5 blk), while Ja Morant added a double-double (17 pts, 10 ast) in his return from a four-game absence as the Grizzlies cruised past the Bucks in the 2nd half. | Recap
- Turning Point: Ryan Rollins somehow made this flip shot over his head to end a 35-25 1st quarter for Milwaukee. Memphis responded with a 35-15 2nd quarter and led by double digits the rest of the way
Heat 126, Hawks 111: Trailing by 12 at the half, Atlanta cut Miami’s lead to one on a Trae Young 3-pointer with 3:07 left in the 3rd. The Hawks would get no closer as the Heat closed the game on a 47-33 push to snap a three-game skid and hand Atlanta its fourth straight loss. | Recap
- Dynamic Duos: Norm Powell and Pelle Larsson each put up 20+ points and five dimes for Miami, while Young scored a game-high 30 and Jalen Johnson finishing one board shy of his 7th triple-double
Hornets 120, Magic 105: LaMelo Ball (22 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast) led seven Hornets in double figures as Charlotte’s 3rd-best shooting night from distance (48.7 3P%) netted a fourth win in the last six games. Anthony Black’s 24 points paced Orlando. | Recap
- Kon’s Start: Kon Knueppel launched out of the gate with 14 1st-quarter points on 4-4 shooting from 3, but did not return from a rolled ankle just before halftime
Wizards 138, Raptors 117: Ten Wizards scored in the 4th quarter to outscore the Raptors 36-17 and pull away to Washington’s highest score this season. | Recap
- Balanced Attack: Washington was paced by Kyshawn George’s 23 points and 21 apiece from Bilal Coulibaly & CJ McCollum. Brandon Ingram (26 pts) & Immanuel Quickley (25 pts) led Toronto
4. ON NBA TV: DEEP KNICKS VISIT HAWKS, KINGS HOST MAVS
Dating back to the Knicks’ first day of the season, coach Mike Brown has made something clear.
“I truly believe this is a deep team,” Brown said during Media Day.
Tonight, depth goes on display once again when the Knicks visit the Hawks (8 ET, NBA TV). They’ve leveraged a complete roster for the East’s best record since Nov. 18, assembling a 13-4 run en route to 2nd place in the conference.
- Rollin’ Reserves: New York’s bench ranked last in 2024-25 with 21.7 points per game. This season, they’re at 31.1 ppg
- The Source: Jordan Clarkson leads with 10.4 bench ppg, but Miles McBride (11.6 ppg, 44.4 3P%) and Tyler Kolek (12.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 6.6 apg, 50/42.1/100 shooting splits in last five games) have also made impacts beyond buckets
- Little Details: McBride boasts a team-best 13.9 net rating when he is on the floor, whereas Kolek in action boosts NY’s defensive rating from 114.1 to 105.9
If there’s an opponent who knows the Knicks, though, it’s Trae Young. His Hawks are looking to snap a four-game skid and get back to .500.
- Familiar Foe: Young has averaged 25.6 ppg and 9.8 apg against New York in 24 all-time matchups
- Jalen’s Jam: Across his last 10 games, Jalen Johnson has pitched in 25.5 ppg, 11.5 rpg and 10.3 apg for Atlanta, now up to six triple-doubles in 2025-26
This evening also features the Mavericks back in action (5 ET, NBA TV) against the Kings. Last season, Sacramento owned their regular-season series (3-0), before the Mavs eliminated the Kings in the Play-In.
- The Future: With Anthony Davis listed as questionable after a right adductor injury on Christmas, Dallas will look to Cooper Flagg – Dallas’ second-leading scorer – and his teammates to step up
- En Fuego: The standout rookie posted 27 points in his Christmas Day debut and now has 24.4 ppg on 53.7% shooting in December
5. DISSECTING JOKIĆ’S CHRISTMAS MAGIC AS NUGGETS LEAD SATURDAY’S SLATE
Some might spend the weekend recovering from the holidays.
Others are still recovering from Nikola Jokić’s epic Christmas performance.
The NBA’s first 55+/15+/15+ game. Christmas Day’s 3rd-most points. And Jokić scoring or assisting in 96 Nuggets points.
Here’s a deeper look at how Joker accomplished as much as Santa Claus himself Thursday night.
Patience, Paint: Jokić, 2nd in the NBA with 14.9 PITP/G, waits for the play to develop. Once he sees Naz Reid follow Jamal Murray outside, gets to work on Rudy Gobert in the vacated lane
Elbow Out: In a similar action, Jokic uses the elbow extended as a high post, spinning, sealing and scoring. He averages a league-leading 9.2 touches at the elbow, and his 161 total points off elbow touches are twice as many as the next closest player (Ivica Zubac & Jalen Duren, 79 pts)
Orchestrating Off-Ball: Jokić sends Julian Strawther on a give-and-go route to pull the defense and clear the paint. Mike Conley switches to follow, leaving Tim Hardaway Jr. to slip and score. Joker’s pocket bounce pass is perfect, averaging an NBA-best 28.2 points created by assists
Unicorn Runs: Leading the break, Jokić looks off the defense to buy a trailing Hardaway Jr. the half step he needs to score. The league’s highest scoring offense (125.8 ppg) averages 1.18 points per possession in transition, 8th best in the NBA
Following up Thursday’s OT holiday spectacular, the Kia MVP Ladder frontrunner and Denver hit the Magic kingdom to face Orlando (7 ET, LP).
Roundup: Hot-shooting Ant Edwards (31.3 PPG, 51.9/41.5 splits in last 10 games) and the Wolves aim to bounce back against the Nets (8 ET), plus the scalding Spurs visit the Jazz seeking their 9th straight win (8 ET).
- Suns at Pelicans (7 ET)
- Pacers at Heat (8 ET)
- Bucks at Bulls (8 ET)
- Cavaliers at Rockets (8 ET)
