Recap of Nov. 22: Franz works his magic to end Lakers’ win streak & a crucial Friday in the Emirates NBA Cup

A Hollywood ending for Franz and the Magic.

THE LINEUP

Nov. 22, 2024 | What’s inside today’s edition?

Abracadabra: How Wagner & Orlando pulled out a W to end 

L.A.’s streak

Miller & LaMelo Masterclass: Early birthday buckets and a 

Thursday roundup 

Golden Chase: The Dubs open Friday’s doubleheader looking to 

stay perfect in NBA Cup action

Rivalry Reignited: Pacers vs. Bucks tonight in an Emirates 

NBA Cup & Playoff rematch

“Something We’ll Always Remember”: Boston celebrates its 2024 

title at the White House

BUT FIRST … ⏰

Buckle up because it’s Cup Night…

A Pivotal Friday Cup Night: With Group Play 

heating up, the fourth night of the Emirates NBA Cup delivers 

eight matchups, headlined by a marquee doubleheader in West Group 

C on ESPN.

To tip things off on the national stage, Steph Curry and the 

Warriors will look to improve to 3-0 in Group Play as they face 

the Pelicans (7:30 ET

). Then, Jamal Murray and the Nuggets will host Kyrie Irving and 

the Mavs (10 ET

).

Looking for an Emirates NBA Cup standings check? We got you 

covered.

1. WAGNER WORKS MAGIC TO SNAP LAKERS’ WIN STREAK

One night after seeing their six-game win streak snapped in a 

loss to the Clippers at the Intuit Dome, it was the Magic’s turn 

to play spoiler in Los Angeles.

Magic 119, Lakers 118: In a thriller that featured 13 ties and 

21 lead changes, Anthony Davis (39 pts, 9 reb) and LeBron James 

(31 pts, 10 reb, 7 ast) put on a show at Crypto.com Arena and 

scored the Lakers’ final 23 points to give them a 118-114 lead 

with 27 seconds left.

But the Magic refused to go away, and after cutting their 

deficit to two, Franz Wagner took the rock and took the lead, 

splashing a go-ahead stepback 3 with 2.5 ticks left to hand the 

Lakers their first home loss of the season while ending their 

six-game win streak. | Recap 

| Catch the WILD Final 2:11

Magic Man: Wagner finished the game with a season-high 37

points and a career-high 11 dimes to become the youngest Magic player to record 35+ points and 10+ assists in a game at 23 years and 87 days old

Orlando Legends: Penny Hardaway (3x) and Tracy McGrady (3x) are

the only other players in Magic history to post such a stat line

4th-Quarter Duel: Wagner had 15 points in the 4th quarter as he

went back and forth with James (14 pts, including three straight triples) and Davis (9 pts). After Franz’s go-ahead triple, AD couldn’t get a fadeaway at the buzzer to fall

Triple Threat: Jalen Suggs

added 23 points, five assists, two steals and two blocks in the 

win, while Mo Wagner finished with 19 points and four helpers

LeBron Matches Kobe: Despite the loss, James tied Kobe Bryant

(4x) for the most games with 30+ points, 10+ rebounds, 5+ assists, and 5+ 3s in Lakers history

2. MILLER & LAMELO MASTERCLASS, BARRETT & BARNES TURN UP

“Happy birthday to me.”

Brandon Miller may have asked for buckets for his birthday. 

Because that’s what he got.

A night before his 22nd birthday, Miller caught fire for a 

career-high 38 points on eight 3s and invited LaMelo Ball (35 

pts) to the party as the two combined for 73 t

o help the Hornets hold off Cade Cunningham and the Pistons 

for a 123-121 overtime win. | Recap 

| Watch the OT Finish 

Buzzing Backcourt: Miller and Ball are the first Hornets duo

in franchise history to each record 35+ points in the same game

Tandem Takeover: They also combined for 13 assists (Ball: 9,

Miller: 4) which led to 35 more points, making them responsible for 108 of Charlotte’s 123 points (87.8%)

The Icing On The Cake: After the Hornets

squandered a 20-point lead in regulation, Miller scored eight of their 14 points in OT in the final 1:43, stamped by a dagger 3 with 32 seconds left

“Great team win,” said head coach Charles Lee. “Every

possession mattered, every hustle play, every competitive effort was really good by the team. So proud of them sticking with it.”

