Starting 5, Jan. 22: An epic Clippers rally and Nikola Jokic’s historic shooting

On this day 18 years ago, Kobe Bryant erupted for 81 points for the second-highest scoring game in NBA history.

Since then three players have surpassed 70 points, but none have come within single digits of the Black Mamba. Is Kobe’s mark safe or will it be challenged by this generation of stars?

THE LINEUP 🏀

👀 Must-see from Sunday night
💥 LAC epic rally, PHX trio drops 91
🌪️ Roundup: Joker’s historic shooting
⏪ Weekend rewind
📸 Photos of the week

📺 NBA TV doubleheader: A matchup of two multi-talented big men – reigning MVP Joel Embiid and rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama – leads an NBA TV doubleheader with the Sixers hosting the Spurs (7 ET). Then, the Kings aim to halt a 4-game skid when they host the Hawks (10 ET), who will be without Trae Young (concussion protocol).

🆚 Rivals Week begins tomorrow: Get ready for NBA Rivals Week as classic and budding rivalries take center stage beginning Tuesday.

1. MONDAY MORNING MUST-SEE

💰 Sunday Dimes

Already seen: Nikola Jokic with ANOTHER no-look over-the-head dime to Aaron Gordon. This time AG finished it with an over-the-head reverse bucket
The angle: LeBron threaded the needle to split two defenders with a bullet pass to Christian Wood that he threw from his hip
Showtime! LeBron batted the loose ball ahead to D’Angelo Russell for the breakaway finish. But D-Lo had another idea and bounced the ball off the hardwood to a streaking LeBron for the alley-oop

🔨 Sunday Dunks

Head over heels: Let’s start with the driving lefty dunk by LeBron, but stick around for the landing and somersault to get up and get back on defense. For NBA x WWE fans: Yes, this is giving Rock selling a Stunner vibes
Back to back: Obi Toppin rattled the rim on consecutive Pacers possessions. First on an alley-oop from Buddy Hield, then with the baseline drive and reverse slam
PG vs. Grab it: The Clippers stars each had massive dunks to close out the first half. Paul George showed off the power with the hammer dunk, while Kawhi Leonard kept it smooth with the spin move and two-hand finish

💥 Sunday Buckets

JG gets shifty: Jalen Green crossed up the defender, then went up and under to avoid the help for the reverse finish with a friendly roll on the home rim
Beal creates space: Bradley Beal hit his defender with three crossovers, got into the lane, stopped on a dime and hit the fadeaway jumper
Beat the clock: With a second left on the shot clock, Payton Pritchard caught the inbounds pass, turned and fired from 28 feetknocking down the 3 for his first points of the game

2. CLIPPERS MAKE EPIC RALLY; SUNS TRIO COMBINES FOR 91

Down by 18 points early in the 4th quarter, LA mounts a massive comeback to stun Brooklyn.

⛵ Clippers 125, Nets 114: The Nets struck first (opening the game 16-0) but the Clippers struck last (ending the game on a 22-0 run) as LA rallied from 18 points down to secure an 11-point win. The Clippers got 20+ point games from James Harden (24), Russell Westbrook (23) and Kawhi Leonard (14 of his 21 in the 4th, including the dagger 3). | Recap

Best close ever? LA’s 22-0 run to close the game matched the largest game-ending run on record since play-by-play data was first tracked in 1997-98.

☀️ Suns 117, Pacers 110: Kevin Durant (40 pts, 9 reb) posted his third 40+ point game of the season, while Devin Booker and Bradley Beal combined for 51 to help the Suns pull away from the Pacers for their fifth straight win. | Recap | Watch the final 5:31

Back to back for Big 3: The Suns’ Big 3 combined for 91 points for the second straight game. On Friday, it was Booker with 52 points and a combined 39 from Durant and Beal. On Sunday, it was KD’s turn to lead with 40, with Book adding 26 and Beal adding 25, marking the first time all three have scored 25+ in the same game
Rare feat: Durant scored 40 points without attempting a single free throw – something that has only been done 15 other times (including three by Klay Thompson) in NBA history

3. ROUNDUP: JOKIC ON HISTORIC SHOOTING STRETCH

⚒️ Nuggets 113, Wizards 104: Nikola Jokic (season-high 42 pts15-20 FG, 12 reb, 8 ast, 2 blk) continued his historically-efficient shooting stretch to lead the Nuggets to their 30th win of the season. Jamal Murray (19 pts, 7 ast, 1st quarter buzzer-beater) and Michael Porter Jr. (19 pts) combined for 38 in the win. | Recap

One of two: Over his past 12 games, Jokic is shooting 125-167 (74.9%) while averaging 13.9 shot attempts per game. Only one other player in NBA history has shot a higher percentage while attempting at least 12 shots per game: Wilt Chamberlain in 1966-67 (78.3%)

🍀 Celtics 116, Rockets 107: This is why people call Kristaps Porzingis a unicorn. On Sunday, he posted 32 points, five blocks and six 3-pointers in Boston’s win over Houston. It was the first time any Celtic has posted a 30/5/5 game but the third time for KP, the most such games in NBA history. Boston’s Jaylen Brown (13 pts, 11 reb, 10 ast) and Houston’s Alperen Sengun (24 pts, 12 reb, 10 ast) posted their third career triple-doubles, respectively. | Recap

🌇 Lakers 134, Blazers 110: D’Angelo Russell (34 pts, 8 ast, 6 3s) posted his third 30+ point game of the season and second in the past five games to lead the Lakers to a wire-to-wire win. LeBron (28 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast) and Anthony Davis (14 pts, 14 reb) combined for 42. | Recap

🔮 Magic 105, Heat 87: Paolo Banchero (20 pts, 10 reb) led all five Magic starters in double-figures, including Franz Wagner (19 pts, 5 ast) who was back after missing eight games with a sprained ankle. Orlando also held Miami to a season-low 87 points. | Recap

4. WEEKEND REWIND: BOSTON’S STREAK ENDS, OKC WINS WEST DUEL, BOOKER DROPS 52

Pick-and-roll. Give-and-go. Denver’s star duo was at their best to hand Boston its 1st home loss of the season.

In case you weren’t locked in on League Pass all weekend (don’t worry, we’ll forgive you this time), let’s catch you up.

Friday

Saturday

OKC wins West duel: SGA came through in the clutch as the Thunder beat the Wolves in a matchup of the top two teams in the West. OKC sits one game behind Minnesota, which has led the West for 65 days
Welcome back: The New York crowd showed love to RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley in their first game back since being traded to Toronto in December. RJ and IQ appreciated the reception
We meet again: Former Mets 92 teammates Wemby and Bilal Coulibaly embraced pregame and exchanged jerseys postgame
Cavs, Sixers extend streaks: Cleveland beat Atlanta to push the NBA’s longest active streak to seven. The Cavs still trail the Sixers in the East who’ve won five in a row themselves
Embiid’s streak continues: Embiid scored 33 points vs. Charlotte, extending his 30+ point game streak to 20a mark only hit five other times in NBA history (Wilt 4x, James Harden 1x)
30 for 30: SGA needed only 41 games to reach 30 games with 30+ points. He’s the eighth player in NBA history to reach that mark in so few games, joining: Wilt (5x), Jordan (2x), Kareem, Nate Archibald, Rick Barry, Elgin Baylor and Luka