After an undefeated run in NBA Cup group play, the Los Angeles Lakers are out to continue their success with a home game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.

The Lakers carry an overall six-game winning streak into the game, with the last four victories coming with LeBron James finally on the floor. James did not start his NBA-record 23rd season until Nov. 18 when he returned from a sciatica condition.

And he won’t start against the Pelicans. The Lakers ruled him out of the game for management of a lingering left-foot injury. Los Angeles also has a game Monday at home against the Phoenix Suns.

That puts the responsibility of leading the team on the Lakers’ new dynamic duo of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Doncic collected 35 points and 11 assists against his former team when Los Angeles earned a 129-119 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.

Reaves led the Lakers with 38 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the floor, including 6 of 8 from 3-point range. James continued to ease into the flow with 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting with seven assists.

“I finally made the 3s, so that was nice,” Reaves said. “Luka draws so much attention, Bron’s obviously Bron, and they are (both) gonna get the majority of attention. I kind of run around out there and find open spots and make shots, hopefully big shots.”

While Reaves discussed taking what he can get on one side of the room, James was talking about the impact of Doncic and Reaves.

“Those guys (Doncic and Reaves) have so many eyes on them and obviously they are our primary ball handlers,” James said. “They play a lot of our pick-and-roll offense. A lot of times (defenses) put two (defenders) on the ball and it’s a numbers game for us.”

The Lakers’ win streak started with a 118-104 victory at New Orleans on Nov. 14 without James. Reaves scored 31 points and Doncic had 24 with 12 assists. Trey Murphy III scored 35 points for the Pelicans, while rookie Jeremiah Fears had 19.

New Orleans enters off a 104-96 road loss to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday and now has to find its legs one day later against a confident team in Los Angeles.

Zion Williamson scored 25 points against the Warriors, while Saddiq Bey added 21 as the Pelicans lost for the 11th time in their past 12 games. New Orleans, which has just three wins, ended a nine-game losing streak with a 143-130 home victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday.

Williamson has played in five of the past six games after he missed two weeks with a hamstring strain. He was 8-of-16 shooting with seven rebounds and four assists against the Warriors.

While wins remain hard to come by, Williamson’s return has provided optimism. The Pelicans led by as many as 10 points early in the second quarter Saturday and were up 88-87 with 4:02 remaining before the Warriors went on a decisive 12-0 run.

“I feel a confidence brewing with the group,” interim head coach James Borrego said this week. “… We don’t care where the production comes from. It can come from anybody on any given night, but I see a lot of guys playing well. The ball is moving, our pace is up.”

–Field Level Media

A familiar last name reportedly will be rejoining the Golden State Warriors.

ESPN reported Sunday morning that veteran guard Seth Curry will sign a contract for the remainder of the season with the Warriors on Monday.

He won’t be able to play immediately alongside his star older brother, Stephen, however. The latter is sidelined with a left quad strain and is expected to be re-evaluated in the coming week.

Seth Curry, 35, signed with the Warriors on Oct. 1 and was waived later that month. He has played with nine teams since entering the NBA in the 2013-14 season and has averages of 10.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He has shot 43.3% from 3-point range over his career, placing him third along active players — just ahead of his brother.

In 68 games (14 starts) last season with the Charlotte Hornets, he averaged 6.5 points and 1.7 rebounds with a league-high 45.6% shooting clip from long distance.

–Field Level Media

Jalen Brunson belongs in the NBA Most Valuable Player conversation.

That’s the view of New York Knicks coach Mike Brown, whose team is preparing to host the Toronto Raptors on Sunday in a battle between two of the top clubs in the Eastern Conference.

Brunson poured in 37 points on Friday — marking his ninth 30-plus point total in 16 outings this season — to lift New York to a 118-111 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

“It’s early (in the season), but he should be talked about right now as a potential MVP,” Brown said of Brunson, who is averaging a career-best 29.1 points per game. “There’s not enough chatter — which it’s early, so I’m not throwing a fit — but the guy had 37 (Friday) on 12-of-21 … Hopefully you guys and your peers will start really talking the right way about this young man in terms of him having some MVP talk, because that’s what he is.

“We’re about playing the best basketball right now, we’re trending in the right direction and he’s the engine behind it. To me, he just did what he’s supposed to do, which equates to him being the MVP of the league.”

Josh Hart, who collected 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists against Milwaukee, also heaped praise on Brunson.

“Obviously, that’s my guy,” Hart said. “We love games when he’s able to get it going like that. That’s obviously an added bonus that we’ve got somebody that can do that.”

Hart’s playmaking proved crucial down the stretch as the Bucks blitzed Brunson in the fourth quarter to force the ball out of his hands.

That extra responsibility sits just fine with Hart.

“I love it,” he said. “That’s a position that I’m extremely comfortable in … Normally we get good looks when that happens.”

The Knicks will chase a fourth straight victory when they face the Raptors, whose nine-game winning streak ended in Charlotte on Saturday with a 118-111 overtime loss to the Hornets.

Scottie Barnes posted 30 points and 12 rebounds, Immanuel Quickley paired 22 points with 10 assists, and Brandon Ingram added 22.

Tiredness set in as the game dragged past regulation, a worrying sign ahead of the second leg of a back-to-back.

“We did look a little bit fatigued there in overtime, but it was the same for them (Charlotte),” Toronto coach Darko Rajakovic said. “That can never be something for us that we’ll look at as an excuse.”

