Three Tournament Nights down, four to go.
After the first Tuesday of Group Play, here’s what to know.
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THE LINEUP
- Must-See From Tuesday
- Haliburton’s Historic Run
- 9 Games In 90 Seconds ⏲️
- Tournament Standings
- Celtics-Sixers Tonight
1. TUESDAY’S MUST-SEE
With 32 assists and 0 turnovers in 2 games, Tyrese Haliburton just did something nobody else has done before.
Don’t start your Wednesday without …
- This WILD, viral poster from Ausar Thompson
- Haliburton’s New NBA Record: With 15 dimes against the Sixers, Tyrese Haliburton passed Jason Williams for the most assists (32) without a turnover over two games in regular-season history
- Two no-look dimes from Hali
- LeBron Showing Off: Pregame, just really feeling the In-Season Tournament vibes. In the game, hitting D-Lo with this behind-the-back dime for the trey
- Denver’s Wild Ending: Paul George’s game-tying attempt wedges. Nuggets win the tip to hold on
- Zion’s Bouncy Oops: Just throw it up and let him get it (twice)
Jimmy Buckets hit from halfcourt, then came up clutch down the stretch.
- Wemby Euro In Slo-Mo: Just. So. Smooth. The 7-foot-4 phenom goes behind his back and then loses his defender with a Euro Step on the way to the rack. (Check out this full-speed alt angle too)
- 5 Long-Range Buzzer Beaters: Jimmy Butler and Franz Wagner from half-court, Naji Marshall from three-quarters court, Aaron Gordon from way downtown after the Harden stepback and Brandin Podziemski getting creative to beat the 3Q buzzer
- A Very Long Oop: From Austin Reaves to a flying Jaxson Hayes, who just covers so much ground
- LaMelo just balling out in transition with the hesi, the fake & the scoop
Prittaaay, Prittaaay, Prittaaay Good: Some iconic shows & movies got the In-Season Tournament court treatment to celebrate the first games on Max. The results were pun–arific
2. HALIBURTON’S HISTORIC RUN
Tyrese Haliburton is off to a career-best start.
️ PACERS 132, SIXERS 126
East Group A: IND 2-0, PHI 1-1
Recap
Tyrese Haliburton was already having a year before he had one of the best two-game stretches in the history of, well, point guards.
Through 10 games, he’s off to career-highs in assists per game, points per game, FG% and FT%.
Now, he owns the record for the most assists without a turnover in a two-game span ever.
Who else is on the list Hali now leads?
- Haliburton, 32 (2023)
- Jason Williams, 31 (2003)
- Kevin Johnson, 27 (1996)
- Jason Kidd, 27 (1998)
- Five players with 26
If that wasn’t enough he also just became the first player with multiple 25+ points, 15+ assist games with 0 turnovers.
- The Pace He’s On: Only five players have averaged more than Haliburton’s current 12.5 average across a season: John Stockton, Isiah Thomas, Kevin Porter, Magic Johnson and Kevin Johnson
Haliburton has 104 more total assists (125) than turnovers (21) so far this season. No other player has a differential over 68.
Tap to watch his best dimes from his last two games in under 1:00.
3. FAST BREAK: TUESDAY’S 10 GAMES IN 90 SECONDS
Elevation from Aaron Gordon as the Nuggets stay perfect at home.
⚒️ NUGGETS 111, CLIPPERS 108
West Group B: DEN 2-0, LAC 0-2
Recap
- Behind a near triple-double from Nikola Jokic (32 pts, 16 reb, 9 ast) and a 19-9 run to close out the final six minutes, the Nuggets got the win to move to 7-0 at home, and hold the best record in the NBA (9-2) and the best of West Group B (2-0)
WOLVES 104, WARRIORS 101
West Group C: MIN 2-0, GSW 1-1
Recap
- Karl-Anthony Towns had a season-high 33 points along with 11 boards to lead the Wolves to their seventh straight win – their longest win streak since 2004
⛈️ THUNDER 123, SPURS 87
West Group C: OKC 1-2, SAS 0-2
Recap
- SGA Steals Show (Literally): In the first regular-season meeting between Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, SGA swiped a career-high seven steals to give OKC (franchise-record 19 steals) four wins in five games overall and its first Group Play win
- Wemby & Chet: Wemby pulled down 14 rebounds and made another viral highlight, while Holmgren led the Thunder in plus-minus (+30) and finished a beautiful fake & dime from Josh Giddey to close the first half
LAKERS 134, GRIZZLIES 107
West Group A: LAL 2-0, MEM 0-3
Recap
- How important is point differential in Group Play? L.A.’s 27-point win over Memphis gives the Lakers the edge over Utah atop West Group A with matching 2-0 records
- The Lakers tied a franchise record for 3-pointers made (22) with six players hitting at least two triples
JAZZ 115, BLAZERS 99
West Group A: UTA 2-0, POR 1-1
Recap
- Jordan Clarkson dropped 30 points and hit four 3s (including this crossover, stepback 3, splash and celly) as Utah remained upbeat in Group Play
The Jazz are undefeated in In-Season Tournament play.
