Nightly Pulse: NBA news & highlights from Nov. 18

Results from Monday’s 8-game slate:
Bulls 122, Pistons 112
Raptors 130, Pacers 119
Knicks 134, Wizards 106
Heat 109, 76ers 86
Bucks 101, Rockets 100
Magic 109, Suns 99
Hawks 109, Kings 108
Clippers 102, Warriors 99
⭐⭐TOP PERFORMERS⭐⭐
Top Storylines👉📝
The Hawks’ backcourt tandem continues thriving. Trae Young finished with 19 assists Monday — one shy of his career high and the highest total of the 2024-25 season thus far. His 163 assists on the season easily leads the league by a 22-assist margin. His heliocentric offense alongside Dyson Daniels smothering defense is a tough matchup on any given night.
Bulls’ trio makes history.
Nikola Vučević, Coby White, and Zach LaVine are the first trio in Bulls franchise history — and 8th trio in NBA history — to each record 25+ PTS & 5+ 3PM in the same game. LaVine boomed for 18 points in the fourth quarter to fuel Monday’s win over Detroit.
CLIPPERS SURVIVE 102-99
Golden State ended the game on a 7-0 run and had two game-tying shot attempts rim off as time expired, delivering a 102-99 final in favor of the Clippers.
Stephen Curry led all scorers with 26 points. Andrew Wiggins co-starred for Golden State with 23 points (9-15 FG, 5-6 3PM). Norman Powell led the Clippers with 23 points. Ivica Zubac controlled the glass with 17 rebounds along with eight points. James Harden had a double-double of 12 points while matching his season-high 16 assists.

GREAT BARRIER THIEF🇦🇺🇦🇺
DYSON DANIELS GAME-SEALING STRIP OF DE’AARON FOX.
Daniels was credited with four blocks Monday and continues putting up insane steal plus block numbers, compiling 41 across his last seven games. Atlanta escapes with a 109-108 victory. Daniels finishes with 14 points (6-14 FG), eight rebounds, and four assists in addition to his stellar defense.

Shorthanded Kings fall just short
Keon Ellis delivered career-high marks of 33 points and 9 made threes to lead Sacramento. He joins Mike Bibby, Omri Casspi, Buddy Hield, and Keegan Murray on an exciting list of players who have hit 9+ threes for the franchise.
De’Aaron Fox was Ellis’ only teammate to exceed 12 points on a night when DeMar DeRozan (back), Domantas Sabonis (back), and Malik Monk (ankle) are unavailable for Sacramento. Fox finished with 28 points (11-23 FG, 3-6 3PM, 3-4 FT), five rebounds, seven assists and one steal.

Chef getting goin👨‍🍳👨‍🍳
Stephen Curry has racked up a game-high 17 points (6-13 FG, 5-11 3PM) as the Warriors trail the Clippers 68-62 with about five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Ivica Zubac has been difficult to contain, posting eight points, 14 rebounds and four assists in 26 minutes. Norman Powell leads the Clippers with 14 points.

Sweet Franz 🍽️🍽️
Franz Wagner continues cooking, posting a game-high 32 points (12-24 FG, 4-8 3PM, 4-5 FT) along with five rebounds and eight assists as Orlando held off Phoenix 109-99. Wagner is now averaging 29.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists across his last six games.
Second-year guard Anthony Black contributed 20 points (5-10 FG0, 3-5 3PM, 7-9 FT), four rebounds, nine assists and three steals. Goga Bitadze notched his fourth double-double of the season with 17 points and 10 rebounds. His scoring output matching his highest production since March of 2022.
Tyus Jones led Phoenix with 18 points and eight assists, while Devin Booker was limited to 17 points (5-14 FG, 1-7 3PM, 6-6 FT) by a combination of Jalen Suggs and Jonathan Isaac defensively.

Trae Young with a flurry of dimes
Young has racked up 11 assists to go along with four points and two steals as Atlanta trails Sacramento 66-64 at the half. De’Andre Hunter leads Atlanta with 13 points, while rookie top pick Zaccharie Risacher is in double-digits as well with 11 points.
Keon Ellis leads all scorers with 18 points (6-10 FG, 6-8 3PM).

KEON ELLIS ON FIRE🗣🔥🔥🔥
Ellis has rained in 6-of-7 3PA to fuel Sacramento’s comeback after the Kings started the game in a 22-6 hole. Ellis set his career high of eight made threes in April against Oklahoma City, and the 24-year-old is on pace to shatter that record.
He leads all scorers while propelling the Kings to a 53-42 advantage with over five minutes remaining in the second quarter.

