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Magic Notes: Black, Suggs, Da Silva, Wagners, Penda

December 28th, 2025 at 10:32am CST by Rory Maher

Third-year guard Anthony Black erupted for a career-high 38 points in the Magic‘s comeback victory over Denver on Saturday, writes Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel.

It was the second game of a back-to-back for the Magic, who had a disappointing loss to Charlotte the night before. They trailed by as many as 17 points in the third quarter, but worked their way back into the game by forcing turnovers and getting baskets in transition, Beede notes.

Black shot 14-of-24 from the floor in Saturday’s win, including 7-of-11 from long distance. The 21-year-old also contributed six rebounds, five assists and two steals and was plus-six in 30 minutes.

“He’s put the work in,” Desmond Bane said about Black. “He laid the foundation for a great season with the way he approached the summer. I’m really happy for his growth. He’s a special player and he’s only going to get better.”

Known as a strong defender, Black has improved across the board in his third season and deserves to be in the Most Improved Player conversation, according to Josh Cohen of the team’s website.

“Confidence stepping into a shot, playing the right way,” head coach Jamahl Mosley said of Black. “The things that we’ve talked about him being and doing each night. When he gets that ball in his hands, just looking to attack to get downhill, stepping into a shot, and then taking on the challenge of guarding one of the best guards in the league.”

Here’s more on the Magic:

Jalen Suggs was sidelined for his sixth straight game Saturday due to a left hip contusion, Beede tweets. “I don’t know how close but just keep preparing myself to be back on the court with my brothers,” Suggs said.
A bruised right shoulder limited Tristan Da Silva‘s effectiveness earlier this month and forced him to miss four games before returning to action on Friday, Beede writes in another story. “I feel good,” Da Silva said Friday morning. “It’s been something that I’ve been dealing with a little bit, so I’m just glad that I finally took the time to settle back down and get things re-centered with myself. I’m excited to step back out there again.” The second-year forward was a key contributor in Saturday’s win, finishing with 17 points (on 7-of-11 shooting) and five rebounds in 30 minutes.
Mosley also provided injury updates on Franz Wagner and his older brother Moritz Wagner Friday morning, Beede adds. Franz, who is recovering from a high left ankle sprain, has been limited to spot shooting. Moritz, who is a year removed from a torn ACL, will be playing 2-on-2, 3-on-3 and taking contact in the near future, but there’s no timetable for the big man’s return, per Beede.
Bane raved about Noah Penda‘s contributions earlier this week with the Magic shorthanded, as Beede relays (via Twitter). “He’s been huge,” Bane said of the rookie forward, who was selected No. 32 overall in the 2025 draft. “We all know what he brings on the defensive end, scrapping to get loose balls, but I’m proud of him for having confidence in his shot.“

Pelicans’ Alvarado, Suns’ Williams Ejected After Fight

December 28th, 2025 at 9:12am CST by Rory Maher

Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado and Suns center Mark Williams were both ejected from Saturday’s game in New Orleans after a brief fight late in the third quarter, writes Rashad Milligan of NOLA.com.

Alvarado was whistled for a foul after pushing Williams, who was attempting to set a screen, with two hands (YouTube link). As Alvarado looked to the official to plead his case, Williams returned the favor with his own two-handed shove.

The 6’0″ Alvarado confronted the 7’1″ Williams, who dismissively tried to forearm Alvarado out of the way. Undeterred, Alvarado grabbed Williams’ left arm and jersey and a brief scuffle ensued, with Williams and then Alvarado both throwing right-handed punches that connected.

Williams also punched down at Alvarado with his left hand as the players were being separated, but it’s unclear from the video if it connected. Both players were ejected for the incident.

After the game, which Phoenix won, Suns head coach Jordan Ott said he had not yet reviewed a video of the altercation, per The Associated Press.

“I saw it start, and then all of a sudden everyone jumped in,” Ott said. “Obviously, it happens. It just feels like the lack of sleep the second night of a back-to-back, something always tends to happen. Last night, there were a lot of free throws; tonight there wasn’t as much. They let us play tonight, which is something we enjoy. They got tangled up, and obviously they both got thrown out.”

The NBA tends to be pretty strict when it comes to fights, especially when punches are thrown, so fines and suspensions could be coming for Alvarado and Williams.

Bulls’ Trentyn Flowers Drawing Interest From Several Colleges

December 28th, 2025 at 8:12am CST by Rory Maher

Second-year wing Trentyn Flowers, who is on a two-way contract with the Bulls, is receiving interest from several different power five colleges, including Kentucky, Michigan, Kansas and Florida, reports Joe Tipton of On3.com (subscription required).

