Starting 5, Jan. 25: Warriors get emotional win; Suns, Thunder stay hot
“It was not easy but I thought our guys did a really good job of trying to make that transition and settle into the game. It was very emotional. A lot of guys were in tears as the ball was being tipped.”
– Warriors coach Steve Kerr on the emotion of Wednesday’s game
THE LINEUP
- An emotional Warriors win
- Suns, Thunder extend streak
- ️ Bucks win after coaching change
- Rivals Week: Celtics-Heat
- Rivals Week: Kings-Warriors
⭐ All-Star starters revealed tonight: The East and West starting 5s for the 73rd NBA All-Star Game will be unveiled tonight on TNT (7 ET).
Celtics at Heat: Tonight’s Rivals Week doubleheader opens in Miami with the Heat hosting the Celtics (7:30 ET, TNT). These familiar foes have met in three of the past four East Finals, with the last two going to Game 7. Check out Section 4 for more.
Kings at Warriors: Then, it’s off to the Bay as the Warriors host the Kings (10 ET, TNT) in a rematch of an epic first-round series that ended with a historic Steph Curry performance. Check out Section 5 for more.
Doc Rivers to Milwaukee: According to multiple reports, longtime head coach Doc Rivers and the Bucks have agreed to a deal to make him the team’s new coach, replacing Adrian Griffin.
1. WARRIORS WIN ON EMOTIONAL NIGHT
Warriors coach Steve Kerr addresses the crowd to honor the life of late assistant coach Dejan Milojevic.
Warriors 134, Hawks 112: Wednesday’s game between the Warriors and Hawks was part basketball game and part celebration of the life of Dejan Milojevic, the Warriors assistant coach who died unexpectedly of a heart attack last week.
Players donned warmup shirts featuring the word “brate,” which is Serbian for “brother” and the word Milojevic commonly used to greet everyone. Pregame player jerseys for the Warriors featured Milojevic’s name in place of their own.
During a pregame ceremony, the teams stood united during the Serbian national anthem, followed by a touching video tribute and Kerr addressing the crowd. Instead of a moment of silence, Kerr ended his remarks by asking for an ovation so loud “Deki” could hear it from the heavens above.
Throughout the tribute, a spotlight shined on Milojevic’s seat on the bench, left open with the warmup shirt and a single white rose. Before taking the court in their standard jerseys, the Warriors placed the ones bearing Milojevic’s name at his seat.
Then, there was a game to be played … with a feeling there was no way the Warriors were going to allow themselves to lose on this night.
- Steph Curry: “It was tough, been a very long week for everybody in our organization, understanding how we wanted to pay, honor, tribute, celebrate Deki and what he meant to our family.
“Coach challenged us to utilize our emotions and get lost in the game. This is our sanctuary and Deki would love nothing more than to see us go out there, compete and have fun. It feels really good to get a win.” - Klay Thompson: “There’s still a really big hole in our team…we miss him everyday.”
- Hawks coach Quin Snyder: “This game had significance beyond the game.”
Matching Mullin: Jonathan Kuminga (25 points on 11-of-11 shooting) tied Chris Mullin’s franchise record for most field goals made without a miss
Winning Trio: Curry, Thompson and Green became the 13th trio in NBA history to reach 400 regular-season wins together as teammates. Recap
2. RIVALS RECAP: SUNS, THUNDER EXTEND WIN STREAKS
The Suns outscore the Mavs 43-20 in the 3rd quarter behind Devin Booker's 46-point game in a 132-109 victory.
☀️ Suns 132, Mavs 109: Trailing by 16 midway through the second quarter, the Suns closed the half on a 22-7 run to make it a one-point game at the break. Then they got even hotter.
