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NBA Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder (16-21) at Orlando Magic (13-24)

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NBA Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder (16-21) at Orlando Magic (13-24)

Orlando rookie forward Paolo Banchero will be there but Oklahoma City big man Chet Holmgren won’t when the Magic play host to the Thunder on Wednesday.

Banchero and Holmgren were the top two picks in the 2022 NBA Draft, making the two Magic-Thunder games this season marquee matchups.

Banchero, who is averaging 20.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists, has started his career off strong after being the No. 1 overall pick.

Holmgren, taken second overall by the Thunder, sustained a Lisfranc injury to his right foot last summer, and he will miss the entire season.

The Thunder also could be without star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the second consecutive game on Wednesday, as he has a non-COVID illness. Oklahoma City did just fine without him on Tuesday, blowing out the visiting Boston Celtics 150-117.

Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 30.8 points per game, making a strong push for his first All-Star appearance. Even so, the Thunder have won three of four without him this season, including wins over the Memphis Grizzlies and Boston.

Mann is averaging 13.4 points over the last five games since returning from a G-League stint, including a 21-point performance on Tuesday. He averaged 8.3 points over his first 27 games.

The Magic will be short-handed on Wednesday, as they will be missing starting forwards Bol Bol and Franz Wagner and others.

Bol, who entered the league’s COVID-19 health and safety protocol on Tuesday, will sit out a game for the first time this season. He is averaging 12 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks, by far the best numbers of his career.

Franz Wagner, the only other Magic player to play in every game, will join teammates Kevon Harris and Admiral Schofield in serving one-game suspensions on Wednesday. The three were among the Magic players who left the bench during an altercation with the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 28.

Orlando center Moritz Wagner will serve the second game of his two-game suspension for the incident on Wednesday.

The Magic are expected to have just nine players available to face the Thunder.

Cole Anthony, Mo Bamba, Wendell Carter Jr., R.J. Hampton and Gary Harris served their suspensions in Orlando’s 119-100 loss to the visiting Washington Wizards on Friday.

The Magic have dropped three consecutive games after winning eight of nine.

The four off days between games is tied for Orlando’s longest stretch of the season, excluding the All-Star break.

Orlando has allowed an average of 123 points per game during the current losing streak, 10 more points per game than it was allowing over the first 34 games.

The Wednesday meeting will the last of two between the teams this season. The Thunder won the first 116-108 on Nov. 1 in Oklahoma City behind 34 points from Gilgeous-Alexander. Carter scored 30 points, Franz Wagner had 20 and Banchero put up 15 for the Magic.

NHL Morning Skate – Jan. 4, 2023

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NHL Morning Skate – Jan. 4, 2023

* As Tage Thompson and the rest of his teammates showed up in “Love for 3” shirts in support of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, the Sabres forward found the back of the net three times to register his NHL-leading third hat trick of 2022-23.

* Matthew Tkachuk scored his first hat trick in a Panthers uniform to reach the 20-goal mark this season and join rare company in franchise history in the process.

* Auston Matthews recorded his 500th career point to help the Maple Leafs extend the game past regulation, but Richmond Hill, Ontario native Jordan Binnington guided the Blues to victory in the shootout.




THOMPSON NETS HAT TRICK IN OT AS SABRES COME TOGETHER IN “LOVE FOR 3”
On a night the health of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin was top of mind, Sabres forward Tage Thompson (3-1—4) outdueled fellow Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy contender Alex Ovechkin (2-0—2) by capping his three-goal night in overtime to become the second player this season to hit the 30-goal benchmark.

* Buffalo players entered the arena in “Love for 3” shirts and the Capitals asked fans to keep Hamlin in their thoughts in a pre-game moment. As noted by @BuffaloSabres on Twitter: “Thompson scored 3 goals, for his 3rd hat trick of the season, his 30th goal of the season and the winner came exactly 3 minutes into overtime. This one was for you, Damar.”

* Thompson (30-25—55 in 36 GP) required the third-fewest games in Sabres history to score 30 goals in a season, trailing only Alexander Mogilny (30 GP in 1992-93) and Pat LaFontaine (31 GP in 1991-92).

* Thompson recorded his League-leading third hat trick of 2022-23. He is the first Sabres player to score three or more hat tricks in a single campaign since Drew Stafford in 2010-11 (4). 



