NBA Recap: LeBron Dominates, Celtics Make History, Wade Honored with Statue

The Basket. The Contact. The Victory.

LeBron James could not be stopped in the 4th quarter as the Lakers moved to 3-0.

THE LINEUP

Oct. 27, 2024 | What’s inside today’s edition?

LeBron Takes Over: Huge 4th quarter run has the Lakers 3-0 for first time since 2010

Boston 3 Party Continues: Celtics shatter record for 3s made in first three games

Saturday Roundup: Spurs & Heat hold on for first wins; Wolves & Grizzlies never trail

League Pass Sunday: Five games feature four players on the early MVP watch list

Celebrating D-Wade: Dwyane Wade’s statue will be unveiled tonight in Miami

BUT FIRST … ⏰

Sunday hoops and honoring a Miami icon…

The Pacers host the Sixers (3:30 ET) to open up a five-game slate on NBA League Pass featuring four of NBA.com’s MVP candidates to watch.

Tonight in Miami (5 ET), the Heat will honor Dwyane Wade with a statue outside their home arena. Catch the livestream on the Heat’s YouTube.

1. LEBRON TAKES OVER, LEADS LAKERS PAST KINGS TO REACH 3-0

Entering Saturday’s game in L.A., the Kings had the edge in the recent history of this intra-state rivalry. Sacramento swept the season series last year, had won five straight and eight of the last nine matchups overall, including four straight at Crypto.com Arena.

Entering the 4th quarter, the Kings led by seven as they looked to keep their streak alive.

LeBron James was not going to let that happen. He scored 16 points during a 21-0 Lakers run to open the 4th quarter to tilt the game back in L.A.’s favor. | Recap

Vintage LeBron: His first three buckets of the run had the same script – grab the defensive rebound, push in transition and score. First it was a 28-foot 3, then a 16-foot jumper, then an and-1 inside the paint that had the crowd on its feetHe kept it going with two more deep 3s, with a dime to Jaxson Hayes for a dunk sandwiched in between, before closing the run with a reverse layupCoach JJ Redick On LeBron:

“To get that performance to start the 4th for LeBron, what can you say? …

It’s actually insane.

”

After going scoreless for more than four minutes, the Kings finally got on the board in the 4th on a De’Aaron Fox 3-pointer with 7:43 left. Sacramento rallied back to make it a two-point game with 56 seconds left, but once again the Lakers answered.

Another One: Anthony Davis drained a clutch 3 with 38 seconds left to give him his third straight 30+ point game to open the season. That was followed by a Rui Hachimura dunk served on a platter by LeBron before an AD free throw sealed the win with 11 seconds leftDouble Triple-Doubles: LeBron (32 pts, 14 reb, 10 ast) and Domantas Sabonis (29 pts, 12 reb, 10 ast) each posted triple-doubles. LeBron is fifth all-time (113), while Sabonis entered the top 10 by tying Larry Bird with his 59thAD’s Key To The 3-0 Start:

“Minnesota, Phoenix, Sac. A tough way to start but

we found a way to get it done

… LeBron Raymone James.” 

Suns 114, Mavericks 102: Kevin Durant notched another scoring milestone on Saturday, becoming the eighth player in NBA history to surpass 29,000 career points as he scored 31 to help the Suns overcome a 40-point game from Luka Dončić. | Recap

KD On Reaching 29K: “I got more to do.”Supporting Stars:

Devin Booker (21 pts, 5 ast) and Jusuf Nurkić (18 pts, 14 reb) combined to add 39 for Phoenix, while Kyrie Irving (22 pts, 5 ast) and Klay Thompson (19 pts, 5 3s) had 41 for Dallas

Clippers 109, Nuggets 104: Norman Powell scored 22 points of his 37 points in the 4th quarter as he and James Harden combined for 60 points to help the Clippers survive a 41-point effort from Nikola Jokić to earn their first win of the season. | Recap

