Starting 5: Steph Curry cooks, 7-game Sunday ahead

Showing heart in Mexico City.

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀

International Acclaim: The Nuggets held off the Pacers in the Mexico City Game 2026

Warriors Rolling: Curry drops 41 as Golden State runs its streak to seven

Sights & Sounds: Check out the best behind-the-scenes content from Mexico City

Luka & The Joker: The Athletic’s Law Murray compares two of the league’s top offensive forces ahead of Lakers-Pistons

Klay Rides Again: Klay Thompson is back in fine form for the Miami Heat

BUT FIRST … ⏰

Luka Dončić and the Lakers travel to Detroit to face the Pistons (6 ET, NBA TV), as our featured contest of the day pits the league’s No. 1 offense against its No. 1 defense.

Elsewhere, the 76ers are in Chicago for a matinee against the youthful Bulls and the Celtics renew acquaintances with the new-look Bucks.

1. NUGGETS BEAT PACERS IN MEXICO CITY GAME 2026; BRUNSON, MITCHELL DUEL

Agustin Cuevas/Getty Images

In a city of over nine million people, the NBA’s stars shone bright Saturday.

Nuggets 114, Pacers 102: Nikola Jokić (19 pts, 13 reb, 8 ast) got the Nuggets humming early before they withstood the Pacers late to win the Mexico City Game 2026.

Pascal Siakam (23 pts) led Indiana in scoring, while Larry Nance Jr. (15 pts, career high 5 3PM) provided a spark to keep them alive, even after Denver took a 23-point halftime lead.

Indiana made it a game for the crowd at Arena CDMX, with Jarace Walker cutting the lead to 102-95 with 7:26 remaining.

But Denver rattled off six straight points while Jamal Murray (16 pts, 6 reb, 8 ast) capped the night with a tough lay-in, taking its fourth win in five games. | Recap

Check out Section 3 for more of the festivities from Mexico City.

Knicks 109, Cavaliers 97: Jalen Brunson (31 pts, 9 ast) put up 18 in the second quarter, partnering with Karl-Anthony Towns (29 pts, 13 reb) to take control of this Eastern Conference Finals rematch. | Recap

• Valiant In Defeat: Donovan Mitchell (37 pts on 13-for-22 FGA) went off and attempted to will the Cavaliers back with 21 in the fourth quarter

Hawks 124, Nets 121: Brooklyn led all night, including taking a 109-103 lead with 3:26 remaining. But Atlanta went on a run to earn a comeback win, led by Jalen Johnson (30 pts, 7 reb, 6 ast). | Recap

• Riding Thermals: The Hawks lifted off with a 20-7 run in the fourth quarter to make it 123-116, which featured 10 points from Jalen Johnson and four from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, including this steal and score
• Young Kingston: Kingston Flemings (10 pts, 2 blk), the No. 8 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, has started the last two games for Atlanta, picking up two wins in the process

2. CURRY CANNOT BE CONTAINED

The Chef looked ageless Saturday night.

Warriors 126, Magic 119 (OT): Stephen Curry (41 pts, 5 3PM) continued his brilliant run, leading Golden State to a hard-fought overtime win over Franz Wagner (30 pts, 11 ast) and the Magic. | Recap

• Past Is Present: The Warriors are the first team to win seven straight after losing their first three since the 1950-51 Celtics
• Wolverine: Yaxel Lendeborg (23 pts, 8 reb) was clutch on both ends, guarding Wagner late as the Warriors closed out the win
• Precocious: Lendeborg’s scored 212 points in the first 10 games of his career — trailing only Rick Barry and Wilt Chamberlain amongst Warriors rookies
• Quality Over Quantity: Both teams made 43 field goals. The Warriors took 80 attempts from the field; the Magic had 113

With his performance, Curry passed LeBron James for most 40+ point games after turning 35, with 16, and tied Oscar Robertson for the eighth-most 40-balls in NBA history.

• Closer: Steph had 19 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, including a crucial layup with 54 seconds left to help ice the game
• “As long as I have my health, this crowd and my team, I’m going to give it everything I’ve got,” said Curry.

