NBA Notebook: Why didn't Joe Mazzulla call timeout during Magic's run past Celtics?

The Magic run mounted to 11-0 after the Celtics solidified a 12-point lead after halftime, rocketing in transition to hit three threes before Derrick White turned the ball over and Jayson Tatum committed a take foul that allowed Orlando to tie the game at 62. Joe Mazzulla didn't call timeout, holding out until after the 7:00 mark where Goga Bitadze committed a touch foul that initiated the first mandatory timeout -- charged to the home team in Orlando. 

"(Jalen) Suggs hit a contested three, which I thought was good defense," Mazzulla said. "Then we came down and missed an open three by K.P., then we came down and we gave up a three to Franz Wagner, then we came down and missed a shot in the post, and then they came down and Suggs hit another three. Then we came down and threw a lazy pass and turned it over, then we got a take foul and then before you know it, it's a different game. That team does a great job of making runs like that ... we did a poor job in transition and on the offensive glass ... there were two stretches, they go on that 17-0 run in the middle of the third and they went on a run in the middle of the second ... those two stretches cost us." 

Many wondered why Mazzulla, with five timeouts available, didn't call one until 1:30 remained in the third quarter with the Magic on their way to a 29-18 win in the frame and an eventual 113-96 statement in the game. That management goes back to challenges, which Boston handled well during the first half, along with Mazzulla's past stated insistence on carrying two timeouts into crunch time. The Celtics' last four games prior to Friday's loss came down to 1-2 possession scores late, where having multiple timeouts available allows a team to extend a game. 

Boston used only its mandatory timeout in the first quarter on Friday before successfully challenging a foul on Tatum that reversed the call into an offensive foul on Moe Wagner. The Celtics saved a timeout there and a chance to challenge for a second time under new league rules, and while Boston shot well early and held a solid lead, the Magic's offensive rebounding and transition runs kept the game within reach. Still, Mazzulla stayed focused on that potential timeout advantage in a close game. The Magic called their mandatory timeout after a Luke Kornet and Boston bench run to go up nine, so the Celtics held a 5-4 advantage when Orlando called the first mandatory of the third. The home team takes the first mandatory, then the other team does without any subsequent call by either team. 

On Friday, the Magic beat the Celtics to it, taking a second timeout in the third quarter when Derrick White answered their 17-0 push with a 6-0 run of his own to go up 68-67. If Boston could've kept the game close, they sat positioned to have an edge over Orlando in the late-game situation, where the Celtics have fared well this year (6-3, +19.2). Instead, Kristaps Porziņģis joined Jrue Holiday sidelined with an injury, and the Magic went on an 8-4 run out of timeout to take a 75-72 lead. Mazzulla called timeout with the damage done, recalling an overtime loss to Minnesota where he also held off calling one. 

"That small stretch, he got loose in transition, and we gave him the one thing (Anthony Edwards is) great at, which are those shake-and-raise threes," Mazzulla said. "I thought we did a good job taking away his tendencies for the majority of the game, but he's a great player and he's gonna make tough shots ... we like to save our timeouts, to have two under ... when it's a five-point game, we managed it well, we went to a flip play and K.P. got to the free throw line, then we cut it to a one-possession game. So no, I didn't think about (calling timeout), but you just have to be able to fight to take away tendencies." 

Mazzulla followed Ime Udoka's lead in his first season as head coach, mostly referencing a desire to let his veteran players battle through difficult stretches and not allow them to rely on the coach bailing them out as a reason he rarely called them. He opened up to Boston Sports Journal early this season, saying he decided to call more stoppages through the flow of games after blowing a massive lead to the Nets last season, which convinced him that momentum is real. That left him balancing his strategic reason for saving them, late two-for-one situations in close games, against letting the game get out of control prior to that. Friday's loss saw him do both, letting the Celtics sink when they didn't do the little things, then relenting to try to save the game later. 

