{"id":942890,"date":"2026-10-27T15:48:28","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T15:48:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/942890\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T15:48:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T15:48:28","slug":"starting-5-clutch-young-stars-nbcs-coast-2-coast-tuesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/942890\/","title":{"rendered":"Starting 5: Clutch young stars, NBC\u2019s Coast 2 Coast Tuesday"},"content":{"rendered":"

A two-way sequence to seal the win and a two-way clinic to make history.<\/p>\n

Cooper Flagg was everywhere Monday, highlighting a packed night of clutch finishes and young buckets.<\/p>\n

\"Cooper<\/p>\n

Monday Moments: Cavs overcome Ant\u2019s 47 in OT, Flagg and Lendeborg take over<\/p>\n

Roundup: Thunder, Rockets & Grizz move to 4-0, Miller & Pritchard catch fire, Herro boosts Bucks<\/p>\n

Coast 2 Coast: Knicks seek first win vs. 3-0 Pistons, Lakers & Blazers battle to stay unbeaten<\/p>\n

Power Rankings: Two teams make major jumps into the top three after Week 1<\/p>\n

NBA Cup Spotlight: How stacked is East Group B? Brian Martin breaks it down<\/p>\n

BUT FIRST \u2026 \u23f0<\/p>\n

\"Tonight's<\/p>\n

NBC\u2019s Coast 2 Coast Tuesday highlights tonight\u2019s four-game slate, as the Knicks host the Pistons at MSG (8 ET<\/a>), before the Lakers meet the Blazers at Crypto.com Arena (8 PT<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Players Of The Week:\u00a0Grizzlies guard Ty Jerome and 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey were named the NBA Western and Eastern Conference Players of the Week<\/a>, respectively, for Week 1.<\/p>\n

NBA Cup In 3 Days: The chase for the 2026 Emirates NBA Cup begins Friday with a 10-game slate<\/a> to open Group Play.<\/p>\n

Valkyries One Win Away: The Golden State Valkyries defeated the Atlanta Dream 64-55 in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals to take a 3-2 series lead<\/a>, moving one win shy of the young franchise\u2019s first title.\u00a0Game 6 will be played Thursday at 12:30 ET at State Farm Arena<\/a>.<\/p>\n

1. MONDAY MOMENTS: CLUTCH CAVS, YOUTH DELIVERS<\/p>\n

\"Donovan<\/p>\n

Five days after pouring in 45 points in the Wolves\u2019 season opener, Anthony Edwards was at it again.<\/p>\n

But the Cavs\u2019 core had other plans.<\/p>\n

Cavaliers 127, Wolves 125 (OT): Edwards went off for 47 points<\/a>, but Cleveland had the answer down the stretch, with James Harden (19 pts, 9 ast) dropping in a game-tying floater with 10 ticks left in regulation, before Peyton Watson denied Edwards at the rim as time expired<\/a> to force OT.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where Donovan Mitchell delivered, scoring back-to-back clutch buckets while Cleveland\u2019s defense held firm to secure the win, handing Minnesota its first loss of the season (3-1). | Recap<\/a><\/p>\n

OT Duel: Edwards tallied 11 points in OT, trading buckets with Mitchell<\/a> (26 pts, 7 ast), who answered with a driving finger roll and a tiebreaking jumper with 48 seconds left
\nAll Hands: Mitchell and Evan Mobley (18 pts, 10 reb) each scored 5 in the extra frame, while seven Cavs finished in double figures to overcome a 15-point 1st-half deficit
\nRookie Boost: That included 16 points from Meleek Thomas, this year\u2019s No. 34 overall pick, who was making his NBA debut
\n\u201cWe don\u2019t get there, I don\u2019t get to do what I do \u2026 without Meleek Thomas giving the energy in the 1st half,\u201d said Mitchell postgame. \u201cHe made the most out of his moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cooper<\/p>\n