* The push for the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy heated up Tuesday, with each of the top five players in the race scoring at least once. Oilers forward Connor McDavid had a single tally to maintain his League-lead (33 G; 1st), while Thompson (30 G; 2nd), Ovechkin (28 G; t-3rd) and Canucks forward Bo Horvat (28 G; t-3rd) all had multi-goal outings to inch closer to top spot. Stars forward Jason Robertson (26 G; 5th) added one as well.

TKACHUK’S HAT TRICK, STAAL’S MULTI-GOAL GAME PROPEL PANTHERS TO VICTORY
Matthew Tkachuk (3-1—4) netted his third career hat trick and first four-point outing of the season en route to reaching the 20-goal mark. Tkachuk (20-27—47 in 36 GP) required the second-fewest games by a Panthers skater to score his first 20 goals with the franchise, trailing only Pavel Bure (20 GP from 1998-99 – 1999-00).
 
* Tkachuk recorded his sixth outing with at least three points this season – only five players have more: Connor McDavid (10 GP), Tage Thompson (8 GP), Nikita Kucherov (7 GP), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (7 GP) and Leon Draisaitl (7). In doing so, Tkachuk tied Sam Reinhart (6 GP in 2021-22) for the most three-plus point performances by a Panthers skater in their first campaign with the franchise.
 
* Tuesday marked Tkachuk’s 25th career multi-goal game and second in a Panthers uniform (also 2-1—3 on Dec. 29). His father, Keith Tkachuk, netted 75 such performances during his 18-season career.



* Eric Staal (2-0—2) scored Florida’s other two tallies, recording his first multi-goal game since Dec. 14, 2019 and becoming the first Panthers player age 38 or older to score twice in a contest since Jaromir Jagr (44 years, 24 days) on March 10, 2016.

MATTHEWS’ 500-POINT MILESTONE FEATURED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES

The Tuesday edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured Auston Matthews (278-223—501 in 445 GP) becoming the fastest player in Maple Leafs history to hit 500 career points. Matthews also required the fifth-fewest games among active skaters to reach the mark, behind Connor McDavid (369 GP), Sidney Crosby (369 GP), Alex Ovechkin (373 GP) and Evgeni Malkin (413 GP), and was the fourth youngest among that cohort at the time of the milestone.



LOOSE PUCKS

* In their first meeting since the 2022 Second Round, the Rangers scored three game-tying goals and K’Andre Miller (1-1—2) gave New York its first lead of the game with 9:33 remaining in the third period to bring an end to Carolina’s 17-game point streak and 11-game win streak. After also bringing an end to Toronto’s 15-game point streak earlier this season (Dec. 15, 2022), the Rangers became the first team in NHL history to halt an opponent’s point streak of 15-plus games multiple times in a single season.

* Sam Gagner’s third period go-ahead marker proved to be the game winner for the Jets. Gagner is one of 17 players in NHL history to record a game-winning goal with at least seven different teams (also w/ DET, EDM, VAN, CBJ, PHI & ARI) – Ottawa’s Derick Brassard (7) is the only other active skater with as many, while Lee Stempniak (10) paces all players.

* Seattle (20-12-4, 44 points) scored five goals in a road game for the sixth time this season and leapfrogged Calgary (18-14-7, 43 points) for third place in the Pacific Division standings. The Kraken have produced 4.06 goals per game as the visitor in 2022-23 – the most among all teams (including shootout-deciding goals). Vegas (77 in 20 GP, 3.85 G/GP) ranks second.

* Coquitlam, BC, native Mathew Barzal led all skaters with 1-2—3 en route to becoming the ninth player to register 30 assists in 2022-23 and helping the Islanders (22-15-2, 46 points) move past the idle Penguins (19-12-6, 44 points) for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. Barzal has found the score sheet in every game against his hometown Canucks (2-10—12 in 8 GP).

* Pheonix Copley stopped 28 of 30 shots to extend his winning streak to seven games and help the Kings (22-13-6, 50 points) defeat the Stars (23-10-6, 52 points) as Los Angeles inched within four points of Vegas (26-12-2, 54 points) for top spot in the Pacific Division. Copley became just the fifth different Kings goaltender to post a win streak of at least seven games and the first since Jonathan Quick in 2014-15 (8 GP).

QUICK CLICKS

* Sabres wear special T-shirts in support of Bills safety Damar Hamlin

* Wayne Gretzky wowed by Alex Ovechkin chasing his NHL goals record

* Red Wings give out New Year’s resolutions to their teammates

*Pekka Rinne talks transition to coaching at WJC in Q&A with NHL.com

* On Tap: 2023 World Junior Championship semifinals

TNT DOUBLEHEADER HEADLINES WEDNESDAY SLATE

A three-game Wednesday will feature a TNT doubleheader that opens with two teams who have improved their pace over last season and closes with a pair of playoff regulars who remain rooted in the mix.


