Starting 5, Nov. 25: Cavaliers' historic streak rolls on & Sunday's last-second drama

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NBA Starting 5

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-timeThe 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 historyHeat 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