NBA roundup: Giannis Antetokounmpo nets 59 in Bucks' OT win
Thu Nov 14 2:43am ET
Field Level Media
Giannis Antetokounmpo amassed an NBA season-high 59 points as the Milwaukee Bucks overturned an 18-point deficit to defeat the visiting Detroit Pistons 127-120 in overtime on Wednesday night.
It was Antetokounmpo's ninth 50-plus outing and the second best of his career, after his 64-point effort against Indiana last season.
The two-time MVP hit 21 of 34 from the field, 16 of 17 from the foul line, and had 14 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks. Brook Lopez provided the support with 29 points.
Cade Cunningham had 35 points and 11 assists for the Pistons, while Malik Beasley hit eight 3-pointers in his 26-point, 10-rebound game.
Cavaliers 114, 76ers 106
Darius Garland scored 25 points and Donovan Mitchell took over down the stretch as Cleveland remained undefeated with a road victory over short-handed Philadelphia.
Mitchell finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists for Cleveland (13-0), which is off to the NBA's best start since the Golden State Warriors' record-setting 24-game winning streak to begin the 2015-16 season.
Philadelphia fought hard without Joel Embiid (knee), Paul George (knee) and Tyrese Maxey (hamstring) but still lost for the ninth time in 11 games. Rookie Jared McCain took advantage of the available playing time by posting career highs in points (34) and assists (10).
Bulls 124, Knicks 123
Coby White made three free throws with 3.2 seconds left to cap his 22-point effort and Chicago rallied after squandering a 22-point lead to beat host New York.
After falling behind 90-68 late in the third quarter, New York -- playing the second leg of a back-to-back -- ended the period on a 17-0 run to set up an intense fourth quarter.
Jalen Brunson, who scored a pair of go-ahead baskets under duress in the final 38 seconds, created space for a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer, but his attempt rimmed in and out. Had the Knicks completed the comeback, it would have been the franchise's biggest second-half rally since a 26-point turnaround in March 2004.
Lakers 128, Grizzlies 123
LeBron James scored 35 points in his third consecutive triple-double as Los Angeles remained perfect at home with a victory over visiting Memphis.
James added 14 assists with 12 rebounds in his fourth triple-double of the season. Los Angeles rookie Dalton Knecht added a career-best 19 points while going 5-for-5 from 3-point range. The Lakers improved to 6-0 at home, matching the NBA-best mark also held by the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic.
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 29 points and Scotty Pippen Jr., Santi Aldama and Marcus Smart each added 15 points as the Grizzlies saw their season-best three-game winning streak come to an end.
Kings 127, Suns 104
De'Aaron Fox poured in a game-high 29 points, Kevin Huerter backed him with 22 and Sacramento won a battle of attrition over visiting Phoenix with a late flurry that produced a victory.
Fox, who also found time for a game-high 10 assists, and Domantas Sabonis (11 points, team-high 10 rebounds) recorded double-doubles for the Kings, who beat the Suns a second straight time after winning 127-118 in overtime in Phoenix on Sunday. Fox shot 11-for-17, Huerter 9-for-16 and Keegan Murray 7-for-11 (17 points) for the Kings, who outshot the visitors 64.1 percent to 37.1 percent.
Josh Okogie had 25 points off the bench to pace the Suns. Devin Booker totaled 18 points while Ryan Dunn, Tyus Jones and Monte Morris added 10 apiece for Phoenix. Jones also had a team-high eight assists while Jusuf Nurkic grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Magic 94, Pacers 90
Franz Wagner scored 29 points and Orlando benefited from a fourth-quarter surge to beat visiting Indiana and improve to 6-0 at home.
Orlando's Goga Bitadze collected 12 points and 12 rebounds to record his third double-double of the season. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Moritz Wagner each had 10 points in the win as the Magic outscored the Pacers by a 26-18 margin in the fourth.
Indiana's Pascal Siakam sank four 3-pointers to highlight his 25-point performance, and Bennedict Mathurin added 23 points and 12 rebounds.
Celtics 139, Nets 114
Jayson Tatum scored 15 of his 36 points in the third quarter as Boston recovered from a slow start and pulled away in the second half for a blowout of Brooklyn in New York.
Jaylen Brown added 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Celtics, who shot a season-best 53.8 percent. Payton Pritchard contributed 23 points.
Ziaire Williams scored 23 points to lead the Nets, who took their most lopsided loss of the season despite. Cam Thomas added 17 points and Dennis Schroder put up 16.