* The Devils (23-11-3, 49 points) will look to become the fourth team in the Eastern Conference to reach 50 points when they visit the Red Wings (16-12-7, 39 points). New Jersey can reach 50 points in their 38th game – it took them 63 games to reach the benchmark last season. Detroit, meanwhile, can surpass 40 points while contesting their 36th game of the season – it took them 40 contests to reach 40 points in 2021-22. 

* In the second game on TNT, two teams who are regulars in the postseason will face off when the Lightning (24-11-1, 49 points) – who have made five consecutive playoff appearances and sit third in the Atlantic Division – visit the Central Division’s third-place Wild (21-13-2, 44 points), who have appeared in the postseason in nine of the last 10 campaigns. Should he play, Minnesota’s Marc-Andre Fleury (962 GP) can tie Ed Belfour (963 GP) for the fifth-most regular-season games played by a goaltender in NHL history.

NBA Preview: Miami Heat (20-18) at Los Angeles Lakers (16-21)

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NBA Preview: Miami Heat (20-18) at Los Angeles Lakers (16-21)

Heat visit Lakers seeking sweep of season series

Amid their most promising stretch of the season, the Miami Heat will attempt to earn back-to-back victories in Los Angeles on Wednesday, while also trying for a season sweep of the Lakers in a span of a week.

The Heat have won four of their last five games in a run that includes a 112-98 victory at home over the Lakers last Wednesday and a 110-100 road victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.

Since dropping to 12-15 on Dec. 10, with a loss to the tepid San Antonio Spurs, the Heat have won eight of their last 11 contests, including six of their last seven on the road.

The Heat received 31 points and 13 rebounds Monday from Bam Adebayo as his hot stretch continued. Since last week’s victory over the Lakers, when Adebayo scored 23 points with 14 rebounds, the veteran has averaged 27.0 points and 10.5 rebounds over his last four games.

Miami won despite blowing a 21-point, second-quarter lead to the Clippers, who are known for making frantic comebacks. Tyler Herro helped stave off the Los Angeles rally with 23 points, although Miami shot just 34.1 percent from the field in the second half.

A late 7-0 run by the Heat pushed their lead back to 103-95 and they won by holding the Clippers to 17 points in the fourth quarter.

Collective toughness is something the Lakers are hoping to foster with forward Anthony Davis out indefinitely and LeBron James doing his best to instill it on the entire team.

Since a Christmas Day loss at Dallas, the Lakers have won three of four games, all on the road. The only defeat in that stretch was at Miami.

James, who turned 38 last week, is scoring 29.0 points per game on the season, 34.4 over his last 10 games and 45.0 per game over the last two contests. He had a season-best 47 points on his birthday in a victory at Atlanta, then followed that with 43 in a 121-115 victory at Charlotte on Monday.

The Lakers went 3-2 on a mostly East Coast road swing to cap off the calendar year, after losing seven of 10 games before the trip began.

The Lakers open a stretch when they play seven of nine games at home.

NBA Preview: Detroit Pistons (10-30) at Golden State Warriors (20-18)

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NBA Preview: Detroit Pistons (10-30) at Golden State Warriors (20-18)

The Golden State Warriors get an opportunity to avenge one of their earlier road defeats while at the same time continuing a remarkable homestand when they host the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night in San Francisco.

The Warriors got 32 points from Stephen Curry and 30 from Jordan Poole, but it wasn’t enough in a 128-114 loss at Detroit in October. Four Pistons, including Cade Cunningham with 23 points, scored in double figures.

Neither Curry nor Cunningham will be available for the rematch. Meanwhile, Golden State will have one of its top weapons back — Klay Thompson — who was not available in the October meeting.

The Warriors attempt to avoid their first season-series sweep at the hands of the Pistons since the 2008-09 campaign.

The Warriors, whose road record (3-16) nearly mirrors their home mark (17-2), have prevailed over Charlotte and Utah in their only two previous revenge matchups in San Francisco against teams that had beaten them on the road.

Golden State has gone 5-0 on its current eight-game homestand, with the last four victories all coming by six or fewer points. The winning streak tipped off with a 123-109 triumph over the Memphis Grizzlies on Christmas.

Monday’s 143-141, double-overtime victory over the Hawks was the most entertaining of the tightly contested bunch. Golden State was a second away from losing in regulation before Donte DiVincenzo turned a deflection into a game-tying 3-pointer. The Dubs were even closer to a third overtime before Kevon Looney tipped in his own miss for the game-winner at the horn of the second extra session.

