Jimmy Buckets in the clutch? Simply too much.

THE LINEUP 🏀

Nov. 25, 2024 | What’s inside today’s edition?

History In Cleveland: The Cavs’ blistering start puts them among championship company

Marquee Thrillers: Jaylen Brown & Jimmy Butler deliver in crunch time for dramatic dubs

Sunday Roundup: LA extends its win streak, Thomas & Fox duel and Indy’s stars shine

Weekend Rewind: An electric Emirates NBA Cup Night, Jokić & Giannis dazzle and more

Monday Spotlight: How OKC’s overcoming adversity through defense

BUT FIRST … ⏰

A can’t-miss Monday of hoops…

Nine games tip off tonight, highlighted by a star-studded doubleheader on NBA TV, beginning with Kyrie Irving and the Mavs visiting Trae Young and the Hawks (7:30 ET). Then, De’Aaron Fox and the Kings will host Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder (10 ET).

1. 18 GAMES, 17 WINS, 1 HISTORIC START

In the NBA’s 79-year history, only nine teams have opened a season with a 17-1 record or better.

That ninth team is your 2024-25 Cleveland Cavaliers.

Cavaliers 122, Raptors 108: The league’s leading offense was firing on all cylinders Sunday, as the Cavs jumped out to a 38-22 lead in the 1st quarter and never looked back, to outpace Scottie Barnes (18 pts) and Toronto in Cleveland, improving to 17-1 overall and 10-0 at home. | Recap

• Complete Cavs Effort: Donovan Mitchell and Ty Jerome led the way with 26 points apiece, while Darius Garland added 16 and Jarrett Allen (23 pts, 13 reb) & Evan Mobley (14 pts, 11 reb) each notched double-doubles
• Fire From Deep: Cleveland — which leads the NBA in 3-point percentage (41.5%) — sank 16 triples, led by Mitchell (5), Garland (4), Jerome (4) and Isaac Okoro (2)
• Closing Time: After Toronto cut a 16-point deficit to six entering the 4th quarter, Mitchell scored seven straight points to spark a 14-3 run, as Cleveland slammed the door shut to keep their historic heater rolling
• “I’ve expected us to come out and play like we do, play at a high level,” Allen said after the win. “But still, 17-1 is incredible.”

Before Sunday, only five teams in the past 50 years had won 17 of their first 18 games, the most recent being the 2015-16 Warriors — the only squad to ever open a season with a perfect 18-0 record.

Of the eight previous teams in NBA history to start a season 17-1 or better, all eight made it to the conference finals, while five reached the NBA Finals and four won it all.

• 2015-16 Warriors: 18-0 start, lost Finals
  
• 2002-03 Mavericks: 17-1 start, lost in West Finals
• 1996-97 Bulls: 17-1 start, won Finals
• 1993-94 Rockets: 17-1 start, won Finals
• 1990-91 Trail Blazers: 17-1 start, lost in West Finals
• 1971-72 Bucks: 17-1 start, lost in West Finals
• 1970-71 Bucks: 17-1 start, won Finals
• 1969-70 Knicks: 17-1 start, won Finals

2. LATE-GAME DRAMA: BOSTON & MIAMI EARN CLUTCH DUBS

Don’t look now, but the defending champs are heating up.

Celtics 107, Timberwolves 105: In a back-and-forth finish, Anthony Edwards dropped 28 points, nine rebounds and seven assists to rally the Wolves from 19 points down and get them within two late in the 4th quarter.

