NBA Starting 5, Jan. 18: 5 incredible dunks + 2 game-winning buckets

On Wednesday, Milwaukee center Brook Lopez became the 120th NBA player to reach 16,000 career points. He’s just the 11th 7-footer to do so. How many of the other 10 can you name?

Find the answer in the Bucks-Cavs recap in Section 3.

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THE LINEUP

1. ✋ Must-see dunks from Wednesday
2. Lakers top Mavs + 2 game-winners
3. 1st Qtr magic from Cavs + Pelicans
4. Sabonis facing former squad
5. Jazz hitting right notes

Siakam heads to Indiana: Two-time All-Star Pascal Siakam is now an Indiana Pacer after a three-team deal was made on Wednesday. See the full trade details and 12 key Siakam stats

Wolves host Grizzlies: Before these two teams meet tonight (10 ET, TNT), learn more about Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. and Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards with their Season 2 episodes of Pass The Rock.

All-Star voting: See where your picks stand when the third and final fan returns drop later today. And be sure to cast your vote before the deadline on Saturday at 11:59 p.m. ET

Remembering Dejan Milojević: The Warriors’ assistant coach passed away on Wednesday after suffering a heart attack. Read tributes from fellow coaches, players and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

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1. THURSDAY MORNING MUST-SEE

Start your day with Wednesday’s sweetest jams.

• Anthony Edwards flies to the basket in Detroit

• Wemby vs. Jrue Holiday and Luke Kornet in the post

• Cole Anthony soars in for the baseline slam

• Alperen Sengun with the poster dunk at The Garden

• Jalen Johnson attacks the rim for the vicious poster

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2. LAKERS TRIO TOPS MAVS; MURRAY, SIMONS FOR THE WIN

Lakers 127, Mavs 110: The Lakers’ trio of 25+ point scorers – D’Angelo Russell (29 pts, 5 3s), Anthony Davis (28 pts, 12 reb, 9 ast) and LeBron James (25 pts, 8 reb, 8 ast) – helped offset a 33-point triple-double from a returning Luka Doncic as the Lakers secured the win. | Recap

• A triple threat: This is the third time D-Lo, AD and LeBron have each scored 25+ in the same game. They have the most such games by a trio this season with Sacramento’s trio of Keegan Murray, De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis as the only other with multiple games (two)
• Luka vs. Bron: Doncic returned from a three-game absence and dropped his 37th career 30+ point triple-double, tying LeBron for third-most ever behind Oscar Robertson (106) and Russell Westbrook (48). Luka (24y, 323d old; 365th game) reached the mark in 999 fewer games than LeBron (37y, 81d old; 1,364th game)
• All-Access: Check out LeBron, Luka and Kyrie warming up (yes, Kyrie practices those ridiculous finishes around the basket) and postgame love between all three stars before LeBron hustled off the court to watch his son’s game

Hawks 106, Magic 104: In a game that featured 20 ties and 19 lead changes, it was only right for it all to come down to one final sequence. Paolo Banchero’s 3-pointer tied it with 8.4 seconds left. Dejounte Murray’s pull-up jumper won it at the buzzer. Both Murray and Banchero finished with 26 points, but it was the final two from Murray that were the biggest of the night. | Recap

Blazers 105, Nets 103: In addition to 25 lead changes and 14 ties, this game featured key runs by both teams in the second half to set up a fantastic finish. | Recap

• The Nets struck first, using a 23-5 run over seven minutes in the third to turn a seven-point deficit into an 11-point lead (their largest of the game)
• The Blazers immediately responded, using a 16-4 run to retake the lead with 6:37 to play. The teams traded the lead multiple times down the stretch
• Final 10 seconds: Jerami Grant put Portland up two with a putback with 9.7 seconds remaining. Cam Johnson faked a 3 and drove for the tying layup with 5.2 left. Anfernee Simons called game with a running floater in the lane with 0.2 on the clock

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3. FIRST QUARTER MAGIC FROM PELICANS, CAVS

⚜️ Pelicans 132, Hornets 112: Behind Brandon Ingram’s third career triple-double (28 pts, 10 reb, 10 ast) and a franchise-record 25 3-pointers made (Ingram 7, Jordan Hawkins 6, Trey Murphy III 5, CJ McCollum 4, Herb Jones 2 and Larry Nance Jr. 1), the Pelicans took out the Hornets. | Recap

• Historic 1st quarter: It’s hard to play much better than the Pelicans did in the first quarter: 43 points on 69.6% shooting from the field and 75% from three. 16 buckets on 16 assists
• That matches the highest FGM/AST ratio of the play-by-play era (since 1997-98), previously done by the Pistons in 1999 (Apr. 1 vs. Bulls) and 2021 (Mar. 3 vs. Raptors). All three were 16/16 ratios in the first quarter
• Must-see highlight: LaMelo Ball threw it off the glass back to himself for the mid-air catch and layup for two of his game-high 29 points