LA Best: Powell’s 37 points were his most as a Clipper and his seven 3-pointers matched his best effort in two-plus seasons in LA. Harden’s 16 assists were his highest as a ClipperJoker For 3:

Jokić set a

career-high with seven 3s

made, becoming the first player in Nuggets history to post at least 40 points and seven 3s in a game

2. CELTICS MAKE 3-POINT HISTORY, REMAIN UNBEATEN

Celtics 124, Pistons 118: The defending champs opened the season with a pair of 20+ point wins and appeared headed for a third – leading by 23 points in the 1st half – but the young Pistons battled back, took the lead late in the 4th quarter and gave Boston its first dose of clutch time.

After Jrue Holiday’s back-to-back 3s tied the game, Jayson Tatum scored eight of his game-high 37 points in the final 2:15 to help secure the win to go to 3-0. | Recap

Record Breaking 3s: With 22 3-pointers on Saturday, the Celtics have made 68 3s through their first three games of the season – shattering the previous record held by the 2021 Knicks (54)Shooters Everywhere: Tatum’s six triples led the Boston onslaught, with Payton Pritchard (5), Al Horford (5), Jaylen Brown (3), Holiday (2) and Xavier Tillman (1) helping Boston shoot 45.8% from deepGetting Closer:

Jaden Ivey (26 pts, 6 ast) and Cade Cunningham (21 pts, 10 ast, 6 reb, 4 blk) combined for 47 points as Detroit fell to 0-3 with losses by a combined 24 points to the Celtics, Pacers and Cavs – teams with a combined 159-87 record last season

Cavaliers 135, Wizards 116: Make it three straight double-digit wins for the Cavs to open the season. Behind Donovan Mitchell’s game-high 30 points with six 3s, and 23 points apiece from Jarrett Allen (on perfect 10-of-10 shooting) and Darius Garland, Cleveland rolled in DC. | Recap

DC’s French Duo: Bilal Coulibaly (team-high 23 pts, 6 reb) and No. 2 pick Alex Sarr (12 pts, 6 reb, 2 blk) combined for 35 points for the Wizards, who had seven players score in double figures

Thunder 114, Bulls 95: OKC used a balance effort to get past the Bulls on Saturday as Jalen Williams (24 pts, 9 reb, 8 ast), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (23 pts, 8 reb, 4 stl) and Chet Holmgren (21 pts, career-high 16 reb) all scored 20+ points in the win. | Recap

Welcome Back: After playing with the Bulls the past three seasons, Alex Caruso returned to Chicago for the first time with OKC and was greeted with a standing ovation before posting three points, two boards, two assists, two steals and two blocks in 22 minutes

3. ROUNDUP: SPURS & HEAT HOLD ON, WOLVES & GRIZZLIES NEVER TRAIL

Spurs 109, Rockets 106: Victor Wembanyama (29 pts, 7 reb, 3 blk, 1 logo 3) and Jeremy Sochan (17 pts, 12 reb) combined for 46 points as the Spurs led by as many as 22 before holding off a late Rockets rally to secure their first win in their home opener. | Recap

Young & Clutch: After Jalen Green (29 pts, 5 ast, 3 3s) cut the lead to one with 3:33 left, San Antonio’s final nine points were scored by Wemby (20 years old, 2 FTs), Jeremy Sochan (21 years old, layup off a dish from veteran CP3), Stephon Castle (19 years old, 3 FTs) and Keldon Johnson (25 years old, 2 FTs)

Heat 114, Hornets 106: Jimmy Butler scored half of his 26 points in the 4th quarter – including back-to-back clutch buckets – to help the Heat hold off the Hornets and earn their first win of the season. Tyler Herro splashed three 3s as he added 22 points for Miami, while LaMelo Ball had 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists for Charlotte. | Recap

Grizzlies 124, Magic 101: Memphis never trailed in its home opener, building a 29-point lead and getting 66 points from its bench – an effort led by Santi Aldama (22 pts, 4 3s) and Jay Huff (career-high 18 pts, 3 3s) – along with a double-double (16 pts, 10 ast) from Ja Morant. | Recap

