When you cap a career night with your first game-winner to beat the defending champs.

Amen Thompson: “I feel like Kobe.”

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀

Jan. 28, 2025

Amen For The Win: Thompson’s last-second floating jumper sinks the Celtics in Boston

Chairmen Of The Boards: AD posts season’s first 40/20, Sabonis goes 20/20, Giannis drops 35/18

East Roundup: A Florida thriller, Cavs rebound, Raptors win 4th straight, Hawks drop 5th in a row

West Roundup: The rising Suns, Klay gets work done early, Nuggets can’t find the range

Tuesday Preview: The Lakers’ drive for five & another Rip City reunion for Dame Time

BUT FIRST … ⏰

Four games on a Tuesday…

TNT Doubleheader: The Lakers’ road trip hits Philly with L.A. seeking its fifth straight win when they face the Sixers (7:30 ET), followed by Damian Lillard’s second return to Portland as the Bucks visit the Blazers (10 ET).

All-Star Reserves: Which 14 players will join the 10 starters in the Bay for NBA All-Star 2025? On Thursday (6:30 ET), the Inside the NBA crew will reveal the coaches’ picks for the seven reserves from each conference.

1. ‘CAN I GET AN AMEN?!’

Leading by two with 10.3 seconds left, Amen Thompson drew the defensive assignment on Jayson Tatum, but couldn’t keep the All-Star from getting to the basket for the game-tying layup with 5.3 ticks left.

Thompson didn’t have to wait long to get redemption.

Amen took the inbounds pass, drove into the lane against Jaylen Brown, and rose up for a floating jumper that dropped with 0.7 seconds left to cap off his career night.

Rockets 114, Celtics 112: In a clash between No. 2 in the East and No. 2 in the West, it was the Rockets that went into Boston and came out with a statement win over the defending champs. | Recap | Watch The Final 5:44

• Thompson Goes Off: Amen finished with a career-high 33 points to go with nine rebounds and four assists, helping the Rockets improve to 12-3 this season with him in the starting five
• Brooks For 3: Dillon Brooks scored 36 points with 10 3-pointers that set a personal career-high and matched the franchise record held by James Harden (3x), Fred VanVleet and Chandler Parsons
• Lift Off: The Rockets have won three straight and nine of their last 11 games to go up a full game on Memphis for 2nd in the West – six games behind OKC

The Grizzlies entered Madison Square Garden riding the NBA’s longest active win streak (six games) and highest-scoring offense (123.7 ppg).

They exited without an active win streak and their third-lowest scoring game of the season.

Knicks 143, Grizzlies 106: Between a combined 52 points from Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns and a hounding defense that forced 26 turnovers and turned them into 36 points, the Knicks overwhelmed the Grizzlies to win their fourth straight. | Recap

• It May Not Be An Oscar, But… Karl-Anthony Towns signed and gifted his jersey to Academy Award nominated actor Timothée Chalamet following the win
• Going Back-To-Back: The Knicks posted 140+ points in consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 1965, while also holding the high-powered Grizzlies offense in check

2. GLASS CLEANING DAY FOR AD, SABONIS & GIANNIS

Big night for boards.

Anthony Davis, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Domantas Sabonis — three of the league’s top six rebounders — combined to corral 63 boards on Monday night, with AD leading the way.

Lakers 112, Hornets 107: Davis was an uncontainable force in Charlotte, finishing with 42 points and 23 rebounds for the first 40/20 game in the NBA this season. LeBron James (22 pts, 8 ast, 7 reb) did a bit of everything as the Lakers won their fourth straight. | Recap

• AD 🤝 Shaq: Davis posted his fifth career 40/20 game – and first since 2019 – to pass Shaq for the second most since the NBA/ABA Merger. He also became the first Laker since Shaq with multiple 40/20 games

So far this year, 10 players have grabbed 20+ rebounds in an NBA game, with Sabonis leading all players with six of those games after Monday night in Brooklyn.