The dramatic night featured Thompson’s 54 points, the second most of his career, Looney’s 20 rebounds, his most in a regular-season game, and Draymond Green’s double-double, which consisted of 13 rebounds and 11 assists.

While the Warriors were celebrating another win, the Pistons were falling for the second time in three outings at the start of a five-game trip, 135-106 in Portland.

Bojan Bogdanovic had 21 points in the loss, which was marred by yet another setback when Marvin Bagley III had to leave the game with what appeared to be a serious injury to his right hand. The Pistons are expected to know the full extent of the damage by the time they take the floor without him Wednesday.

Detroit already has lost Cunningham for the season with a left-shin stress fracture and also has been missing Isaiah Livers with a sprained right shoulder.

Recently demoted to the bench, Bagley had 18 points and 10 rebounds when the Pistons won at Minnesota on Saturday on the second game of their trip.

With Killian Hayes set to return from his three-game suspension, Detroit almost surely will have a different starting lineup than the one it employed in Portland. Coach Dwane Casey has indicated more changes are coming.

NBA Preview: Houston Rockets (10-27) at New Orleans Pelicans (23-14)

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NBA Preview: Houston Rockets (10-27) at New Orleans Pelicans (23-14)

Pelicans look to snap mini-skid, extend Houston’s

The New Orleans Pelicans won’t have leading scorer Zion Williamson when they host the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

They won’t have second-leading scorer Brandon Ingram, either. But the Pelicans have been pretty successful even when they have been short-handed this season.

They are 6-2 in games without Williamson, 14-8 without Ingram — who has missed the last 18 games because of a bruised toe — and 4-1 in games that they both have missed.

On Wednesday, the Pelicans will face a Rockets team that has the worst record in the Western Conference and lost four games in a row.

The Pelicans announced Tuesday evening that Williamson would be re-evaluated in three weeks after he suffered a right hamstring strain Monday in a loss at Philadelphia.

Green said Ingram is making progress, but his recovery has been slow since he sustained the injury in late November.

New Orleans is coming off back-to-back road losses, which began on Saturday night in Memphis, but they have won 14 of their last 16 games at home.

That stretch of home success began with a 119-106 victory against Houston on Nov. 12. Williamson scored 26 and Ingram had 20 in that one. Reserve Larry Nance Jr. added 22, but Nance (neck) was ruled out for Wednesday.

The Rockets are coming off a 111-106 loss to the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Monday in which they lost an 18-point second-half lead. They still had a 100-93 lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the Mavericks went on a 14-4 run to take the lead for good.

Houston was outscored 28-19 in the fourth quarter and lost for the ninth time in 10 games.

The Rockets played better against Dallas than they did in a 108-88 loss to the Knicks on Saturday night. But the frustration over the losing streak and the poor start to the season is showing.

After the loss to New York, guard Eric Gordon said he hasn’t seen any improvement in the team since the start of the season.

The Southwest Division rivals will meet twice in Houston on March 17 and 19 to conclude the season series.

NBA Preview: Portland Trail Blazers (19-17) at Minnesota Timberwolves (17-21)

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NBA Preview: Portland Trail Blazers (19-17) at Minnesota Timberwolves (17-21)

The Portland Trail Blazers have begun the new year with a jolt, thanks largely to the much-anticipated arrival of Gary Payton II.

Following Payton’s successful season debut, the Blazers open a three-game road trip against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday in Minneapolis.

After signing as a free agent last June, Payton missed the season’s first 35 games while recovering from surgery for a core muscle injury. The shooting guard played 13 minutes in Monday’s 135-106 win over the Detroit Pistons, finishing with seven points, four assists and one steal.

Portland turned in a complete effort with Jerami Grant scoring 36 points, Anfernee Simons adding 30, and Damian Lillard recording 19 points, 10 assists and four steals.

The Blazers’ defense should benefit from Payton’s arrival. The seventh-year pro is known for his high energy on both ends of the floor.

Portland has won the first two meetings this season against Minnesota, which snapped a six-game losing streak with a 124-111 win over the Denver Nuggets on Monday.

The short-handed Wolves were led by guard Anthony Edwards, who scored 29 points, including 15 in the third quarter.

Minnesota won despite playing without D’Angelo Russell (illness) and Naz Reid (low back spasms). Both are listed as day-to-day, while Karl-Anthony Towns (right calf strain) and Jordan McLaughlin (left calf strain) are out indefinitely. Taurean Prince (right shoulder subluxation) is questionable.