- Phoenix owned the third quarter, scoring 43 points and shooting 18-22 (81.1%) – the best shooting quarter for any team this season (min. 20 FGA) – with Devin Booker (22) outscoring the Mavs (20) by himself
- Booker finished with 46 points, while Bradley Beal (20) and Kevin Durant (12) added 32 more as the Suns won their seventh straight game. Luka Doncic (34 pts, 8 reb, 9 ast) led the Mavs, who were without Kyrie Irving (thumb). Recap
⛈️ Thunder 140, Spurs 114: The game was billed as a battle of the rookies, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stole the show (32 pts, 10 ast), posting his league-leading 32nd game with 30+ points to keep the Thunder atop the Western Conference. | Recap
- Chet vs. Wemby: The top two on NBA.com’s Rookie Ladder showed out in their first Rivals Week matchup. Wemby (24 pts, 12 reb, 4 ast, 4 blk, a spinning finish for the Spurs’ first points) put up the better statline, but Chet (17 pts, 9 reb, 4 ast, 3 blk) got the win
- Back and forth: Watch Wembanyama and Holmgren battle in the fourth quarter with 6:24 of uncut game action
- Chet on Wemby matchup: “A great player, very talented, even at an early stage of his career, but I can’t let that matchup take away from what the job was tonight and that was trying to win a basketball game”
3. ROUNDUP: BUCKS WIN 1ST GAME AFTER COACHING CHANGE
Bucks 126, Cavs 116: Joe Prunty is 1-0 this season and 22-16 for his career as Bucks interim head coach after Milwaukee snapped Cleveland’s eight-game win streak behind Giannis Antetokounmpo’s fifth triple-double of 2024 (35 pts, 18 reb, 10 ast) | Recap
Wolves 118, Wizards 107: Minnesota bounced back from Monday’s loss to Charlotte that spoiled a 62-point game from Karl-Anthony Towns with a 118-107 over the Wizards. Anthony Edwards led the way with 38 points, while KAT added 27. | Recap
Pistons 113, Hornets 106: Trailing by four with 2½ minutes left, the Pistons closed the game on a 13-2 run to secure their fifth win of the season and second against Charlotte. Bojan Bogdanovic scored a game-high 34 points while knocking down five 3s in the win. | Recap
Blazers 137, Rockets 131 (OT): Down three with 1.6 seconds left, Jerami Grant caught the inbounds pass, took one dribble and rose up for the desperation 3 that banked in at the buzzer to force overtime. The Blazers opened OT on a 9-2 run and held on for the win. | Recap
Grizzlies 105, Heat 96: The shorthanded Grizzlies dealt the Heat their fourth straight loss behind a combined 42 points and nine 3s from Vince Williams Jr. and GG Jackson. Terry Rozier had nine points in his Heat debut. | Recap
4. RIVALS WEEK: CELTICS AT HEAT
The stakes of the playoffs forge the best rivalries. Playing one team for two straight weeks with the sole purpose of ending their season so yours can stay alive is bound create some history between the participants.
When looking at the Heat-Celtics rivalry, we have to rewind to the 2010s and the battle of the Big 3s – Boston’s Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen vs. Miami’s Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
The Celtics had been a nemesis for LeBron during his time in Cleveland and it only increased when he took his talents to South Beach. But in 2011, down 3-2 and facing elimination in Boston, LeBron had a game for the ages as he (and the Heat) finally broke through the Boston barrier.
- Video: Best Plays from Celtics-Heat Rivalry
- Playlist: 13 key moments over the course of the rivalry
After meeting in three straight playoffs (2010-2012), the rivalry cooled for a few years before reigniting in the 2020 playoffs in Orlando. The names may have changed – Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford in Boston; Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro in Miami – but the intensity never wavered.
That was the first of three East Finals meetings over the past four years for Boston and Miami, with the last two going the full seven games.
Over the past 14 years, these teams have met in the playoffs six times, with the winner advancing to the NBA Finals every time. But only the 2012 Heat have won the title after winning this rivalry matchup.
- 2010 First Round – Celtics 4-1
- 2011 East Semis – Heat 4-1
- 2012 East Finals – Heat 4-3
- 2020 East Finals – Heat 4-2
- 2022 East Finals – Celtics 4-3
- 2023 East Finals – Heat 4-3
Down to the wire: The Heat and Celtics have played a league-high 17 clutch games (including playoffs) since the start of the 2020 East Finals. The Heat are 11-6 in those games. Of their 31 total games played against one another during that span, 55% have been inside five points with five minutes left.
Get your popcorn ready for tonight (7:30 ET, TNT).
5. RIVALS WEEK: KINGS AT WARRIORS
While the Kings/Warriors rivalry does not have nearly as many playoff chapters as Heat/Celtics, there are layers to this NorCal matchup, which culminated in last year’s epic first-round series.
Distance: Since the Kings arrived in Sacramento in 1985, the teams have been separated by less than 90 miles. The fan bases for both teams are passionate and mixed throughout both regions. There is always a Warriors fan contingent in Sacramento and vice versa.
Never syncing up … til now: The Kings’ best run in Sacramento (1999-2006) included seven straight playoff appearances, a 64% win percentage, and coming one win from the 2002 Finals. During that run, the Warriors never made the playoffs and won 35% of their games. The script flipped during Golden State’s championship run beginning in the 2010s, which came in the midst of Sacramento’s record-playoff drought.
Splash Bros making history vs. Kings
- Klay Thompson’s NBA-record 37-point quarter on Jan. 23, 2015 came against the Kings
- Steph Curry posted the first-ever 50-point Game 7 against the Kings to end Sacramento’s 2022-23 season
Playoff history: A total of 1,607 points were scored during the Warriors-Kings playoff series last year, making it the highest-scoring playoff series in over 35 years. The last series with more points: the 1987 East Semifinals between Boston and Milwaukee
Clutch leaders: De’Aaron Fox won the inaugural Clutch Player of the Year in 2023 after leading all players in clutch scoring with 194 points in 160 minutes
This season’s leader? Steph Curry with 113 points in 84 clutch minutes
The last two meetings this season were each decided by a single point. A game-winner with 0.2 seconds left by Thompson for the Warriors and a game-winner by Malik Monk with seven seconds left for the Kings. Who will come through tonight (10 ET, TNT)?