Kings 110, Nets 96: Sabonis (21 pts, 22 reb, 10 ast) notched his seventh triple-double of the season, while De’Aaron Fox added 30 points and seven dimes to help the Kings avoid an 0-3 start to their six-game road trip. | Recap | Fox & Domas Show

• Sabonis 🤝 Wilt: Sabonis joined Wilt Chamberlain (5x) as the only players in NBA history to record a game with 20+ pts, 20+ reb & 10+ ast on 80+ FG%

Sabonis may lead the NBA in double-doubles (41), but Giannis is in a stratosphere all his own when it comes to 30/10 games this season – his 23 30/10s after Monday are nine more than the next closest player (Jokić).

Bucks 125, Utah 110: Giannis (18 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl) and Damian Lillard (8 ast, 4 3pm) had matching 35-point games as the star duo combined for 70 points to lead the Bucks to the season sweep of the Jazz. | Recap

• Dynamic Duo: Giannis (31.5 ppg, 2nd) and Lillard (25.5 ppg, 11th) are the highest scoring tandem (57.0 ppg) in the NBA this season

3. EAST ROUNDUP: A FLORIDA THRILLER, CAVS REBOUND & MORE

Rivals Week may be over, but don’t tell that to the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic. The NBA’s two Florida teams waged a double-overtime thriller on Monday night in South Beach.

Heat 125, Magic 119 (2OT): A pair of near triple-doubles from Tyler Herro (30 pts, career-high 12 ast, 8 reb) and Bam Adebayo (26 pts, 10 reb, 9 ast) helped the Heat prevail in a double-overtime marathon against the Magic. | Recap | The Must-See 2OT Ending

• Wagner Forces OT: In his third game back from an oblique tear, Franz Wagner led the Magic with 29 points, including the clutch bucket off the glass to force OT
• Jović Forces 2OT: Nikola Jović scored 15 off the Heat bench, none bigger than the tough finish in the lane to tie the game late in OT

The Cavs entered Monday’s game against the Pistons in unfamiliar territory – riding their first three-game losing streak of the season. The East leaders would not let it reach four games.

Cavaliers 110, Pistons 91: Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell combined for 43 points, while Cleveland’s defense held Detroit’s offense to a season-low 91 points to help the Cavs snap their streak. | Recap

• Back To .500: While Cleveland improved to 37-9, Detroit dropped to 23-23 and eighth place in the East following Monday despite Cade Cunningham’s 22-point night

Raptors 113, Pelicans 104: After squandering a 16-point halftime lead in the 3rd, the Raptors won the final frame 39-29 to secure their fourth straight win while handing the Pelicans their third straight loss. | Recap

• Top Performers: Scottie Barnes (21 pts, 11 reb, 8 ast) and Jakob Poeltl (21 pts, 14 reb) both posted 20/10s for Toronto, while Zion Wiliamson led all players with 31 points

Wolves 100, Hawks 92: Despite De’Andre Hunter’s 35 points – which tied the highest-scoring game by a bench player this season – the Hawks were unable to overcome the absences of Trae Young and Jalen Johnson as the Wolves handed the Hawks their fifth straight loss. | Recap

• Pair of 20s: Minnesota was led by Anthony Edwards (23) and Julius Randle (20 pts) who combined for 43% of Minnesota’s offense

4. WEST ROUNDUP: SUNS STAY HOT, VINTAGE KLAY & MORE

The 2024-25 season has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride for the Suns.