After their demoralizing losing skid, the Wolves responded with an inspired effort against Denver. Jaden McDaniels had 21 points and Kyle Anderson added 19.

Minnesota is looking to avenge a 133-112 loss to Portland on Dec. 12, when Lillard made 11 3-pointers and finished with 38 points. It was the second of the Wolves’ consecutive defeats to the Blazers in a back-to-back in the Pacific Northwest.

In 35 career games against Minnesota, Lillard has scored 20-plus points 26 times, including his last eight matchups.

The Blazers have also received steady production in the series from center Jusuf Nurkic, who has recorded double-doubles in five of his last eight games against the Wolves.

NBA Preview: Brooklyn Nets (25-12) at Chicago Bulls (16-21)

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NBA Preview: Brooklyn Nets (25-12) at Chicago Bulls (16-21)

A little over two months ago, Jacque Vaughn’s second stint as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets got off to an ominous start with a fourth-quarter collapse at home against the Chicago Bulls.

Now, Vaughn and the Nets will head to Chicago on their third-longest winning streak in franchise history and seek a 13th straight win Wednesday night.

The Nets are 23-7 since Vaughn took over for Steve Nash after the Nets dropped five of their first seven games. The Nets were outscored 31-19 in the fourth quarter of that Nov. 1 loss to the Bulls, falling 108-99.

Brooklyn went 11-7 in their first 18 games under Vaughn before starting their current winning streak with a 122-116 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Dec. 7.

Brooklyn has earned double-digit victories five times in the winning streak, including Monday when it cruised to a 139-103 rout of the visiting San Antonio Spurs. The Nets shot 62.4 percent, marking the fifth time this season they shot at least 60 percent. All of those have come during their winning run.

The winning streak is two shy of the franchise record of 14 games set twice, most recently March 12-April 6, 2006, when Vaughn appeared in every game as a reserve guard. It also is the NBA’s longest winning streak since the Phoenix Suns won 18 straight Oct. 30-Dec. 2, 2021.

Brooklyn’s stars have been thriving during the stretch. Kyrie Irving, who scored four points in Vaughn’s debut before serving an eight-game suspension, scored 27 on Monday. He shot 11 of 14 from the field, including a one-handed putback dunk in the second quarter, and is averaging 29.3 points in the 10 games he has played during the streak.

Kevin Durant added 25 and 11 assists Monday for his fourth double-double and is averaging 28.8 points during the 11 games he has played in during the run.

Chicago is trying to avoid a third straight loss after getting swept in a home-and-home with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Bulls are 5-4 against the top four teams in the East (Boston, Brooklyn, Milwaukee and Cleveland) after taking two tough losses to the Cavaliers.

On Saturday, the Bulls nearly erased a seven-point deficit in the final two minutes of regulation but DeMar DeRozan missed the game-winner just before the buzzer. On Monday, the Bulls took a 21-point lead in the first half and an 18-point lead at halftime but could not stop Donovan Mitchell in a 145-134 overtime loss at Cleveland.

Chicago allowed 71 points to Mitchell, who scored 24 points in the third quarter alone. Chicago then allowed Mitchell to score on a tying putback with 4.1 seconds left in regulation after he purposely missed a free throw and appeared to leave the foul line early. The Cavaliers went on to outscore the Bulls 15-4 in overtime.

The inability to stop Mitchell spoiled a 44-point showing from DeRozan, who also scored 42 a week ago in Chicago’s win over Milwaukee.

NBA Preview: San Antonio Spurs (12-25) at New York Knicks (20-18)

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NBA Preview: San Antonio Spurs (12-25) at New York Knicks (20-18)

The New York Knicks likely will look like a much different team when they host the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.

After all, a lot has happened in the last six days since the teams met in San Antonio.

The suddenly surging Knicks aim to win their third straight game on Wednesday night when the teams conclude their two-game season series.

The teams were on the opposite ends of routs in the metro New York area Monday, when the Knicks posted a 102-83 win over the Phoenix Suns and the Spurs dropped a 139-103 decision to the Brooklyn Nets.

The lopsided win was the second consecutive for New York, which snapped a five-game losing streak Saturday night with a 108-88 victory over the Houston Rockets. The fifth loss in the skid came at the hands of the Spurs, who defeated the Knicks 122-115 last Thursday.

