Starting 5 Daily Newsletter

Starting 5, Dec. 29: Jalen Brunson scores season-high 55 to power Knicks to 7th straight win

Jalen Brunson catches fire, OKC extends its winning streak to 10 games, and what's at stake heading into Sunday's 6-game slate.

December 29, 2024 2:44 PM

A behind-the-back to a fading floater at the buzzer?

Stephortless.

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
Dec. 29, 2024

Scorching Streaks: Brunson’s outburst lifts New York, OKC locks down to match record start

Power-Ups: Three superstars, three key teammates and three key dubs out West

Roundup: The Sixers & Hawks stay hot, while the Blazers & Bulls overcome shining stars

Best In The West: The first-place Thunder host the second-place Grizz tonight

The Week Of Wemby: Casual chess, historic numbers and Sunday’s must-see matchup

BUT FIRST … ⏰
Saturday’s scores and Sunday’s slate…

Sunday delivers six games on League Pass, highlighted by a clash between the top two teams in the West as the Grizzlies face the Thunder (7 ET). Then, Anthony Edwards and the Wolves host Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs (8 ET).

NBA All-Star voting is live until Jan. 20. Fans can vote for starters every day via the NBA App and NBA.com with their NBA ID. Tap here to cast your ballot.

Countdown To 2025: With the New Year right around the corner, we’re counting down the top 100 plays from the last 25 years. Tap in for 60-51 here.

1. STREAKS EXTENDED: BRUNSON TAKES OVER, OKC ROLLS

Trailing by double digits in the 3rd quarter, with the Knicks’ six-game win streak on the line, Jalen Brunson caught fire to keep New York red-hot.

Knicks 136, Wizards 132 (OT): Brunson dropped 42 of his season-high 55 points in the 2nd half, while Karl-Anthony Towns added 30 points and 14 boards to rally the Knicks past the Wizards in OT, marking their seventh dub in a row. | Recap

Brunson Burner: Brunson went 18-of-31 from the field and 16-of-17 from the line while adding nine assists. He scored nine of NY’s 17 points in OT to seal the dub
Historic Collab: Brunson and KAT are just the second Knicks duo to score 50+ & 30+ points in the same game, joining Richie Guerin and Willie Naulls, who last did so in 1962
Knicks Lore: It’s Brunson’s third 50+ point game with New York, making him one of just three players in franchise history to achieve the feat
His company? Guerin (3x) and Bernard King (5x) — both Hall of Famers
“You gotta find a way,” said Brunson on the hard-fought win. “I read the game, and I find a way to impact it. Tonight, it was scoring.”
Justin Champagnie led Washington with a career-high 31 points (13-15 FG, 5 3s) along with 10 boards

Make that 10 straight Thunder wins — the most in over a decade.

Thunder 106, Hornets 94: OKC’s top defense clamped down — holding its opponent under 100 points for an NBA-best 14th time — while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tallied a game-high 22 points and six dimes, extending the Thunder’s league-best win streak with a wire-to-wire dub. | Recap

‘24-25 🤝 ‘13-14: It’s the Thunder’s first 10-game win streak since the 2013-14 season, and the victory improves their record to 25-5 — tying the ‘13-14 squad for the franchise’s best 30-game start since moving to OKC
Rolling Thunder: In OKC’s 10-game run, it’s allowed fewer than 100 points five times and won by an average of 15.2 ppg
SGA Excellence: In that same span, SGA has had seven 30+ point games and is averaging 32.6 points on 54.2% shooting

2. STARS & KEY TEAMMATES FUEL BIG WEST WINS

Another night, another Joker ace — and his co-star was dealing too.

Nuggets 134, Pistons 121: Nikola Jokić (37) and Jamal Murray (34) combined for 71 points, and both stuffed the stat sheet to help the Nuggets outpace Cade Cunningham (17 pts, 8 ast) and the Pistons, ending their three-game win streak. | Recap

Jamal’s Eruption: Murray (5 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk) scored 21 of his season-high 34 points in the 3rd quarter to help Denver build a 25-point lead entering the 4th
“Probably his best stretch of the season,” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone on Murray’s last seven games (25.5 ppg, 6.8 apg). “Tonight, you saw it.”
Joker’s Precision: Jokić added nine boards and eight dimes while going 4-of-5 from deep and 11-of-17 from the floor

Lakers 132, Kings 122: Anthony Davis was a force, posting 36 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, while Austin Reaves dished out a career-high 16 dimes and added 26 points to push the Lakers past De’Aaron Fox (29 pts) and the Kings. | Recap

Lake Show Surge: After a 3-8 stretch, Los Angeles has won five of its past six games, including three wins over Sacramento in the span of 10 days

Warriors 109, Suns 105: In a battle that featured 12 ties and 15 lead changes, Kevin Durant (31) and Bradley Beal (28) combined for 59 points, but Golden State closed the game on an 18-5 run to edge out the Suns, snapping the Dubs’ three-game skid. | Recap

Jonathan Kuminga matched his career-high (set on Friday) with another 34 points, including the game-sealing free throws. Steph Curry added 22 points and six assists

3. ROUNDUP: SIXERS & HAWKS HEAT UP, BLAZERS & BULLS DUB

76ers 114, Jazz 111: Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey tallied 32 points apiece, capped by Embiid’s tiebreaking jumper with 1:38 left and Maxey’s game-sealing free throws in the final seconds, giving the Sixers their fifth win in six games. | Recap

