NBA Recap | October 31, 2026
Halloween brought seven games. Philadelphia played the second night of a back-to-back without LeBron James and Joel Embiid, trailed Charlotte 101-94 with 3:41 left, and closed on a 13-0 run behind 38 points from Tyrese Maxey to win 109-104 and move to 6-1. Victor Wembanyama scored 43 with six blocks as San Antonio beat Minnesota 121-111, Houston bounced back from its first loss by beating Oklahoma City 119-98 behind 30 from Jabari Smith Jr., and Memphis moved to 6-0 with a 136-105 win over winless Sacramento. New Orleans routed Atlanta, Cleveland won its first road game by 25 in Milwaukee, and Portland beat Utah 112-90 in the afternoon. Here's how it went down, every card graded, and where the record stands.
Down Seven With 3:41 Left, Maxey's 38 and a 13-0 Run Carry a Short-Handed Philadelphia
Philadelphia 76ers 109, Charlotte Hornets 104
Philadelphia played the second night of a back-to-back without LeBron James and Joel Embiid, and for a quarter Tyrese Maxey was its whole offense: he scored 15 in the first, and Charlotte still led 37-27 after one. Jaylen Brown, back after missing Friday with left patellar tendinopathy, gave the 76ers a second scorer, but the Hornets kept their nose in front, and Grayson Allen's three with 3:41 left made it 101-94.
Charlotte did not score again until the final seconds. Anfernee Simons and Maxey scored the next eight points, Maxey's two free throws with 1:22 left tying it and then putting Philadelphia ahead 102-101, and after Brandon Miller missed a short turnaround, VJ Edgecombe hit a step-back three over Allen for 105-101. Sion James missed a layup on the next trip, Maxey made two more free throws for 107-101 with 23.8 seconds left, and after Miller's three cut it to 107-104 with 6.5 seconds to go, Brown's two free throws with 5.2 left closed it.
Maxey finished with 38 on 13-of-23, 4-of-9 from three, with four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Simons added 19 off the bench, Brown 16 on 6-of-15, Jabari Walker 12 and Edgecombe 10, and Dean Wade handed out 10 assists. Philadelphia made 40 percent of its threes and went 15-of-23 at the line. Miller led Charlotte with 24 points, five rebounds and five assists on 8-of-20, with 5-of-12 from three, and Naz Reid had 14 and five on 4-of-12. Philadelphia is 6-1; Charlotte is 3-4.
THE CARD, GRADED · PHI @ CHA
Side PHI -1.5 (Toss-up) · preview number PHI -1.5 · Philadelphia won by 5, 3.5 points past the number · cleared
Total Under 216.5 (Strong) · preview number 216.5 · the teams combined for 213, 3.5 under the number · cleared
Our number had Philadelphia by almost four on the road, just inside our threshold against a book at 1.5, and a 13-0 run turned a seven-point deficit into a five-point win without James or Embiid. The under was our 202.4 against 216.5, the widest total gap we have printed, and two teams on the second night of a back-to-back finished 3.5 under it; Charlotte has now gone under in all seven of its games.
Wembanyama Scores 43 With Six Blocks, and San Antonio Holds Off the Short-Handed Wolves
Minnesota Timberwolves 111, San Antonio Spurs 121
San Antonio, rested after two days off, opened on an 11-1 run, and Minnesota, on the second night of a back-to-back and still without Anthony Edwards, answered with 11 straight to take the lead midway through the first. The Spurs led 34-28 after one, but the Wolves won the second 33-26 and went to the half up 61-60, with Victor Wembanyama already at 24 on 9-of-19.
San Antonio took the third 33-27 for a 93-88 lead, with Wembanyama at 36 through three quarters, and won the fourth 28-23 to close it out. Wembanyama finished with 43 points on a career-high 34 shots, 17-of-34 with 3-of-8 from three and 6-of-9 at the line, plus seven rebounds, four assists and six blocks in 33 minutes. Dylan Harper added 25. LaMelo Ball was limited by foul trouble for Minnesota. San Antonio is 4-2; Minnesota is 4-3.
THE CARD, GRADED · MIN @ SAS
Side MIN +11.5 (Strong) · preview number SAS -11.5 · Minnesota lost by 10, 1.5 points inside the number · cleared
Total Over 227.5 (Toss-up) · preview number 227.5 · the teams combined for 232, 4.5 over the number · cleared
Our number had these teams nearly even, while the book had San Antonio by 11.5 against a Wolves team without Edwards on a back-to-back. The margin landed at 10, inside the number by a point and a half. The over was our 227.9 against 227.5, close to even, and Wembanyama's 43 carried it 4.5 past.
Smith Scores 30, Smart Makes Seven Threes, and Houston Bounces Back Against the Thunder
Oklahoma City Thunder 98, Houston Rockets 119
Houston got Alperen Şengün back from the lower back soreness that cost him the last two games, and Oklahoma City, which announced Friday that Chet Holmgren will miss at least two months with a right knee injury, was short-handed again. The Rockets led 35-26 after one and 62-51 at the half, then opened the third on an 8-0 run, capped by Jabari Smith Jr.'s three with 10 minutes left in the quarter for a 19-point lead. The margin never dropped below 12 the rest of the way.
Smith finished with 30 points and nine rebounds on 10-of-18, 6-of-12 from three, Marcus Smart scored 24 on 7-of-10 from three, Şengün had 16 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists in his return, and Kevin Durant added 14. Houston shot 46 percent and made 18 of 41 threes. Houston is 6-1; Oklahoma City is 4-2.