Flowers was viewed as a top-25 college recruit out of high school in 2023, Tipton notes, but the 20-year-old ultimately decided to play professionally in Australia after originally committing to Louisville. He went undrafted in 2024 after one season with the Adelaide 36ers of the National Basketball League.

As Tipton writes, players who have NBA experience technically haven’t been granted NCAA eligibility to this point, but that hasn’t stopped college programs from pursuing them. Jazian Gortman, who is currently playing in the G League with the Oklahoma City Blue but spent part of last season on a two-way deal with the Mavericks, represents another recent example of this trend.

Flowers isn’t the only active two-way player receiving interest from colleges, according to Tipton, though he doesn’t specifically identify any others.

Tipton points out that universities have been emboldened to pursue professional players after the NCAA has shown leniency about granting them eligibility. For instance, Knicks prospect James Nnaji enrolled at Baylor a few days ago two years after being selected 31st overall in the 2023 draft. The Nigerian big man, who played professionally in Spain and Turkey, was granted four years of college eligibility.

Pacific Notes: Redick, Ellis, Westbrook, Lopez

December 27th, 2025 at 11:04pm CST by Arthur Hill

The “uncomfortable” practice that Lakers coach JJ Redick promised after a Christmas Day loss to Houston wound up being a constructive exchange of ideas, Dan Arritt of The Orange County Register writes in a subscriber-only story. Instead of chastising his players for defensive mistakes during the current three-game losing streak, Redick cited the need for “recalibration” and “reconnection” as he met with reporters on Saturday.

“For myself, I’m always gonna look in the mirror first,” Redick said. “It’s easy as a player or coach to say, ‘Well, it’s this guy’s fault,’ or ‘We’re not doing this because of X, Y and Z.’ We had a great meeting as a staff this morning, came in super early and met with the players. It was very positive, and it was also listening. For our staff and myself to listen to the players and what they need.”

Defensive issues have stood out during the recent slide, but Redick said the offense has also been at fault by being disorganized and ending too many possessions with poor shot selection. Injuries have played a role in that, as LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves haven’t been available as often as Redick was expecting.

“We’re not pointing at each other,” Rui Hachimura said. “We talked about everybody, players, coaches. We’ve just got to tighten up. We had a good stretch at the beginning (of the season) and now we kind of, I don’t know, we relaxed and got tired of winning, but we stopped doing what we were supposed to do.”

There’s more from the Pacific Division:

Kings guard Keon Ellis credited a strong defensive effort for Saturday’s victory over Dallas as he made his third start of the season, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (subscription required). Coach Doug Christie used a revamped starting lineup to help his team win for the second time in three games. “Just the effort on the defensive end, helping for one another,” Ellis said. “I always go back to that energy again because there’s been times when teams are going on runs, and we’ve let go of the rope a little bit, so tonight I think we did a good job of not doing that.”
Russell Westbrook reached another milestone in the victory, passing Magic Johnson to move into seventh place on the career assists list. At age 37, the Kings guard gave no indication that he’s thinking about retirement, telling reporters, “I’ll keep going until I’ve had enough” (Twitter video link from James Ham of The Kings Beat).
Brook Lopez, who stepped into the starting lineup after an injury to Ivica Zubac, drilled nine three-pointers on Friday to help the Clippers rally past Portland and extend their winning streak to three games, per Janis Carr of The Orange County Register (subscription required). Lopez made a limited impact during the first two months of the season, but showed against the Blazers why L.A. targeted him over the summer. “He can post smaller guys and when he’s on the perimeter, he can make shots,” coach Tyronn Lue said. “If we get the right matchups, we can take advantage of that.”

Sixers Notes: Embiid, Maxey, George, Beauchamp, Oubre

December 27th, 2025 at 10:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Sixers are counting on Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Paul George to be their team leaders, but they haven’t been on the court together long enough to build any kind of chemistry, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. Friday’s game against Chicago marked just the fourth time this season that all three players have been available. They each turned in fine individual performances, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 109-102 loss that gave them an 0-4 record in those games.

“I’d like to see them have 10, or 15, or 20 games together,” coach Nick Nurse said. “I think the issue here is that there have been so many injuries that there just hasn’t been enough time for them to get onto the floor together.”

Jones points out that the Sixers have to determine how they’re going to run the offense when Embiid, Maxey and George are on the floor at the same time. Embiid has been an offensive force throughout his career whose production has only been limited by his frequent injury issues. However, Maxey is one of the NBA’s top scorers this season at 30.8 PPG, and giving the ball to Embiid to operate in the post limits Maxey’s opportunities.