• Fast Start: They opened the season 9-2, tied at the top of the West through 11 games
• Bumpy Middle: Then came a 6-16 stretch over the next 22 games – eight of which were without KD, whom the Suns are 1-9 without – to fall to 15-18
• Rising Again: With their win on Monday, the Suns are 9-3 in their last dozen games to sit in eighth place in the West at 24-21

Suns 111, Clippers 109: Behind a combined 50 points and nine 3s from Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, a 27-8 edge in bench points and a season-high-tying 22 3s, the Suns held off multiple comeback attempts by the Clippers to win their third straight game. | Recap

• With The Win: The Suns pull within 0.5 games of Minnesota for seventh and 1.5 games of LA for sixth in the West
• Must-See: Don’t miss LA’s Derrick Jones Jr. soaring to the basket for the lefty putback jam below

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Mavs 130, Wizards 108: Klay Thompson wasted no time in dominating Monday’s game against Washington, splashing all seven of his 3s in the 1st quarter as the Mavs never trailed. | Recap

• Been There, Done That: This was Klay’s third time hitting at least seven 3s in a single quarter, tying J.R. Smith for the most such games since 1997-98, while also tying Luka Dončić’s Mavs record for most 3s in a quarter

Bulls 129, Nuggets 121: Despite a perfect 1st half and another triple-double from Nikola Jokić (33 pts, 12 reb, 14 ast, 71.4% FG, career-high five dunks), the Nuggets were unable to overcome a 24-6 disparity in 3-pointers made as the Bulls were raining 3s in the Windy City. | Recap

• Triple Threat: Zach LaVine (5-of-10), Ayo Dosunmu (4-of-7) and Lonzo Ball (4-of-7) combined for 56 points and 13 3s in the win
• Another Joker-Wilt Connection: Jokić posted his ninth triple-double with 30+ points on 70%+ shooting, trailing only Wilt (10) for the must such games ever

5. ON TNT: LAKERS’ DRIVE FOR FIVE, DAME BACK IN PORTLAND

Lakers at Sixers (7:30 ET, TNT/Max): Fresh off Monday’s 40/20 game, Anthony Davis and the Lakers go for their fifth straight win when their road trip makes its annual stop in Philadelphia for a matchup with the Sixers.

James-Reaves Connection: Not only do LeBron (9.0) and Austin (6.1) lead the Lakers in assists, they are frequent helpers to one another.

• Dropping Dimes: 59 of Reaves’ 237 assists have gone to LeBron, second only to the 69 he’s dished to AD
• Returning The Favor: No player has assisted Reaves more than LeBron, accounting for 63 of LeBron’s 367 dimes
• Mirror Images: The driving stats for the duo are nearly identical. Reaves averages 6.4 ppg and 4.3 passes on 10.6 drives per game; LeBron averages 6.1 ppg and 4.0 passes on 10.4 drives per game

Bucks at Blazers (10 ET, TNT/TruTV/Max): Damian Lillard returns to Portland for the second time as a Buck tonight as Milwaukee makes its third stop on a four-game West coast trip.

• Dame Year 2: Lillard is one of five players averaging 25 pts and 7 ast as he’s increased his numbers across the board in his second season in Milwaukee
• Logo Lillard: Known for his limitless range, Dame is shooting 38.3% from beyond the arc, his highest mark since 2020-21
• The Successor: Scoot Henderson has five 20+ point performances in his last 10 games

Rockets at Hawks (7:30 ET, LP): Two of the NBA’s most dynamic perimeter defenders – Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels and Houston’s Amen Thompson – will be on opposing sides looking to wreak havoc.

• Historic Pace: Daniels leads all players in deflections (6.4) and steals (3.1) as The Great Barrier Thief looks to be the first player to average 3 steals in a season in 34 years (Alvin Robertson 1990-91)
• Swiss Army Knife: In addition to hitting game-winners, Thompson’s combo of size, strength and athleticism allows him to guard nearly every position. In 15 games as a starter, he’s averaged 2.0 steals and 1.7 blocks to go with 18.3 points and 10.9 rebounds
• West’s Best: Atlanta is 6-2 against the East’s top three teams – 2-0 vs. Cavs, 2-1 vs. Celtics and Knicks – but still looking for its first win over a top three team in the West after falling to OKC and Memphis

Jazz at Warriors (10 ET, LP): The Warriors have dropped three of their last four games – with Steph Curry averaging 16.5 points on 38.1% shooting – and look to get back on track to stay close in the Play-In race.