NBA FIGHT NIGHT | TMK #22

Today, on TMK:

Chokeholds, shoves, and some basketball in between.

Catch Up:

• 🏀 NBA Fight Night

• 🏀 NBA Basketball

• 🏀 Euroleague Recap

• 🎾 Sinner def. Djokovic

The Main Events:

• 🏀 NBA: 76ers vs Celtics, Lakers vs Kings

Extra Time:

• ❓ Sports Trivia

• 🗣️ Quote of the Day

• ⭐ Can’t Miss Moment

• 🧮 Stat of the Day

• 📽️ Video of the Day

🏀 NBA Fight Night

The NBA is a wonderful place where staring at someone for too long gets you the same penalty as physically choking them. That makes sense, right?

Tonight was a special night for the NBA, with 4 separate physical incidents leading to ejections.

The worst incident tonight was Draymond Green choking out Rudy Gobert for a good 7 seconds as the Frenchman tried to separate Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels. Draymond’s behavior is an absolute blight on the league and has been for years now.

I can’t even make this GIF long enough to show the full length of Green’s chokehold.

How is this not at least a 10-game suspension is beyond me. Green didn’t try to defuse; he came to fight. And this isn’t Green’s first act of violence as an NBA player.

Sure, Draymond likes to be hated and plays the part well. He knows hate drives clicks. But this is going too far.

🏀 NBA Basketball

Charlotte Hornets 105 - 111 Miami Heat

Jimmy Butler has his best game of the season with 32 points to keep the Heat unbeaten in the in-season tournament. Lamelo Ball has another great showing with 28 points and 11 assists. We’ve come a long way since Papa Ball was hyping up his sons, and it turns out one of them can actually play at an all-star level.

Detroit Pistons 120 - 126 Atlanta Hawks

Dejounte Murray isn’t being talked about enough; he’s relatively quietly averaging 20 points a game for the third season in a row. He had 32 tonight and led the Young-less Hawks to a victory. This is the Pistons’ 9th loss in a row, and Cade Cunningham had a quiet night, scoring only 9 points.

Philadelphia 76ers 126 - 132 Indiana Pacers

The 76ers finally lose again, after 8 straight victories. The Pacers made adjustments, especially regarding limiting offensive rebounds for the 76ers, and took a game away from the 76ers. Tyrese Haliburton scored 33 and added 15 assists. In the past two games against the Sixers, he recorded 32 assists and ZERO turnovers. Embiid’s 39 points weren’t enough to win, as the Sixers’ entire bench scored a paltry 6 points.

Oklahoma City Thunder 123 - 87 San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs’ growing pains are an entertaining watch, but it’s hard knowing which Spurs team will show up on any given night. Tonight they were run out of town behind an efficient Shai Gilgeous Alexander who scored 28 points in 28 minutes. He didn’t need to play more than that.

No player on the Spurs scored more than 13 points, and Wemby was limited to 8.

Denver Nuggets 111 - 108 Los Angeles Clippers

Another day, another loss for the Clippers.

Paul George had the hot hand for the Clippers and scored 35, but played hero ball with 7 seconds to go and chucked a 3-pointer to tie the game that got wedged between the rim and backboard. This time, Westbrook was the odd man out and scored only 8.

Jokic was his usual self with 32-16-9. The man is unstoppable.

Golden State Warriors 101 - 104 Minnesota Timberwolves

The Warriors dropped another game as Curry was out with an injury, and both Green and Thompson were ejected only 2 minutes into the game. The Warriors’ bench performed and outrebounded the Timberwolves, but ultimately lacked clutch in the 4th.

The Wolves had a good game led by KAT’s 33 points and Edwards’ 20.

Los Angeles Lakers 134 - 107 Memphis Grizzlies

The Lakers took advantage of playing the league’s worst team to heavily rotate players and rest starters. This was a shooting night to remember for the Lakers, who hit 63% of their threes as a team, including 8-11 from bench players.

Other Games

Brooklyn Nets 124 - 104 Orlando Magic

New Orleans Pelicans 131 - 110 Dallas Mavericks

Utah Jazz 115 - 99 Portland Trail Blazers

🏀 Euroleague Recap

AS Monaco 82 - 89 Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Anadolu Efes Istanbul notched their first away victory of the season with an impressive 82-89 win against AS Monaco. Shane Larkin led the charge with 25 points, supported by Rodrigue Beaubois with 21 and Darius Thompson adding 16.

For Monaco, Jordan Loyd contributed 19 points, John Brown notched 13 points and 8 rebounds, while Donatas Motiejunas and Mike James added 13 and 12 points respectively, with James scoring all of his points in the second half. Efes showcased a fluid offense and looks back on track - especially with Shane Larkin at his best.

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv 74 - 79 Olympiacos Piraeus

Olympiacos clinched a hard-fought 74-79 victory on the road against Maccabi to break a two-game losing streak. Despite missing key players Nikola Milutinov and Shaquielle McKissic, Olympiacos rallied behind Thomas Walkup's 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Alec Peters contributed 13 points and 8 rebounds, while Moustapha Fall added 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists to secure the win.

The Reds tightened their defense, holding Maccabi to 74 points, well below their average. Despite efforts from Roman Sorkin (16 points) and Tamir Blatt (13 points), Maccabi couldn't overcome Olympiacos' determined performance.

