Nikola Jokić (knee) is back in the lineup tonight versus the Clippers after missing the last 16 games.
Enjoy the best of Friday’s 9-game slate with the NBA.com live blog, featuring all of the meaningful moments, performances, observations, news, notes and highlights.
JANUARY 30, 2026 // 9:08 ET
Pritchard drops 22 in 1H
Payton Pritchard drops 22 points in the first half to help the Celtics surge to a 72-46 edge over the Kings at the break. The 2024-25 Kia Sixth Man of the Year has done an excellent job starting for Boston this season, playing a large part in their current third-place standing in the Eastern Conference.
Payton Pritchard showing off his BAG!
The ‘tween-cross handles.
To the stepback.
To the triple.
He’s got a game-high 22 as the @celtics lead at the break! pic.twitter.com/o1sSR04vLx
— NBA (@NBA) January 31, 2026
Zach LaVine is the leading scorer for Sacramento with 17, but the Kings trail the Celtics 80-52 midway through the third quarter.
JANUARY 30, 2026 // 9:02 ET
Raptors rally for halftime lead
Toronto holds the edge in paint points (34-16) and fast break points (18-7), including this perfect dime from Scottie Barnes (10 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast, 2 blk) to Ja’Kobe Walter (11 pts, 5-6 FG) at the halftime buzzer, and they take a 57-50 advantage over the Magic after two quarters.
SCOTTIE BARNES 😮
He finds Ja’Kobe Walter with the wild fullcourt dime!
Raptors lead by 7 at the break on ESPN.
Watch here: https://t.co/tR1zqKaWWF pic.twitter.com/dx7e3cfyA6
— NBA (@NBA) January 31, 2026
Desmond Bane leads Orlando in scoring with 11 points on 3-for-6 shooting and 2 3PM, and Wendell Carter, Jr. is right behind him with 10 points (3-6 FG, 2-3 3PM), 4 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal in 15 minutes.
JANUARY 30, 2026 // 8:53 ET
Sharpe dazzles on the finish
Shaedon Sharpe gets two of his team-high 17 points in beautiful fashion, but he’s also locked in from 3-point range, knocking down 4 of his 6 attempts in 15 first-half minutes.
clean finish 🤌 pic.twitter.com/75Vp0QQcXR
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) January 31, 2026
Jalen Brunson gives the Knicks a 59-49 edge over the Trail Blazers by dropping a game-high 19 points in 19 minutes, and Josh Hart tallies 11 points, 3 boards, one assist, one steal and one block.
JANUARY 30, 2026 // 8:43 ET
Grizzlies up 61-58 at half
Memphis takes a 3-point lead over New Orleans at halftime, as Jaren Jackson, Jr. (12 pts, 4 stl), Jaylen Wells (8 pts, 4 ast) and Cedric Coward (8 pts) power a balanced Grizzlies offense.
𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐗‼️😤
Tap in 📲 https://t.co/vBFyHBZ3Ew pic.twitter.com/RGKB6DMcTK
— Memphis Grizzlies (@memgrizz) January 31, 2026
Zion Williamson has a game-high 17 points on 6-for-6 shooting to go along with 5 boards, 3 assists and a block in 16 minutes. Saddiq Bey (11 pts, 2 reb, 2 stl) and Derik Queen (10 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast) are doing a bit of everything for the Pelicans.
Zion up to 15 PTS 💪 pic.twitter.com/rQP5zDPRLm
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) January 31, 2026
Zion in the first half:
17 PTS (6-6 FG)
5 REB
3 AST
1 BLK pic.twitter.com/kho5E3ezlN
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) January 31, 2026
JANUARY 30, 2026 // 8:29 ET
Kings fighting back in Boston
Rookie Maxime Raynaud gets himself a bird to bring Sacramento’s deficit to 54-40 versus the Celtics midway through the second quarter. He’s got 2 points and 7 rebounds, while Zach LaVine (9 pts) is the Kings’ leading scorer.