Joe Murphy\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Speaking of moments\u2026<\/p>\n

Mavericks 113, Heat 109: To punctuate a record night, Cooper Flagg (29 pts, 6 reb, 11 ast, 5 stl, 3 blk<\/a>) got a fingertip on a late 3-point attempt before converting a tough, off-balance finish on the other end, putting Dallas up four with 10 ticks left to ice the Heat. | Recap<\/a><\/p>\n

Youngest Ever: At 19 years, 309 days old, Flagg is the first teenager in NBA history to record 25+ pts, 10+ ast, 5+ reb and 5+ stl in a game
\n\u201cThe guy\u2019s a winner,\u201d said Mavs head coach Dusty May of Flagg postgame. \u201cYou see the plays he makes \u2013 he has a different gear.\u201d
\nGiannis Not Enough: Antetokounmpo led Miami with a triple-double (29 pts, 14 reb, 11 ast, 1 poster<\/a>), but Flagg got help from P.J. Washington (20 pts, 9 reb) and Kyrie Irving (18 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast) as Dallas dropped Miami to 0-4<\/p>\n

\"Yaxel<\/p>\n

Flagg wasn\u2019t the only young hooper making noise Monday.<\/p>\n

Warriors 134, Nuggets 114: After a strong opening week, Yaxel Lendeborg provided his biggest spark yet<\/a>, posting a game-high 31 points, 12 boards and 6 dimes as Golden State outpaced Nikola Joki\u0107 (19 pts, 7 reb, 11 ast) and Denver for its first win. | Recap<\/a><\/p>\n

Full Circle: Lendeborg is just the sixth rookie in Warriors history to record 30+ pts, 10+ reb and 5+ ast in a game. The last to do it? Steph Curry on Feb. 10, 2010
\nPerfect Steph: Curry also had himself a night (24 pts, 8-8 FG, 3 3s), scoring 20+ points on 100% shooting for the first time in his career
\nPaying It Forward: Steph broke out the clipboard, too, coaching up the No. 11 pick<\/a> during a timeout
\n\u201cHe\u2019s got composure, feel \u2026 he\u2019s never really in a hurry, and he\u2019s starting to see the pictures really well,\u201d said Curry of Lendeborg postgame. \u201cHe\u2019s kind of the full package<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. ROUNDUP: THREE 4-0 STARTS, TWO HOT HANDS, ONE PACKED NIGHT
\n\"Ajay<\/p>\n

Joshua Gateley\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Only three teams in the NBA are 4-0. All three hail from the West, and all three got there last night.<\/p>\n

Thunder 125, Suns 114: Hours after learning they\u2019d be without starters Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace indefinitely<\/a>, Ajay Mitchell stepped up for OKC with a career-high 30 points, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 26 to guide the Thunder past Phoenix, keeping their perfect record intact (4-0). | Recap<\/a><\/p>\n

Injury Update: Both injured in Sunday\u2019s win over the Clippers, Williams will need surgery to repair a broken left fibula and dislocated left ankle, while Wallace will undergo surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder<\/p>\n

\"Alperen<\/p>\n

Joshua Gateley\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Rockets 120, Hawks 110: Up two in the 4th quarter after 20 lead changes, Houston used a 14-0 surge to take control for good, with Alperen Sengun (29 pts, 9 reb, 9 ast, 6 stl<\/a>) and Kevin Durant (22 pts, 9 reb) leading the way as Houston moved to 4-0. | Recap<\/a><\/p>\n

Grizzlies 110, Jazz 105: Entering the night as the NBA\u2019s leading scorer, Ty Jerome struggled to find his shot Monday (4-15 FG). But when Memphis needed a bucket, he had multiple.<\/p>\n

Jerome (15 pts, 8 ast) buried back-to-back jumpers in the final 2:44 to extend a one-point lead to five, helping the Grizzlies hold off Keyonte George (26 pts, 6 ast) and the Jazz to join OKC and Houston at 4-0. | Recap<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Brandon<\/p>\n

