Top Stories

• Cavs historic streak ends at 15

• Wemby-less Spurs take down Thunder

• Russell Westbrook records 200th career triple-double

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Games of the day

Last Night’s Top Games! (link to the box scores of every game from yesterday)

The defending NBA champions held off the league’s hottest team, with Jayson Tatum scoring 33 points and adding 12 rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 120-117 victory over Cleveland and hand the Cavaliers their first loss after 15 straight wins to open the season. Cleveland cut a 21-point deficit to two in the third quarter, and Donovan Mitchell hit a rainbow 3-pointer with 24 seconds left to make it a four-point game. Tatum sank one of two free throws, and then clobbered Mitchell at the other end, leaving the Cavaliers guard on the floor in need of medical attention. Mitchell eventually stepped to the line and sank both free throws, but Boston inbounded the ball without trouble and passed it downcourt for an easy Al Horford dunk to clinch it. Tatum sank six of Boston’s 22 3-pointers, and added seven assists for Boston’s third straight win. Mitchell scored 35 points, and Evan Mobley had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers, who were the fourth team in NBA history to open the season with 15 wins in a row. The 15-game winning streak was longest in Cavaliers franchise history.

Keldon Johnson scored 22 points, Harrison Barnes added 20 and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 110-104 without Victor Wembanyama for their first victory in the Emirates NBA Cup. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 32 points and Jalen Williams added 27 points for Oklahoma City. The Thunder closed the game on a 27-12 run but were unable to score in the final minute. Spurs rookie Stephon Castle, who had 10 points and eight assists, blocked Gilgeous-Alexander's layup with 22 seconds remaining and the Spurs leading 110-104. San Antonio's Chris Paul added 14 points and 11 assists with the veteran point guard tossing in a 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring to give the Spurs a 107-98 lead with 1:27 remaining. Wembanyama and Devin Vassell missed their second straight game with leg injuries. Wembanyama is recovering from a bruised knee and Vassell has a sore left knee. Oklahoma City was without Chet Holmgren, who is expected to miss two months with a fractured hip.

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League News

Around the League

• Denver Nuggets guard Russell Westbrook posted the 200th triple-double of his career on in a win over Memphis. The NBA recordholder for triple-doubles reached the milestone late in a 122-110 victory. The 36-year-old Westbrook finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists, and it took him until the final minutes to accomplish it. With 1:28 left, Westbrook was one rebound short of the triple-double when center Dario Saric missed a 3-pointer. Westbrook grabbed his only offensive rebound of the game. With the Grizzlies still close, Saric knocked down a 3-pointer with 27.7 seconds left to preserve the Denver win. Westbrook said he wasn’t thanking Saric for the miss that led to the triple-double. “I thank him for making the next one to close the game, which is the most important,” he said. Westbrook is 19 triple-doubles ahead of Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson, and 62 in front of Magic Johnson. His teammate — Nikola Jokic — is fourth with 136, followed by LeBron James at 117.

  Career triple-doubles

  1. Russell Westbrook, 200
  2. Oscar Robertson, 181
  3. Magic Johnson, 138
  4. Nikola Jokic, 136
  5. LeBron James, 117

• Injury Updates: Kawhi Leonard (knee) is out indefinitely, and his recovery might “take longer than expected” according to the team. Kristaps Porzingis (foot) is still recovering from offseason surgery and will miss some games. Khris Middleton (ankle) will miss longer than expected. Isaiah Hartenstein (hand) will be re-evaluated in 5-6 weeks with a fracture. Dejounte Murray (hand) is confirmed to have fractured it and will miss a few weeks. James Wiseman tore his achilles and will be out indefinitely. Taylor Hendricks (leg and ankle) suffered a fractured fibia and dislocated ankle and will be out for the season. Scottie Barnes (orbital) will miss at least 3 weeks with a fracture. Paolo Banchero (oblique) has a tear and will be out indefinitely, and re-evaluated in 4-6 weeks. Herb Jones (shoulder) will be out for a minimum of 2-4 weeks. CJ McCollum (adductor) will miss at least 2-3 weeks. Isaiah Jackson (achilles) will be out for the season. Jeremy Sochan (thumb) underwent surgery to repair a fracture and will be out indefinitely. Aaron Gordon (hamstring) will miss multiple weeks. Tyrese Maxey (hamstring) will be out multiple weeks. Zion Williamson (hamstring) will be out multiple weeks. Ja Morant (hip) will be be out at least 2 weeks. Kevin Durant (calf) will be out multiple weeks. Chet Holmgren (hip) suffered a fracture and will be out 8-10 weeks. (We wish all these guys speedy and successful recoveries.

