Seven Games. One Overtime. Two Last-Gasp Finishes. Preseason Has Lost the Plot.
Seven games, one overtime, a 38-point Boston demolition, two finishes decided by three combined points, and preseason once again refusing to behave like preseason.
By Flagrant Desk StaffPrevious night: 2026-10-10
GAMES7
CLOSESTMinnesota by 1
NIGHT LEADERPayton Pritchard · 25 PTS
01
★ GAME OF THE NIGHT
Wizards Blow 20-Point Lead, Lose Trae Young to Ejection, Still Somehow Win in Overtime
Pistons 108, Wizards 114 (OT)
Washington beat Detroit 114–108 in overtime after squeezing nearly an entire regular-season month of emotions into one preseason night. The Wizards opened with a 40–20 first quarter, then watched Detroit work all the way back into the game. Trae Young was ejected in the third quarter after an altercation with Daniss Jenkins, finishing with two points and eight assists. Detroit later led 94–87 with five minutes left, but Washington’s deeper rotation forced overtime and finished the job. Tre Johnson and Will Riley scored 15 apiece, while AJ Dybantsa added 14 points and seven rebounds. If the goal of preseason is to test every possible scenario, Washington appears to have completed the syllabus early.
Antonio Reeves Hits Game-Winner With 2.3 Seconds Left, Preseason Refuses to End Quietly
Timberwolves 125, Heat 124
Minnesota edged Miami 125–124 on Antonio Reeves’ floater with 2.3 seconds remaining, providing an unnecessarily dramatic ending to a night when both teams rested most of their regular rotation. Bones Hyland led the Timberwolves with 23 points and hit five threes, while Miami rookie Ryan Conwell used the extended run to post 22 points, nine assists and five rebounds. The Heat scored 40 in the fourth quarter and still ended up one point short. It was exactly the sort of reserve-heavy preseason game everyone promises not to overreact to right up until someone hits a game-winner and the bench starts celebrating like April has arrived early.
Hawks Survive 13 Lead Changes, Pacers Nearly Turn Backup Rotation Into Constitutional Crisis
Hawks 119, Pacers 117
Atlanta survived Indiana 119–117 in a game that changed hands 13 times and never produced a lead larger than 10. Jalen Johnson paced the Hawks with 20 points, seven rebounds and three assists on efficient shooting, while Onyeka Okongwu added 18. Indiana played without Tyrese Haliburton and gave Kelly Oubre Jr. a start; Oubre responded with 13 points and hit three of five from deep. The Pacers still had a chance in the final seconds before the comeback ran out of floor. For a game designed mostly to examine rotations, it spent an impressive amount of time acting like a playoff possession had broken out by accident.
Jalen Johnson: 20 PTS · 7 REB · 3 ASTOnyeka Okongwu: 18 PTS13 lead changes · largest lead 10
04
FINAL
Celtics Score 144 in Preseason, Sixers Request Everyone Remember None of This Counts
76ers 106, Celtics 144
Boston turned its second preseason game into a 144–106 demolition of Philadelphia. Payton Pritchard scored 25 points with seven assists, Jayson Tatum added 23 points, five rebounds and four assists, and Paul George contributed 13 points, five rebounds, four assists and five steals in his Celtics debut. VJ Edgecombe supplied one of Philadelphia’s few bright spots with 19 points, four assists and four steals. Boston won every quarter, owned the glass 70–41 and broke the game open with a 39–22 second period. The Sixers rested LeBron James, Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid, which is useful context and also the sentence Philadelphia fans will be repeating until further notice.
Lendeborg Posts 23/10/6, Warriors Discover Another Young Player Everyone Can Argue About
Kings 106, Warriors 111
Golden State beat Sacramento 111–106 with Stephen Curry again playing a limited preseason role and the younger Warriors happily filling the available oxygen. Yaxel Lendeborg delivered 23 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, giving Golden State another performance certain to generate several weeks of extremely calm rotation discussion. The night also carried a more serious note: Kings center Maxime Raynaud left in the second quarter with a right knee injury after a collision while setting a screen. Reuters reported that Raynaud, who had 10 points and five rebounds in nine minutes, left the arena on crutches and was scheduled for an MRI. The Warriors got the win; Sacramento left waiting for the result that actually matters.
Yaxel Lendeborg: 23 PTS · 10 REB · 6 ASTGolden State wins by 5Maxime Raynaud: right knee injury · MRI planned
06
FINAL
Suns Beat Spurs, Khaman Maluach Treats Wemby Matchup Like a Rebounding Internship
Spurs 98, Suns 102
Phoenix picked up its first preseason win, 102–98, behind 20 points from Luke Kennard and a notable first start from Khaman Maluach. The young center finished with 10 points, 15 rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes, repeatedly making his size useful against a San Antonio front line featuring Victor Wembanyama. Jalen Green added 18 and Dillon Brooks scored 15. Wembanyama finished with 13 points and six assists, while Dylan Harper added 15 for the Spurs. Phoenix led 35–25 after one quarter and 85–73 after three before San Antonio cut the margin to four in the final seconds, preserving just enough tension for a game everyone had already agreed did not count.
Barrett and Quickley Carry Toronto, Kawhi Allowed to Continue Enjoying the View
Clippers 106, Raptors 114
Toronto beat the Clippers 114–106 in Vancouver behind an efficient night from RJ Barrett and a very loud 19 minutes from Immanuel Quickley. Barrett finished with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists on 7-of-11 shooting, while Quickley scored 18 and made five of his six three-point attempts. Scottie Barnes added 12 points and 10 rebounds as Toronto built enough separation for its first preseason win. Kawhi Leonard did not need to be the center of the evening for the Raptors to look comfortable, which is probably the preferred October arrangement anyway. The important lesson is that five made Quickley threes already count as a perfectly valid reason for Toronto optimism until the next game says otherwise.
Washington opened the night by taking a 20-point first-quarter lead, losing it, watching Trae Young get ejected and then winning in overtime anyway. Efficient preseason planning.
02
Antonio Reeves gave Minnesota a 125–124 win with a floater at 2.3 seconds, because apparently even games featuring mostly reserves now require a clutch-time legacy discussion.
03
Boston scored 144 on Philadelphia and won by 38, temporarily forcing the phrase “it’s only preseason” into emergency service.