Max caps a 10-2 Kings run 👑 pic.twitter.com/mDGQ69NV7c
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) January 31, 2026
Jaylen Brown is out tonight due to an illness, but Payton Pritchard is picking up the slack with 14 points (6-7 FG) and 6 assists in 12 minutes for the C’s.
DWhite caps a 40-point first frame for Boston!
Tap to watch Kings/Celtics: https://t.co/xs4WVCqZxA pic.twitter.com/B4S2iEJCXk
— NBA (@NBA) January 31, 2026
JANUARY 30, 2026 // 8:22 ET
Paolo gets the hoop and harm
Orlando’s Paolo Banchero slips past Scottie Barnes for the emphatic finish, and he finishes the 3-point play for his only 3 points on the night so far. Desmond Bane is providing the offense for the Magic with 10 points on 3-for-4 shooting.
When you cut to the rim, you get rewarded!
Paolo Banchero and the @OrlandoMagic lead on ESPN!
Tap to watch: https://t.co/tR1zqKaWWF pic.twitter.com/pEzjRD4JYe
— NBA (@NBA) January 31, 2026
Brandon Ingram (7 pts) and Barnes (6 pts, 2 reb, 2 blk) have the Raptors in front, 32-31, with 8:51 remaining before halftime on ESPN!
JANUARY 30, 2026 // 8:11 ET
Knicks up 15 after 1Q
New York shoots 58% from the field while knocking down 5 of their 8 3-point attempts, giving them a 37-22 lead at home over the Blazers. Jalen Brunson cooks for 13 points, while Josh Hart and OG Anunoby have 7 points apiece.
Josh Hart doing Josh Hart things 🤩
NYK seeking their 5th straight W tonight at home! pic.twitter.com/sWi2Jef7oA
— NBA (@NBA) January 31, 2026
Caleb Love is the high man for Portland with 6 points and two made 3s in 6 minutes off the bench.
SLAM, JAM, BAM, DC 😤😤 pic.twitter.com/J0c34HKp2e
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) January 31, 2026
JANUARY 30, 2026 // 8:06 ET
LeBron couldn’t believe it
LeBron James has 14 points (6-10 FG), 2 assists and 2 steals after skying for the sweet lefty finish. Luka Dončić finishes the first half with a game-high 26 points on 9-for-14 shooting (5-8 3PM) with 11 rebounds, 11 assists and 2 steals in 18 minutes. Unreal.
LEBRON. JAMES. 🤯🤯
Finishes the BIG alley-oop jam with the left!
Tap to watch Lakers/Wizards: https://t.co/MZRQ7COTBN pic.twitter.com/iUO3gIqpSW
— NBA (@NBA) January 31, 2026
The Lakers hold a 77-48 halftime advantage over the Wizards. Washington’s duo of Alex Sarr (12 pts, 2 stl, 1 blk) and Bub Carrington (11 pts, 2 reb, 4 ast) are the only two in double figures, and they’ll have a lot of work to do in the second half.
A triple-double in under 20 minutes for Luka Dončić 😱
26 PTS
11 REB
11 AST
19 MIN
He records the second first half 25+ PT triple-double of the play-by-play era (1997-98).
The only other instance?
Himself in 2023. pic.twitter.com/AAYXL0rfBa
— NBA (@NBA) January 31, 2026
JANUARY 30, 2026 // 7:55 ET
Queen gets crafty
Rookie Derik Queen dances his way to the hoop to give him 4 points with 3 boards and 2 dimes for the Pelicans, who trail the Grizzlies 21-20 with 4 minutes to play in the first quarter.
Go off Queen 🔥 pic.twitter.com/XZeDKxRHNz
— New Orleans Pelicans (@PelicansNBA) January 31, 2026
Jaylen Wells has 6 points and 2 assists to lead Memphis.