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NBA MVP Ladder

1. Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets

Last Ladder: No. 3
Season stats: 29.7 ppg, 13.7 rpg, 11.7 apg

His case: Aside from averaging a healthy triple-double, Joker has been a steady force despite the lineup changes within the Nuggets, who have dealt with missed games by Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray. No worries; Jokić can carry Denver to victory regardless of slumping or injured teammates. Hence, the scratches on his shoulders.

His 37-18-15 stat line against the Mavericks last Sunday — two days too late for consideration for the first installment of the Kia MVP Ladder — is the season’s gold standard. Honestly, it would stack up well against any non-Wilt triple-double. And it’s early. That’s what’s scary.

2. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last Ladder: No. 2
Season stats: 30.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 5.6 apg

His case: He was big in a pair of victories against the Nets over the last week, one in overtime, and is coming off a 36-10-9 effort a few days ago. Tatum remains very consistent this season, and that consistency remains high virtually across the board.

His spot in this Kia MVP Ladder next week could hinge mostly on what he does Tuesday in an Eastern showdown with the Cavaliers (7 ET, TNT), who remain undefeated and, from a win-loss standpoint, are the team to beat in the conference. That’s gotta get Tatum’s attention.

3. Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns

Last Ladder: No. 6
Season stats: 27.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3.4 apg

His case: Bummer for Durant — a strained left calf will keep him benched for a few weeks, just as he was pressing the accelerator. Not only was he productive for the Suns pre-injury, but he averaged just shy of 39 minutes a night, his most since 2010-11. Pure durability is acknowledged and rewarded by an MVP race.

If Durant keeps up this performance pace when he returns, he’ll also get nods for the Kia Clutch Player of the Year Award. Durant came up big in most of the Suns’ seven crunch-time wins in the first few weeks, and in those situations, he led the league in points scored. Which raises a point about his value — Durant missed the last three games and the Suns lost two of them, one in overtime when they could’ve used his presence.

4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last Ladder: No. 4
Season stats: 27.9 ppg, 6.3 apg, 1.8 spg

His case: He’s just days removed from a demolition of his former team, the Clippers, which was crammed with highlights and numbers — a career-high 45 points, nine assists and five steals.

Shai’s value to the Thunder and level of play now becomes more paramount because OKC will be without Chet Holmgren for at least eight weeks with a pelvic fracture. If that first game without Holmgren was an indication from SGA, the Thunder should be fine and Gilgeous-Alexander will remain in this MVP race. We’ll see right away, with upcoming games against Devin Booker and the Suns, then Luka Dončić and the Mavericks.

5. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers

Last Ladder: No. 1
Season stats: 30.2 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 2.1 bpg

His case: Don’t read too much into his one-week tumble early in this MVP race. He missed one game because of a bum ankle and also suffered a scratched eye. But upon returning, his output was solid (21 points and nine rebounds over the last two games), just not at the level of his scorching start to the season.

No matter; Davis remains the best both-ends player in this top five. Not only is he averaging over 30 points but he’s No. 6 in blocks and No. 8 in rebounds. That level of balance must be respected for an award that should recognize 94-feet dominance.

The next five:

6. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
7. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
8. Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks
9. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
10. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers

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Fantasy Leaders

Jamal Murray has his best game of the season so far

Overtime Thoughts