Nightly Pulse: NBA news and highlights from January 19

On By Littum

Sunday’s board of games

Miami boomer

The Heat got off to a slow start this afternoon, but turned it up in the second quarter and held the Spurs to just 11 points in the second frame. They then outscored San Antonio 46-27 in the third quarter to cruise to a 128-107 victory.

The Heat bench delivered the win, with Kel’el Ware seeing 34 minutes of action, scoring 25 points with eight rebounds and finishing +27. Terry Rozier also cooked, finishing with 20 on 7-14 shooting, including 4-5 from long range. Duncan Robinson also went north of 20, putting up 21 points on 8-12 shooting.

Victory Wembanyama scored 21 with 10 rebounds for the Spurs.

3⃣Stories

  1. Philadelphia and Milwaukee will square off as the two teams appear to be headed in opposite directions. The 76ers finally assembled a healthy roster and went on a run that looked to be a turning point in their season, but swelling in Joel Embiid’s knee has kept him out for an unknown amount of time. With their big man out of the game, the team has suffered a lot, losing five in a row. On the other hand, after a blowout loss to the Knicks last Sunday, the Bucks are riding a three-game winning streak, with wins by wide margins over the Kings, Magic and Raptors. Will the Bucks keep charging up or will the 76ers end their losing streak eighty-six?
  2. The Kings remain on a tear. After having their seven-game winning streak snapped in a visit to Milwaukee, they returned home to upset the Rockets, 132-127. They are now 8-2 since their head coaching change and now find themselves in the playoff picture at No. 9 in the West. They have a good chance to continue their red-hot pace with a home game against the Wizards, who have played to just a 6-34 record thus far.
  3. The Lakers and Clippers meet for the first time this season, marking the Lakers’ first trip to the Intuit Dome. These teams have previously shared the Crypto.com Arena since 2020, so it will be the first time in a long time, while the Lakers can really feel like visitors playing the Clippers. Each of these teams have had similar results this season and have enjoyed similar recent success, as the Lakers sit at 22-17 and are 6-4 over their last 10, while the Clippers are 23-17 and have also gone 6-4. mark over their last 10. However, each of these teams has key items on the injury report tonight, with Anthony Davis (calf), James Harden (illness), Norman Powell (back) and Ivica Zubac (back) all questionable.