Epic Comebacks: A Night to Remember on Jan. 7

In the Bulls’ comeback win over the Spurs, Coby White gave Chicago a moment to remember it by.

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION

Jan. 7, 2025

4 Comebacks: The Wolves, Kings, Bulls & Pistons overcome 17+ point deficits to win

2 More By 12: The Suns & Grizzlies both went down 12 & rallied to win by 10+ points

Roundup: Shorthanded Magic stun Knicks at MSG; Bucks & Pacers roll

TNT Doubleheader: No. 5 vs. No. 6 in the West, plus MVP candidates meet in Denver

On League Pass: The two players with 50-pieces in 2025 clash to lead a five-game slate

BUT FIRST … ⏰

A first-of-its-kind matchup is just a day away…

We’re just a little over 24 hours away from the first-ever game between a team on a 15-game win streak and one on a 10-game win streak, when the West-leading Thunder take on the East-leading Cavs Wednesday (7 ET, ESPN). Dive Into The Numbers

But before that historic matchup, we’ve got a TNT doubleheader tonight beginning with No. 5 vs. No. 6 in the West as the Lakers visit the Mavericks (7:30 ET), followed by a matchup between the current Players of the Week – Nikola Jokić and Jayson Tatum – in Denver (10 ET).

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Ahead of Wednesday’s game, the coaches from OKC and Cleveland shared their thoughts on this historic clash of conference leaders.

OKC’s Mark Daigneault: “This one’s cool. They are the best team in the league. It’s on their home court. They’re playing really well. We’re obviously playing really well. So it’s a unique opportunity to compete against a great team and we are looking forward to it.”Cleveland’s Kenny Atkinson: “I think the group has an appropriate fear of what’s coming. When you play these great teams, you have to be even more perfect.”

1. A NIGHT OF COMEBACKS NOT SEEN IN FOUR YEARS

How do you follow up a career-best 53 points on Saturday?

If you’re Anthony Edwards you drop 37 points — including back-to-back clutch triples — to help your squad overcome a 19-point deficit and snap a three-game losing streak.

Wolves 108, Clippers 106: Trailing by five points with 4:07 to play, the Wolves were four minutes away from four straight losses. But Ant wouldn’t let it happen as he scored (13) or assisted (3) on 16 of Minnesota’s final 17 points during a 17-10 game-ending run to secure the win. | Recap

Back-To-Back 3s: Edwards hit consecutive stepback 3s with 1:12 and 0:35 remaining that electrified the Target Center and turned a one-point deficit into a five-point lead to help seal the winTwo Games, 90 Points: Edwards joined Karl-Anthony Towns as the only players in Timberwolves history to tally 90+ points over a two-game span

The Wolves weren’t the only team to mount a massive comeback on Monday as four of the night’s nine games featured comebacks by 17+ points – the most such games on a single night since Jan. 8, 2021.

Kings 123, Heat 118 (2OT): Miami opened the 4th quarter on a 7-0 run to push its lead to 17 points with 10:40 to play. But the home team wasn’t going to let its four-game win streak under interim head coach Doug Christie go away without a fight.

The Kings outscored the Heat 34-17 the rest of the 4th to force overtime, but five extra minutes weren’t enough to decide the game. In the second OT, DeMar DeRozan played the role of closer, scoring Sacramento’s final nine points to seal the comeback win. | Recap

DeRozan finished with 30 points, Malik Monk added 23 and Domantas Sabonis posted his fourth triple-double (21 pts, 18 reb, 11 ast) of the season while playing a career-high 50 minutesThe 17-point rally was Sacramento’s fourth-largest 4th-quarter comeback since 1997-98 and the first to happen at home

Bulls 114, Spurs 110: The Bulls trailed by 19 in the 3rd quarter and were down seven with 3:19 to play before ending the game on an 11-0 run to stun the Spurs. | Recap | Watch The Final 4:20

Zach LaVine (35 pts, 10 reb, 8 ast) and Nikola Vučević (24 pts, 11 reb) combined for 59 points, but the two biggest shots of the game featured 6-foot-5 Coby White challenging 7-foot-3 Victor Wembanyama, one of the game’s most feared defenders.