But Jaylen Brown’s 3 with 1:16 left pushed Boston’s lead back up to five, and the C’s used a late defensive stand to hold on for their fifth straight win, improving to 14-3 on the season. | Recap | Watch The Epic Ending 

• Finishing What He Started: Brown (29 pts, 7 3s) scored the C’s first 15 points on five straight 3s and added nine points in the 4th to help seal the win. Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum tallied 26 points on five triples
• “I say it all the time, ‘How do we respond?’” Tatum said on halting the Wolves’ late run. “It’s always by a collective effort on both ends of the floor and guys finding ways to make a play.”
• JT & JB’s Legendary Company: It’s Tatum and Brown’s 88th game in which they’ve each scored 25+ points together, passing Kiki Vandeweghe and Alex English (87) for the fifth most all-time
• The four duos ahead of them? Bob Pettit & Cliff Hagan (114), Shaquille O’Neal & Kobe Bryant (114), Russell Westbrook & Kevin Durant (124) and Jerry West & Elgin Baylor (210)
• The Jays From 3: Brown also surpassed Antoine Walker (8) for the second-most career games with 7+ 3s by any Celtic, moving only behind Tatum (15)

Heat 123, Mavericks 118 (OT): In another thriller, Kyrie Irving scored 14 of his 27 points in the 4th quarter, capped by a free throw with eight seconds remaining to give the Mavs a 114-12 lead.

But Jimmy Butler responded by slamming home a game-tying dunk with 4.3 ticks left to send the game to OT, where Miami outscored Dallas 9-4 to earn a hard-fought dub, snapping the reigning West champs’ four-game heater. | Recap

• Butler finished with a season-high 33 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and somehow got this ridiculous circus layup to drop to give the Heat the lead with 1:03 left in regulation
• Jimmy Buckets: It’s Butler’s 103rd 25+ point game for Miami, passing Alonzo Mourning for fourth-most in franchise history
• Heat Elite: The only Heat players with more such games are Dwyane Wade (389), LeBron James (180) and Glen Rice (126)
• Butler On His Big Night: “I feel like I got to start attacking more often.”

3. SUNDAY ROUNDUP: CLIPS STAY HOT, CAM COOKS & PACERS ROLL

Clippers 125, 76ers 99: Make that five in a row for the Clips. James Harden notched a game-high in points (23) and assists (8) and LA shot a season-high 58.0% from the field in a near wire-to-wire win over Jared McCain (18 pts), Tyrese Maxey (17 pts) and the Sixers. | Recap 

Nets 108, Kings 103: Cam Thomas had himself a night with 34 points, four 3s and six dimes, and although De’Aaron Fox (31 pts) rallied the Kings from 19 points down to take the lead in the 3rd, Brooklyn used a 15-4 run in the 4th to regain control and hold on for the win. | Recap 

Pacers 115, Wizards 103: Pascal Siakam (22 pts, 6 ast) and Tyrese Haliburton (21 pts, 9 ast, 5 3s) led seven Pacers in double figures as Indiana outscored Washington 58-44 in the 2nd half to snap its three-game skid. Alex Sarr and Bilal Coulibaly scored 17 points apiece for the Wizards, who have now lost 11 straight games. | Recap

4. WEEKEND REWIND: EMIRATES NBA CUP ENERGY, JOKIĆ DAZZLES & MORE

Sunday capped an electric weekend brimming with storylines and star power. Catch up on the key moments below in under two minutes.

Friday – Emirates NBA Cup Group Play

Warriors Win West Group C: Steph Curry and the first-place Warriors held off the Pelicans down the stretch to win West Group C with a 3-0 record in Group Play, becoming the first team to punch its ticket to the Knockout Rounds.

Mavs Stave Off Nuggets In Epic Clash: Despite Nikola Jokić notching his fifth straight triple-double (33 pts, 17 reb, 10 ast) while igniting a 24-point Denver comeback, the shorthanded Mavs edged out the Nuggets, 123-120.

McCain & Giannis Erupt: Rookie Jared McCain became the first 76er since Allen Iverson with 180+ pts & 30+ treys in a 7-game stretch to send Philly over Brooklyn. Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied a triple-double (37 pts, 10 rebs, 11 ast) to lead Milwaukee past Indiana.