Ingram, the Raptors’ leading scorer this season averaging 21.9 points, notched all of his points against the Hornets in the first three quarters.

He went scoreless on 0-of-9 shooting across the fourth period and overtime as Charlotte repeatedly trapped and double-teamed him.

“We’ve got to do a better job of — when they double-team Ingram — just try to find those cuts, find those outlets, (and see) how we can help him out in those situations,” Barnes said. “We had them right there and they made some big shots as well. … We’ve got to close out that game. We had to close out that game.”

Toronto has lost its past eight meetings with New York. The last time the Raptors beat the Knicks was Jan. 22, 2023.

–Field Level Media

After an undefeated run in NBA Cup group play, the Los Angeles Lakers are out to continue their success with a home game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.

The Lakers carry an overall six-game winning streak into the game, with the last four victories coming with LeBron James finally on the floor. James did not start his NBA-record 23rd season until Nov. 18 when he returned from a sciatica condition.

James now is the one who has to blend in with the Lakers’ dynamic duo of Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Doncic collected 35 points and 11 assists against his former team when Los Angeles earned a 129-119 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.

Reaves led the Lakers with 38 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the floor, including 6 of 8 from 3-point range. James continued to ease into the flow with 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting with seven assists.

“I finally made the 3s, so that was nice,” Reaves said. “Luka draws so much attention, Bron’s obviously Bron, and they are (both) gonna get the majority of attention. I kind of run around out there and find open spots and make shots, hopefully big shots.”

While Reaves discussed taking what he can get on one side of the room, James was talking about blending in on the other.

“Those guys (Doncic and Reaves) have so many eyes on them and obviously they are our primary ball handlers,” James said. “They play a lot of our pick-and-roll offense. A lot of times (defenses) put two (defenders) on the ball and it’s a numbers game for us.”

The Lakers’ win streak started with a 118-104 victory at New Orleans on Nov. 14 without James. Reaves scored 31 points and Doncic had 24 with 12 assists. Trey Murphy III scored 35 points for the Pelicans, while rookie Jeremiah Fears had 19.

New Orleans enters off a 104-96 road loss to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday and now has to find its legs one day later against a confident team in Los Angeles.

Zion Williamson scored 25 points against the Warriors, while Saddiq Bey added 21 as the Pelicans lost for the 11th time in their past 12 games. New Orleans, which has just three wins, ended a nine-game losing streak with a 143-130 home victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday.

Williamson has played in five of the past six games after he missed two weeks with a hamstring strain. He was 8-of-16 shooting with seven rebounds and four assists against the Warriors.

While wins remain hard to come by, Williamson’s return has provided optimism. The Pelicans led by as many as 10 points early in the second quarter Saturday and were up 88-87 with 4:02 remaining before the Warriors went on a decisive 12-0 run.

“I feel a confidence brewing with the group,” interim head coach James Borrego said this week. “… We don’t care where the production comes from. It can come from anybody on any given night, but I see a lot of guys playing well. The ball is moving, our pace is up.”

–Field Level Media

At age 38, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley might feel a little sore as he prepares for the second game of a back-to-back set.

Then again, Conley’s adrenaline might still be flowing after he made one of his biggest shots of the season late in the fourth quarter Saturday night.

Conley, who helped to lift the Timberwolves to a comeback win over the Boston Celtics, will look to stay hot as Minnesota hosts the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday evening in Minneapolis.

“That’s the value of him,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “He can make big shots, make smart plays, understand what it takes to close out a game.”

The prize for the victory is a quick turnaround against another tough opponent.

San Antonio travels north after winning two games in a row and five of its past six contests. The Spurs are coming off a 139-136 victory on the road against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on Friday night, which followed a 13-point road win over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Spurs guard Devin Vassell will draw attention from the Timberwolves defense after he torched the Nuggets for 35 points on 12-for-17 shooting. De’Aaron Fox (15 points, 12 assists) and Julian Champagnie (25 points, 10 rebounds) are coming off double-doubles.

San Antonio is succeeding despite the injury absences of Victor Wembanyama (left calf strain), Stephon Castle (left hip flexor strain) and Jordan McLaughlin (left hamstring strain). All three players have been ruled out for Sunday’s contest.

Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said the players on the court have established a rhythm over the past six games.

“This group has had a little bit of time together, finally,” Johnson said. “We had a lot of guys in and out. Victor’s obviously the biggest puzzle piece, but we’ve had guys in and out all year. So as you have the constant revolving door, the continuity, the chemistry, the execution is hard to find. And it feels like this group has kind of settled in for a short amount of time.

“We’ll be very happy when Victor, Steph and Jordan are back. It’s been great to get Dylan (Harper) back in the fold, I thought he had some great minutes (Friday). It’s just something that we want to keep building upon and grow into our identity and play into it.”

The Timberwolves also are looking to re-establish their identity, particularly on defense.

Conley said the team has plenty of talent on offense, and sometimes it leads to a focus on scoring. But he said the Timberwolves need to build a reputation as a headache for any opponent that takes the court against them.

“If you want to be one of the better teams, you’ve got to do both,” Conley said. “And that’s what we’re trying to do.”

This is the first of three regular-season meetings between the Spurs and Timberwolves. They will meet again in Minneapolis on Jan. 11, and they will wrap up the regular-season series on Jan. 17 in San Antonio.

–Field Level Media