Virtus Segafredo Bologna 86 - 79 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan

Virtus Segafredo Bologna claimed a solid 86-79 win over EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in the Derby d'Italia showdown. Danish star Iffe Lundberg stole the spotlight in the second half, notching up 19 points and leading Virtus to victory. Lundberg's performance, especially in the closing moments, secured the win for Virtus.

Awudu Abass and Ognjen Dobric played pivotal roles off the bench, turning the game around and setting the stage for a thrilling second half. This win bumped Virtus to 6-2, while Milan's tough start continued as they slipped to 2-6 in the season standings.

Valencia Basket 73 - 76 Real Madrid

Real Madrid continued their undefeated streak, notching their seventh consecutive win with a hard-fought 73-76 victory over Valencia Basket, who now stands at 5-3 in the season. Despite Brandon Davies' strong start, scoring 20 of his 22 points in the first half for Valencia.

Real surged back in the second half, maintaining narrow leads in the game's closing moments. Gabriel Deck led the charge for Real with 17 points, shooting an impressive 6-of-7 from the field, while Facundo Campazzo's crucial 15 points, including the team's final 4 points, sealed the win.

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 87 - 56 Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade dominated the court with an astounding 87-56 victory over Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, marking their second consecutive home win at Stark Arena in Serbia. With this triumph, Zvezda climbed to a 3-5 record while Fenerbahce slipped to 5-3 in the standings.

Milos Teodosic led the charge for the winners, delivering 18 points off the bench, with support from Joel Bolomboy (14 points), Nemanja Nedovic (12 points), and contributions from Yago dos Santos and Stefan Lazarevic, who each added 11. Fenerbahce struggled to find their footing, with Nigel Hayes-Davis being the lone player to reach double digits with 12 points.

🎾 Sinner def. Djokovic

Jannik Sinner is on his way to greatness.

The Italian put an end to Novak Djokovic's impressive 19-match winning streak in a thrilling match that had the crowd at the ATP Finals in Turin on the edge of their seats. In a jaw-dropping showdown lasting over three hours, Sinner clinched a superb 7-5, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2) victory, finally breaking Djokovic's resilience in the deciding set tie-break.

This marks Sinner’s first career win against the 24-time grand slam champion and makes a strong case for his status as one of the game’s most promising players.

🏀 NBA

Philadelphia 76ers (8-2) - Boston Celtics (8-2)

This is the can’t miss matchup of today’s games. Both teams will be fighting for the #1 seed in the East, so every game matters. The Sixers are coming off a hard-fought loss to the Pacers, but have looked good even in losses this season. Embiid looks more like the MVP than he did last year, and Maxey is a star.

The Celtics haven’t lost since their loss to the Sixers earlier this season. Tatum, Brown, and Porzingis look locked in, as if they’ve been playing together forever. Their skills complement each other beautifully and they’re a force to be reckoned with.

Phoenix Suns (4-6) - Minnesota Timberwolves (8-2)

The Wolves are coming off two wins on the Warriors’ court, and are tied for the league’s best record. The Wolves! KAT and Ant-man are playing off each others’ strengths, and this team has some serious size that is hard to defend against.

Both Bradley Beal and Devin Booker are listed as probable for this game; could we finally see the Suns’ big 3 in action for the first time? Kevin Durant’s back must hurt from carrying this Suns team so far.

Los Angeles Lakers (6-5) - Sacramento Kings (5-4)

The Lakers have a positive record on the virtue of being 5-0 at home. They’re coming off half a night off after easily handling the Grizzlies. LeBron is still playing at a high level and the supporting cast looks like it’s improving.

This Kings team with Fox back will be a good test for the Lakers’ perfect home record. On paper, the Kings are the better, more complete team. The Lakers will need a vintage LeBron game to take the W in this one.

Other Games

Toronto Raptors (5-5) - Milwaukee Bucks (6-4)

Chicago Bulls (4-7) - Orlando Magic (5-5)

Washington Wizards (2-8) - Dallas Mavericks (8-3)

Atlanta Hawks (6-4) - New York Knicks (5-5)

Los Angeles Lakers (6-5) - Sacramento Kings (5-4)

Portland Trail Blazers (3-7) - Cleveland Cavaliers (4-6)

❓Sports Trivia

Draymond Green is now #2 on the all-time list of players with the most ejections, with 18. Who is #1?

The answer is in the wrap-up.

🗣️ Quote Of The Day

“I clean 'em. I wash 'em. Every once in a while, at least”

Patrick Mahomes, Quarterback for the Chiefs, confirmed that he’s been wearing the same underwear every game day since the beginning of this career. You’re welcome for this important piece of information.

⭐ Can’t Miss Moment

Demar DeRozan with an INSANE ASSIST

I know, this happened two days ago, but it’s just that good. I’ve never seen anything like it.

🧮 Stat Of The Day

Manchester City announce record revenue of £712.8m

All it took was billions in investment, and everything is totally legal at all times.

📽️ Video of the Day

EPIC Novak Djokovic vs Jannik Sinner Match Highlights

This is a great 7-minute introduction to Tennis at the highest level. If you’ve never really watched Tennis before, give it a try.

Click HERE to watch on YouTube.

Wrap Up

I hope you like basketball, because that’s all I got for you today. See you tomorrow.

❗Trivia answer: Rasheed Wallace, with 29. Green still has a long way to go, but he’ll get there eventually.