The Scoop: Down by one with under a minute to play, White matched up with Wemby on a switch and hit a driving scoop shot off the glass as Wemby just missed his ninth block of the nightThe Slam: On the next possession, White pump faked and drove past Jeremy Sochan and exploded to the hoop for the slam as Wemby’s weakside rotation was a half-second too late

After a pregame chess match with Benny The Bull, Wemby stuffed the stat sheet (23 pts, 14 reb, 8 blk, 4 ast, 4 3s).

Pistons 118, Blazers 115: After trailing by as many as 22 points, the Pistons stormed back behind a combined 58 points and 10 3s from Cade Cunningham and Tim Hardaway Jr. to defeat the Blazers for their fourth straight win – their longest win streak since 2019. | Recap

Timely Bucket: After missing his first nine shots of the game – including eight 3s – Malik Beasley hit a 3 with 54 seconds left to put Detroit up four with 54 seconds left.

2. SUNS, GRIZZLIES GET IN ON THE COMEBACK TREND

In addition to the four 17+ point comebacks, Monday saw two teams bounce back from being 12 points down to winning by double digits.

Suns 109, Sixers 99: In his first game off the bench since 2016, Bradley Beal scored a team-high 25 points and dished out five dimes to help the Suns rally past the Sixers and snap a four-game losing streak. | Recap

Decisive 3rd Quarter: Beal scored 14 in the 3rd as the Suns outscored the Sixers 36-27 to take the lead for goodKD & Book: Kevin Durant scored 23 points, while Devin Booker dished out 10 assists to offset an off-shooting night (3-of-16)Tyrese & AI: Tyrese Maxey led the Sixers with 31 points, 10 assists and six 3s, joining Allen Iverson for the most 30-point, 10-assist games (six) before turning 25 in Sixers history

Grizzlies 119, Mavs 104: Playing without Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, the Mavs jumped out to a 12-point lead early in the 2nd quarter, but were unable to hold off Jaren Jackson Jr. (35 pts, career-high-tying 13 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl) and the Grizzlies. | Recap

Scotty Pippen Jr. scored 11 of his 18 points in the 4th quarter, which Memphis won 32-24, while adding five boards, four dimes and a career-high five stealsMavs Drop 5th Straight: On their longest losing streak since 2021, the Mavs dropped to sixth in the West. They also saw Daniel Gafford exit Monday’s game with an ankle sprain in the 2nd quarter

3. SHORTHANDED MAGIC STUN KNICKS AT THE GARDEN

Magic 103, Knicks 94: With Jalen Suggs joining Paolo Banchero and the Wagner brothers on the injured list, Orlando visited New York without a player averaging double-digit points this season.

But once again, the Magic found a way to win, holding the Knicks – who were without Karl-Anthony Towns – to a season-low 94 points and handing them a season-high third straight loss. | Recap

Cole Anthony (24 pts), Wendell Carter Jr. (19 off the bench) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (15) combined for 58 to provide the bulk of Orlando’s offense, while the Magic defense shinedOrlando held NY to a season-low-tying four 3s on a season-low 18.2% shooting from deep as 24 points apiece from Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges was not enough to make up for the lack of 3s

Bucks 128, Raptors 104: Damian Lillard and Bobby Portis combined for 45 points and nine 3s, while Giannis Antetokounmpo (11 pts, 12 reb, 13 ast, 3 stitches in his pinky) notched his fourth triple-double to lead the Bucks past the Raptors to avoid a three-game losing streak. | Recap

Pacers 113, Nets 99: After a back-and-forth 1st quarter, the Pacers took control with a 31-17 2nd and never looked back. Tyrese Haliburton (23 pts, 8 ast) led the way while Bennedict Mathurin and Pascal Siakam combined to add 39 points in Indy’s third straight win. | Recap

4. ON TNT: NO. 5 VS. NO. 6 IN THE WEST; MVP CANDIDATES CLASH IN DENVER

Lakers at Mavericks (7:30 ET): How tight is the Western Conference? Entering tonight, only four games separate nine teams ranked Nos. 4-12. Two of those teams meet when Dallas hosts the Lakers.