THE CARD, GRADED · OKC @ HOU
Side HOU -4.5 (Lean) · preview number HOU -4.5 · Houston won by 21, 16.5 points past the number · cleared
Total Over 218.5 (Lean) · preview number 218.5 · the teams combined for 217, 1.5 under the number · missed
Our number had Houston by eight at home against a book at 4.5, and the Rockets won by 21. The over was our 222.6 against 218.5, and the teams finished a point and a half short of it, the closest miss on the card.
The Rest of the Slate
Portland 112, Utah 90: Two days after its first loss, and without Ja Morant (hamstring), Portland handled Utah in the afternoon game. Deni Avdija scored 24 and Damian Lillard added 22. Portland is 4-1; Utah is 1-5.
THE CARD, GRADED · POR @ UTA
Side UTA +6.5 (Lean) · preview number POR -6.5 · Utah lost by 22, 15.5 points short of the number · missed
Total Over 231.5 (Toss-up) · preview number 231.5 · the teams combined for 202, 29.5 under the number · missed
Our number had Portland by two on the road, short of the book's 6.5, and the Blazers won by 22 without Morant. The over was our 234.2 against 231.5, inside our threshold, and a 90-point Utah night left it 29.5 short.
New Orleans 121, Atlanta 99: The Pelicans led 35-18 after one quarter, 63-48 at the half and 92-74 after three, and Atlanta never threatened. Saddiq Bey scored a season-high 25 off the bench on 9-of-13 with four steals, Jeremiah Fears added 20, Zion Williamson had 15 on eight shots with six rebounds, four assists and three steals, and Trey Murphy III had 15, five and five. Atlanta went 8-of-46 from three. New Orleans is 2-4; Atlanta is 3-4.
THE CARD, GRADED · ATL @ NOP
Side NOP +4.5 (Toss-up) · preview number ATL -4.5 · New Orleans won outright by 22, 26.5 points past the number · cleared
Total Under 239.5 (Toss-up) · preview number 239.5 · the teams combined for 220, 19.5 under the number · cleared
Our number had Atlanta by about three on the road, inside the book's 4.5, and New Orleans won by 22. The under was our 236.9 against 239.5, inside our threshold, and Atlanta's 8-of-46 from three left it 19.5 clear.
Memphis 136, Sacramento 105: Memphis led 66-55 at the half and blew it open with a 42-25 third quarter, and the Grizzlies are 6-0. Darius Acuff Jr. scored 38 with nine threes for Sacramento, 21 of them in the first half. Memphis is 6-0; Sacramento is 0-6.
THE CARD, GRADED · SAC @ MEM
Side MEM -10.5 (Strong) · preview number MEM -10.5 · Memphis won by 31, 20.5 points past the number · cleared
Total Under 233.5 (Toss-up) · preview number 233.5 · the teams combined for 241, 7.5 over the number · missed
Our number had Memphis by 16 against a book at 10.5, and the Grizzlies won by 31. The under was our 231.4 against 233.5, inside our threshold, and a 42-point Memphis third quarter carried it 7.5 past.
Cleveland 136, Milwaukee 111: Milwaukee led 25-24 after one quarter, and Cleveland won the second 48-21 and led by as many as 36 early in the fourth for its first road win of the season. Evan Mobley scored a season-high 27, Jarrett Allen had 25 and 11 for his 250th career double-double, 19 of those points in the first half, Donovan Mitchell added 15, and James Harden had 13 and seven assists. The Cavaliers shot 62.2 percent in the first half. Rookie Nate Ament had 14 on 6-of-8 for Milwaukee. Cleveland is 4-2; Milwaukee is 1-5.
THE CARD, GRADED · CLE @ MIL
Side MIL +9.5 (Strong) · preview number CLE -9.5 · Milwaukee lost by 25, 15.5 points short of the number · missed
Total Under 237.5 (Toss-up) · preview number 237.5 · the teams combined for 247, 9.5 over the number · missed
Our number had Cleveland by about four on the road against a book at 9.5, and a 48-point second quarter settled it by 25. The under was our 235.6 against 237.5, inside our threshold, and Cleveland's first-half shooting carried it 9.5 past.
Wembanyama Scores 43, Memphis Reaches 6-0, and Philadelphia Wins Without Its Stars.
Saturday's seven games had one finish worth staying up for, Philadelphia's 13-0 run in Charlotte, and six settled by double digits, five of them by 21 or more. Memphis is 6-0, Philadelphia is 6-1, Houston bounced back from its first loss to reach 6-1, Cleveland won on the road for the first time, and Sacramento is 0-6.
Star of the Night: Victor Wembanyama, C, San Antonio Spurs
43 PTS | 7 REB | 4 AST | 6 BLK | 17-of-34 FG | 3-of-8 3PT | 6-of-9 FT | 33 MIN
Tyrese Maxey's 38 and the 13-0 run in Charlotte and Darius Acuff Jr.'s 38 with nine threes in Memphis made cases of their own, but Wembanyama scored 43 with six blocks in a game San Antonio needed every one of them to pull away from Minnesota, and Acuff's came in a 31-point loss, so Wembanyama is the clearer story.
Dud of the Night: Atlanta Hawks
99 PTS | 8-of-46 3PT | 38% FG | Lost by 22
No single line stood out cleanly enough to name one player. Atlanta took 46 threes, made eight, and trailed by 17 after one quarter in a 22-point loss to a New Orleans team that came in 1-4, so the Hawks as a group are the clearer dud.
THE RECORD · NBA REGULAR SEASON
Side 47-41-0 · 53% of 88 · Total 39-38-0 · 51% of 77 · through October 31
This slate: side 5-2, total 3-4 (14 leans).
Every card is graded against the number printed in the preview. The full ledger, by tier and by month, is on The Record.
What's next
Sunday's slate is next. We'll have the preview, the card, and both leans before tip-off.
Tome Collective is an informational publication. The Card and The Record describe how our number compared with the market; they are not advice.
