“My calling and my purpose of being a human being is to be the greatest basketball player I can be. That’s the reason why I’m alive at this point, so I gotta lock in on every aspect of the game and become great at it. And I’m still working.”

– Top 10 all-time NBA scorer Kevin Durant on his mindset in season 16

THE LINEUP 🏀

1. ⚔️ Embiid wins MVP duel with Jokic
2. 🔥 Suns stun Kings with 32-8 run
3. ⭐ PG comes up clutch in LA
4. 🔗 Kyrie connections
5. 🐜 Pass the Rock ft. Ant-Man

ABC/ESPN Wednesday: Two of the top four teams in the East – the No. 2 Bucks (three straight wins) and the No. 4 Cavaliers (five straight wins) – put win streaks on the line when they meet in Cleveland (7:30 ET, ESPN).

Out West, we get a Kyrie-LeBron reunion (more on that connection in Section 4) when the Lakers host the Mavs (8:30 ET, ABC). Keep an eye on the injury report as Luka has been upgraded to questionable.

All-Star returns to L.A.: The NBA announced that All-Star 2026 will be hosted in L.A. for a record seventh time, but a first at the Intuit Dome, the new home of the Clippers opening next season.

Before booking your trip to Cali for 2026, make sure to cast your All-Star vote to send your favorite players to Indy in 2024. Voting ends Saturday at 11:59 p.m. ET

1. EMBIID WINS MVP CLASH WITH JOKIC

🔔 Sixers 126, Nuggets 121
🏀 PHI 26-13, DEN 28-14 | Recap

In a season filled with monster numbers, this week’s number for Joel Embiid is 41.

• 41 points vs. Houston on Monday – his first game back after missing 10 days with left knee inflammation
• 41 points vs. Denver on Tuesday – second night of a back-to-back to win the MVP duel with Nikola Jokic and take down the defending champs, 126-121

The Sixers closed the game on a 21-10 run over the final 8½ minutes, with Embiid single-handedly outscoring Denver 11-10 during that stretch. Embiid finished the game with 41 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists, closing the chapter on one streak, but keeping others alive.

• A different 30/10 streak: While Embiid’s run of 30+ pts and 10+ reb games ended at 16, he did extend his 30+ point double-double streak (thanks to his 10 dimes) to 17 games. Only Wilt has a longer streak (four separate runs, longest of 65 games)
• 18 straight 30+ point games: Only James Harden (32) and Wilt (4x, longest 65) have longer streaks in NBA history
• Table for 3: Embiid (2x) joins Allen Iverson (10x) and Wilt (3x) as the only Sixers with multiple games with 40+ points and 10+ assists

Dueling GIFs

• Embiid with the tough euro past Jokic for two. Later, Embiid knocked down the clutch 3 over Jokic to extend the Sixers’ lead

• Jokic with the 360 Sambor Shuffle over Pat Bev. And a power move against Embiid in the post (in slow-mo!)
• Mutual Respect: Embiid and Jokic showed love to one another after the game. Embiid on what was said: “I just told him he’s the best player in the league”

2. SUNS STUN KINGS WITH 32-8 RUN

☀️ Suns 119, Kings 117
🏀 PHX 22-18, SAC 23-17 | Recap

No lead is safe.

The Suns proved that point on Tuesday in Phoenix as they overcame a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit to shock the Kings with a 119-117 win.

The Suns led for a total of 38 seconds on Tuesday – 25 in the first quarter and 13 in the fourth

• 32-8 Run: Sacramento built its largest lead of the game (109-87) with 8:22 to play. From that point, the Suns outscored the Kings 32-8 to close the game, with 12 of those points – including the game-winning FTs with 1.6 seconds left – coming from Kevin Durant
• Suns History: Since 1997-98, this is the first time the Suns have won a game in which they trailed by as many as 22 points in the fourth. It’s the first time any NBA team has overcome a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit since 2020 (OKC vs. MIA, 8/12/2020)

While Durant came through late (15 of his 27 points in the fourth), it was Grayson Allen that kept Phoenix within striking distance for much of the game, scoring a team-high 29 points with nine 3-pointers (six in the first half).

Sacramento’s De’Aaron Fox finished with a game-high 33 points, including a game-tying basket with 18.7 seconds left. But Fox fouled Durant on a jumper with 1.6 seconds left to set up the game-winning free throws.