HEAT 111, HORNETS 105
East Group B: MIA 2-0, CHA 1-1
Recap
- Jimmy Butler’s season-high 32 points led the Heat to their sixth straight win (after a 1-4 start), and kept them undefeated in East Group B
NETS 124, MAGIC 104
East Group C: BKN 2-1, ORL 0-1
Recap
- Six Nets scored in double-figures in a comeback win, as Brooklyn (2-1) became the first team to get to three (of four) Tournament games
⚜️ PELICANS 131, MAVS 110
West Group B: NOP 1-1, DAL 1-2
Recap
- The Pelicans cooled off the Mavs (140 ppg in their previous two, including 136 vs New Orleans on Sunday) and got 25 from Brandon Ingram to even their record
️ HAWKS 126, PISTONS 120
East Group A: ATL 1-0, DET 0-2
Recap
- With Trae Young out for the birth of his second child, Dejounte Murray (32) and Saddiq Bey (17 second-half points) helped the Hawks win their Group Play opener
- Said Bey: “Playing an In-Season Tournament game is like a playoff game for me.”
4. GROUP PLAY SNAPSHOT
Where do things stand after Tournament Night No. 3?
- If the Knockout Stage started today:
- The Heat, Pacers, Celtics and wildcard Hawks would represent the East
- The Lakers, Nuggets, Timberwolves and wildcard Jazz would rep the West
Here are the full standings. Remember to keep an eye on the point differential column:
We’re back at it Friday night with 11 more games as Group Play passes the halfway point.
5. WEDNESDAY PREVIEW: RIVALS AND STREAKS
Top two teams in the East. Matching 8-2 records. A playoff rematch from last season. And plenty of history between the franchises. The Sixers took round one last week. How will the Celtics respond tonight in Philly?
Celtics at Sixers
7:30 ET, ESPN
The players, matchups and memories from the Celtics-Sixers rivalry span generations.
- Russell vs. Wilt. Havlicek stole the ball! Bird vs. Dr. J. McHale vs. Barkley. The Boston Strangler. Pierce vs. Iverson. Tatum vs. Embiid.
- McHale: “Before we got into it with the Lakers… I thought Philly was our biggest rival. I mean those games had a whole different feel.”
As the lineups change, the fire between the two teams still burns bright.
- Boston ended Philly’s season in the 2023 East Semifinals thanks to Jayson Tatum’s Game 7-record 51 points
- Here’s 3:13 on the recent rivalry history
- The last three regular-season matchups have been decided by three points or less
- Here’s the final 3:58 from a wild finish last season
Timberwolves at Suns
9 ET, NBA App
- Minnesota enters this matchup riding their longest streak in nearly two decades. The Wolves already have wins over the Nuggets, Celtics, Warriors (twice) and Heat. Can they add the Suns to the list?
- With Devin Booker listed as probable, we should get our first regular-season look at the Suns Big 3. In 17 preseason minutes together, the trio put up a blistering 129.7 offensive rating
Kings at Lakers
10 ET, ESPN
- The Kings have won five of the last six meetings, and hold a 10-9 edge during the LeBron era, with nine of the 19 games decided by five points or less
- LeBron is in his sixth season in L.A., but this poster dunk against the Kings – which celebrates its fourth anniversary today – remains one of his top Lakers highlights
5 more games in the NBA App:
Mavericks at Wizards
7 ET
Knicks at Hawks
7:30 ET
Bucks at Raptors
7:30 ET
Magic at Bulls
8 ET
Cavaliers at Blazers
10 ET