But the Knicks snapped their slump by outscoring the Rockets 81-53 in the final three quarters of that game before riding a 21-0 run in the second quarter on Monday. New York led by as many as 32 points before halftime and never led by fewer than 18 in the final two periods.

The consecutive wins also marked a return to defensive form for the Knicks, who allowed 106 points or fewer in seven of their eight consecutive wins from Dec. 4-20 before giving up at least 113 points in each of their five straight subsequent losses.

The Spurs might be running into a second straight Big Apple team that has found its groove. San Antonio never led Monday, when the red-hot Nets won their 12th straight game.

The loss came after an encouraging December for San Antonio, which owns a 12-25 record that is second-worst in the West ahead of the Rockets and the fourth-worst mark in the NBA. The Spurs went 6-8 last month with wins over a quartet of contenders in the Knicks, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Utah Jazz.

San Antonio also lost by nine points to the New Orleans Pelicans, who are a game behind the Denver Nuggets in the race for first place in the West. The Spurs ended December with a 126-125 loss to the Dallas Mavericks — who are in fourth place in the West — in which they trailed by 12 points in the fourth quarter but had a chance to take the lead in the waning seconds.

NBA Preview: Indiana Pacers (21-17) at Philadelphia Sixers (22-14)

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NBA Preview: Indiana Pacers (21-17) at Philadelphia Sixers (22-14)

The Philadelphia 76ers look for their third straight win overall and 11th in a row at home when they host the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday.

The Sixers defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, 120-111, on Monday behind 42 points and 11 rebounds from Joel Embiid, despite the center being questionable with a sore lower back. James Harden added 27 points and eight assists for the surging Sixers.

Tyrese Maxey also provided a spark with 12 points in just his second game back from a fractured left foot. He had been sidelined for nearly six weeks.

When Maxey is fully healthy, the Sixers are a much more dangerous team capable of making a deep postseason run.

There were flashes of greatness against the Pelicans, but the Sixers realize they must remain patient.

After a 113-93 setback to the Pelicans on Dec. 26, the Pacers responded by wining four straight over the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors.

The Pacers ousted the Raptors, 122-114, on Monday.

Rookie Bennedict Mathurin led the way with 21 points while Buddy Hield added 19. Indiana’s bench dominated Toronto with a massive 54-7 edge.

Backup point guard T.J. McConnell, who began his career with the Sixers, scored 15 points off the bench to help key the second unit.

Jalen Smith also contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds, seven offensive, in 17 minutes off the bench. Smith had been a starter earlier in the season and has since made the adjustment Carlisle was looking for.

NBA Preview: Phoenix Suns (20-18) at Cleveland Cavaliers (24-14)

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NBA Preview: Phoenix Suns (20-18) at Cleveland Cavaliers (24-14)

Donovan Mitchell will receive much of the focus as he comes off a record-setting performance for the Cleveland Cavaliers in a home matchup against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.

With the Cavaliers trailing by 21 points and just under two minutes to play in the first half Monday against the Chicago Bulls, Mitchell kicked a historic night into high gear, leading to a franchise record-setting performance.

Mitchell took his momentum into the second half, scoring 24 points in the third quarter, 18 in the fourth and 13 more in the overtime session as the Cavaliers stunned the Bulls 145-134.

Cleveland is now 6-0 in overtime this season.

Mitchell, who failed to reach the 20-point mark in three of his previous four games, led Cleveland with 16 points in the first half, but the Cavs trailed 65-47 at the break. That’s when Mitchell inspired an offense that shot 57.1 percent in the third quarter and scored 44 points to begin their rally.

The Cavs tied the game 123-123 with just over a minute remaining on a Kevin Love free throw. Cleveland was down 130-127 with just 4.4 seconds to play when Mitchell hit one of two free throws. He missed the second intentionally and converted a put-back layup in the closing moments to send the game to overtime.

Mitchell entered exclusive company that includes Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant and Elgin Baylor as NBA players with at least 70 points in a game. David Thompson, David Robinson and Devin Booker also have reached the 70-point plateau.

Booker was the last to reach 70 points in March 2017 for the Suns against the Boston Celtics.

Booker and the Suns are looking to conclude a season-long six-game road trip on a winning note. Phoenix has lost three straight and four of five on its current trip.

The Suns were blown out by the New York Knicks 102-83 on Monday and afterward, Suns center Deandre Ayton voiced his frustration.

The Suns scored just 11 points the first quarter and 31 points in the first half, both season lows.

Suns coach Monty Williams accepted responsibility.

Phoenix has lost six of its last seven overall to slide to eighth in the Western Conference.

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