Jones adds that the Sixers were successful early in the season because they played at a fast pace with Maxey and rookie guard VJ Edgecombe leading the attack. Once Embiid began to play more regularly, the offense slowed down and that weapon was taken away.

“What’s tough is that we haven’t been able to have much practice time with all three of us on the floor,” Maxey said. “And that’s something we need to deal with because the games are different. They are much different. We missed a lot of shots that we know we should have made. Those things happen. But we have to figure it out, quick.”

There’s more on the Sixers:

Embiid is coming off one of his best games of the season with 31 points and five rebounds in 32 minutes at Chicago. However, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer observes in a subscriber-only story that Embiid’s movement was limited due to pain in his right knee. Pompey believes the Bulls repeatedly targeted Embiid on defense, although Nurse disagreed. “I don’t know about that,” Nurse said. “I got to look at that first (on film). I thought he had some really good possessions by him defensively. But let me look at the film first before I comment. I don’t think that.”
MarJon Beauchamp, who signed a two-way contract on Friday, feels fortunate that his latest NBA opportunity is coming with the Sixers, Pompey states in a separate story. “Guys are injured,” Beauchamp said. “I feel like I can help the team with my length, my defensive abilities, and my shooting abilities. I shot well in the G League this year. I feel like I can bring a lot to the team, and just my young energy, and bring good energy around the team. So I just feel like it’s a great opportunity.”
Kelly Oubre Jr., who has been sidelined with a left knee ligament sprain since November 14, is getting “much closer” to returning, Jones tweets. Oubre was heavily involved in individual work at Saturday’s practice, Jones adds, focusing on starting and stopping and changing direction at full speed.

Clippers’ Derrick Jones Jr. Expected To Return Sunday

December 27th, 2025 at 8:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Clippers forward Derrick Jones Jr. has been cleared to return to action for Sunday’s game against Detroit, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Jones has been sidelined since November 16 with a sprained MCL in his right knee. He was projected to miss at least six weeks, so he’s returning right on schedule.

Jones’ absence is among the reasons for the Clippers’ slow start, although they’ve rebounded over the past week to win three straight games. He’s averaging 10.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 13 games, and he provides a strong defensive presence that L.A. has been missing.

Jones was injured in a collision with Boston’s Jaylen Brown that caused his knee to bend inward at an odd angle. He had to be helped off the court, and the Clippers were relieved when medical testing showed there was no structural damage.

Jones was a full-time starter before the injury and figures to make his way back into that role, even if it doesn’t happen right away. Coach Tyronn Lue has been using a makeshift starting lineup since Ivica Zubac suffered an ankle sprain that’s expected to sideline him through mid-January.

In addition, Bogdan Bogdanovic will miss Sunday’s game due to left hamstring injury management and Cam Christie is questionable with a sprained left ankle.

TyTy Washington Jr. To Sign Two-Way Deal With Clippers

December 27th, 2025 at 8:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers will sign point guard TyTy Washington Jr. to a two-way contract, sources tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). The team will waive two-way point guard RayJ Dennis to create an opening, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Washington, 24, inked a training camp deal with the team this summer, but was waived before the start of the season. He has been playing with L.A.’s G League affiliate in San Diego, where he’s averaging 17.9 points, 5.9 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 46.5% from the field and 41.1% from three-point range.

Washington was selected with the 29th pick in the 2022 draft, but he hasn’t been able to find a consistent NBA home. After spending his rookie season with Houston, he was traded to Atlanta in the summer of 2023 and then shipped to Oklahoma City four days later. He was waived by OKC, then signed a two-way contract with Milwaukee in August of 2023 and a two-way deal with Phoenix in August of 2024.

Washington has appeared in 58 total games with the Rockets, Bucks and Suns and has spent time in the G League in each of the last four seasons.

Dennis, 24, signed a two-way contract with the Clippers on December 4, four days after being waived by Indiana. He made just one four-minute appearance for L.A. Dennis joined the Pacers on a two-way deal in January and got into 24 total games.

Josh Hart To Miss At Least Three Games With Sprained Ankle

December 27th, 2025 at 7:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

After spraining his right ankle in Thursday’s game, Knicks guard Josh Hart didn’t travel with the team on a three-game road trip that began tonight in Atlanta, writes James L. Edwards of The Athletic. Hart will also be unavailable Monday at New Orleans and Wednesday at San Antonio.

League sources tell Edwards that Hart is undergoing further testing on the ankle and his condition will be reevaluated when the team returns home.

Hart was injured in the fourth quarter of the Christmas Day contest against Cleveland when his foot twisted in a collision with Dean Wade (Twitter video link). A foul was called on the play, and Hart made both free throws before limping to the locker room.