No. 5 Lakers Rising: Despite Sunday’s loss to Houston, the Lakers have won seven of their last 10 to climb to fifth in the West at 20-15No. 6 Mavs Dropping: Dallas’ loss on Monday was its fifth straight as the Mavs continue to seek their first win since losing Luka Dončić to a calf strain on Christmas Day

This is the first of three regular-season meetings this season. And with the West race so tight, head-to-head games take on added importance when it comes to tiebreakers to decide Playoffs vs. Play-In.

Denver Just Ahead: The Lakers (0.5 GB) and Mavs (1.0 GB) are both within a game of the No. 4 NuggetsLA Lurking: The Lakers (up 0.5 games) and Mavs (via tiebreaker) are both within a half-game of falling behind the No. 7 Clippers

Celtics at Nuggets (10 ET, TNT): In addition to ranking first and fourth in the latest Kia MVP Ladder, Denver’s Nikola Jokić and Boston’s Jayson Tatum enter tonight’s matchup coming off earning Player of the Week honors for the West and East, respectively.

Jokić averaged a league-high 36.5 ppg, 16.5 rpg and 11.3 apg to lead the Nuggets to a 3-1 week to sit fourth in the WestTatum averaged 25.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 4.5 apg and 4.0 3s to lead the Celtics to a 3-1 week to bounce back from a 2-4 stretch

Celtics’ Kryptonite? During Boston’s 64-18 regular season and run to the 2024 NBA title, only one team swept the season series against the Celtics – the Nuggets, who won both matchups by a total of eight points.

Joker’s Wild: The Celtics had no answer for Jokić, who averaged a 33-12-10 triple-double while putting up 61-50-100 shooting splits against the eventual champsControlling The 3: Last season, Denver held Boston to 30.5% shooting on 3s, which will be key again this year. Through 36 games, the Celtics are 24-5 when shooting over 30% from 3 and 2-5 when held to 30% or lowerBoston Bounce Back: The Celtics are coming off a loss to OKC on Sunday in which they were held to a season-low 92 points. This season, Boston is 8-1 following a loss, averaging 122.9 ppg and winning by an average of 22.1 points

5. ON LEAGUE PASS: CAN CJ, ANT EXTEND HOT STREAKS?

Over his last five games, CJ McCollum has amassed 162 points (32.4 ppg) while shooting 55.6% overall and 51.9% (28-of-54) from 3.

Flashback: This is the fourth time CJ has scored this many points in a five-game span – the last time coming in 2020 with Portland

McCollum will look to stay hot and lead the Pelicans to their first three-game win streak of the season when they host Anthony Edwards and the Wolves tonight (8 ET).

CJ Ant: McCollum and Edwards are the first two players to drop a 50-piece in 2025 and became the eighth and ninth players to score 50+ this seasonOne Of Four: Edwards joined Jokić, LaMelo Ball and De’Aaron Fox as the only players to amass 90+ points in a two-game span this season

Four more games on League Pass round up a seven-game night.

Rockets at Wizards (7 ET): The Rockets have a slight edge (0.08 in win percentage) over the Grizzlies for the No. 2 seed in the West and will look to add some separation from Memphis when they visit the Wizards in DCSuns at Hornets (7 ET): The Suns snapped a four-game slide in the debut game of their new starting lineup. Can they make it two straight when they visit the Hornets, who have dropped 10 straight?Hawks at Jazz (9 ET): After closing 2024 on a four-game win streak, Atlanta is winless in 2025 and looks to avoid a four-game skid while Utah goes for its first three-game win streak this seasonHeat at Warriors (10 ET): The Heat and Warriors are both looking to bounce back from losses to the Kings – the Heat in double OT on Monday and the Warriors with their second-largest loss of the season on Sunday