Wemby whips and rips the rim.
A statement dunk in another statement Spurs win.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION
Jan. 11, 2026
Saturday Stars: Wemby’s Spurs, Kawhi’s Clips lock down top East teams
East Over West: Mitchell, Cavs get even with Wolves, Bulls bounce Coop, Mavs
Sky-High Scoring: Hornets hit 150-point mark, Pacers pile points for consecutive wins
Sunday Spotlight: Knicks visit Portland where Avdija Mania fuels NBA’s hottest team
League Pass: This Pelicans pair gives NOLA hope and starts Sunday’s 10-game slate
BUT FIRST …
Sunday is stuffed with hoops as ten games tip on League Pass. Ant’s Wolves host Wemby and the Spurs (7 ET, Tap To Watch), while the Sixers-Raptors rivalry renews in Toronto (6 ET, Tap To Watch).
Who Are Your All-Stars? Just three more chances to vote for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game starters. Submit your daily ballot through Jan. 14 using your NBA ID. Time’s winding down, vote now.
1. SATURDAY’S STARS: SURGING SPURS, CLIPS SLOW DOWN EAST’S BEST
Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs tested their third-ranked defense against the league’s top offense Saturday night.
Result: Scorers beware.
Spurs 100, Celtics 95: In a tight contest where neither team led by double-digits, Wemby (21 pts, 6 reb, 3 blk) and the Spurs held the C’s to a season-low 95 points and made their move in the final 4:26 with a 16-6 closeout, fueled by seven of Keldon Johnson’s 18 points. | Recap
- Offensive Looks: De’Aaron Fox (9 reb, 6 ast) matched Wemby’s 21 points to lead the Spurs offense, while Victor made an impact in 26 minutes, coming off the bench (knee) for the ninth time
- Meeting The Moment: The Spurs are now 9-4 vs. the top-10 teams by record in the league this season
- Two-Man Attack: Derrick White (29 pts, 9 reb, 5 3s) and Jaylen Brown (27 pts, 8 reb, 7 ast) led the Celtics, accounting for 58.9% of Boston’s total offense
Clippers 98, Pistons 92: Kawhi Leonard (26 pts, 8 reb, 4 stl) led a 70-point attack with John Collins (25 pts, 7 reb, 4 blk, 4 stl) and James Harden (19 pts, 7 reb, 7 ast), as the Clippers came back from 19-down, holding the Pistons, without Cade Cunningham (wrist), to a season-low 92 points. | Recap
- Patience Play: The Clips’ 25-8 4th-quarter run put them ahead for good with two minutes remaining, their first lead since 1-0 in the game’s opening minute
- Clippers Clamps: LA held Detroit to 37 2nd-half points, including just 16 in the pivotal 4th quarter
- Duncan’s Day: Robinson’s 20 points with five triples led Detroit
2. HOLDING HOME COURT: CAVS TURN TABLES ON WOLVES, BULLS CRUISE
On Thursday in Minnesota, 10,000-point scorer Ant Edwards and the Wolves pulled away from the Cavs in the 3rd quarter.
When it started to happen again Saturday at home in the 2nd, Donovan Mitchell and crew knew what to do.
Cavaliers 145, TWolves 134: Cleveland was in rare form as Mitchell (28 pts, 8 ast) led five 20+ point Cavs scorers in a shootout to get back at Minnesota for Thursday’s loss and snap the Wolves’ four-game win streak. | Recap
- Team Of 20+: For the the 10th time in the NBA since 2000, and second time in Cavs history, five teammates scored 20+ points: Evan Mobley (24 pts), Jaylon Tyson (23), Darius Garland (22), Sam Merrill (20) and Mitchell
- Signature Spida: The league’s leading 2nd-half scorer (17.6 pts) turned it on in the 3rd quarter, netting 12 points as Cleveland took the lead and pulled away with a 12-0 run and an 83-point 2nd half
- Scoring Combos: Edwards (25 pts), Naz Reid (25) and Julius Randle (20) formed a 20+ point trio for Minnesota
- “Guys responded. That’s big for the mental,” Mitchell said of Cleveland avenging Thursday’s loss. “It was kind of like a playoff feel: You go there, play a game; You come here, we made adjustments. We locked in.”