PG Moves Up: With two triples on the night, Paul George passed Vince Carter (2,290) for ninth on the all-time 3-point list
Star Trio: Embiid added four assists, four steals and three blocks, and Philly is now 5-2 when he, Maxey and George are all in the lineup

Hawks 120, Heat 110: Trae Young dished out 11 dimes in the 1st half, while Jalen Johnson (28) and De’Andre Hunter (26) led the Hawks in scoring as they pulled away late to top Tyler Herro (28 pts, 10 ast) and the Heat, marking Atlanta’s third win in a row. | Recap

Ice Trae Operating: Young (11 pts, 15 ast) notched his NBA-best 23rd game with 10+ assists this season — seven more than the next closest player (Cade Cunningham: 16)

Blazers 126, Mavericks 122: With Luka Dončić out, Kyrie Irving stepped up and popped off, pouring in 46 points on 16-of-26 shooting and five 3s. Although he helped Dallas trim a 21-point deficit to five in the 4th, Portland held on for the win. | Recap

Blazer Balance: Shaedon Sharpe (23) led six Blazers with 14+ points, including Deandre Ayton, who posted a massive double-double (21 pts, 16 reb)

Bulls 116, Bucks 111: Damian Lillard cooked up 29 points and 12 dimes with Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined for a fourth straight game, but the Bulls staved off the Bucks for the win behind Josh Giddey’s triple-double (23 pts, 15 reb, 10 ast). | Recap

4. BEST IN THE WEST: THUNDER & GRIZZLIES CLASH TONIGHT

Just how big is today’s Thunder-Grizzlies game? (7 ET, League Pass)

Not only is this a showdown between the West’s top 2 teams…

Not only is this a matchup between Memphis’ top-scoring offense and OKC’s highest-rated defense…

Today’s clash pits two of the NBA’s hottest teams against one another.

Streaking Thunder: OKC enters tonight riding a 10-game win streak overall – their longest single-season streak since 2014 – and a five-game win streak over the Grizzlies, dating back to Dec. 2022
Roaring Grizzlies: After opening the season 8-7, Memphis has gone 14-3 over its last 17 games, dating back to Nov. 20. The only team with a better record in that time – OKC at 14-1

The Thunder came into the season as the NBA’s youngest roster (24.15 years), after making history last year.

Last season, the Thunder became the youngest team in NBA history to finish first in a conference, winning the West at 57-25 via tiebreaker over Denver
This season, the Thunder remain at the top of the West at 25-5 with a four-game lead on No. 2 Memphis entering their first head-to-head meeting of the season tonight (7 ET, League Pass)

But the Grizzlies aren’t far behind, coming into the year 5th in the league in average age (24.36) — and hungry to get back to their spot among the West elite.

The Grizzlies posted back-to-back 50+ win seasons in 2021-22 and 2022-23, as they finished second in the conference both years

Same Success, Different Routes: While Memphis and OKC keep racking up wins, they do so behind differing strengths.

Explosive Offense: Memphis is the highest-scoring team in the NBA (124.0 ppg) and has only been better since its 14-3 run began on Nov. 20 (128.3), including Thursday’s franchise-record 155 points against Toronto
Lockdown Defense: OKC has allowed the fewest points in the NBA all season (103.2 ppg) and has been even stingier during their win streak (101.6)

Tonight is the first of four regular-season matchups between the Thunder and Grizzlies.

Can OKC continue its streaks – a sixth straight over Memphis and its first 11-game single-season win streak since 2012?
Or can Memphis make a statement as the Grizz try to continue their sprint up the standings?

5. WEMBY’S WEEK: CASUAL CHESS, HISTORIC HOOPS & A SUNDAY SHOWDOWN

Victor Wembanyama woke up on Saturday and had an idea. So, like any typical 20-year-old, he took to social media:

“Who wants to meet me at the SW corner of Washington Square Park to play chess?” wrote Wemby on X. “I’m there.”

Soon enough, crowds gathered — braving the winter rain — to watch the Spurs superstar play chess as if he were just another ordinary guy enjoying a day off from work.

But, as his numbers show, Victor Wembanyama is anything but ordinary.

Three days before casually playing board games at a park in NYC, Wemby was making history just over 30 blocks away at Madison Square Garden
There, in his #NBAXmas debut, Wemby didn’t just break the Spurs’ Christmas scoring record, he became the first player ever to record 40+ pts, 15+ reb, 4+ blk and 5+ triples in a game
The game after that? He rewrote more records, becoming the first player to record at least one block and one 3-pointer in 22 straight games while leading the Spurs to a win in Brooklyn

A 7-foot-3 unicorn who can dribble and shoot like he’s a 6-foot-3 guard, Wemby is averaging 31.8 points, 6.4 blocks, and 5.2 triples over his last five games — a stat line no player has ever matched in any five-game span.

“Are we playing in our backyard, or are we playing in the NBA?” said teammate Devin Vassell in awe of Wemby after his 42-point, 4-block and 7-trey performance 10 days ago. “Like — it’s crazy.”

Tonight, Wembanyama will face another player ready to provide a viral moment every time he steps on the floor as the Spurs take on Anthony Edwards and the Wolves (8 ET, LP).

Meeting for the seventh time in their careers, the two young superstars always seem to deliver when they go head-to-head, with five matchups decided by 10 points or less and plenty of jaw-dropping highlights along the way.