Item 1 of 5 Jan 1, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (24) shoots the ball over Detroit Pistons forward Isaiah Stewart (28) in the third quarter at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
January 2 – Norman Powell hit seven 3-pointers and scored 36 points as the visiting Miami Heat won their fourth straight game, defeating the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons 118-112 on Thursday night.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 19 points off the bench while Andrew Wiggins had 17 points and eight rebounds. Bam Adebayo supplied 15 points and 14 rebounds and Kel’el Ware added 13 boards.
Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 31 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. Reserve Marcus Sasser contributed 18 points, while Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson had 12 points each. Duren played only 18 minutes due to a sprained right ankle as Detroit lost for the third time in four games.
Powell had 19 points by halftime, including five 3-pointers, as the Heat took a 63-54 lead. Jaquez scored 13 by the break, while Cunningham led Detroit with 17 points. Cunningham also scored the first points of the second half on two free throws. Miami then assumed command by logging 15 consecutive points.
Clippers 118, Jazz 101
Kawhi Leonard scored 20 of his 45 points in the fourth quarter as Los Angeles extended its season-best winning streak to six games with a victory over short-handed Utah at Inglewood, Calif.
James Harden added 20 points, Nicolas Batum scored 14, Kobe Sanders and Derrick Jones Jr. had 10 and John Collins pulled down 11 rebounds as the Clippers improved to 6-0 to open a stretch in which they have seven of eight games at home. Rookie Yanic Konan Niederhauser grabbed 10 rebounds. Los Angeles was 6-21 on Dec. 18, then doubled that win total in less than two weeks, starting with a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 20.
Kyle Anderson scored a season-high 22 points and Brice Sensabaugh matched a season high with 20 as the Jazz played without their top four scorers: Keyonte George (illness), Lauri Markkanen (knee), Ace Bailey (hip) and Jusuf Nurkic (toe).
Celtics 120, Kings 106
Jaylen Brown recorded 29 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out and Derrick White scored 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter as Boston notched a victory over host Sacramento.
Payton Pritchard added 16 points and six assists, Sam Hauser scored 15 points on five 3-pointers and fellow reserve Anfernee Simons had 14 points for Boston, which won for the sixth time in its past seven games.
DeMar DeRozan logged 25 points and six assists, Dennis Schroder tallied 18 points with seven assists and fellow reserve Keon Ellis added 16 points for the Kings, who lost their third straight contest. Precious Achiuwa scored 14 points and Maxime Raynaud added 12 for Sacramento.
Rockets 120, Nets 96
Kevin Durant totaled 22 points and 11 assists against one of his former teams as Houston pulled away in the third quarter for a wire-to-wire victory over short-handed Brooklyn in New York.
Amen Thompson made 10 of 12 shots and led Houston’s potent offense with 23 points, including 12 in the third when the Rockets outscored the Nets 37-25 en route to their fourth straight win. Durant had 10 assists for the first time since Dec. 29, 2023, when he was with Phoenix. Alperen Sengun added 20 points and Tari Eason contributed 15.
The Rockets shot 57.3% from the field and made 12 of 29 3-point attempts (41.4%) while outrebounding the Nets 45-27. Michael Porter Jr. (illness), rookie Egor Demin (back) and Terance Mann (hip) were held out and Brooklyn struggled offensively throughout. Reserve Cam Thomas led the Nets with 21 points and Ziaire Williams added 14.
76ers 123, Mavericks 108
Tyrese Maxey scored 34 points against his hometown team, lifting Philadelphia to a road win over Dallas.
Maxey added 10 assists while receiving plenty of support from VJ Edgecombe (23 points), Joel Embiid (22) and Quentin Grimes (19). Grimes was 5-of-7 from 3-point range, while Maxey hit four 3-pointers and Edgecombe knocked down half of his six attempts from beyond the arc.
Max Christie led the Mavericks with 18 points. Brandon Williams chipped in with 14 points for Dallas, while Anthony Davis added 13 points and eight boards in the team’s fourth straight defeat. Rookie Cooper Flagg shot just 5-of-15 and finished with 12 points.
–Field Level Media
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