Edwards notes that the Knicks have gone 11-3 since coach Mike Brown inserted Hart into the starting lineup late last month. He’s shooting 38.9% from three-point range, his best percentage since his rookie season, and he’s collecting 8.0 boards per night, which makes him one of the league’s best rebounding non-centers. He’s also averaging 12.3 points and 5.1 assists in 30.3 minutes per game.

There’s positive injury news for New York as well, as Edwards hears that Miles McBride is expected back Monday after missing nine straight games with a sprained ankle. In addition, league sources tell Edwards that Landry Shamet has progressed to full on-court basketball activities and is working toward being cleared for contact. Shamet has missed the past month with a sprained right shoulder.

Heat Notes: Larsson, Jovic, Adebayo, Herro, Trade Deadline

December 27th, 2025 at 6:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

Pelle Larsson scored a career-high 21 points Friday night as he returned to the Heat’s starting lineup after missing the previous five games with a left ankle sprain, Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes in a subscriber-only story. Larsson’s shooting didn’t suffer from the layoff, as he connected on 9-of-13 attempts from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range.

“You should have seen his rehab sessions, whether it was on the bike initially, it was just all out,” coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters. “Almost a level of throwing up. I walked in on one of those sessions, and then also his court sessions. He just pushes the envelope. And so, he had the conditioning. It’s different than game conditioning. But he was able to handle those 29 minutes. And you just see the glue intangibles that he provides.”

Larsson admitted being “pretty gassed” after his first game action in more than two weeks, but the Heat were glad to welcome him back, not just for his scoring but for the other things he does on the court. He brings a lot of intangibles that the team missed while losing eight of its previous nine games.

“We’re so happy to have him back in this lineup,” Jaime Jaquez Jr. said. “He’s the ultimate energy guy, really just gives everybody life and the spark that we desperately needed. So the fact that he was able to come in after so many games missed and just play like that just shows how hard of a worker and how great of a player he is.”

There’s more on the Heat:

Also returning Friday was Nikola Jovic, who was sidelined for four games due to a right elbow contusion/laceration, Chiang adds. Wearing a protective sleeve on his injured arm, Jovic suffered through a rough shooting night, going 3-of-14 from the field and 1-of-6 from beyond the arc, but he contributed seven rebounds, four assists and a steal and finished as a plus-12 for the game. “I’m someone who when I miss shots, I get pretty mad,” Jovic admitted. “I’m pretty fired up. But during this time that I was injured, I talked a lot to assistant coaches and some of the people from the Heat and they helped me find a way to get back into (the game) quicker. … So, yeah it for sure helps and I think it helped me tonight. Even though I didn’t make a lot of them, I still felt great even shooting them.”
Bam Adebayo will miss his second straight game tonight with soreness in his lower back. “He clearly is not moving well enough to compete. … He really needed this time,” Spoelstra said, per Ira Winderman of The Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). “He’s definitely making progress. He really needed this time just to get … he was dealing with some deals because of overcompensation. I think he’s feeling a lot better each day.” Tyler Herro, who has played just once in the last nine games due to a right big toe contusion, is “definitely making progress,” Spoelstra adds (Twitter link).
In a full story for The Sun Sentinel (subscription required), Winderman makes the case for why the Heat should be sellers at the trade deadline and argues that Andrew Wiggins and Norman Powell should be moved to improve the team’s draft assets.

Terrence Shannon Jr. To Miss At Least Two Weeks With Foot Injury

December 27th, 2025 at 5:12pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Timberwolves announced that Terrence Shannon Jr. will be reevaluated in two weeks after he left Thursday’s game due to soreness in his left foot. An MRI revealed that the second-year shooting guard suffered an abductor hallucis strain, which affects the inner arch of his foot.

Shannon has been seeing modest playing time in Minnesota’s backcourt rotation this season, logging 12.8 minutes per night in 22 games. He’s averaging 4.5 points and 1.3 rebounds per contest, and while his overall shooting percentage has dropped from 48.2% to 39.5% since his rookie year, his three-point shooting has improved from 35.5% to 40.5%.

It’s the second time this season that Shannon has been sidelined by a left foot issue. He suffered a fifth metatarsal bone bruise in early November that kept him out of action for nine games. The Wolves didn’t indicate whether the current injury is related to the previous one.

Minnesota selected Shannon with the 27th pick in the 2024 draft. He and fellow ’24 first-round pick Rob Dillingham have struggled to make an impact so far, even with Mike Conley seeing a diminished role at age 38. Shannon’s injury could lead to more playing time for Dillingham, or coach Chris Finch could opt to give Shannon’s minutes to Jaylen Clark, another second-year guard.