Thunder 106, Pelicans 88
Jalen Williams scored a season-high 31 points to lead host Oklahoma City past New Orleans.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 29 points two days after he posted a career-high 45 points. Williams added seven assists, six rebounds and four steals.
Brandon Ingram amassed 18 points and six assists but had eight turnovers as the Pelicans took their sixth loss in a row.
Rockets 111, Clippers 103
Jalen Green scored a game-high 21 points while Alperen Sengun chipped in a double-double and threw down a key late dunk that helped Houston fend off visiting Los Angeles.
With the Rockets up 98-79, the Clippers turned to reserves Kobe Brown, Jordan Miller and Bones Hyland to key a rally and close the deficit to 107-103. But Sengun (13 points, 11 rebounds) delivered his driving dunk before Tari Eason (18 points, 10 rebounds) added another in transition to seal the victory.
James Harden led the Clippers with 19 points and seven assists while Terance Mann added 14 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Trail Blazers 106, Timberwolves 98
Shaedon Sharpe scored a career-best 33 points to lead Portland past visiting Minnesota, the Trail Blazers' second win over the Timberwolves in as many days.
Rookie Donovan Clingan excelled with 17 points, 12 rebounds and eight blocked shots for Portland, which beat Minnesota 122-108 on Tuesday. Dalano Banton scored 13 points off the bench for Portland, which won consecutive games for the first time this season.
Anthony Edwards scored 24 points and had four steals for the Timberwolves but missed all nine of his 3-point attempts. Last Friday in Minneapolis, he made nine treys and scored 37 points as the Timberwolves rolled to a 127-102 victory over Portland.
- Hornets reach 3-year, $24M deal with Tre Mann
- Duncan Robinson headed to Pistons in sign-and-trade from Heat
- Tim Hardaway Jr. reaches deal with Nuggets
- Thunder F Jalen Williams undergoes wrist surgery, Nov. return expected
- Raptors C Jakob Poeltl agrees to 4-year, $104M deal
- Kings sign Dennis Schroder, deal Jonas Valanciunas to Denver
- Bucks waive Damian Lillard, sign Myles Turner
- Knicks signing Guerschon Yabusele to 2-year deal
- Thunder sign SGA to record 4-year, $285M extension
- Knicks set second interview with Mike Brown
- Knicks add veteran G Jordan Clarkson
- Bucks retain Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., Tauren Prince
- Pistons reportedly land G Cavis LeVert for 2 years, $29M
- Veteran G Dennis Schroder agrees to deal with Kings
- Hawks, Nickeil Alexander-Walker agree to $62M deal
- Brook Lopez agrees to two-year deal with Clippers
- Dorian Finney-Smith to Rockets on 4-year, $53M deal
- Nuggets sending Michael Porter Jr. to Nets for Cam Johnson
- D’Angelo Russell gets two-year deal with Mavericks
- Jaren Jackson Jr. to receive $240M deal from Grizzlies
Shams Charania of ESPN reports that forward Taurean Prince has agreed to a two-year, $7.1 million contract to remain with the Milwaukee Bucks. In 2024-25, Prince started 73 of his 80 regular-season outings during his first year in Milwaukee. He also averaged 8.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.0 steals in 27.1 minutes per contest, while shooting a career-best 43.9 percent from three-point range. The 31-year-old could remain in the Bucks starting five, but he will likely struggle to stay a fantasy-relevant asset during the 2025-26 regular season.
Houston Rockets forward/centerJeff Green signed aone-year, $3.63 million contract to remain with the franchise. This upcoming campaign will be the third consecutive season for Green in a Rockets uniform. The 38-year-old veteran posted averages of 5.4 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 0.1 blocks across 12.4 minutes per contest during 32 regular-season outings. At this point in his career, the big man won't factor into fantasy in 2025-26.
The Los Angeles Lakers have added some depth in the form of forward Jake LaRavia on Monday. According to Shams Charania, LaRavia has agreed to a two-year, $12 million deal with the Lakers. The 23-year-old is averaging 6.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists across three NBA seasons. He has spent most of his career with the Memphis Grizzlies before being traded to the Sacramento Kings mid-way last season. This is a nice depth move by the Lakers to add a player like LaRavia who can do a little bit of everything. He figures to play a fairly significant role off the bench, but probably won't be anything more than a streaming option in most fantasy formats.