Thunder 114, Wizards 75: Don’t look now, but Oklahoma City is finding its rhythm. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (30 pts, 9 ast) and Aday Mara (18 pts on 10 FGA, 3 blk) are hyped. | Recap

Suns 102, Rockets 99: Devin Booker (24 pts) out-dueled Kevin Durant (21 pts, 10 reb) in this defensive struggle, as the Suns took a game that saw 17 lead changes. | Recap

Spurs 125, Trail Blazers 103: San Antonio won its eighth-straight game, running away from Portland by building a lead that swelled to 35 points. Victor Wembanyama (29 pts on 13 FGA) was his usual stunning self, while six Blazers scored in double figures. | Recap

• Only One Wemby: Wembanyama has totaled 291 points, 120 rebounds and 39 blocks — numbers no player has ever matched through the first 10 games of the season

3. THE NBA THRILLS MEXICO CITY

David L. Nemec/NBAE via Getty Images

Saturday’s proceedings were the NBA’s 35th game in Mexico, and the 16th regular-season contest — the most of any country outside the United States and Canada.

To suit the occasion, the Nuggets and Pacers brought flavor, fun and flair to the City of Palaces before tip-off.

• Pacer Passion: The Pacers placed Día de Muertos basketballs across the city ahead of the game
• Ball Is Life: The Nuggets held a clinic for young people in Mexico City
• Commemoration: Obi Toppin grabbed the camera to take some shots of his teammates, who showed off their Spanish skills
• Finding The Range: Jamal Murray showed off some absurd touch pregame

During the game, 20,191 packed Arena CDMX, coming out to take in the excitement.

• Bienvenidos: Aaron Gordon and Jarace Walker welcomed the Mexican fans to an evening of NBA basketball
• Star Power: Danilo Gallinari and Nene were in attendance, as was Mexican pop star Kenia Os
• Inside The Action: Check out our All-Access coverage from courtside and enjoy a beat-by-beat recap with our live blog

“It was great,” Jokić said of the atmosphere. “I really enjoyed it.”

4. NBA TV: LUKA, RIVALING THE JOKER, FACES DETROIT

Nick Tomoyasu/NBAE via Getty Images

Luka Dončić and Nikola Jokić have been friendly for years.

But which one is the superior offensive engine?

The Athletic’s Law Murray takes an in-depth look at the question, considering the stats and talking with Lakers coach J.J. Redick, Trail Blazers coach Micah Nori and Raptors headman Darko Rajaković.

• Starting Hot: Dončić is leading the league with 13.9 first-quarter points per game, while Jokić is seventh at 7.9
• Ready To Star: Luka is at the same age (28 in Feb. 2027) that Jokić was when he won his NBA championship and Finals MVP in 2023
• MVP Possibilities: Jokić is a three-time Kia NBA MVP, while Dončić is at the top of our first Kia MVP Ladder of the season

“Different (positions), but kind of like (the) same position: playmakers, both of them,” Rajaković said of Jokić and Dončić. “I think their understanding of the game and the pace that they play at, it’s allowing them to see the game, you know, with different eyes.

“Those two guys, you cannot speed them up.” | Read More

5. LEAGUE PASS: KLAY’S ‘THE DEFINITION OF IGNITABLE’

Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images

Klay Thompson (13.8 ppg, 41.3% on 8.9 3PA) has settled into a featured role for the Heat, coming back into form after two major injuries for a Miami team that needs his shooting and leadership.

Thompson hasn’t taken this many 3-pointers per game since 2023-24, his last season in Golden State, when he shot 43.2/38.7/92.7 from the field.

He’s at 43.9/41.3/100 through nine games for Miami, including dropping 30 points and 8 3PM on Wednesday against the Clippers, including a game-winner, and 25 points on 7 3PM on Oct. 30 against Indiana.

“He has an exponential possibility factor for this team and you can see why,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told The Associated Press. “He always will provide the gravity, but he is the definition of ignitable. When he gets on a roll like that, he is really tough to stop. We’ve all seen it or been on the other end of it. But it was fun seeing it in a Miami Heat jersey.”

It feels like baskets come in bunches when Thompson heats up. He’s the all-time record holder for 3-pointers made in a game (14) and stands at fourth on the all-time triples list (2,932) — just 41 behind Ray Allen.

“It’s like throwing a rock into the ocean,” Giannis Antetokounmpo said. “It’s fun to watch. It’s fun to witness greatness. He’s one of the best shooters of all time.”

The Heat face the Kings (9 ET, League Pass) in our final game Sunday, as Klay takes on a former division rival which he once torched for 37 points in a quarter — the all-time NBA record for points in a single period. | Read More

Want to share Starting 5 with a friend? Send them this link.

Shape the Starting 5.  Email us here.

Don’t have the NBA App? Download it here.