Top 10 Plays From Thursday Night As Julius Randle Slams A Dunk Over Jayson Tatum In Knicks OT Win

We only had six games on across the league last night, but there’s still plenty of highlight’s to go around. The Nets took a tough 130-122 loss at home to the Detroit Pistons. Julius Randle and the New York Knicks took the Boston Celtics to OT and scraped a narrow three-point victory on the road. Luka Doncic left the Mavs game early with an ankle injury, but Spencer Dinwiddie’s 36 points helped them get a win vs the Suns. Next, we’ll look at the top 10 plays from Thursday night’s games. 

Julius Randle attacks the rim to lead Thursday's TOP 10 PLAYS! pic.twitter.com/BI5CJo5GYX

— NBA (@NBA) January 27, 2023

Top 10 plays from Thursday night’s NBA slate

10. Kawhi Leonard hits the contested three to end the first quarter with a buzzer beater 

Leonard was the second-highest scorer in the game vs the Spurs last night with 27 points. He also had seven assists and knocked down to three’s in the game. One of those three’s came at the end of the first quarter. Kawhi had the ball in the final seconds of the first and hit a step-back contested three to beat the buzzer and gave his team a 41-26 lead.

9. Kyrie Irving takes the contact and finishes the basket for an and-one attempt 

The Nets were trying to fight back in the fourth quarter last night and did eventually cut Detroit’s lead to single digits, but it wasn’t enough in the end. Kyrie Irving did everything he could to help the Nets win last night. He finished with 40 points and knocked down six triples. With under three minutes in the final quarter, Irving drove to the basket, took the contact, and then finished strong for an and one attempt that cut the Pistons lead to single digits.

Tough. pic.twitter.com/N8tOB6G4FN

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) January 27, 2023

8. Coby White throws the alley-oop lob to Derrick Jones Jr. who completes the slam 

The Chicago Bulls just got outworked by the Charlotte Hornets in a 111-96 loss on the road last night. All five of Chicago’s starters finished with double-digit points, and the highest scorer off the bench only had six. Bulls guard Coby White drove to the basket and drew in two defender. This left the high-flying Derrick Jones Jr. open on the back-door alley-oop pass to finish off the slam.

7. Alperen Sengun finds Kenyon Martin Jr. with the no-look touch pass for the easy finish 

Alperen Sengun is starting to become a human highlight reel as the second year pro can do it all. In their 113-95 loss last night, Sengun once again graced us with a beautiful pass that not many centers in the league can make. He drove to the basket and euro-stepped through the defense. Next he somehow used his length to flip a no-look touch pass to Kenyon Martin Kr. who finished it off for an easy slam.

😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/1aL7nD7CRV

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) January 27, 2023

6. Gordon Hayward meets Zach LaVine at the rim to block his breakaway dunk attempt 

Down by six points mid-way through the first quarter, Zach LaVine stole the ball from the Hornets and quickly took off for a fast break. The Hornets had him outnumbered two-to-one but LaVine still found a way to get through the defense. He jumped up for the one-handed dunk attempt to finish off the fast break. but Charlotte’s Gordon Hayward was there to block the dunk.

5. Jalen Duren trails Joe Harris’ layup attempt and stuffs it off the backboard 

Down ten points with less than three minutes left in the game, the Brooklyn Nets were trying to do everything possible to stay alive. Joe Harris took a nice bounce pass in transition and tried to quickly get a shot up. Rookie center Jalen Duren was trailing the play and easily swatted away Harris’ layup attempt. He stuffed the shot off the backboard.

If there was a redraft, Jalen Duren would go top 3. pic.twitter.com/DHwR15Kh9M

— Isaac (@WorldofIsaac) January 27, 2023

4. Jarrett Allen uses the full extension to throw down the one-handed slam over the Rockets 

The Cleveland Cavaliers got a 113-95 win on the road last night vs the Houston Rockets. Jarrett Allen had a solid double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. He started off his night with an exclamation point. With the game tied 4-4 in the first, Allen faked a jump-shot from near the free-throw line and then took a gather step and leaped over Alperen Sengun for the epic one-handed slam.

3. Spurs’ Isaiah Roby takes the pass and finished the one-handed slam over Nic Batum

The Spurs lost on the road 138-100 last night to the LA Clippers. Paul George had 35 and Kawhi Leonard had 27 points in the game. In the beginning of the second quarter, big man Zach Collins found Isaiah Roby on the back-door cut. Roby elevated high over NBA veteran Nic Batum and finished off the big one-handed slam.

OH MY ISAIAH! 🤯@spurs | #PorVida pic.twitter.com/4QmckJLleU

— Bally Sports San Antonio (@BallySportsSA) January 27, 2023

2. Paul George finishes off the steal with a one-handed windmill slam 

Paul George was doing just about everything for the Clippers in their blowout win last night. He finished with 35 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block in the game. Late in the second quarter, George stole the ball and had the chance at an uncontested dunk. He’s known for his flashy slams and he was ready to give us another. With nobody blocking his dunk attempt, George jumped high in the air and threw down the one-handed windmill slam for the hometown crowd.

1. Julius Randle goes up high with Jayson Tatum and finishes off the one-handed monster dunk 

The Knicks gave the Celtics a run for their money last night, beating them 120-117 in OT on the road. Julius Randle once again led the way for the Knicks with 37 points, 9 rebounds, and two assists. He had some big-time slams last night and one of them was against MVP candidate Jayson Tatum. Randle drove past Tatum and then finished with the one-handed lefty slam on the right side of the basket.

😤 New Randle Poster! pic.twitter.com/qCy6UKUfxF

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) January 27, 2023