The Celtics still had the chance to hold a timeout advantage over the Magic late, making the call ahead of the end of the third, when Boston would lose it anyway -- an obvious one. Teams can only enter the fourth quarter with four at most. They still led 4-3 in timeouts and drew up a play to get Tatum a pull-up two over Jonathan Isaac. Isaac immediately perpetuated Boston's biggest problem, grabbing Moe Wagner's missed layup and tipping it back in to carry a three-point lead into the fourth. Mazzulla took the opposite approach there, perhaps influenced by Holiday and Porziņģis' absence, calling his fourth timeout to unsuccessfully challenge a block-charge call after Wagner collided with Oshae Brissett. Orlando went ahead by eight after the free throws then scored four straight after a pair of empty Celtics possessions, forcing the Celtics to call their fifth timeout only 67 seconds later down by 11. 

Boston would have to play from the 9:35 mark until crunch time without stopping, narrowing the gap without the Magic being forced to take a second mandatory. The Celtics' Brissett experiment had already failed, and Orlando figured out how to exploit Kornet in space. Moe Wagner scored twice more inside, Isaac scored a point after getting fouled on a put-back attempt, Franz found Moe for a second-chance three before Franz flew past Kornet to secure a 14-point lead. 

Timeout Celtics. Leaving only one remaining with 6:50 left. Tatum and White pulled Boston back within nine before Franz Wagner and Suggs slammed the door in the final minutes. The loss showed the balance Mazzulla strikes each night between micromanaging the game for a group that should be above that, especially against a young, injured Magic team, and doing what it takes to win a game in a critical season for a contending Celtics group. 

"It's really hard to guard at the end of the game like that," Mazzulla said after the opposite situation on Wednesday against Milwaukee where a late lead shrunk. "You're telling your team no threes, no transition, no offensive rebounds. So I think we've gotta guard the three-point line at the end of the games better. In the Charlotte game, they scored in the first 6-8 seconds of the shot clock on four possessions and then tonight, on two possessions, they scored in the first 6-8 seconds. So we've just gotta guard the three a little better and we've gotta hold them to one shot. It's hard ... it feels like we're letting off a little bit and they're in urgency mode, so we've gotta fight to be in urgency mode as well." 

Mazzulla doesn't believe in timeouts through the flow of the game as a method of instilling the game plans he repeats regardless, recently transition defense and rebounding while offensive slippage undoubtedly needs addressing entering a long home stand with a practice opportunity ahead on Thursday. His emphasis on saving timeouts for late in games has worked in both wins and losses. They used a second in the fourth on Wednesday after the mandatory, maintaining the two late while stopping a Bucks run within 10. They used one early in the fourth on Monday, forced Charlotte to use two and utilized one late to draw up the final shot in a tie game. In overtime, having two timeouts late set up the three-point foul play that could've tied the game, and the ensuing game-tying attempt after the NBA admitted too much time came off the clock when Tatum missed the third free throw.

Boston nearly squandered its strategy by calling timeout early in the first, but an improved second quarter forced two Toronto timeouts and eventually back-to-back ones in crunch time that left them without one trailing by five on the last possession. Not quite an example of forcing an opponent into using all of them, it drew close, also a point of improvement for the players in terms of lasting without one. 

Not forcing Philadelphia to use theirs earlier this month left them four timeouts to use in the fourth, nearly enough to pull within six points late before Boston's successful challenge took away three 76ers free throws with 1:11 remaining. Trailing by six there the week prior, Mazzulla drew up back-to-back open threes, Jaylen Brown hitting the first and Porziņģis missing the potential game-tying look. If Boston got back into Friday's game in Orlando, they wouldn't have had timeouts to carve out the necessary points to do the same. 

The Celtics could've used one timeout earlier in the third, had two timeouts available early in the fourth, one for the challenge, and saved two for late. Needing to use one around the six-minute mark as they did would leave only one. Would using that one earlier have made the difference? The seventh went to waste in what became a blowout late. Many fans and Mazzulla continue to differ on the solution. There's room for debate, and by calling his sixth down by 14 points, he seemed to concede, at least in that one case, on saving two crunch time. Albeit with little chance to get there. 

"Outside of those two bad stretches, we played real good basketball," Mazzulla said. "But that's not enough against a team like this." 

Here's what else happened around the NBA...

Atlanta (7-7): Scored 299 points across back-to-back games against the Pacers and Nets, and lost one while allowing 302 points. The astonishing defensive meltdown even by their standards buried Atlanta at 25th in defense. Results elsewhere eliminated them (1-2, -9) from In Season Tournament contention while Trae Young combined for 81 points across the games. They visit the Wizards in another potential shootout before traveling to Boston for a back-to-back on Sunday at 6 EST. Only the Pacers have scored more than their 119.5 points per 100 possessions, due in part to Indiana's 20-point comeback in Atlanta, who behind Tyrese Haliburton might become the new Hawks -- all offense and no defense. 

Boston (12-4): Slid to ninth in offense after a third lackluster effort over the last four games, the fourth against the Bucks featuring a 21-point Celtics lead that diminished to three by the end of the game. Jrue Holiday sprained his right ankle and missed a 17-point game against the Magics where Kristaps Porziņģis exited with a left calf sprain he'll receive an MRI on. Derrick White went to the locker room with an elbow contusion he later returned from in a loss where Orlando battered Boston on the boards, held Jaylen Brown badly off-balance for the second time this week and mostly negated Jayson Tatum's impact. The Celtics now stand at risk of missing the In Season Tournament at 2-1 behind 3-1 Orlando, boasting a +22 point differential to Boston's +0 due in part to the Magic running up the score late on Friday. The Celtics will need a 23-point win on Tuesday against Chicago or some help. 

Brooklyn (6-8): Mikal Bridges' 45 points and three other 20-point scorers helped them hang into the 140s with the Hawks in overtime, an impressive feat for a once offensively-challenged team. Defense became their challenge without Ben Simmons this year, beat for 120 points or worse in each of their three losses this week. They're 2-1 in IST play ahead of their finale with the Raptors in New York on Tuesday, needing a big win to break a tie with the Magic and potentially the Celtics, or other east wild card contenders. Simmons (back), who began individual work, will miss 7-10 more days. Dennis Smith Jr. (back) is day-to-day while Cam Thomas (ankle) could return to team activities this week. 

Charlotte (5-9): Fair to say they're at least not a joke at full strength? Convincing wins over the Celtics on Monday and the Wizards on Wednesday featured LaMelo Ball at his best, combining for 70 points, 17 rebounds and 21 assists across the two wins. They're still 28th in defense and a disastrous three-point foul by Gordon Hayward nearly allowed Boston to force double overtime trailing by three, but Jayson Tatum missed a free throw. Second-year center Mark Williams, a popular player in this column, looked like one of the best centers in the league with 18 points, 16 rebounds and two assists. 

Free agent Kai Jones, drafted by Charlotte in 2021 and waived this fall amid social media outbursts, spoke for the first time since his release. 

"They were a little concerned about the social media stuff, they were concerned about my sleeping patterns. My great grandma has just passed away, and they (Hornets) were like I hope we're not bothering you too much. I was going through some things off the floor," he said. "Mitch then tells me I'm not allowed to do training camp. When he tells me that, that's when I was like, 'Bro, I'm off with this team. How can I play here when they won't let me do training camp, they're not allowing me to tryout for my position?' So I'm upset, I wanna leave now and I decided to leave." 

Chicago (5-12): Lost three straight games to the Heat, Thunder and Raptors, sinking the Bulls' chance at making the IST (0-3) and further thrusting this team toward inevitable trade decisions. The Athletic reported the Lakers will be among the teams interested in Zach LaVine and Alex Caruso if they become available. Chicago will undoubtedly demand a high asking price if that happens. Even with trades, there's no straight path back to winning here.

Cleveland (8-7): Suffered a crushing loss with two single-figure scoring nights between Max Strus (6) and Jarrett Allen (4) while Craig Porter Jr. earned a spot start for Donovan Mitchell (hamstring) returned to practice alongside Isaac Okoro (knee), who missed the last three weeks. The Cavs will test their acclimation to full speed play, particularly Mitchell, who strained his hamstring on Nov. 15. Erik Spoelstra ripped Cleveland's IST court after Miami's win, the latest to comment on the condition of the floors that Jaylen Brown criticized after slips-and-falls last Friday on Toronto's IST court. 

Dallas (10-5): Kyrie Irving hit a game-winning three over the Lakers after LA came back from behind by 20 points late in the third quarter to take a lead following LeBron James' put back of Austin Reaves' miss. James missed the ensuing game-winner try and the Mavs broke a two-game slide where they struggled defensively against the Bucks and Kings. Dereck Lively II exited the win against LA with a back contusion after falling trying to catch an alley-oop from Luka Doncic. Any long-term lively absence would pull Richaun Holmes or Dwight Powell into action after Lively's starts helped the team begin the season hot. They're 1-2 in IST play and are unlikely to make the quarterfinals ahead of their group play finale against the Rockets on Tuesday. 

Denver (10-6): Eliminated from IST play after a 19-point loss to the Rockets where Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon combined for only 16 points. Only two Nuggets reached double-figures aside from Nikola Jokić's 38 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists, a second straight loss and fourth over the past five games during which Denver ranked 25th in offense. They're 4-5 without Jamal Murray (hamstrings), who still must progress more before returning according to head coach Michael Malone. In their lone win of late, a 107-103 squeak-out over Detroit, Malone and Jokić got ejected. 

"(Jokić) doesn’t need to apologize," Gordon said. "They’re fouling him, and they’re not reffing him by the book,” Gordon said. “They’re putting two hands on him. They’re pushing him. It’s a foul.”

Detroit (2-14): Lost by 29 to Toronto and 23 to Indiana as their league-worst start to the season extended into a 13-game losing streak by dropping their close game with Denver. Ausar Thompson remains a bright spot, on track to become only the third player standing 6-6 or shorter to average 10 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steal per game. He's shooting 45% from the field and 3.2 assists each night, making up for a few too many turnovers as a team and his nonexistent (13.8%) three-point shot. Thompson and Cade Cunningham (22 PPG, 7.1 APG) make a difficult watch worthwhile. They host the Wizards on Monday with a chance to end the fifth-longest skid in franchise history. 

Golden State (8-9): Dropped a mini-series against the Thunder in overtime despite 56 points from Andrew Wiggins and Steph Curry, snuck by the Rockets and Spurs, while Phoenix scored a needed win against a west rival as Draymond Green's suspension continued. He'll return for the Warriors' final IST game (2-1) against the Kings, a chance to tie Sacramento (3-0) and pass them in point differential to win the group. They'd need to win by 23 to break that tie, effectively their only path to the quarterfinals with the Suns finishing 3-1 with a +34 point differential behind the Lakers in Group A. 

Houston (8-6): Won their seventh game over their last 10 to improve to 8-1 at home with a surprising blowout win over the defending champion Nuggets. Alperen Şengün did his best Jokić impression by scoring 21 points with 15 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and a block. Jabari Smith Jr. (15 rebounds) and Fred VanVleet (11 assists) achieved double-doubles too while Jalen Green led their scoring with 25 points. Holding anyone, never mind a Jokić-led team, to 86 points impresses. They're 0-5 on the road and face Dallas, Denver and the Lakers away from home next week, with the Mavericks meeting key to making an IST that'll likely mean more to emerging teams like this. Are they for real? All that's clear is Ime Udoka's coaching acumen. 

Indiana (9-6): Tyrese Haliburton's 37 points and 16 assists led the Pacers to a casual 157 points in an all-star like shootout with the Hawks where Indiana scored 34 points in every quarter and 46 in the third. This team's on the way to the best offensive season in NBA history at this rate, the Pacers standing four full points per 100 possessions ahead of the second-best offense in Atlanta with a 123.6 offensive rating. That's seven points per 100 ahead of the Celtics, who beat them by over 50 with Haliburton out of the lineup. He deserves more MVP attention after Indiana's 3-0 start clinched an IST quarterfinals berth and their solid start charts a path to their first postseason appearance since the Bubble. The IST could be Haliburton's first TNT game ahead of what originally scheduled to become his first between his time in Sacramento and Indiana on Jan. 30 in Boston -- a date he circled. 

Clippers (6-8): Edged out the Rockets in an IST game in Terance Mann's first start over Russell Westbrook before they beat what's become a bad Spurs team in back-to-back games. James Harden scored only eight points in their loss to the Pelicans, now averaging 15.1 PPG on 46.1% shooting with 6.3 APG. Mann does the little things the offense needs, but his 16.7% three-point shooting could challenge a 19th-ranked offense more than Westbrook's did. This team feels more defined by their potentially low floor than whatever ceiling existed previously before the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George injuries. Westbrook played only 14 minutes against New Orleans and Harden shot 2-for-8. Does anyone seriously think this team can win it all?

Lakers (9-7): Anthony Davis had another baffling scoreless second half in their loss to the Mavericks, shooting 0-for-3 over 20 minutes while LeBron James tried to rally the Lakers from down double-digits. They fell short on James' final three-point heave, while Austin Reaves' decisive defensive mistake playing away from Kyrie Irving on his game-winner overshadowed his 11 points. They cleaned up their weak IST group (4-0) and will host a quarterfinals game with a chance to make the short trip to Las Vegas in December. They've also won 6-of-8 overall, but remain overly reliant on James and struggle to make threes, hitting only 32% from deep aside from their lone shooting outbreak over the Grizzlies. They shoot a ton of free throws though, ranked 10th in true shooting percentage, which accounts for efficiency at the stripe (58.6%). 

Memphis (3-12): Marcus Smart spoke to the Grizzlies for 10 minutes before they played his former Celtics last Sunday, pointing out tendencies and how to guard Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown before a Memphis team obliterated by injuries played Boston within one possession late at home. Santi Aldama scored 28 points and hit six threes, lining up the game-winner after an ill-advised dunk attempt by Jrue Holiday ahead by two points with the shot clock off. Aldama missed it and Kristaps Porziņģis blocked Ziaire Williams' put-back attempt. Desmond Bane scored 30 points, but with Jake LaRavia missing multiple weeks with an eye laceration, Smart in a boot out long-term with his ankle sprain, Luke Kennard and Xavier Tillman nursing knee ailments while Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke likely miss the season, this team has next to no chance to compete without Ja Morant. 

“I thought Marcus was finding his stride,” Taylor Jenkins said. “(We were) trying to learn where Marcus is successful on both sides of the floor. I thought he was doing a really good job play-making-wise, trying to build chemistry with his teammates. I think he’s done a great job off the court with those guys, dinners, having them play cards, hanging out together on the plane. His voice has really made an impact with this group in a positive way … his competitiveness is a thing I always lean into. I think he’s got a competitive fire in practice, in the film sessions, the knowledge he brings, the experience level that he’s brought and obviously the struggles that we’re having. He’s just got an even-keel about him. He knows what we’ve gotta do every day, preparation-wise. He’s keeping the guys focused on the big picture, which is sometimes hard … he’s really led by example.”

Miami (10-6): Blew a 21-point second-half lead to the Knicks to lose their undefeated status in the IST and throw their appearance in the quarterfinals up in the air ahead of a key final group stage game at home against the Bucks on Tuesday. Miami will have to beat Milwaukee by 28 points or more to break a tie at 3-1 and win the group, while the Knicks, Cavs, Celtics and Nets could all run up the score in their games to pass Miami if they win by fewer. Two-way guard Dru Smith tore his ACL, an injury that caught Erik Spoelstra's ire in an expanding outrage around the league over the state of the courts, not the IST one in this case, but one in Cleveland that featured a drop-off along the sidelines. Miami had promoted Smith to a standard contract before the year, which guaranteed him his minimum salary. The Heat had won 9-of-10 prior to Friday to storm back to the top of the east after a slow start. 

Milwaukee (11-5): Rallied from down by 21 to within three at the buzzer in their first meeting with their top east rival in the Celtics, who acquired former Bucks champion Jrue Holiday following the Damian Lillard trade in a move that his former teammates mostly shrugged off. Holiday embraced old friends before and after the game, when Giannis Antetokounmpo exclaimed that life moves on after a frustrating loss. Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard both praised Boston's willingness to pass, clearly ahead of theirs in a dazzling display between Jaylen Brown and Porziņģis, surprisingly the most successful tandem on the floor that featured an occasionally disconnected Lillard and Giannis. Otherwise, they've won 6-of-7 and are a likely IST team. 

“The skillset they all have,” Lillard said. “When you got five guys out there with the ability to shoot the way they do, that’s dangerous. I think they play for each other. You can tell they’ve bought into making the extra pass. They’re driving to the paint and when everybody sinks in, they kick it out and then they play off the catch and drive again, and they make you react. They’re constantly finding the next guy, because they know that’s a winning brand of basketball, but they also know that guy can make it, that guy can make it and that guy can make it. The more they make those plays, the more you can spaced out you’ll have a defense.”

Minnesota (11-4): Sitting atop the west despite suffering a difficult loss to their IST standing and allowing the Thunder to move into a tie for the No. 1 seed with a loss at home to a high-scoring Kings team. Karl-Anthony Towns scored another double-double and hit his stride with 25.6 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 3.2 APG, 3.2 APG, 1.0 SPG and 0.9 BPG on 57.9% FG, 53.5% 3PT and 90.7% FT shooting since fouling out of the Wolves' overtime win against Boston. It's not too soon to consider this team a real west contender with their top-level scoring and defensive floor. It's still worth wondering if Rudy Gobert can survive in a playoff environment against a five-out offense, but this is what they imagined when they made the much-maligned Gobert trade in 2022. 

New Orleans (9-7): Won three straight and 4-of-5 to break back into the west playoff picture with their health slowly improving and Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram each scoring 30 points against the Clippers. They similarly dominated in a mini-series win over the Kings where Jose Alvarado made his return from ankle injury with a pair of solid games, while Ingram played the Timberwolves within one point in a loss where Williamson sat out. Dyson Daniels and Herb Jones took over starting roles in the back court with CJ McCollum out to give New Orleans a more defensive look while rookie Jordan Hawkins and Naji Marshall brought the offense to those spots off the bench. They had a scary start, but this is a great and flexible team at full health. 

New York (9-6): Saved their IST chances with a last-minute comeback over the Heat that marked their most impressive win all year. RJ Barrett returned from a long absence with an illness to score double-figures in his first three games back, while Jalen Brunson and Immanuel Quickley provided the consistent high-level scoring through their lineups. Offseason pickup Donte DiVincenzo scored 25 points in 28 minutes in a spot start against Charlotte. This team still plays defense first, leading to nights like their 117-100 loss to the Wolves where Quentin Grimes scored 0. Could DiVincenzo fit better with the starters offensively? New York ranks 13th in offense and sixth in defense. 

Oklahoma City (11-4): A six-game win streak and rise to the top of the west standings should've been the headline for the Thunder this week. Instead, social media posts alleged that 21-year-old point guard Josh Giddey may have engaged in inappropriate relations with a high school junior. Giddey did not comment in his first media availability since the news emerged on Friday. The NBA announced that it is looking into the allegations on the same day. 

Orlando (11-5): Beat the Celtics for the fourth time in five meetings over the past two seasons, powered by former Celtic Moe Wagner's explosive rolls that generated 27 points in 23 minutes off the bench playing alongside brother Franz Wagner. The Magic finished 3-1 in IST play with the win, and ran up the score late to achieve a tie-breaking edge over Boston and Brooklyn ahead of their group finales. Orlando won six straight, emerged as the league's top defense, making life difficult for Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum throughout with switching, while Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony scored double-figures with Markelle Fultz (knee) and Wendell Carter Jr. (hand) remaining out. This team looks ready to make its first playoff appearance since 2020. 

Philadelphia (10-5): Kelly Oubre returned to the 76ers' practice facility after suffering injuries getting hit by a car in an incident that fell under some suspicion following reports that police had no evidence of the hit-and-run occurring. Oubre, initially expected to miss most of the season, could play in the near future, Nick Nurse said. It'd be a welcome return for a Sixers team struggling to find wing scoring between new additions Marcus Morris, Robert Covington and Nic Batum. Joel Embiid's hip ailment forced him to miss a loss against the Wolves, Philadelphia's third over their last five games. 