Bulls 125, Mavericks 107: Coby White (22 pts) and Ayo Dosumnu (20 pts, 8 ast, 4 stl) led seven Bulls scoring over 13 points as Chicago never trailed in snapping a three-game skid.| Recap
- Dallas Depth: Ryan Nembhard (16 pts, 6 ast) led six Mavs in double-figures, including Cooper Flagg (11 pts), as Dallas played without Anthony Davis (hand)
3. SKY-HIGH SCORING: HORNETS HIT 150, PACERS PAIR WINS
Hornets 150, Jazz 95: Charlotte poured in the second-most points for the second largest win in team history, jumping out to a 39-8 start and never looking back. Nine Hornets scored in double-figures for the second time this season. | Recap
- High-Scoring Hive: Tre Mann paced Charlotte with 20 points, Brandon Miller had 18, LaMelo Ball added 17, and Grant Williams got nine points in his first action since Nov. 2024 (knee)
Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images
Pacers 123, Heat 99: Andrew Nembhard’s 29 points (6 reb, 9 ast) led Indy’s seven double-figure scorers as the Pacers never trailed in a second consecutive victory, topping Tyler Herro (21 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast) and the Heat. | Recap
4. LEAGUE PASS SPOTLIGHT: BLAZING-HOT PORTLAND PRAISES AVDIJA, HOSTS KNICKS
Five straight wins and “M-V-P” chants raining down in the clutch.
It’s been a fun week of basketball in Portland, Oregon.
Knicks at Blazers (6 ET): The league’s hottest team looks to extend the longest active win streak, as the Blazers wrap up a four-game homestand against the Knicks, as one of 10 games on NBA League Pass today.
The upstart Portland crew that earlier this season handed OKC its first loss – and also owns wins over the Lakers, Nuggets and a 3-0 record against the Warriors – has now won seven of its last eight games.
- Clutch PDX: In that stretch, Portland is 5-0 in clutch games, defeating Boston, Dallas, San Antonio and Houston twice
- “M-V-P!” That’s when breakout star Deni Avdija has heard the crowd chant his name, boosting up to 31.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 7.6 assists during the five-game win streak, including a season-high 41 points vs. Houston
- “It’s any player’s dream to see the crowd support,” Avdija said. “It’s amazing.”
- “It’s really good for our team,” Shaedon Sharpe said of Avdija. “He’s been real aggressive. We love that for him.”
- “I’m super happy for him,” Toumani Camara said. “I see him work so much on his game, how much he loves the game of basketball, how much he loves winning. Everybody’s able to see it now.”
A win Sunday would get Portland back to .500 at 20-20, which would be the team’s best start since 2020-21.
5. ON LEAGUE PASS: PELS’ POTENT ROOKIES START 10-GAME SUNDAY IN ORLANDO
This season’s impactful rookie class has already provided a pair of 700-point scorers, a 3-point shooter on pace with Steph, and two triple-doubles.
Both triple-doubles belong to Derik Queen, who, alongside fellow top-five rookie scorer and Pelicans teammate Jeremiah Fears, is providing hope in New Orleans.
From NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner:
Both have earned starting spots that would be legitimate even with healthier veterans on board. And both have been regulars on NBA.com’s Kia Rookie Ladder, the weekly rankings in which New Orleans is the only franchise to consistently place multiple players. (In the current edition, Queen ranks fourth, Fears eighth.)
“We looked at the lottery and said, ‘Wow, it’d be great if we could get both of those guys, and it may cost us,’” Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars told ESPN in November. “But if you truly believe they can be foundational pieces for your success long term, then we’ll do what we have to do.
“It simply came down to we have this guard that we really, really love and this young big that we really, really love.”
That love persists, through the season’s setbacks and disappointments thus far. Queen and Fears were acquired last June 25 with the idea they would be pieces of a brighter future in the Big Easy. But already, in the present, they have emerged as two positives, contributing beyond their years or experience.
Read more from Aschburner about the hope Queen and Fears are providing in New Orleans, here…
The Pelicans get Sunday’s 10-game slate started in Orlando (3 ET).
Elsewhere, the Wolves look to bounce back hosting the Spurs in an elite West matchup (7 ET), plus Maxey, Embiid and the Sixers seek their 6th win in their last seven games, visiting their East rival Raptors (6 ET).
- Nets at Grizzlies (3:30 ET)
- Heat at Thunder (7 ET)
- Bucks at Nuggets (8 ET)
- Wizards at Suns (8 ET)
- Hawks at Warriors (8:30 ET)
- Rockets at Kings (9 ET)