⚔️ Cavs 135, Bucks 95: The Cavs jumped out to a 20-2 lead over the Giannis-less Bucks and cruised to their sixth straight win behind a combined 64 points from Georges Niang (career-high 33) and Donovan Mitchell (31). | Recap

• Brook Trivia: Lopez joins the following list of 7-footers with 16K points: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Dirk Nowitzki, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing, Robert Parish, Pau Gasol, David Robinson, Kevin Willis

Celtics 117, Spurs 98: Jayson Tatum scored a team-high 24 points – including this dunk after Tatum froze Wemby with a perfect hesi in-and-out dribble to get into the lane – as the Celtics improved to 20-0 at home on the season. | Recap

Wolves 124, Pistons 117: Minnesota opened 2024 with a bumpy 2-4 stretch, but they have responded with three straight wins, including Wednesday in Detroit behind 27 points apiece from Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns. | Recap

Knicks 109, Rockets 94: Julius Randle (31 pts) and Jalen Brunson (30 pts) have each scored 30+ points for the fourth time in New York’s last eight games. The duo combined for 61 as the Knicks defeated the Rockets | Recap

Raptors 121, Heat 97: Playing without Siakam – who is headed to Indiana as part of a three-team trade – the Raptors got a season-high 28 points and eight 3s from Gary Trent Jr. as well as 26 points from RJ Barrett in a wire-to-wire win over the Heat. | Recap

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4. SABONIS TO FACE FORMER SQUAD

The Kings and Pacers will forever be linked following the 2022 trade that sent Tyrese Haliburton to Indiana and Sabonis to Sacramento with both players elevating their new teams the past two years.

When the two teams meet Thursday (10 ET, NBA App), Haliburton (hamstring) will miss a homecoming game in Sacramento, but Sabonis will face his former squad for the third time, and do so playing the best ball of his career.

• League Leader: Sabonis leads the NBA in rebounding (career-high 12.7 rpg) and double-doubles (36 in 40 games, on pace for a career-high 72). He led the NBA in both categories last year in his first full season with the Kings
• Top 10: Sabonis ranks 8th in FG percentage (career-high 61.4%) and has over 200 more shot attempts than any of the players ahead of him. He ranks seventh in assists (career-high 7.9 per game), second among non-guards behind Nikola Jokic. He also ranks second to Jokic in triple-doubles with 11 (three shy of last year’s career-high 14)

Watching Sabonis orchestrate the Kings’ offense brings a sense of déjà vu for fans old enough to remember watching his father, Hall of Famer Arvydas Sabonis, play with the Blazers after a long professional career in Europe.

• ️ Domantas: “That’s the basketball I knew and it’s hard to go away from something that’s in your DNA”
• A Second Look: See Domantas’ reaction as he watches the video above and shares more recollections on his father

That all-around game has Sabonis in position to join a very exclusive club with the numbers he’s posting this season: 20.1 ppg, 12.7 rpg, 7.9 apg. How many players have averaged 20/12/7 for a season?

• Nikola Jokić (2021-22): 27.1 ppg, 13.8 rpg, 7.9 apg
• Wilt Chamberlain (1967-68): 24.3 ppg, 23.8 rpg, 8.6 apg
• Wilt Chamberlain (1966-67): 24.1 ppg, 24.2 rpg, 7.8 apg
• Oscar Robertson (1961-62): 30.8 ppg, 12.5 rpg, 11.4 apg

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5. JAZZ HITTING THE RIGHT NOTES

The Jazz are 15-4 in their last 19 games, which is tied with the Celtics for the best record in the NBA over the past 36 days.

The Jazz (22-20) will look to keep rolling when they host the Thunder (27-13) tonight (9 ET, NBA App) in a matchup of the current No. 9 and No. 2 teams in the West, respectively.

Entering Dec. 13, the Jazz were 7-16 and ranked 12th in the West. They went from outside the Play-In Tournament field to within striking distance of the guaranteed playoff teams as they sit just two games back of the sixth-ranked Kings.

The Jazz went from ranked 26th in both offensive and defensive rating through their first 23 games to 7th and 11th, respectively, over their past 19 games.

The Jazz are averaging 12.1 more points per game during this 19-game run. So where are those points coming from

• Lauri Markkanen: While his average only increased by 0.5 ppg, his availability is the key difference. He missed eight games early in the season (hamstring) and this 15-4 run began with his first game back against New York
• Collin Sexton: Has increased his scoring by more than nine points per game, while playing six more minutes per game. Both Sexton and Markkanen are shooting 50/40/90 during this 19-game run
• Talen Horton-Tucker: Nearly a six-point bump in his scoring average and a seven point increase in his shooting percentage
• Overall Balance: The Jazz had seven players averaging over eight points per game early in the season. Now they have nine all at 8.4 or higher