Nightly Pulse: Nov. 23 News & Highlights

Saturday Basketball🏀🏀
The Jazz defended home court and defeated the Knicks to kick off Saturday’s slate of hoops:
LAMELO 50-PIECE🤯🤯
LaMelo Ball’s 50-point performance joins Kemba Walker as the only players in Hornets’ franchise history to hit that threshold. Ball had never logged a 40-point performance prior to Saturday.
Ball finishes with 50 points (17-38 FG, 6-17 3PM, 10-13 FT), five rebounds, 10 assists and one steal), joining De’Aaron Fox, Victor Wembanyama, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Paolo Banchero in the 50-point club this season.
Ball’s offensive clinic oozed confidence, headlined by smooth crossovers, feathery floaters and confident bombing.

Milwaukee survives barrage, beats Charlotte 125-119
Giannis Antetokounmpo provided 32 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists, while Damian Lillard co-starred with 31 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Milwaukee’s top duo paled in comparison to LaMelo Ball (50 points) and Brandon Miller (32 points) combining for 82 points and accounting for all 34 of Charlotte’s points in the fourth quarter. Charlotte overcame a 20-point deficit to cut the lead to three prior to Milwaukee sealing the deal with free throws.

SCOTTY PIPPEN JR. EMERGENCE CONTINUES📈📈
Pippen is booming for 26 points (11-13 FG) and eight assists to lead all players in both categories as Memphis leads Chicago by 13 in the final minute of the third quarter.
Pippen’s stock has been firmly on the rise since last season, initially earning a two-way contract with Memphis, posting multiple 20-point games down the stretch last year, booming for a triple-double at Summer League, then carrying his momentum into a four-year contract from the Grizzlies last month.

Ball has a game-high 32 points to combat 25 points each from Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard as the Hornets trail 96-85 at the start of Q4.

Franz (30 points, nine rebounds, eight assists) and Moritz Wagner (18 points, seven rebounds, five assists) ranked first and second in each category for Orlando, with the exception of 12 rebounds for Jonathan Isaac.
The Magic move to 8-0 at home this season, with Cleveland representing the only other team still undefeated at home.
Jaden Ivey finished with a team-high 19 points (6-16 FG) for the Pistons. Isaiah Stewart delivered a versatile performance of seven points (3-4 FG), five rebounds, four assists, one steal and five blocks. Marcus Sasser logged his second-most playing time of the year and flashed quality guard minutes in the absence of Cade Cunningham (hip).

The Grizzlies have racked up 18 first-half assists on 23 buckets en route to a four-point lead over the Bulls. Jaren Jackson leads Memphis with 14 points (3-7 FG, 6-8 FG), while Jaylen Wells (13 points) and Scotty Pippen Jr. (12 points) join him in double-digit scoring.
Nikola Vučević continues his outstanding start to the season with 19 points and six rebounds, leading all players in both categories. The big man is averaging 20.2 points and 9.8 rebounds on the season, raining in a career-high 46.1 percent of 4.5 3PA per game.

Ball gets Giannis Antetokounmpo with a twitchy crossover and finishes the floater. His pin-point passing was on display in a dynamite transition break with Brandon Miller as well.

Giannis Antetokounmpo beats the double team for a dunk and is getting busy early. The Greek Freak has now totaled 70 dunks through 16 appearances this season.

Franz Wagner staying hot♨️♨️♨️
Orlando clings to a 56-53 lead over Detroit at halftime, with Wagner posting a game-high 18 points (7-13 FG). His stretch of stellar play continues, as Wagner entered Saturday’s contest averaging 27.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.9 steals across his last 10 games, while failing to exceed 20 points just once over that span.
Moritz Wagner (11 points, three rebounds, four assists) hit his brother with two lovely dimes and represents the only other player for Orlando with double-digit scoring thus far. Jaden Ivey has a team-high 12 points for Detroit, leading the Pistons’ backcourt with Cade Cunningham (hip) missing his first game of the season.

Jazz catch fire from deep, defeat Knicks
Utah rained in a ridiculous 55.9% of 34 3PA, fueled by Lauri Markkanen’s 34 points (11-15 FG, 5-8 3PM), to earn a 121-106 victory over New York. John Collins finished with a 20-point, 13-rebound double-double.
Karl-Anthony towns finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds, representing his fifth game of the season with at least 15 boards. OG Anunoby posted a season-high 27 points, but he represented the only starter for New York to shoot at least 50% from the field.

Beautiful backcut
Lauri Markkanen gets the Knicks’ perimeter defense to bite on the pindown screen and cuts to the basket, where Collin Sexton hits him with the alley-oop. Sexton has four assists, while Keyonte George (eight assists) and Jordan Clarkson (six assists) have also been primary facilitators for Utah.

After trailing by 15 points at halftime, New York posted a 27-21 advantage in the third frame to cut Utah’s lead to nine at 87-78. New York went on a 17-0 run in under 2.5 minutes midway through the quarter, but Utah never relinquished the lead and promptly countered with their own burst.
Lauri Markkanen leads all scorers with 25 points (8-11 FG), while OG Anunoby’s 24 points (9-16 FG) leads New York. Karl-Anthony towns has a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds, while Jalen Brunson has chipped in 16 points and eight assists.