Starting 5, Jan. 22: Playoff rematches highlight anticipation for upcoming Paris Game.

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5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION

Jan. 22, 2025

Rivals Week Opens: Knicks win Battle of the Boroughs, Jokic’s 4th straight trip dub paces Nuggets past Sixers

Tuesday Roundup: Lakers roll, Blazers win with balance, Raptors rally past Magic

Playoff Rematches: Rivals Week continues with Wolves-Mavs & Warriors-Kings

League Pass Spotlight: Cavs visit Rockets in No. 1 in East vs. No. 2 in West clash

On The Ground In Paris: Wemby dedicates courts, Pacers visit Eiffel Tower & more

BUT FIRST … ⏰

A jam-packed week of hoops continues…

Rivals Week hits Day 2 tonight on ESPN with the Mavs hosting the Wolves (7:30 ET) in a rematch of the 2024 West Finals. Then, the Warriors visit the Kings (10 ET) in a rematch of the 2023 First Round and the 2024 SoFi Play-In Tournament.

Up Next: Thursday features Heat-Bucks (7:30 ET, TNT) and Celtics-Lakers (10 ET, TNT) in the 375th all-time clash of the classic rivals.Paris Games: Wemby & the Spurs take on Tyrese Haliburton & the Pacers tomorrow (2 ET, NBA TV) and Saturday (12 ET, ESPN)Big Saturday: That second Paris Game tips off a huge Saturday, with 3 ABC games: Nuggets-Wolves (3 ET), Celtics-Mavs (5:30 ET) and Lakers-Warriors (8:30 ET)

Reads Around The NBA World: Joe Vardon explores Darius Garland’s All-Star case (requires subscription) … Tim Reynolds reports from Paris as Wemby dedicates a pair of courts in his hometown … Justin Martinez writes how OKC gave a ‘whole family’ vibe to a fan visiting from New Zealand … Morten Stig Jensen discusses the importance of NBA games on European soil in the era of Wemby

1. KNICKS, NUGGETS TAKE OPENING GAMES OF NBA RIVALS WEEK

Rivals Week tipped off in Brooklyn with the Battle of the Boroughs between the Knicks and Nets. For the ninth straight game, the NYC bragging rights go to the squad representing Manhattan.

Knicks 99, Nets 95: Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby combined for 45 points and Jalen Brunson came up big down the stretch to help the Knicks extend their win streak over their crosstown rival. | Recap

Dominant KAT: Towns (25 pts, 16 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk) joined Bob McAdoo as the only Knicks since 1973-74 to post such stat lineClutch Brunson: After Brooklyn used a 21-7 run to take the lead, JB scored all eight of his 4th quarter points in the final 2:18 to help the Knicks secure the win

Nuggets 144, Sixers 109: Powered by Nikola Jokić’s fourth straight triple-double (27 pts, 13 reb, 10 ast, 4 stl) – one shy of the longest streak of his career – the Nuggets raced past the Sixers for their third straight win and seventh in their last eight games. | Recap

Denver’s Drive: The Nuggets are 11-3 in their last 14 games with all 11 wins coming by double digits. Denver sits 1.0 game back of No. 3 Memphis and 1.5 games back of No. 2 HoustonSix Piece: Julian Strawther (23) & Aaron Gordon (19) combined for 42 off the bench, while Christian Braun (20), Michael Porter Jr. (19) & Russell Westbrook (11) rounded out Denver’s double-digit scorers

2. ROUNDUP: BRON’S TRIPLE DOUBLE PACES LAKERS

Lakers 111, Wizards 88: LeBron James (21 pts, 10 reb, 13 ast) and Anthony Davis (29 pts, 16 reb, 4 blk) combined for 50 points to lead the Lakers past the Wizards for their third win in the last four games. | Recap

LBJ Milestones: LeBron posted his 9th triple-double of the season – second only to Jokić’s 19 – and joined Karl Malone as the only players in their 40s to record a triple-double. He also passed Scottie Pippen for 7th all-time in stealsAD Dominance: Davis posted his 22nd game with at least 25 pts, 15 reb and 4 blk, breaking a tie with Dwight Howard for the 9th most such games since 1973-74

Blazers 116, Heat 107: Anfernee Simons (24 pts, 6 3pm) and Deandre Ayson (22 pts, 15 reb) led seven Blazers in double figures as Portland outscored Miami 63-39 in the 2nd and 3rd quarters combined and held on for the win. | Recap

No Déjà Vu: The last time these teams met in Miami, the Heat handed the Blazers their third-largest defeat in franchise history (-60). On Tuesday, the Blazers led by as many as 27Heat Rookie Shines: Kel’el Ware posted his first-ever 20/10 game as he finished with 20 points and a career-best 15 boards to lead the Heat, who were without leading scorer Tyler Herro

Raptors 109, Magic 93: In a game that featured a 43-point swing, the Raptors used a 40-20 3rd quarter to rally back from 21 points down and snap a four-game losing streak to the Magic. | Recap

Dino Duo: RJ Barrett (19 pts, 8 reb) and Scottie Barnes (17 pts, 11 reb, 8 ast) led the way for TorontoMagic Slide: Despite 26 points and 12 boards from Paolo Banchero, the Magic dropped their fourth straight game. Orlando has lost six of its last seven to fall to 8th in the East

3. PLAYOFF REMATCHES HEADLINE RIVALS WEEK DOUBLEHEADER

During Minnesota’s 2024 Playoff run, Anthony Edwards went head-to-head with two of his favorite players – Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

In the First Round, when Ant and the Wolves swept the Suns, Edwards had a viral moment trash talking with his idol after hitting a clutch 3 over KD. A few months later, the two reunited as teammates on the U.S. Olympic squad that won gold in Paris.

