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Nightly Pulse: NBA News & Highlights from Dec. 6

Stay in the know on tonight's NBA action as we keep you updated with the latest news and happenings around the league.

Henry Weinberg

Friday ball👤❤️‍🔥🏀

Friday’s seven-game slate yielded some huge performances:

⭐⭐TOP PERFORMERS⭐⭐

  1. Trae Young: 31 points (9-25 FG), four rebounds, 20 assists, two steals
  2. LeBron James: 39 points (14-25 FG), 10 rebounds, 11 assists, two steals, three blocks
  3. Anthony Davis 38 points (15-27 FG), 10 rebounds, 8 assists, one steal, two blocks
  4. Jayson Tatum: 34 points (12-20 FG), 10 rebounds, five assists

Top Storylines👉📝

  1. Trae Young becomes the first player in NBA history with 30+ points, 20+ assists and 5+ 3PM. In a game with 32 lead changes, the Hawks emerge with their sixth consecutive victory — the franchise’s longest win streak since 2022.
  2. Boston earns a 3-0 season sweep over Milwaukee, spoiling the return of Khris Middleton (ankles). Each of the last two contests were decided by exactly six points, while Damian Lillard boomed for 30+ points in two of the matchups to no avail. A fully ramped-up Middleton could help level the playing field if these teams meet again in the postseason.
  3. Anthony Edwards becomes the 3rd-youngest player in NBA history to reach 7,500 points, with only LeBron James and Kevin Durant having done so quicker.

Seismic performances, Young makes history

Trae Young posted the first 30-point, 20-assist game in Atlanta’s franchise history. He finished with 31 points (9-25 FG, 5-13 3PM, 8-8 FT), four rebounds, 20 assists, two steals and just three turnovers in 42 minutes, as Atlanta escaped with a 134-132 win.

LeBron James (39 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) logged his sixth triple-double of the season, but received some lucky bounces to spare turnovers that otherwise could have resulted in a Hawks’ victory in regulation. Friday’s performance marks just the second occasion of James’ illustrious career in which he has hit the aforementioned statistical thresholds while making at least six threes (6-11 3PA) . His 1-for-23 skid from beyond the arc is firmly snapped.

Anthony Davis compiled 38 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, but his general nonchalance — including six turnovers and miscommunications defensively — plagued the Lakers. Atlanta’s bench destroyed Los Angeles, earning a 65-17 advantage in scoring. De’Andre Hunter (26 points) and Bogdan Bogdanović (20 points) led the bench effort.

OT THREAD🧵👇 TRAE YOUNG VENGEANCE

Young’s shot gives Atlanta the lead for good! The Lakers’ final possession of the game was a 35-foot 3PA by LeBron James, which clanged off the backboard, off the front rim, and out. Young scored or assisted on all seven of Atlanta’s buckets in overtime❄️❄️❄️

CHASEDOWN SPECIAL FOR THE KING

LeBron James hunts down Dyson Daniels after a turnover, swats his layup and knocks it out of bounds off Daniels to maintain the Lakers’ lead and get the ball back. The 39-year-old has been a man on a mission Friday.

Championship pedigree: Boston sneaks by Milwaukee 111-105

A 33-23 edge in the fourth quarter propelled a 111-105 victory for Boston. Jayson Tatum headline with a game-high 34 points (12-20 FG) while tacking on 10 rebounds and five assists versus only one turnover. Jaylen Brown (25 points) and Jrue Holiday (20 points) co-starred.

Holiday and Al Horford (eight points, nine rebounds) served as closers, each hitting clutch shots to preserve Boston’s lead in the final minutes.

Minnesota holds lead, dominates Q4

A 29-18 edge in the fourth quarter propelled a 107-90 win over the Warriors, as Anthony Edwards (30 points, four rebounds, nine assists) led all players in points and assists.

Minnesota generated assists on 32 of 40 buckets. Rudy Gobert posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Julius Randle (16 points, nine rebounds) and Naz Reid (nine points, 10 rebounds) helped fuel a 56-45 advantage in the rebounding battle for the Timberwolves.

Stephen Curry (23 points, 6-17 FG) represented the only Warrior to exceed 13 points Friday. While no individual player had more than three giveaways, 22 turnovers plagued the Warriors. These two teams will meet again on Sunday.

🟣🟣LIGHT THE BEAM🟣🟣

Six Kings scored between 16 and 23 points, with DeMar DeRozan leading the way en route to a 140-113 victory over San Antonio. Domantas Sabonis (22 points, 16 rebounds) co-starred, while Sacramento’s surrounding cast rained in 47.1 percent of 34 3PA.

Julian Champagnie was sharp offensively, finishing with a career-high 30 points (8-16 FG, 6-12 3PM, 8-8 FT). The 23-year-old had previously never exceeded 21 points, showing that he can step up when Victor Wembanyama (back) is unavailable.

DeMar DeRozan on exceeding 24,000 career points and moving into the top-30 all-time:

Pacers shoot the lights out🎯🎯🎯

Indiana buried 62.1% of 29 3PA in Friday’s 132-123 win over Chicago, representing the highest mark of any team this season.