Cade Exit: Cunningham led Detroit with 27 points, seven boards

and 10 dimes but left the game with 48 seconds remaining in regulation due to a hip injury

Raptors 110, Timberwolves 105: After 

snapping a seven-game skid with a victory over Indiana on Monday, 

the Raptors earned their second straight win as RJ Barrett (31 

pts, 7 reb) sparked a 22-8 run to close the game and power past 

Anthony Edwards (26 pts) and the Wolves. | Recap 

RJ The Claw: In his 45th game with the franchise, Barrett

became the second fastest player to reach 1,000 points in Raptors history, trailing only Kawhi Leonard (37 games)

Roaring Raptors: It was Barrett’s second straight 30-piece and

his fifth of the season, while Chris Boucher chipped in 22 points and Jakob Poeltl notched a double-double (15 pts, 12 reb)

Ant & Others: Edwards, the NBA’s 3-point leader with 72 on the

season, hit five triples, while Julius Randle (23 pts) and Jaden McDaniels (22 pts) combined for 45 points

Spurs 126, Jazz 118: With Victor Wembanyama out, Harrison 

Barnes turned in a season-high 25 points and 10 boards, and got 

help from Chris Paul (13 pts, 10 ast) as San Antonio outscored 

Utah 75-51 in the 2nd half to overcome a 20-point deficit for a 

comeback dub. | Recap 

CP3 & Company: Paul scored all 13 of his points in the 2nd

half, and Zach Collins and Stephon Castle finished with 18 points apiece

The win moves San Antonio to 8-8, marking the first time the

team’s been .500 or better through the first 16 games of a season since 2020-21Lauri Markkanen scored a game-high 27 points for Utah, which has now dropped four straight games

3. DUBS SURGE INTO FRIDAY’S EMIRATES NBA CUP DOUBLEHEADER ON ESPN

Entering this week, 1,049 days had passed since the Warriors 

last held sole possession of first place in the West.

But with an 11-3 start, Golden State is back atop the standings 

for the first time since the 2021-22 season, when they went on to 

win the NBA Finals.

Tonight, they have a chance to take a step toward more hardware, 

as they’ll look to improve to 3-0 in NBA Cup Group Play when they 

face the Pelicans to tip off ESPN’s doubleheader (7:30 ET).

Round 3: Despite being without Steph Curry for both matchups,

Golden State is 2-0 against New Orleans this season, with Buddy Hield (24.5) leading seven Warriors averaging 8.5+ points per game

“We feel like we have a very versatile roster,” Warriors coach

Steve Kerr said on his team’s depth. “And that we can play a lot of different ways.”

And They Have: The Warriors have used eight different starting

lineups this season — the second-most in the NBA — and are tied for the most 120+ point games with nine

Road Warriors In NOLA: Golden State has the third-best road

record in the NBA at 6-2, but the Pelicans have won five of the last eight meetings against them in New Orleans

Championship Measuring Stick: The Warriors’ 11 wins are their 

most through 14 games since 2021-22, when they opened the season 

at 12-2 and went on to win the title.

How do the two squads compare statistically? Well, in ten major 

categories, the splits are strikingly similar:

In the second leg of 

ESPN’s doubleheader, Kyrie Irving and the Mavs will take on Jamal 

Murray and the Nuggets (10 ET). Marked questionable last time 

out, could Nikola Jokic make his return to the lineup?