Timberwolves 112, Raptors 101: Minnesota got matching 24-point efforts from Julius Randle (9 reb, 5 ast) and Anthony Edwards (6 reb, 5 3s, 4 ast) along with 16 points and four 3s from Donte DiVincenzo and a Rudy Gobert double-double (15 pts, 12 reb, 4 blk) as they led by as many as 22 points and never trailed against the Raptors. | Recap

4. MVP CANDIDATES HIGHLIGHT LEAGUE PASS SUNDAY

On Friday, NBA.com’s Shaun Powell debuted the Kia MVP Ladder with 15 players to watch for in the 2024-25 season.

The list includes six former MVP winners: LeBron James (2009, 2010, 2012, 2013), Kevin Durant (2014), Stephen Curry (2015, 2016), Giannis Antetokounmpo (2019, 2020), Joel Embiid (2023) and Nikola Jokić (2021, 2022, 2024)Global Streak: The MVP has been won by an international player for six straight seasons. Of the nine players on the watch list without an MVP on their resume, three could keep that streak alive: Luka Dončić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Domantas SabonisUSA Candidates:

Six American-born players seeking their first MVP are on the watch list to open the season – Jalen Brunson, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum – hoping to start a new trend

Four of these early season MVP hopefuls will be in action Sunday, with all games available on NBA League Pass.

76ers at Pacers (3:30 ET, LP): While Embiid has been ruled out for Philly, Haliburton is on the MVP short list and will look for a breakout game after averaging just 7.5 points on 23.1% shooting with 4.5 assists in Indy’s first two gamesBucks at Nets (6 ET, LP): Last season, Giannis became the first player in NBA history to average 30+ points while shooting 60%+ from the field. He’s picked up right where he left off, averaging 31.5 points on 67.6% shooting through two gamesHawks at Thunder (7 ET, LP): SGA was named the MVP favorite by the league’s general managers, getting 40% of the vote in the annual GM survey. He leads the 2-0 Thunder with 25.5 points, 7.5 boards and 5.5 assists per gameClippers at Warriors (8:30 ET, LP): Through two games this season, Curry ranks second to Buddy Hield in both points (18.5 ppg) and 3-pointers made (3.5 3pg), but does lead the 2-0 Warriors in assists at 7.0 dimes per gamePelicans at Blazers (6 ET, LP):

In Sunday’s only matchup without a player that started the season on Powell’s list, keep an eye on NOLA’s Brandon Ingram — who’s off to a hot start, with 27 ppg and a game-winner in the opening week

5. HEAT TO UNVEIL DWYANE WADE STATUE TONIGHT

On Sunday, the Miami Heat will honor an icon – a player Pat Riley called “the face of this franchise forever” – by unveiling a statue of Dwyane Wade outside the team’s home arena, the Kaseya Center at 5 ET.

Here are five images and facts about Wade’s run in Miami that made his career statue-worthy.

3: Not only the number Wade wore on the court, but the number of championships he won with the Heat (2006, 2012, 2013). Wade wore No. 9 with Team USA, helping the Redeem Team win gold in 2008 in Beijing.

21,556: The Heat’s all-time leader in points scored; Wade won the 2009 scoring title when he averaged a career-best 30.2 points per game. Wade is also the Heat’s franchise leader in assists (5,310) and steals (1,492), ranks second in blocks (812) and fourth in rebounds (4,482).

13: A perennial NBA All-Star, Wade earned 12 straight selections from 2005 to 2016 before one final appearance in his farewell season in 2019. Wade was named to eight All-NBA Teams (2x First Team, 3x Second Team, 3x Third Team) and earned All-Defensive Second Team honors three times.

2: Wade has two MVP trophies to his name – the 2006 Finals MVP when he led the Heat to their first championship and the 2010 All-Star MVP.

75: Wade earned two prestigious honors after his playing days were done. In 2021, he was named to the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team and in 2023 he was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.