Tyrese Haliburton has now knocked down at least four 3PA in five of his last nine games. The 24-year-old delivered 23 points and eight assists to lead Indiana in both categories Friday. Pascal Siakam (21 points), T.J. McConnell (17 points) and Obi Toppin (17 points) formed a balanced effort alongside Haliburton.

McConnell has been an unsung hero of Indiana’s season, operating with the 2nd-highest usage of his career in his age-32 campaign. He is setting career-high marks in both scoring volume and efficiency, averaging 10.6 points on 56.2% shooting off 8.7 shots per game through his first 23 appearances.

 

Walker Kessler Paint Protector🔒🔒

Kessler racked up 13 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks in just 31 minutes of action as Utah cruised to a 141-99 victory over Portland. Johnny Juzang led all scorers with 22 points (8-14 FG, 6-11 3PM), logging his first 20-point game of the season.

Friday marked the first game of the season, and the first instance in Jazz history, in which nine players have posted double-digit scoring.

Dalano Banton and Jerami Grant co-led Portland in scoring with 19 points each, but the Trail Blazers shot just 38.9% from the field as a team.

76ers force 19 turnovers, win 102-94

Paul George (21 points, nine assists) was solid, while KJ Martin posted a career-high 20 points (9-10 FG) as Philadelphia emerged with a 102-94 victory over Orlando. Tyrese Maxey (16 points, 5-17 FG) was quiet offensively and only recorded two assists.

Franz Wagner boomed for 15 points in the first quarter and ultimately delivered 30 points (10-23 FG), five rebounds and five assists as one of just three Magic players to post double-digit scoring. Jalen Suggs (22 points) and Moritz Wagner (12 points) joined him.

🚨🚨OT in ATLANTA🚨🚨

Trae Young’s shot –following a very stagnant position from the point guard — is blocked by Max Christie at the final buzzer and overtime commences tied at 119. Young De’Andre Hunter and LeBron James each got buckets to bring their respective squads to 119.

James has a triple-double as part of a mammoth stat line, posting 39 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals and two blocks. Hunter has 26 points (9-15 FG, 5-7 3PM, 3-4 FT) and three rebounds on very efficient shooting.

Great sequence for young Spurs

Charles Bassey gets the block to turn defense to offense, setting up Chris Paul’s generation of a Stephon Castle transition three.

Julian Champagnie is cooking for the Spurs, posting a game-high 24 points (7-14 FG, 5-10 3PM, 5-5 FT). San Antonio trails 83-74 midway through the third quarter.

LeBron + AD + Trae Young = must-see TV🍿🍿

Young is up to 24 points and 13 assists while LeBron James (22 points, six rebounds, 10 assists) is hitting one-legged, pull-up 3PA in a wild affair. The Lakers lead Atlanta 100-94 entering Q4.

Anthony Davis is putting forth a dominant performance as well, supplying 30 points (12-20 FG), eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks in 27 minutes thus far.

More Lillard👨‍🍳👨‍🍳

Damian Lillard leads all scorers with 20 points (8-13 FG) as Milwaukee holds a 57-53 edge on Boston at halftime. Giannis Antetokounmpo has 14 points (6-12 FG) to represent the only other Buck with double-digit scoring.

Jaylen Brown (18 points) and Jayson Tatum (16 points) continue providing the major counteroffensive for Boston, although the team has hit just 7-of-28 3PA thus far.

King James👑👑 

LeBron James has 17 points (6-9 FG), three rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block in 15 minutes as the Lakers look to overcome a five-point deficit in the final minutes before halftime versus Atlanta.

Stay away from that man’s ankles!

Khris Middleton draws the foul and hits the three to log his first bucket of the season. The 33-year-old had previously been rehabbing from offseason surgery on both ankles.

High-praise👀👀

Giannis Antetokounmpo is off and running in Boston. Celebrating his 30th birthday today, the future Hall of Famer and legendary athlete’s quest for a second championship continues.

Not being slowed down

Franz Wagner has poured in 15 Orlando’s first 19 points to start Friday’s contest versus Philadelphia. This steal to pull-up three is tough. He’s up to 20 points (7-15 FG) at halftime as Orlando trails 50-41.

Key Storylines for the Night 🍿🍿

  1. Milwaukee and Boston enter Friday’s showdown with a combined 17-3 record across each of their last 10 games. Boston has a 2-0 advantage in the season series, but the season debut of Khris Middleton (ankles) is a momentous occasion from Milwaukee.
  2. Franz Wagner dropped 31 points on Philadelphia in a Nov. 15 victory, and the 23-year-old is averaging 27.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 2.1 steals per game across 11 contests since that meeting. Will a ramped-up Paul George slow him down?
  3. Ayo Dosunmu notched his first triple-double (27 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) Thursday, and he’ll look to build off that as Chicago’s 9th ranked offense takes on Indiana’s 25th ranked defense. Nikola Vučević will look to build off his 39-point eruption from Thursday as well.

Andrew Nembhard in the building

Nembhard’s status for Friday’s game was briefly in doubt after his bus got stuck in traffic, but the 24-year-old is ready to roll. You never know what a day can bring.

Jaylen Brown takes the court🍀🍀

Boston trots out onto home court to get loose in advance of Friday’s game against Milwaukee. Brown is averaging 25.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists in his last six games.

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