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James Harden's historic achievement leads a six-game night

Enjoy the top highlights, moments, stats and observations from Monday's action with the NBA.com live blog.

Ben Lambert, for NBA.com

James Harden passed Shaquille O’Neal for ninth on the all-time scoring list as the Clippers defeated the Hornets on League Pass.

What we know after Monday night’s games:

JANUARY 13, 2026 / 1:00 AM

Tonight’s results

Luka Dončić (42 pts, 8 reb, 7 ast) is your top performer of the night, rivaled by James Harden (32 pts, 10 ast, 4 stl) on a record-setting night.

JANUARY 13, 2026 // 12:52 AM

Harden’s historic night spurs Clippers to win

James Harden (32 pts, 10 ast, 4 stl) led the Clippers to a 117-109 win over the Hornets, passing Shaquille O’Neal for ninth on the all-time scoring list.

LaMelo Ball (25 pts, 9 ast) was the star for the Hornets, who were in it until late in the fourth quarter.

JANUARY 13, 2026 // 12:32 AM

Kings defeat Lakers

Sacramento knocked off Los Angeles 124-112 behind DeMar DeRozan (32 points on 14-of-19 shooting), Malik Monk (26 pts, 8 ast) and Russell Westbrook (22 pts, 5 reb, 7 ast).

Luka Dončić had 42 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists in the loss, while LeBron James added 22 points of his own.

With the win, the Kings snap a six-game losing streak to the Lakers. The all-time season series stands at Lakers 287, Kings 169.

JANUARY 13, 2026 // 12:17 AM

Stepping into it

A legendary scorer has a legendary moment.

JANUARY 13, 2026 // 12:00 AM

History for Harden

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 11:56 ET

Harden keeps chasing

We’re underway in the third quarter. Will James Harden make history tonight?

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 11:53 ET

Luka in his element

This is Luka’s seventh 40+ point game this season — most in the NBA — and the 53rd of his career.

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 11:28 ET

Luka leading the Lakers

But the Kings are up 70-56 with 8:46 to go in the third quarter.

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 11:07 ET

Harden starts strong

James Harden put up nine points and three assists in the first quarter. He’s six away from passing Shaq on the all-time scoring list.

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 10:49 ET

Flagg flashing

Woah. Check out the rook.

Mavericks defeated the Nets 113-105 behind Flagg’s 27 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists.

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 10:36 ET

Salute to Kyle Lowry

The 2019 NBA champion is first in assists, triple-doubles and three-pointers in Raptors history, as well as second in points.

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 10:26 ET

El Uno ready to go

Could history be made tonight? The Beard’s chasing The Big Aristotle on the all-time scoring list.

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 10:18 ET

Lakers and Kings underway

LeBron James has six of the first eight points for the Lakers as they face the Kings on League Pass.

The Lakers have won their last six matchups against their historic rival. Will they make it seven tonight?

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 10:07 ET

Fly the Flagg

Cooper Flagg’s up to 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting as the Mavericks lead the Nets in the third quarter. He’s dropped 20+ 17 times in his career to date.

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 9:59 ET

Sixers beat Raptors on the road

Tyrese Maxey had 33 points as the Sixers took revenge for their loss on Sunday, knocking off the Raptors 115-102. Joel Embiid added 27 points and 8 rebounds.

Immanuel Quickley (18 pts) led five Raptors in double figures.

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 9:50 ET

Pacers defend home court against Celtics

98-96. Pascal Siakam (21 pts, 8 reb, 6 ast) hit a clutch floater with seven seconds left to lift the Pacers over the Celtics, who were paced by Payton Pritchard’s 23 points.

Indiana shot 16-of-37 from three-point range (43.2%) to the Celtics’ 9-of-25 (25.7%).

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 9:32 ET

Jazz defeat Cavaliers

123-112. Keyonte George (32 pts) and Lauri Markkanen (28 pts, 12 reb) led the way for Utah on the road, earning their fourth win away from home this season. Jusuf Nurkić added 11 points and 17 rebounds, while Kevin Love tallied 11 of his own.

The Jazz had only two turnovers in the second half en route to the victory.

Darius Garland (23 pts, 8 ast) led the way for Cleveland.

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 9:15 ET

Jazz up on Cavaliers late

116-106 Jazz with 2:51 to go.

Lauri Markkanen (28 pts) and Keyonte George (27 pts) are starring, while Kevin Love has 11 in his return to Cleveland.

