Starting 5 Daily Newsletter

NBA Starting 5, Nov. 12: Giannis’ best posters, Cavs win in The Bay

Giannis drops 35 but the Magic end 14-game skid to the Bucks. Cavs win in The Bay for 1st time since 2014. Massive Sunday slate on the way.

NBA.com

November 12, 2023 6:46 PM

Hey Luka, how do you celebrate doing something only LeBron & MJ have done before?

Luka:

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THE LINEUP 🏀

Magic snap 14-game Bucks streak
A few of Giannis’ best posters
Porzingis joins KD, Cavs win in Bay
Today: Tyrese vs. Tyrese
On This Day: Love’s 30/30

MAGIC SNAP 14-GAME LOSING STREAK TO BUCKS

🪄 MAGIC 112, BUCKS 97
📲 Recap | Standings

Giannis put up 35 – including a completely wild, spinning poster in transition – but the Magic held the Bucks to a season-low 97 points to break a 14-game losing streak to Milwaukee.

The run, which started in 2019, was tied for the NBA’s longest active streak against one opponent.

Who Has The Longest Streak Now? The Bucks over the Kings, at 14 games, dating back to 2016

Defense Wins: Orlando’s third-ranked defense has carried the Magic to the fifth spot in the East, with ORL giving up eight fewer points per 100 than they did last year

Rule Of 3: Paolo Banchero (26), Franz Wagner (24) and Jalen Suggs (20) led the way for Orlando. After not breaking 15 points in his first four games of 2023-24, Banchero’s put up 22+ in four of his last five
Standings Update: Both teams moved to 5-4. Tap to see the latest

GIANNIS ADDS A (RIDICULOUS) POSTER TO HIS COLLECTION

How many players ever could have pulled off the poster Giannis printed Saturday night?

The speed, the range, the force, the elevation, the casual … Giannis-ness.

The Greek Freak has been making the impossible look easy from the moment he entered the league a decade ago.

Tap in to see some of the best posterizers from his career.

ROUNDUP: PORZINGIS JOINS KG, CAVS TAKE DOWN DUBS

🍀 CELTICS 117, RAPTORS 94
📲 Recap | Standings

The Celtics might have been onto something when they traded for Kristaps Porzingis this offseason.

Through nine games, he’s joined up with ‘The Jays’ (Brown, Tatum) to form one of the league’s best trios – and the only one with all three players averaging 20+ a night.

KP x KG: Porzingis just became the first Celtic since Kevin Garnett with 175 points and 50 rebounds in his first nine games with Boston
KP & Jays Do It Again: Brown put up 29 on Saturday, Tatum had 27 and Porzingis had 21, with all three shooting better than 55 percent from the floor
Brown added a gorgeous alley-oop with his eyes at the rim, which you can find here
This Jrue Holiday spin & win from the 3-point line wasn’t bad either

🍀 HEAT 117, HAWKS 109
📲 Recap | Standings

Welcome to the league, Jaime Jaquez.

The Heat’s 18th overall pick in June’s Draft has worked his way more and more into the Heat rotation in his first five games – including a clutch bucket in the Heat’s win on Wednesday.

Saturday saw him cross 20 points for the first time, give Miami a much-needed boost with leading scorer Tyler Herro out … and give the league one of the season’s first ‘time just stopped’ handles moments. Tap here to see it

Bam Being Bam: Adebayo starred on Saturday, with 26 points, 16 boards and two blocks – including this monster pin block off the backboard
Trae & Dejounte Stay Hot: The Hawks’ duo of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray combined for 50, with Murray averaging a career-best 21.9 in the young season

⚔️ CAVALIERS 118, WARRIORS 110
📲 Recap | Standings

As of six days ago, the Cavaliers hadn’t beaten the Warriors since 2016.

They’ve now taken down the Dubs twice in a week.

Every Cleveland starter scored 12+ points, with Caris LeVert coming off the bench with 22 of his own, as Cleveland dropped Golden State in the Bay for the first time since 2014.

Mitchell & Curry: Steph Curry put up 30, surpassing 22,000 for his career and moving up into fourth on the NBA’s scoring list this year (30.0 ppg) – as Donovan Mitchell’s 21 pts bumped his average to 29.5.
Where They Stand: After starting the season in a 1-3 hole, the Cavs have won three of their last five. For the Dubs, who play the red-hot Timberwolves today (more on that below), a 5-1 start has given way to a 1-3 last four

TYRESE VS TYRESE

Every year in this league, players make the jump.

Taking leading roles on their team. Popping up more in your group chat. Shedding the ‘rising’ from ‘rising star.’

Over the past couple years, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton and Philly’s Tyrese Maxey have been making their rise. This year, they’re off to two of the best starts of anybody in the NBA.

Today, the two PGs meet in a battle of two of the East’s top three teams (6 ET, NBA App).

How To Watch:

Their Decision-Making: Haliburton gets a lot of love for his assists, at a league-leading 11.6 per game. Maxey, for his scoring – up more than 5ppg vs last year. But they’re more balanced creators than you might hear about. Maxey’s also 8th in assists, Hali’s top 20 in scoring.
The Pace: Haliburton’s among the league’s best pick and roll ball-handlers, with the Pacers scoring at least half the time he’s in that spot (the 93rd percentile!). He’s also great in iso. Maxey thrives in transition. Who can set the pace?
How They Defend Each Other: Over the past two seasons, Maxey’s shot 63.1% against Haliburton, while Hali’s shot 33% against Maxey. Who’s got the edge today?

Hot Streak Sunday

Which Streak Stays? Houston’s won five in a row. West-leading Denver’s put up four straight. They meet at 7 ET (NBA App). Leading scorer Jalen Green and the Rockets have made good on GM predictions so far, with tier best start since 2019-20. Today, they’ll face their toughest test yet, with the defending champs ranked in the top 6 in offense and defense.
Wolves On Run, Meet Dubs: A similar story when Minnesota travels to Golden State (8:30 ET, NBA App), on a 5-game streak. Ant Edwards (9th in the NBA in scoring) has exploded to open the year, but the Wolves’ calling card so far has been defense – as the league’s No. 1 unit. Look for fireworks when he and Steph Curry (5th in league in scoring, 1st player with 4+ 3’s in season’s 1st 9 games) collide

Sunday’s Other Games In The App

Hornets-Knicks, 12 ET
Wizards-Nets, 3 ET
Grizzlies-Clippers, 3:30 ET
Heat-Spurs, 7 ET
Mavs-Pelicans, 7 ET
Thunder-Suns, 8 ET
Blazers-Lakers, 10 ET

ON THIS DAY: LOVE GOES 30/30

You hear it all the time: it’s a make or miss league.

Thirteen years ago today, a lot of those makes belonged to Kevin Love. And most of the misses ended up in his hands, too.

On Nov. 12, 2010, Love dropped 31 points with 31 rebounds against the Knicks to become became the first player since Moses Malone in 1982 to put up a 30/30 game.

Said Love, who grabbed more than half of the Wolves’ 56 boards: “It seemed like no matter what anybody did I was going to go and get those rebounds. I don’t know what to tell you. I impressed myself. I don’t even know what to say to be honest with you.”

Tap to watch K-Love’s masterpiece.

History Quiz: Who has the most 30-30s in NBA history? And how many? Scroll past the photo to find out.