NBA Recap & Results | October 22, 2026
Thursday was a two-game night, and both games turned after halftime. Philadelphia trailed Cleveland by 29 in the second quarter of LeBron James's first home game as a 76er and won 114-106 behind 32 from Tyrese Maxey, the biggest comeback of James's career. Later, Oklahoma City outscored Denver 52-36 after the break in a 96-84 grind that handed the Nuggets a loss in their opener and ended Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's streak of 141 straight regular-season games with 20 or more points. Here's how it went down, plus a look at how the card and the season-to-date record held up.
Down 29, Philadelphia Gives LeBron the Biggest Comeback of His Career
Cleveland Cavaliers 106, Philadelphia 76ers 114
For a half, this was Cleveland's night and Donovan Mitchell's. The Cavaliers fed on early Philadelphia turnovers, Mitchell's step-back three at the first-quarter buzzer made it 35-18, and Evan Mobley's 11 points in the second quarter helped push the lead to 29. Mitchell had 22 at the break on 7-of-9 shooting, and Cleveland went to the locker room up 69-45 with the building quiet.
The Sixers scored 11 points in the first 90 seconds of the third to cut it to 13, and the crowd came back with them. Maxey's layup made it 84-82 late in the period, a pair of go-ahead threes from Anfernee Simons and Maxey rimmed out, and Cleveland held a 90-82 lead into the fourth after Philadelphia won the third 37-21. The Cavaliers pushed it back to 95-89 with 8:24 to play, and then they stopped scoring. Maxey's pressure on the ball started a 15-0 run, Joel Embiid scored seven straight points to give Philadelphia its first lead at 96-95, and the margin was 102-95 by the 4:58 mark. Maxey and James Harden, his former teammate, went nose-to-nose before they were separated, and Philadelphia closed it out from there.
Maxey finished with 32 points, six assists and two steals. Embiid had 24 and seven rebounds, Jaylen Brown added 21 and eight, and James had 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three steals in his home debut. The Sixers outscored Cleveland 69-37 in the second half, and the teams were almost even across the box: Philadelphia shot 42-of-92 and 7-of-28 from three, Cleveland 39-of-87 and 7-of-29. Mitchell matched Maxey with 32 and added 10 rebounds, Mobley had 18 and eight but only three after halftime, Harden scored 16 with five assists, and Jarrett Allen, questionable with knee tendinopathy, played and did not score. Philadelphia is 2-0; Cleveland is 0-1.
CLE 106 · PHI 114
Jalen Williams Carries Oklahoma City on a Night Shai's Streak Ends
Denver Nuggets 84, Oklahoma City Thunder 96
The two most recent MVPs spent the first half watching their shots miss. Denver led 27-24 after one quarter and 48-44 at the half, and Gilgeous-Alexander did not make a field goal until after halftime. Jalen Williams ran the Thunder's offense in the meantime, and Chet Holmgren and the Oklahoma City defense kept Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray from building on the lead.
The Thunder took the third quarter 26-16 and the game with it, moving in front 70-64 going to the fourth. Gilgeous-Alexander finally found his shot late: a step-back at 6:50 made it 78-69, and his fadeaway three at 5:07 made it 84-72. Oklahoma City won the fourth 26-20 to close out a 96-84 win.
Williams led everyone with 21 points, five rebounds and three assists. Holmgren had 12 points, 17 rebounds and four blocks, Ajay Mitchell added 12 points and five steals, and Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting, five rebounds and three assists, which ended his streak of 141 straight regular-season games with at least 20. Aaron Gordon led Denver with 20 on 6-of-9 shooting, DeMar DeRozan scored 13 off the bench, and Jokic had 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Murray had six points on 2-of-11 shooting with 10 rebounds, three assists and six turnovers. Oklahoma City is 2-0; Denver is 0-1.
DEN 84 · OKC 96
The Rest of the Slate
Thursday was two games, and both are featured above. Friday brings back the full board.
Injuries and Absences
Jarrett Allen played for Cleveland after being listed questionable with knee tendinopathy. The Cavaliers were without Khalifa Diop and Nae'Qwan Tomlin. Philadelphia played without Ariel Hukporti, Dominick Barlow and Tacko Fall. Oklahoma City remained without Nikola Topić, Thomas Sorber and Otega Oweh, and Denver was without Julian Strawther (knee). No in-game injuries were reported in the box scores and recaps we reviewed.
Two Second-Half Swings, and Two Teams Still Perfect.
Both games were decided after halftime. Philadelphia turned a 24-point deficit into an eight-point win, and Oklahoma City turned a four-point hole into a 12-point win on a night its best player needed until the second half to get going. The 76ers and Thunder are 2-0, and Cleveland and Denver open 0-1. Friday is a 12-game night.
Star of the Night: Tyrese Maxey, G, Philadelphia
32 PTS | 3 REB | 6 AST | 2 STL
Donovan Mitchell's 32 and 10 and Jalen Williams's 21 in Oklahoma City made cases of their own, but Maxey matched Mitchell's 32, drove the 15-0 run that flipped the game, and did it in a win that erased a 29-point deficit, so he is the clearer story.
Dud of the Night: Jamal Murray, G, Denver
6 PTS | 10 REB | 3 AST | 6 TO | 2-of-11 FG
Nikola Jokic's 13 in the opener and Jarrett Allen's scoreless night in Cleveland's collapse were in the conversation, but Denver's second star going 2-of-11 with six turnovers in a 12-point loss, on a night the Nuggets needed someone to answer Jalen Williams, is the clearer dud.
How We Did: Checking the Card
Thursday's card went 1-1 on sides and 2-0 on totals across 2 games.
Cleveland @ Philadelphia: The preview leaned Philadelphia -2.5 (Toss-up) and the under at 235.5 (Lean), citing our number half a point from the book on the side and 6.5 points below a total that had climbed two points since it opened. Philadelphia won by 8, 5.5 points past the number, and the teams combined for 220 points, 15.5 under the total. The side lean cleared; the under lean cleared.
Denver @ Oklahoma City: The preview leaned Denver +7.5 (Lean) and the under at 235.5 (Lean), citing a Denver starting five that came back intact and our total five points under the line. Oklahoma City won by 12, so the side fell 4.5 points short, while the teams combined for 180 points, 55.5 under the total. The side lean missed; the under lean cleared.
By tier: Lean 2-1, Toss-up 1-0.
Both games are featured above, so there is no rest-of-slate ledger tonight.
The headline takeaway: the totals are 5-0 on the season, with both of Thursday's unders clearing by double digits, while the sides split and sit two games under even.
Season Predictions Record
Tracking every graded card against the spread and total from the preview articles, updated through October 22:
Spread / Side: 7-9-0
Total (Over/Under): 5-0
The side leans sit at 44%, while the totals sit at 100%. Records read wins-losses-ties, and ties (pushes) are left out of the percentages. We'll keep this tally updated through the rest of the season.
Friday is a 12-game slate, headlined by New York at Boston, Detroit at Miami, and Houston at San Antonio. We'll have the preview, the card, and both leans before tip-off.