Luka Doncic made a significant impact in his return, scoring 44 points with 12 rebounds and six assists. The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies
117-112 in their NBA Cup opener. Austin Reaves contributed 21 points for the Lakers, while Jake LaRavia added 13. Despite Ja Morant's struggles, scoring only eight points on 3-of-14 shooting, Jock Landale and Jaylen Wells each scored 16 for Memphis.
Doncic's performance was crucial as he returned after missing three games due to a left finger sprain and lower leg contusion. His scoring streak against the Grizzlies extended to 11 consecutive games with at least 25 points. Meanwhile, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 15 points for Memphis. The Lakers played without LeBron James, who is dealing with right sciatica.
Luka gets buckets pic.twitter.com/HaWn1ZE44C Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) November 1, 2025
The Chicago Bulls continued their impressive start by defeating the New York Knicks 135-125. Josh Giddey led with a career-high of 32 points, along with 10 rebounds and nine assists. Nikola Vucevic supported with 26 points, while Ayo Dosunmu came off the bench to add 22 points and nine assists. This victory marked Billy Donovan's 200th coaching win with Chicago.
The Bulls improved to a perfect 5-0 record, their best start since the 1996-97 season when they began with a 12-0 run and eventually won the NBA Championship. Despite trailing by as much as 22 points late in the second quarter, New York mounted a comeback attempt led by Jalen Brunson's 29 points and OG Anunoby's 26.
Big pic.twitter.com/hTT3aKEM3O Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) November 1, 2025
Nikola Jokic narrowly missed making history as he fell one assist short of his fifth consecutive triple-double to start the season. The Denver Nuggets lost to the Portland Trail Blazers in their NBA Cup opener, with Jerami Grant hitting crucial free throws in the final seconds for a narrow victory of 109-107.
Jokic finished with an impressive stat line of 21 points and 14 rebounds but couldn't secure that elusive assist to break his tie with Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook for most consecutive triple-doubles at season start. Deni Avdija led Portland with a team-high of 23 points, while Shaedon Sharpe contributed another solid performance with his own tally of 19.
BLAZERS WIN!!BLAZERS WIN!! pic.twitter.com/OMFIjcKZzd Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) November 1, 2025
The Nuggets' Jamal Murray scored a commendable total of 22 points despite their three-game winning streak coming to an end. Karl-Anthony Towns also made notable contributions for Chicago despite playing through injury challenges during their game against New York.
