Is Kristaps Porzingis a unicorn or a G.O.A.T. for Halloween?

We have that and more in Tuesday’s NBA newsletter.

By Tom Ziller Oct 31, 2017, 9:05am EDT

Kristaps Porzingis is off to one hellacious start in the post-Melo Knicks World. His latest feat was a 38-point outburst to beat rival Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets. He owned the paint, he hit a pull-up from the logo, he did it all. He's clearly an MVP candidate on the long list right now. (He remains humble, of course.)

What's most scary is that the Knicks are 3-3 after losing their first three. Actually, I take that back: what's most scary is that six months ago Porzingis was skipping his exit interview with the team's personnel boss and said boss, Phil Jackson, was talking about potentially having to trade Kristaps. Dodged a bullet there, New York!

James Dolan is still the worst, the roster is still a mess, the overall franchise outlook is still a problem. But the Knicks have Kristaps Porzingis, a potential top-five player in the near future. That is one hell of a building block, and the single reason the Jackson era wasn't a total loss.

Be sure to check out Paul Flannery’s feature on Porzingis’ important season.

Scores Galore ...

SAS 94, BOS 108
MIN 125, MIA 122 (OT)
DEN 110, NYK 116
PHI 115, HOU 107
CHA 104, MEM 99
ORL 115, NOP 99
DAL 89, UTA 104
TOR 99, POR 85
GSW 141, LAC 113

... And So Much More

Nothing can get the Warriors back on track like playing the Clippers. Golden State had 74 at the break and sprinted away from L.A. in the second half. Their garbage time is honestly must-see TV.

Dion Waiters damn near did it. He had a couple of YUGE shots in crunch time against the Wolves, but Minnesota edged the Heat in overtime. Miami was without Hassan Whiteside, but its defense concerns me a little. Minny scored 15 in OT.

Speaking of the Wolves, Karl-Anthony Towns wore some very cool Halloween inspired sneakers.

Here's Zach Lowe on how the Clippers kept Blake Griffin and why they all think this is going to work in the post-CP3 era.

Meet the Celtics' defensive juggernaut, spearheaded by Al Horford. Boston has won five straight, by the way.

As usual, extraordinary costumes at LeBron's annual Halloween bash. I'm a sucker for the Dwyane Wade-Gabrielle Union Milli Vanilli look. Also, is Isaiah Thomas the first adult who dressed up like Eazy-E but wasn't a foot too tall?

Six reasons not to worry about the Warriors or the Cavaliers.

Marshawn Lynch experiencing everyone's favorite NBA halftime show, Red Panda, for the first time is wonderful.

We had a botched link yesterday. Here's the Marc Spears story on players paying attention when teams do or do not show respect to former players.

Victor Oladipo is making it a bit easier for Pacers fans to get over losing Paul George.

Shout out to Klay Thompson for raising a bunch of money for Wine Country fire relief.

I wrote about the odd disciplinary decisions the NBA made around the Warriors-Wizards fight.