The Orlando Magic added some depth at the point guard position by signing free-agent guard Tyus Jones on Monday. According to Shams Charania, Jones signed a one-year, $7 million deal with the organization. Jones has bounced around quite a bit during his career, but last played with the Phoenix Suns. He averaged 10.2 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in 26.8 minutes per game in 81 games with the Suns last season. It's unclear if he'll see that much playing time in Orlando, but that is also dependent on the health of Jalen Suggs. Jones figures to be the primary backup point guard, so he'll likely be asked to step up if the oft-injured Suggs goes down. Jones probably won't have standard league fantasy value on draft day.
The New Orleans Pelicans signed free-agent center Kevon Looney on Monday. According to Shams Charania, Looney agreed to a two-year, $16 million deal with the Pelicans. Looney has spent each of the last 10 years with the Golden State Warriors. Last season, Looney averaged 4.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 15.0 minutes per game across 76 contests. Looney is an experienced player who won three championships during his time in Golden State. He doesn't offer a ton of upside outside of his elite rebounding skills. He figures to play a role off the bench, which probably won't result in a ton of fantasy value. He'll probably end up being more of a streaming option than an everyday contributor in fantasy leagues.
The Milwaukee Bucks have signed center Jericho Sims to a new deal on Tuesday. The two sides have come to terms on a two-year deal. Sims was acquired by the Bucks mid-season from the New York Knicks. He didn't do too much damage as he averaged 2.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 0.8 assists across 15.0 minutes per game in a career-high 53 games. It's worth noting that Sims did play in all the postseason games for the Bucks. Despite that, Sims figures to have a minimal role in the rotation behind newly acquired center Myles Turner. Sims is unlikely to bring much to the table while Turner is healthy.
The Denver Nuggets have agreed on a one-year deal with free-agent guard Tim Hardaway Jr. on Tuesday. After one season in Detroit, Hardaway has departed and will try his luck in Denver. Hardaway made 77 starts with the Pistons last season, but saw his offensive numbers take a hit. He averaged 11.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists and 2.2 three-pointers per game last season. Some of those numbers were the lowest Hardaway has produced in nearly a decade. He's a reliable shooter that should rebound with his new organization. However, Hardaway is unlikely to make 77 starts in Denver. In fact, Hardaway will probably come off the bench, so his fantasy value is uncertain right now.
The Detroit Pistons are having a busy offseason as they've acquired guard Duncan Robinson on Tuesday. The Pistons and Miami Heat have agreed on a sign-and-trade that sends Robinson to Detroit in exchange for Simone Fontecchio. After that, Robinson signed a three-year, $48 million deal with Detroit. The Pistons are aggressively adding talent as they signed Caris LeVert on Monday. The combination of the two figures to help fill the void if Malik Beasley misses time due to gambling allegations. Last season, Robinson averaged 11.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 2.6 three-pointers across 74 games with the Heat. Robinson is a reliable three-point shooter, but doesn't offer a ton of upside elsewhere. Fantasy managers know what they're going to get when adding Robinson.
Charlotte Hornets guard Tre Mann signed a new deal with the organization on Tuesday. The two sides have agreed on a three-year, $24 million deal. Mann was acquired by the Hornets from the Oklahoma City Thunder at the trade deadline in 2024. He only managed to play in 13 games last season due to a back issue. Before going down, Mann averaged 14.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.0 assists across 24.5 minutes per game. There is certainly good upside here, but Mann figures to mainly play off the bench behind LaMelo Ball. That being said, Mann probably won't see enough playing time to warrant rostering in most fantasy formats.
On Tuesday, free-agent guard Gary Harris signed a two-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, per Shams Charania of ESPN. Harris joins the Bucks after spending the last five seasons in Orlando. Milwaukee remains active in the offseason, and it is unclear what the team has planned for the 28-year-old. Despite averaging only 3.0 points and 1.3 rebounds last season, Harris still provides the Bucks with veteran leadership and depth at guard, as he has demonstrated key rotational contributions throughout his time in the league. However, he is not considered a valuable fantasy asset at this point in his 11-year NBA career.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Charlotte Hornets signed free-agent center Mason Plumlee to a one-year, $3.6 million contract. The veteran big man played in 74 regular-season contests with the Phoenix Suns during the 2024-25 campaign, averaging 4.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 0.6 blocks per game. Going into his 13th NBA season, the 35-year-old will have to battle for minutes with rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner and Moussa Diabate, who are both 23 years old.
Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl has agreed to a four-year, $104 million contract extension with the organization through the 2029-30 season, per Shams Charania of ESPN. Poeltl picked up his 2026-27 player option at $19.5M and adds three more years to his deal. The 29-year-old had an excellent 2024-25 regular season, registering career-highs with 14.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per contest in 57 games. He will likely continue to be a solid fantasy contributor going into the 2025-26 campaign.
ESPN's Shams Charania reports that the Charlotte Hornets have traded 31-year-old guard Vasilije Micic to the Milwaukee Bucks for guard/forwardPat Connaughton. Charlotte also receives two second picks in 2031 and 2032. Milwaukee has been very active this offseason, so it is unclear what the organization has planned for Micic. During the 2024-25 campaign, the 31-year-old veteran guard suited up for 36 games with the Hornets and five with the Suns, averaging 6.6 points, 3.1 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per contest.
On Tuesday, the Milwaukee Bucks traded guard/forwardPat Connaughton and two of their second-round picks in 2031 and 2032 to the Charlotte Hornets for guard Vasilije Micic, per Shams Charania of ESPN. Connaughton heads to the Hornets after exercising his $9.42 million player option for 2025-26. Last season, the 32-year-old averaged 5.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.3 blocks, and 0.6 three-pointers in 14.7 minutes per game.
Shams Charania of ESPN reports that guardLuke Kennard has agreed to a one-year, $11 million deal with the Atlanta Hawks. Kennard lands in Atlanta after spending the past two-plus seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies. During the 2024-25 season, he averaged 8.9 points, 3.3 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.7 three-pointers while shooting 43.3 percent from three-point range in 22.6 minutes per contest. The 29-year-old brings veteran leadership and depth to the Hawks on the wing.
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, the Sacramento Kings have signed guard Dennis Schroder to a three-year, $45 million deal on Tuesday. After trading De'Aaron Fox, the Kings have added Schroder to provide depth and a veteran presence. The 31-year-old will backup starting point guard Malik Monk. During the 2024-25 regular season, Schroder played for three different teams, suiting up for the Nets, Warriors, and Pistons, while averaging 13.1 points, 5.4 assists, and 2.6 rebounds per game in 75 appearances.
The Denver Nuggets acquired frontcourt depth in the early days of free agency, trading forward Dario Saric to Sacramento for center Jonas Valanciunas. The 33-year-old played in 81 games last year for Washington and Sacramento, averaging 10.4 points, seven rebounds, and two assists per game. The former top-five pick has been a productive post scorer throughout his career, and should allow Denver to rest Nikola Jokic without the offense falling apart. The acquisition of Valanciunas is the latest move of Denver's offseason. They also traded Michael Porter Jr. to Brooklyn for Cam Johnson and brought back fan-favorite forward Bruce Brown Jr.
Former Boston Celtics center Luke Kornet is heading south to San Antonio. ESPN's Shams Charania reports Kornet and the Spurs have agreed to a four-year, $41 million contract. The deal reportedly includes a team option for the final season. Kornet, one of the league's best rim protectors last season, will serve as the backup to franchise cornerstone Victor Wembanyama. The pair could also see some spot minutes together. While the Spurs were in desperate need of a backup big man, the change of scenery doesn't move the needle for Kornet's fantasy basketball value. The 7-footer averaged a career-best 18.6 minutes per game last season. That number may stay consistent, barring an injury in San Antonio's frontcourt.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have agreed on a four-year, $285 million super max contract extension. That keeps the reigning NBA MVP under contract through the 2031 season. SGA now has the richest yearly salary in league history, a deserving accolade after becoming one of four players in NBA history to win the NBA MVP, Finals MVP, and scoring title. The Thunder's championship core remains intact and will be a strong contender to repeat in 2026. Gilgeous-Alexander will be a top-five pick in upcoming fantasy basketball drafts.
Free-agent center Guerschon Yabusele is moving from Philadelphia to New York, signing a two-year, $12 million contract with the Knicks. The forward returned to the NBA last year after five international seasons and averaged 11 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists on 50% shooting from the field. Yabusele brings lineup optionality to the Knicks. While a little undersized, he can play the 5 in a pinch, but he should also seamlessly fit alongside Karl-Anthony Towns or Mitchell Robinson. The fit makes more sense for real-life basketball than it does for fantasy basketball. The Knicks, in a wide-open Eastern Conference, are loading up on depth pieces (Yabusele and guard Jordan Clarkson) to try and reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.