Kent Smith + Maddie Meyer\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

From red-hot squads to red-hot hands\u2026<\/p>\n

Hornets 110, Wizards 103: Anthony Davis (29 pts, 10 reb) and Trae Young (22 pts, 6 reb, 10 ast) were clicking offensively, but Washington had no answer for Brandon Miller, who hung a career-high 39 points<\/a> as the Hornets held off the Wiz to move to 3-1. | Recap<\/a><\/p>\n

Fast To 500: Miller (15-28 FG, 5 3s) eclipsed 500 career 3s in the win, becoming the second-fastest player in NBA history to hit the mark (170 games), behind only Duncan Robinson (152 games)<\/p>\n

Celtics 134, Bulls 99: Boston led Chicago by 10 midway through the 3rd. Then, Payton Pritchard happened<\/a>. In just 7:11 of game time, Pritchard poured in 19 points while going 5-for-5 from 3, igniting a 33-12 3rd-quarter burst that blew the game open. | Recap<\/a><\/p>\n

Hot Hand: Pritchard finished with a game-high 28 points on seven treys, while Jayson Tatum contributed across the board (23 pts, 7 reb, 6 ast)<\/p>\n

Bucks 110, Pacers 102: With Milwaukee looking to avoid its first 0-4 start since 1976-77, Tyler Herro came through (23 pts, 10 reb, 7 ast) as the Bucks surged past Tyrese Haliburton (22 pts, 6 reb, 9 ast) and the Pacers for their first win. | Recap<\/a><\/p>\n

\"NBA<\/p>\n

3. COAST 2 COAST TUESDAY: EAST POWERS & WEST UNBEATENS
\n\"Luka<\/p>\n

Noah Graham + Rocky Widner\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Ahead of the Lakers\u2019 season opener against the Warriors last Wednesday, Luka Don\u010di\u0107 took out a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times to set the tone for the journey ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cDear LA, Tonight we start our run for a championship,\u201d Don\u010di\u0107 wrote<\/a>. \u201cWe have a special team. We know what you expect, and we are going to do everything in our power to deliver it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three games in, Don\u010di\u0107 has delivered, leading Los Angeles to a 3-0 record, capped by a 52-point masterclass to beat the Jazz on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Tonight (8 PT, NBC), the Lakers eye their first 4-0 start since 2010, hosting another unbeaten West squad: the 2-0 Blazers.<\/p>\n

\"Quentin<\/p>\n

Melissa Majchrzak\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Don\u010di\u0107 made history Sunday, becoming the first Laker to tally 50+ points, 10+ assists, 5+ rebounds and 5+ 3s in a game. But the win also offered an early sign of growth for a team looking to build championship habits<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Protecting Leads: Last regular season, the Lakers went an NBA-best 40-1 when leading entering the 4th quarter
\nPlaying From Behind: On the flip side, Los Angeles went just 1-9 when trailing by double digits after the 1st quarter, the 7th-worst winning percentage (.100) in the NBA
\nSunday\u2019s Challenge: The Lakers faced their first such deficit this season, trailing 47-29 after the opening frame. L.A. outscored Utah 103-76 the rest of the way to secure the win
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a reference point for resiliency,\u201d said Lakers coach JJ Redick postgame. \u201cWe talked to the guys at the beginning of the 2nd quarter, and there was an immediate response \u2026 We had to gut out a win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Cade<\/p>\n

David Dow + Maddie Meyer\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Detroit knows a thing or two about gutting out wins. After rallying from 22 down to beat Boston in the season opener, the Pistons knocked off Miami and Philly, limiting the Sixers to a season-low 93 points on Sunday.<\/p>\n

And while Detroit\u2019s defense remains a constant, ranking 5th in points allowed (105.7 ppg), its offense is finding another gear behind the arc.<\/p>\n