In the West Finals, Ant got to take on Kyrie in a matchup of two of the game’s most dynamic guards. Kyrie and the Mavs ended the Wolves’ season, but Ant has the most recent win on Christmas Day.

Ant on Kyrie: “He knows he’s my favorite point guard of all-time so it’s always a battle, like last year in the Playoffs … I love going against him, I love the isos, I love the matchup.”

Tonight (7:30 ET, ESPN), Ant and Kyrie meet for the third time this season and seventh time overall.

Kyrie vs. Ant: Irving has averaged 33.7 pts, 5.8 reb and 4.3 ast in six games vs. Edwards. In 5:33 of head-to-head matchup time this season, Irving has 6 points on 2-of-5 shooting and 3 assists vs. AntAnt vs. Kyrie: Edwards has averaged 29.8 pts, 6.7 reb and 2.7 ast in six games vs. Irving. In 3:11 of head-to-head matchup time this season, Ant has 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and 3 assists vs. Kyrie

The Kings and Warriors have ended each other’s seasons in each of the past two postseasons.

In 2023, Steph Curry’s 50-point Game 7 masterpiece ended the Kings’ first Playoff appearance in 17 seasons in the first roundIn 2024, the Kings got a bit of payback by sending the Warriors home in the SoFi Play-In Tournament

The NorCal teams enter tonight’s Rivals Week matchup (10 ET, TNT) with the Kings in the middle of a mid-season resurgence.

The Kings were 13-18 when they parted ways with Mike Brown & elevated former King Doug Christie from assistant to interim head coachThe Kings are 9-2 in Christie’s first 11 games, trailing only West-leading OKC (11-2) for the best record in that span

Three Keys to the Turnaround: Execution in clutch situations, a dominant and efficient stretch for Domantas Sabonis and a consistent dose of Keon Ellis.

After starting the season 6-13 in clutch games, the Kings are 5-0 under Christie thanks to massive improvement on both ends of the court – shooting 53.8% while holding opponents to 32.6%Sabonis leads the NBA in rebounding (14.2 rpg) and 3-point percentage (48.4%) this season. Those numbers have been even better over the past 11 games: 15.9 rpg and 65.4% from deepAfter seeing his role fluctuate early in the season, Ellis has been a steady force off the bench, adding defense (4.5 deflections, 1.9 spg) and 3-point shooting (50.9%) in the Kings’ last 11 outings

4. LEAGUE PASS SPOTLIGHT: CAVS-ROCKETS CLASH IN H-TOWN

Last week, the Cavs took their first loss to a Western Conference team as they split their two-game season series with conference-leading OKC.

Tonight in Houston (8 ET), the Cavs take on the No. 2 team in the West for the first time when they visit the Rockets, looking to improve on their 13-1 record against the West.

Same But Different: The Cavs and Rockets are two of the five teams that rank in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency – along with OKC, Boston and Memphis.

Cavs Lead With Offense: Cleveland holds the top offense in the NBA (121.1) and ranks ninth on defense (111.0)Rockets Lead With Defense: Conversely, Houston ranks third in defense (107.7) and 10th in offense (113.9)

Cavs-Rockets isn’t the only marquee East vs. West clash during Wednesday’s seven-game slate on League Pass.

Celtics at Clippers (10:30 ET): A match of No. 2 in East vs. No. 5 in West, sees Boston make its second stop on a four-game trip out West, taking on a Clippers squad that has won four of their last fiveBucks at Pelicans (8 ET): As both teams seek their fifth straight win tonight, the Pelicans are trying to pull off a turnaround like the Bucks did earlier in the seasonAfter a 2-8 start, Milwaukee has gone 22-9 since to reach 4th in the East. After a 5-29 start, NOLA has gone 7-3 in its last 10 games

5. PARIS ALL-ACCESS: WEMBY DEDICATES COURTS, PACERS VISIT EIFFEL TOWER

Pacers, Spurs Media Avail: Both teams are meeting with the media this morning in Paris, one day before tomorrow’s first of two games (12 ET NBA TV).

Wemby: ‘This means everything’CP3 on what it’s like to play with Wemby: ‘Vic is so unique’

The NBA Paris Games 2025 not only gives French fans two chances to see their native son – Victor Wembanyama – take the court, it’s also a chance to continue to grow the game and impact future generations.

Wemby’s Impact: Wembanyama returned to his hometown of Le Chesnay, a city west of Paris, to open two new outdoor basketball courts that he helped designHuman Selfie Stick: Having an eight-foot wingspan helped Wemby capture all of the kids surrounding him – and tossing him alley-oops – at the court dedicationWemby’s Why: “It was my dream also to have these kind of courts when I was living here.”Wemby On Being Home: “[It’s] the coolest thing… true happiness.”

Meanwhile, Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers hit the practice court before making their way to the Eiffel Tower – which Haliburton owns a piece of in his Olympic gold medal.

The return to Paris – where he was part of such a great accomplishment – has Haliburton wanting more.

Haliburton: “It’s a very special thing to be part of a special group of people and man, it’s been a blessing. I think the biggest thing is once you start to feel what it’s like to win a little bit, once you feel the importance of success, you want more of it.”

Wemby In New York: Go behind the scenes with Vic in NYC over the holidays, from history at MSG to the chess game heard round the world