NBA News: Joel Embiid’s return, Tyrese Haliburton’s historic streak, more

Hello, hoops heads! Despite only three NBA games last night, there was still plenty that happened. Let’s start with the New York Knicks hammering the Detroit Pistons, 140-110, with Julius Randle leading the way by dropping 36 points on his birthday.

It was an easy win for a middling Knicks team, which now sits 10th in the East, ahead of playoff teams like the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls, which have yet to get their act together. The Pistons, meanwhile, despite fairly high preseason expectations, have the worst record in the NBA, putting themselves in a prime position to land the number one pick in next year’s draft.

Moving on to Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, who edged out the defending champion Golden State Warriors behind Doncic’s 41 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists, Doncic is currently leading the league in scoring with 33.5 points per game, two points per game more than Steph Curry, who’s in second place.

Last but not least, the Los Angeles Clippers came back to beat the Trailblazers by outscoring them 36-17 in the fourth with Norm Powell going off. He and Reggie Jackson helped carry the scoring load while the Clippers’ two best players remain out. Now, let’s take a look around the NBA.

Around the NBA

Tyrese Haliburton has had three straight games with 10+ assists and 0 turnovers, the first time in NBA history, and will soon put that streak on the line against his former team, the Sacramento Kings. Racking up 40 assists to 0 turnovers is obviously impressive, but so is winning, and Haliburton’s elite playmaking has helped the Indiana Pacers jump out to an unexpected 12-8 start.

Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns will be out for 4-6 weeks with a calf strain, which means he could be back in January. This comes at the worst possible time for the Timberwolves considering that they’ve lost three straight games, are under 500, and are currently 11th in the West. Now they’ll be without their best player for between 16 and 21 games, and this will serve as a make-or-break time for the Timberwolves.

Washington Wizards center Kristaps Porzingis‘ strong season has largely flown under the radar, but his 41-point performance against Minnesota is making people believe in unicorns again. The Wizards are currently above 500, and his play, along with Kyle Kuzma’s, has been a big part of their early success.

In one of the weirder stats this season, Philadelphia 76ers power forward PJ Tucker has made just one shot in his last eight games but is still having a positive impact on the team.

That is especially the case on the defensive end, where he and Joel Embiid have formed an excellent forward-center combo. Speaking of Embiid, he returned from a four-game absence and picked up right where he left off by dropping 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists against the Hawks.

During that absence, Shake Milton helped pick up the slack, and in his last six games, he is averaging a terrific 23.1 points. That’s all for now, stay tuned for more NBA news.