Early Accuracy: Through three games, the Pistons are shooting 42% from 3, the 3rd-best mark in the NBA
\nEarly Volume: They\u2019ve also made at least 14 3s in each game, a total they hit in just 20 of 82 games last season
\nRobinson\u2019s Range: That starts with Duncan Robinson, who has hit five triples in all three games at a 53.6% clip<\/p>\n

But tonight (8 ET, NBC) brings a stiff test for 3-0 Detroit as it visits the defending champion Knicks, who are seeking their first win after an 0-3 start.<\/p>\n

The message in New York\u2019s locker room?<\/p>\n

\u201cFind whatever it takes to win,\u201d said Jalen Brunson after Sunday\u2019s loss to Orlando. \u201cMost importantly, stick together.\u201d<\/p>\n

4. POWER RANKINGS: OPENING WEEK JUMPS
\n\"[<\/p>\n

David Sherman + Chris Schwegler\/NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

One week into the season, and multiple teams have made moves in John Schuhmann\u2019s Power Rankings since last week\u2019s preseason report.<\/p>\n

After going 3-0 in Week 1, the Pistons and Wolves have each climbed eight places in his latest rankings, joining another unbeaten squad, Oklahoma City, in the top three.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s fueling their early success? Below is a glimpse of Schuhmann\u2019s analysis of his top three squads entering Week 2.<\/p>\n

1. Thunder: \u201cThe defense has been terrific, with the Nuggets\u2019 84 points on 94 possessions on Thursday being a worse offensive performance than any that they had last season.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Pistons: \u201cThe Pistons had the best record (18-7) in games played between Eastern Conference playoff teams last season, and they\u2019ve begun the new year with impressive wins over the Celtics, Heat and Sixers.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. Wolves: \u201cThe Wolves are the second team in NBA history (joining the 2004-05 Jazz) to win each of their first three games by more than 20 points. And the third of those wins came against a team (Toronto) that had won its first two games by a total of 53.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read More: Explore Schuhmann\u2019s full Power Rankings<\/a> and analysis of all 30 teams.<\/p>\n

5. NBA CUP COUNTDOWN: EAST GROUP B SPOTLIGHT<\/p>\n

\"Emirates<\/p>\n

The Emirates NBA Cup countdown continues. With Group Play tipping off Friday, we\u2019re spotlighting one group each day this week as NBA.com\u2019s Brian Martin explores the teams, storylines and matchups to watch in his all-encompassing previews.<\/p>\n

Next up: East Group B, featuring the Cavaliers, Sixers, Heat, Pacers and the defending Cup champion Knicks.<\/p>\n

How loaded is this group? Martin breaks down its absurd r\u00e9sum\u00e9, featuring a wealth of championship experience and NBA Cup hardware.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince 2015, eight of the last 12 teams to win the Eastern Conference came from this group: Cleveland (2015\u20132018), Miami (2020, 2023), Indiana (2025), and New York (2026).<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the competition debuted in 2023, every NBA Cup MVP came from this group: Philly\u2019s LeBron James (2023 with the Lakers), Miami\u2019s Giannis Antetokounmpo (2024 with the Bucks), and New York\u2019s Jalen Brunson (2025).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe group features three 2026 Playoff teams, all of which reached at least the conference semifinals \u2026 [and] includes two teams that advanced to at least the Quarterfinals of the last NBA Cup \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, these five teams will battle for one guaranteed spot in the 2026 NBA Cup Quarterfinals.\u201d |\u00a0Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

Want to share\u00a0Starting\u00a05\u00a0with a friend?\u00a0Send them this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Shape the Starting 5.\u00a0\u00a0Email us here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t have the NBA App? Download it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A two-way sequence to seal the win and a two-way clinic to make history. Cooper Flagg was everywhere…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":942891,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-942890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=942890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/942890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/942891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=942890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=942890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=942890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}