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 9:04 ET

Celtics and Pacers dueling

Pacers have opened up a 68-58 lead — their largest of the night — with 5:49 to go in the third quarter. Jay Huff has 20 points, tying his season high.

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 8:31 ET

A shimmy from Tyrese

Antoine Walker is smiling somewhere.

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 8:13 ET

Cavaliers rally to lead at the half

62-54 Cleveland over Utah after two quarters.

Ex-Cavalier Lauri Markkanen leads the Jazz with 16 points, while ex-Jazz Donovan Mitchell is the lead man for the Cavs with 14. Utah led by as many as 17, but committed 14 turnovers in the half.

Mitchell dropped 8,234 points with the Jazz — good for eighth on the franchise’s all-time scoring list, in between Pete Maravich (8,324) and Gordon Hayward (8,077).

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 8:07 ET

Maxey off to a hot start

15 quick points for Tyrese Maxey (30.9 ppg, tops in the Eastern Conference), as the 76ers lead the Raptors 38-26 with 1:41 to go in the first quarter.

He’s talking trash and rolling on the road.

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 7:49 ET

Keep an eye on Queta

The floor is spread for Neemias Queta (10.0 ppg, 8.2 reb, 65.1 FG%) tonight.

With Jaylen Brown out and Jayson Tatum still healing, the Celtics are starting Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Baylor Schierman and Sam Hauser, all capable three-point shooters, alongside the fifth-year man from Utah State.

Queta’s fourth in the NBA in field goal percentage entering tonight’s action.

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 7:28 ET

Jazz jump out early on Cavaliers

21-6 Utah with 4:53 to go in the first quarter.

The Jazz have held the Cavs to 21.6 percent shooting so far; Keyonte George and Svi Mykhailiuk each have five points to lead the team.

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 7:20 ET

Saluting Kevin Love

The Cleveland faithful just celebrated Kevin Love, returning to Rocket Arena with the Utah Jazz.

Love made two All-Star teams and won the 2015-16 NBA championship with the Cavaliers, scoring 7,663 points with the team.

He’s ninth on the all-time scoring list for Cleveland and leads the franchise in defensive rebound percentage at 29.7.

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 6:30 ET

James Harden seeks a new level of scoring greatness

With 15 points tonight, James Harden can pass Shaquille O’Neal (28,596) for ninth on the all-time scoring list, continuing his storied career as one of the game’s great bucket-getters.

Drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder and originally deployed as a sixth man, Harden, an 11-time All-Star, the 2017-18 Kia NBA MVP and a three-time scoring champ, grew into a near-unstoppable force as he reached his peak.

Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame coach Mike D’Antoni famously credited Harden as “the best offensive player I’ve ever seen,” shifting him to point guard during his tenure with the Rockets, which allowed the Los Angeles native to fully flourish as an offensive weapon.

His silky, tight handle allowed him to navigate anywhere on the floor; he was stronger than most guards and wings and quicker than bigs.

He changed the course of the NBA by developing the stepback three-pointer, always found a way to get to the free throw line and remained a willing, crafty passer, particularly adept at finding the lob threat for an alley-oop dunk.

With the Rockets, Harden became one of the first heliocentric stars of the modern era. Only five players have tallied combined points and assists than he’s put up in his career — LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Only Jordan played fewer games than Harden.

In the latter stages of his career, Harden has lost a little of his burst, but remains a dangerous, consistent offensive force, putting up 25.6 points and 7.9 assists per game in his 18th NBA season.

He’s shooting 43/36/89 from the field this season — right in line with his career averages of 44/36/86 — averaging 8.6 FTA, which is his most since he left Houston and has the eighth-best assist percentage in the league.

Last time out against the Hornets, he dropped 55 points — his season high, and the 25th 50+ point game of his career.

If you can’t stop him, Harden is going to make it rain. He’s too skilled, too consistent, too seasoned to do otherwise.

The master of the postgame interview is going strong, delighting fans and delivering a unique brand of basketball wizardry. Tonight, he has a chance to raise his name even higher in NBA history and help keep the Clippers, 8-2 in their last 10, on a hot streak.

Jerry Jiang has more for you on Harden’s best moments of the season on NBA.com.

JANUARY 12, 2026 // 6:00 ET

Welcome to a six-game night in the NBA!

Derrick White and the Boston Celtics take on Pascal Siakam and the Indiana Pacers tonight on Peacock.

We’ve got Pacers-Celtics streaming across the world on Peacock (7:30 ET), as well as James Harden’s quest to continue climbing the all-time scoring list, as we prepare for a six-game night in the Association.

Here’s the complete schedule:

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