JANUARY 30, 2026 // 7:50 ET
Raptors-Magic underway on ESPN
Orlando jumps out to a 13-4 lead over Toronto with two minutes gone in the opening frame, with Desmond Bane fueling the Magic’s hot start with 6 points on 2-for-2 shooting from long range.
Brandon Ingram through traffic 💪
Raptors & Magic battling on ESPN!
Tap to watch: https://t.co/tR1zqKaWWF pic.twitter.com/YVsjt16eCB
— NBA (@NBA) January 31, 2026
JANUARY 30, 2026 // 7:44 ET
Luka posts wild 1Q stats
Dončić absolutely dominates Washington in the first quarter, helping the Lakers take a 49-30 edge with 8:29 remaining in the second.
LUKA MAKES HISTORY IN THE 1Q 🔥
He’s the first player to record 16+ PTS, 7+ REB, and 7+ AST in the play-by-play era (1997-98) in any quarter! pic.twitter.com/VOtR7jzuyR
— NBA (@NBA) January 31, 2026
JANUARY 30, 2026 // 7:26 ET
Defense to offense for Wizards
Washington strings together a beautiful sequence that leads to a triple from second-year guard Bub Carrington (6 points, 2 3PM). Alex Sarr has 8 points on 4-for-5 shooting, but the Wizards trail the Lakers 26-17 with 4:26 left in the first quarter.
Kyshawn George swats it… Bub Carrington swishes it!
📺 Lakers/Wizards on NBA League Pass pic.twitter.com/ilk5q5yY2J
— NBA (@NBA) January 31, 2026
Luka Dončić, who leads the NBA in first-quarter scoring at 11.8 points, comes out of the gate swinging, putting up 11 points (4-6 FG, 2-4 3PM), 6 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals in only 8 minutes.
Luka Dončić no-look lob 🫣
Jaxson Hayes slam 💥
Lakers in full control in the 1Q… watch here: https://t.co/MZRQ7COTBN pic.twitter.com/jYrPcLAXwG
— NBA (@NBA) January 31, 2026
JANUARY 30, 2026 // 6:40 ET
What we know ahead of Friday’s games:
Denver’s Nikola Jokić could return to the floor tonight for the first time since he hyperextended his left knee on Dec. 29 versus Miami. He’s averaging 29.6 points, 12.2 rebounds and 11.0 assists per game and will juice up a Nuggets squad that went 10-6 in his absence.
Luka Dončić and LeBron James look to right the Lakers’ ship when they travel to take on a Wizards team going for their third consecutive win.
The Kings are in Boston hoping to snap a 7-game losing streak, while the Celtics aim to shake off a recent 117-106 loss to the Hawks on Wednesday.
Portland is in the Big Apple looking to snap a 3-game skid versus a New York Knicks team going for a fifth straight victory following a stretch in which they lost nine of 11 contests.
The Grizzlies are in New Orleans to battle the Pelicans, and the Nets will try to put an end to their 7-game losing streak against the Jazz, who have lost four in a row.
Cleveland is in Phoenix as one of the hotter teams in the NBA right now, as the Cavs have won five straight and 12 of their last 16 games dating back to Dec. 29.
JANUARY 30, 2026 // 6:15 ET
Welcome to a nine-game Friday of hoops!
Paolo Banchero and the Magic host Scottie Barnes and the Raptors to kick off ESPN’s Friday night doubleheader.
Contending teams in the East square off in the first matchup on ESPN when the Orlando Magic host the Toronto Raptors (7:30 ET), as the visitors will look to extend their current road winning streak to five games. Then, starting All-Star guards for their respective conferences duel when Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons visit Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors (10 ET).
ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that Nikola Jokić plans to return tonight for the Nuggets after missing the last 16 games with a knee injury. A welcomed boost for Denver, who just lost Aaron Gordon for another 4-6 weeks with a right hamstring strain.
Here’s tonight’s complete schedule: