Nightly NBA Pulse: Latest news & highlights from Jan. 19

After a sluggish start, the Heat came out firing in the second quarter and locked down the Spurs, preventing them from scoring more than 11 points. The third quarter saw the Heat dominate, outscoring San Antonio 46-27 and securing an easy 128-107 victory.

Sunday’s slate of games

Spurs 107, Heat 128 (

Final

)

Nuggets vs. Magic (

Live on NBA League Pass

)

Nets vs. Thunder (

7 ET, Live on NBA League Pass

)

76ers vs. Bucks (

7 ET, Live on NBA League Pass

)

Wizards vs. Kings (

9 ET, Live on NBA League Pass

)

Bulls vs. Trail Blazers (

9 ET, Live on NBA League Pass

)

Lakers vs. Clippers (

9 ET, Live on NBA TV

)

Miami booms️

The Heat bench delivered in the victory, with Kel’el Ware seeing 34 minutes of action, scoring 25 points with eight rebounds and finishing a +27. Terry Rozier also cooked, pouring in 20 on 7-14 shooting, including 4-5 from long range. Duncan Robinson also went north of 20, putting up 21 points on 8-12 shooting.

Victory Wembanyama scored 21 with 10 rebounds for the Spurs.

3️⃣Stories

Philadelphia and Milwaukee will square off as the two squads seem headed in opposite directions. The 76ers finally gathered a healthy roster and went on a run that appeared to be a turning point in their season, but swelling in Joel Embiid’s knee has led to him being sidelined for an unknown amount of time. With their star big man out of action, the team has suffered greatly and are losers of five in a row. On the other hand, after a blowout loss to the Knicks last Sunday, the Bucks are riding a three-game win streak, with large-margin wins over the Kings, Magic, and Raptors. Will the Bucks keep charging, or will the 76ers eighty-six their losing streak?

The Kings remain on a tear. After having their seven-game win streak snapped in a visit to Milwaukee, they returned home to diffuse the Rockets, 132-127. They’re now 8-2 since their head coaching change and now find themselves in the playoff picture sitting as the No. 9 seed in the West. They have a quality chance to continue their red-hot pace with a home matchup against the Wizards, who have played to just a 6-34 record thus far. 

The Lakers and Clippers will meet for the first time this season, marking the Lakers’ first trip to the Intuit Dome. These teams previously shared the Crypto.com arena since 2020, so it’ll be the first time in a long while the Lakers may truly feel like visitors playing the Clippers. Each of these teams has had similar results this season, and riding similar recent success, as the Lakers sit 22-17, and are 6-4 over their last 10, while the Clippers are 23-17 and also have played to a 6-4 mark over their last 10. Each of these teams has key pieces on the injury report tonight though, with Anthony Davis (calf), James Harden (illness), Norman Powell (back), and Ivica Zubac (back) all questionable.