Saturday

Another Jokić Ace: Following his fifth straight triple-double on Friday, Jokić turned in 34 points, 13 boards and eight dimes on Saturday — marking his fourth consecutive 30+ point game — as the Nuggets outpaced the Lakers.

Deer Duo Overcomes 50-Ball: LaMelo Ball dropped a career-high 50 points, but Giannis (32 pts) and Damian Lillard (31 pts) wouldn’t be denied as the Bucks beat Charlotte, 125-119, for their fourth straight W.

Wemby Returns With A Bang: After a three-game absence, Victor Wembanyama stuffed the stat sheet (25 pts, 7 reb, 9 ast, 3 blk) to rally the Spurs from 17 points down for a comeback win over the Warriors.

Magic Touch: Led by Franz Wagner’s fourth 30-point performance in five games, the Magic pulled away from the Pistons for their eighth win in nine outings while improving to 8-0 at home.

Scotty Pippen Jr. Shines In Chicago: In the same arena where his father helped lead the Bulls to six NBA titles, Scotty Pippen Jr. recorded a career-high 30 points to lead the Grizzlies to a win over the Bulls at the United Center.

5. MONDAY PREVIEW: ADVERSITY, DEFENSE & AN NBA TV DOUBLEHEADER

When Chet Holmgren went down with a pelvic fracture on Nov. 10, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault acknowledged it was a big loss, but also recognized the future absence of his star center provided an opportunity for the rest of the team to step up.

• “Adversity is as large a part of competition as anything,” Daigneault said. “How you respond to adversity as a team is a skill. Adversities change, when they come up changes, but how you respond to them is a habit and muscle you can build…
• “Every adversity has a choice. You can see it as an excuse or you can see it as an opportunity.”

At the time of the injury, OKC was tied for first place in the West. Fifteen days later, they remain tied for the top, led by a defense that has emerged as the most dominant in the league.

• Robust Rating: OKC has held its opponents under 100 points eight times this season (tied for the most in the NBA) and is boasting an NBA-best 102.7 defensive rating — the lowest defensive rating since the 2019-20 Bucks
• Lockdown: In the last decade, just three teams have held their opponents to below a 43% field goal percentage throughout an entire season. One month into 2024-25, OKC is holding its opponents to a league-low 42.1%

• Rim Protection: The Thunder are also holding their opponents to a 54.8% field goal percentage at the rim — the lowest mark by any team in the past five seasons
• Cookies: OKC ranks first in steals (12.4) by over 2.0 per game, led by Jalen Williams, who is averaging a career-high 2.2 swipes per outing
• JDub Steppin’ Up: Williams, who has started at center since Holmgren went down, is also averaging a career-high in points (21.8), rebounds (6.6), assists (5.2) and blocks (1.0)

Strength vs. Strength: In the second leg of Monday’s doubleheader on NBA TV (10 ET), Williams and OKC will travel to Sacramento for a tough test against De’Aaron Fox and the Kings, with Fox averaging 39.0 ppg in his last five outings.

To open Monday’s doubleheader, Kyrie Irving and the Mavs will look to bounce back from Sunday’s OT loss in Miami as they take on Trae Young and the Hawks in Atlanta (7:30 ET).

• Home Nest & Helpers: The Hawks have won 10 of their last 13 home games against Dallas and lead the East in assists per game at 29.1 (fourth in NBA)
• Kyrie’s Clicking: The Mavs — who will be without Luka Dončić for a third straight game (right wrist sprain) — have won four of their last five outings, led by Irving’s 21.8 ppg and 6.2 apg in that span

Seven more games tip off tonight on League Pass, including a star-studded matchup in Denver, where the red-hot Nikola Jokić will look to notch his fifth straight 30+ point game against Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns and the Knicks (9 ET).

• Magic at Hornets (7 ET)
• Raptors at Pistons (7 ET)
• Pelicans at Pacers (7 ET)
• Clippers at Celtics (7:30 ET)
• Blazers at Grizzlies (8 ET)
•  Nets at Warriors (10 ET)