Last time these two teams met, Kyrie dropped a season-high 43

points against the Nuggets on Nov. 10 — but a Jokic triple-double and Michael Porter Jr.’s late bucket gave a red-hot Denver squad its 5th straight win

Joker’s Wild: In that game, Nikola Jokic became the 3rd player

to ever average 29+ PPG, 15+ RPG, 14+ APG over a 4 game stretch, joining Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson

Dubs’ Potential Clinching Scenario: With a victory over New

Orleans and a Mavericks win over Denver, Golden State would clinch the top spot in West Group C as they hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Dallas

Luka Dončić is out for Dallas (knee)

4. EMIRATES NBA CUP NIGHT: BUCKS & PACERS REIGNITE RIVALRY

With the Pacers up one and 2:40 remaining in last year’s 

Emirates NBA Cup Semifinal against the Bucks, Tyrese Haliburton 

sparked a 15-7 Indiana run to close the game

, capped by a dagger 3 with 48 seconds left.

The rally secured his team’s spot in the Championship. And it 

put the league on notice:

“It’s our time,” said Haliburton after the win. “We’re shocking the world right now.”

The win not only helped spark Indiana’s first run to the East 

Finals in a decade — it also set the stage for a season-long back 

& forth with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, igniting a 

budding rivalry between Eastern powers.

Giannis Answers: In a rematch six days after the Pacers’

Semifinal victory, Antetokounmpo responded in historic fashion, dropping a franchise-record 64 points to lead the Bucks to a 140-126 win

Indiana Retaliates: On Jan. 1, Giannis logged a triple-double

against the Pacers, but Indiana secured the win. Two days later, Haliburton dropped 31 to clinch the regular-season series 4-1

Playoff Clash: In the first round of the 2024 Playoffs, the two

sides squared off again, and Indiana ended Milwaukee’s season in six games with Antetokounmpo sidelined due to a calf strain

Now, with both teams at full strength, the rivalry renews 

tonight in the Emirates NBA Cup — where it all began one year ago 

(8 ET, League Pass

).

This time, could it be the Bucks that use the victory as a 

springboard?

Bouncing Back: After a 2-8 start, Milwaukee has won four of

its last five games to improve to 6-9 on the year

Setting The Pace: Last season, Giannis averaged 42.2 ppg

against Indiana, while Damian Lillard posted 31.3 ppg in the two sides’ Playoff series

Indiana Outbursts: In addition to his career-high 64 points,

Giannis also dropped 54 against Indiana last November

And He’s Heating Up: Giannis’ last four games include outings

of 59 and 41 points. In that stretch, he’s averaging 35.5 points, 12.8 rebounds and 7.8 assists on 59.8% shooting

Giannis: “We’re trending towards the right direction … At the

end of the day we have a lot of season left. It’s easy to put our heads down but we’re not going to do that.”

Five more Emirates NBA Cup Group Play games get underway on 

League Pass, beginning with the defending champion Celtics taking 

on the Wizards in D.C.

Celtics at Wizards (7 ET)

Nets at 76ers (7 ET)

Hawks at Bulls (8 ET)

Blazers at Rockets (8 ET)

Kings at Clippers (10:30 ET)

5. A DAY TO REMEMBER: CELTICS CELEBRATE TITLE AT WHITE HOUSE

Ahead of the C’s matchup against the Wizards tonight in the 

nation’s capital, the 2024 NBA champs visited the White House 

on Thursday to celebrate their 18th title.

After meeting President Joe Biden, the team ceremoniously 

gathered below the Truman Balcony, where the country’s 

commander-in-chief recounted the team’s historic season.

“I know it wasn’t easy,” Biden said. “You came close more

than once, but you put in the work and clocked one of the greatest seasons ever … Now, an 18th championship banner hangs in the rafters.”

Following the president’s speech, Tatum and White presented 

Biden with gifts from the team, a No. 46 ‘Biden’ Celtics jersey 

and a personalized championship Celtics basketball, which the 

president dished to Horford with a playful underhand pass.

Celtics Governor Wyc Grousbeck and Biden then posed with the

Larry O’Brien trophy to cap the team’s presidential celebration, 

which Tatum says will never be forgotten.

“[For] a lot of us it was our first time here. Getting to 

meet President Biden and having the ceremony is something that 

you always watch as a kid, and now to be a part of that tradition

is something we’ll always remember.“