FEAR THE DEER DUO🦌🦌
Damian Lillard called Dame Time from inside the arc with a tough layup at the rim to put Milwaukee up 101-100. That score would eventually be the final, with Houston unable to get a shot off on their final possession.
Giannis Antetokoumpo made one of his best defensive plays of the season, blocking Sengun to keep it a one-point game before the Lillard layup. Antetokoumpo finished with 20 points (9-17 FG, 2-7 FT), 13 rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Lillard finished with 18 points and 10 assists, but it was Brook Lopez who led Milwaukee in scoring, booming for 27 points (11-15, 5-8 3PM, 0-1 FT) along with 10 rebounds, three steals and four blocks in a monster defensive performance to anchor Milwaukee against the athleticism of the Rockets. Monday represented Lopez’s 2nd-highest scoring total of the year.
Houston still managed to win the rebounding battle 61-53, as Tari Eason was everywhere with 14 rebounds, four steals and three blocks along with nine points. Fred VanVleet finished with a team-high 26 points, while Jalen Green had 21 points. Houston shot just 40.0 percent from the field as a team.

Canadians star on both sides as Raptors win🇨🇦🇨🇦
RJ Barrett nearly notched the third 40-point game with his career, finishing with 39 points (13-21 FG, 4-8 3PM, 9-12 FT), nine rebounds and five assists in 35 minutes to lead all scorers. Barrett and fellow Canada native Bennedict Mathurin went toe-to-toe, with Mathurin delivering 28 points (10-16 FG, 4-6 3PM, 4-6 FT), five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. Toronto emerged victorious, winning 130-119.
Jakob Poeltl dominated with 30 points and 15 rebounds in the absence of Myles Turner (calf) for Indiana. Gradey Dick scored 15 for Toronto, while former Raptor Pascal Siakam had 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Brunson leads balanced attack
Jalen Brunson led all players with 26 points and 11 assists en route to a dominant 134-106 win over the Wizards.
The Knicks boomed for a 73-point first half and only committed eight turnovers throughout the course of the game. Karl-Anthony Towns co-starred with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while all six players who logged over 20 minutes for New York finished with at least 14 points.
Rookie Carlton Carrington, Jonas Valančiūnas, and Corey Kispert each had 18 points to lead Washington’s offensive.

ROOKIE DETONATES💥💣🚀
Oso Ighodaro goes Statue of Liberty down the lane off a Tyus Jones pick-and-roll. Ighodaro has a chance to step up Monday with Jusuf Nurkic (ankle) unavailable for Phoenix.

Bulls win, LaVine goes off in Q4
Zach LaVine racked up 25 points (9-19 FG) (7-14 3PM), six rebounds, five assists and one steal as Chicago beat Detroit 122-112. LaVine poured in six of his threes in the fourth quarter, while Chicago buried 50.0% of 46 3PA as a team in a blistering showing.
Nikola Vučević finished with team-highs of 29 points and six made threes. Coby White also had 25 points to form a potent trio.
Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 26 points (8-17 FG, 4-7 3PM, 6-9 FT) and 10 assists. Jalen Duren erupted for 15 points (7-13 FG, 1-2 FT) and 22 rebounds, including 12 offensive rebounds. Duren falls one rebound shy of his career high.

OBI TOPPIN CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF✈️✈️
Toppin skies in transition off of TJ McConnell steal, cocking back and throwing down in transition.

Miami bringing the heat🔥🔥🔥🔥
Miami trails Philadelphia 56-53 at halftime despite ending the second quarter on a big run fueled by 19 points from Jimmy Butler in his return from an ankle injury. He represents the only Heat player with more than seven points.
Paul George and Jared McCain each have 12 points to lead Philadelphia.

Zach LaVine looking bouncy👀👀
LaVine slashes into the lane with ease and elevates for the slam. Chicago leads Detroit 87-78 with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter.

JERICHO SIMS POWERGLIDE AND-1
Jericho Sims with a nasty poster versus the Wizards. He took off from the middle of the lane and threw it in plus the foul!

Beautiful ball in Toronto
Davion Mitchell crossover –> RJ Barrett pick-and-roll with Jakob Poeltl –> bucket for the big man.

Heat seeing red.
Jimmy Butler is back after a four-game absence due to an ankle sprain. Tyler Herro is raining in 49.3 percent of 10.7 threes per game across his last seven contests.

Cowboys & Raptors
Scottie Barnes with a sophisticated western-denim look to join Bruce Brown’s cowboy style for the night. Brown is known for blasting country music throughout Denver’s run to the championship two seasons ago.