Phoenix (10-6): Won their sixth straight behind Devin Booker's 40 points over the lineup with Bradley Beal (back) remaining out of the lineup for the foreseeable future and Kevin Durant (foot) sitting out with soreness. Drew Eubanks sprained his left ankle and Yuta Watanabe missed the win with a left quad contusion, thinning a Suns team that solidified its IST chances with a 21-point win. Durant's absence, after scoring 32 points in 34 minutes in a win over the Warriors, marked his first absence of the season. He's mostly carried Phoenix, averaging 31.4 PPG on 53.3% shooting (52.2% 3PT) at 35. 

Portland (4-11): Ended an eight-game losing streak behind 50 points from Malcolm Brogdon and Jerami Grant over the Jazz. Scoot Henderson (ankle) received an assignment to the team's new G-League affiliate to complete his rehab, out since Nov. 1 and returning off the bench to score three points in 17 minutes off the bench sporting protective goggles. The No. 3 overall pick has shot 32.2% FG and 8.3% 3PT through his first six games. 

“It was just as I’m getting older, even though I’m 19, eyesight changes sometimes,” Henderson said. “The doctor just recommended the contacts and just for protection, the goggles. And they are stylish.”

Sacramento (9-6): A decent bet to win the IST at 3-0 and racing to wins in 7-of-10 behind the kind of offensive outbursts that powered the Kings back to the playoffs last spring. De'Aaron Fox' 36 points and 12 assists downed the Wolves in their latest tournament win, while a late missed call later admitted by the NBA that should've gone against Zion Williamson during Brandon Ingram's decisive dunk led to a late loss against the Pelicans. They returned Trey Lyles (calf) to the rotation for the first time this season, padding their depth, while their IST group finale comes on Tuesday against the Warriors, who they've faced 10 times over the last seven months. 

San Antonio (3-13): Lost their 11th straight game as the Jeremy Sochan point guard experiment fades to irrelevancy and Victor Wembanyama averaged 18.3 PPG on 40.3% shooting, even getting his shot blocked by Gary Payton II. The Spurs rank 29th in offense and 26th in defense, while Gregg Popovich made their start stranger by grabbing the public address microphone mid-game against the Clippers to address their booing of Kawhi Leonard. 

"I listened to it for a while and it got louder and louder, and uglier and uglier," Popovich said. "I felt sorry for him, and I was embarrassed for our city, for our organization, because that's not who we are." 

Toronto (8-8): DeMar DeRozan got ejected in another dispute over late-game scoring, this time the Raptors running it up over his Bulls to try to stay alive in the IST race. DeRozan yelled at the Raptors' bench after Jakob Poetl drew a foul with one second remaining and Toronto ahead 120-108, while Toronto head coach Darko Rajaković mouthed 'IST' in a moment that had to excited Adam Silver. Rajaković, however, got in Joe Mazzulla's face for challenging an out-of-bounds call late in Boston's blowout over the Raptors, which wasn't a tournament game. They visit Brooklyn on Tuesday to wrap the IST. 

Utah (4-11): They're a bad team so far, and hit rock bottom losing to another bad rival in the Blazers after Will Hardy implored the team to play hard and pass. They've lost four straight and 8-of-10, ranking 18th in offense and 27th in defense, far removed from their hot start to begin last season. 

"If you’re gonna wear a Utah Jazz jersey, you have to give a s*** about the Utah Jazz,” Hardy said. 

After their loss to the Lakers, reporters reminded LeBron James that he's older than Hardy. 

Washington (2-13): Lost their eighth straight to the Bucks to fall to the bottom of the east alongside the Pistons. Jordan Poole is averaging 17.7 PPG on 39.9% shooting. Kevin Garnett exploded on the star in his podcast with Paul Pierce, saying Poole doesn't belong in the league and blasting him for his timeout demeanor.