Domantas Sabonis (21 pts, 12 reb, 11 ast) posted his 11th triple-double of the season and 43rd of his career, tying Fat Lever for 11th all-time.

3. CLUTCH PG LEADS LA PAST OKC

⛵ Clippers 128, Thunder 117
🏀 LAC 26-14, OKC 27-13 | Recap

Paul George scored 18 of his season-high 38 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Clippers past the Thunder in a No. 4 vs. No. 2 matchup in the West.

• PG-12: George added seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and six 3s – passing Paul Pierce for 12th place all-time in 3-pointers made (2,149) – while Kawhi Leonard and James Harden scored 16 apiece. Kawhi added a clutch block down the stretch
• Clinching sequence: With LA leading by six with 90 seconds left, George called game on both ends of the court. It started with knocking down a contested 3 to put LA up by nine. On OKC’s next possession, PG picked SGA’s pocket and hit the reverse dunk in transition. LA up 11. Timeout Thunder. Starters out. Game over.
• Made a fan’s day: A fan flew from Thailand to L.A. to see James Harden, who appreciated the love … and helped deliver a win

Jalen Williams had 25 points and seven assists to lead OKC, while SGA was held to 19 points, just his third sub-20 game of the season.

• It doesn’t get easier: OKC dropped both games of the Lakers/Clippers doubleheader in L.A. and will complete their four-game road trip with stops in Utah to take on the red-hot Jazz (winners of 15 of 19) and the West-leading Wolves

4. ABC WEDNESDAY: KYRIE CONNECTIONS

What do Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Tim Hardaway Jr. have in common?

1. They’ll all be in L.A. on Wednesday when the Mavs face the Lakers (8:30 ET, ABC).
2. They’ve all scored 40+ points in the same game as teammate Kyrie Irving.

• Kyrie and LeBron (June 13, 2016): Kyrie (41) and LeBron (41) became the first teammates to score 40+ points each in a Finals game, combining for 82 to get the first of three straight wins to complete the first-ever 3-1 comeback in Finals history
• Kyrie and Luka (March 2, 2023): Luka (42) and Kyrie (40) combined for 82 points as the Mavericks defeated the 76ers, 133-126, in just their sixth game as teammates
• Kyrie and Hardaway (Jan. 15, 2024): Kyrie (42) and Hardaway (41) combined for 83 points with Luka sidelined to defeat the Pelicans, 125-120, on Monday night

How rare is it to see teammates go off like that on the same night?

There have been just 26 instances of teammates scoring 40+ in the same game (regular season and postseason combined). And those 26 were done by 23 different sets of teammates. The only duos to do it multiple times: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook (3x) and Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Jerry West (2x).

Kyrie is the only player in NBA history to be part of three separate duos. And all three of his partners will be together on Wednesday while Irving is on the best scoring tear of his career.

Over the past three games without Luka, Kyrie is averaging 39.7 points on 49.4/42.4/89.3 shooting splits, along with 5.3 rebounds and 7.7 assists. It is the first time in his career that he’s averaged at least 39/5/7 over a three-game span. He has two of his 33 career regular season 40+ point games during this run.

Can he keep it going on Wednesday? And can he find a fourth teammate to score 40+ with him? Tune in to ABC to find out.

5. PASS THE ROCK: WHEN ANT-MAN KNEW HE WAS READY

The second episode of Pass the Rock, Season 2 drops today with Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, a player that is as charismatic as he is explosive and talented.

Before Edwards began his path toward being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, he was an elite youth football player, ranked as the top Pop Warner running back by age 10. But when he saw his brothers playing basketball, he thought that would be more fun and switched his focus to hoops.

In this exclusive clip from today’s episode, Edwards recalls the point when the idea of playing in the NBA first entered his mind.

🗣️ Edwards: “Probably when I was 15. I just started working super hard at basketball and I was getting better and better.”

Cue the high school and AAU highlights of Edwards dominating the competition.

🗣️ Edwards: “I was playing against a couple of NBA players. I was playing one-on-one with them and I was competing [smiles].  So I think that’s when I realized I could stay with these dudes.”

Edwards has done more than stay with them, he’s established himself as one of the brightest young players in the game today. Last year, he not only earned his first NBA All-Star selection, he was the breakout star for Team USA at the FIBA World Cup.

In his fourth NBA season, Edwards is posting career-best numbers and has led the Timberwolves to the top of the Western Conference standings entering tonight’s game in Detroit (7 ET, NBA App).