Friday NBA Fantasy Notes: Pacers Edge the Knicks 106-104, Sengun Drops 43 and Giannis and Bam Score 37 Apiece

Friday's eight-game NBA slate was built around NBA Cup group play, and it delivered a pile of fantasy-relevant lines outside the Spurs' 123-85 rout of Golden State. The Indiana Pacers held off the defending champion New York Knicks 106-104, Alperen Sengun scored a season-high 43 in Houston, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo each scored 37 as Miami beat Cleveland, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 40 in a one-point loss to the Clippers.

Here is what mattered for fantasy managers and bettors, game by game, with the lines confirmed from box scores and wire reports. (Verdexed covered the Spurs-Warriors game separately.)

Pacers 106, Knicks 104: Nesmith plays through, Brunson and Towns carry New York

Indiana played without Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring strain) and still built a 14-point lead before holding on. Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 19 points, though he went 7 of 12 from the line and missed two free throws in the final seconds that let New York back in. Aaron Nesmith, listed as questionable with right knee soreness, played and scored 18 on 7-of-10 shooting with seven rebounds. Kelly Oubre Jr. added 16, and Ivica Zubac posted 12 points and 13 rebounds, nine of them offensive.

For New York, Jalen Brunson scored 33 on 11-of-22 shooting with 11 assists and two steals, and Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and three steals, extending his franchise record of double-doubles to open a season to 12 straight. Mikal Bridges scored 18. Towns' final turnaround missed at the buzzer, and the Knicks fell to 0-2 in Cup play.

Fantasy read: Zubac's offensive-glass work makes him a strong rebounds play in Indiana's frontcourt, and Nesmith's efficient night is a reminder that he is a viable streamer when healthy. On the Knicks side, Towns is a locked-in double-double machine.

Heat 133, Cavaliers 121: Miami's frontcourt explodes

Antetokounmpo and Adebayo each scored 37, and Davion Mitchell added 22 points with 17 assists as Miami took control of East Group B at 2-0 and moved to .500 overall. Giannis played through a right wrist sprain listed as probable. For Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell led with 25, and Tyrese Proctor scored 22 off the bench.

Davion Mitchell's 17 assists are the most actionable line on the slate: if he is still available in your league, he is a priority add in assist-hungry builds. Proctor's bench scoring is worth monitoring in deep leagues, particularly with Evan Mobley (toe) dealing with an injury and Cleveland on a back-to-back Saturday.

Rockets 125, Jazz 118, and Magic 107, Bucks 99

Sengun scored 43 on 17-of-24 shooting with 12 rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes, his first 40-point game since 2024 and a season high. Kevin Durant added 22 for Houston, which won its third straight. Utah's skid continued, but rookie Darryn Peterson scored a career-high 28, his fifth straight game with 20 or more points per one recap, and Keyonte George added 27.

In Orlando, Franz Wagner scored 35 with 12 assists, falling a rebound shy of his first career triple-double, and Desmond Bane added 21 as the Magic moved to 2-0 in Cup play and won at home for the first time this season. Tyler Herro scored 18 for Milwaukee.

Fantasy read: Peterson is a must-roster in all formats while his usage stays this high. Franz's playmaking line suggests a bigger creation role, which lifts his assist floor.

Clippers 113, Thunder 112, Blazers 120, Kings 107, Bulls 125, Hawks 117 (OT)

The Clippers trailed 112-106 with 2:43 left and closed on a 7-0 run, with Darius Garland hitting the go-ahead basket and Gilgeous-Alexander missing a corner jumper at the buzzer. SGA finished with 40 points on 15-of-26 shooting. Brook Lopez scored 26 with seven rebounds and four assists, Garland had 24 points and seven assists, and Derrick Jones Jr. added 14 points and four blocks. Jared McCain scored 23 for Oklahoma City, which has dropped three straight.

Deni Avdija scored a season-high 34 on 11-of-13 shooting (9 of 9 at the line) as Portland won its third straight and improved to 9-3. Damian Lillard added 29. For the 1-11 Kings, De'Andre Hunter scored 24 and Domantas Sabonis posted 21 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.

In Chicago, Norman Powell scored 33, including nine in overtime, as the Bulls snapped an eight-game losing streak. Josh Giddey had 14 assists and 10 rebounds. Atlanta's Jalen Johnson posted a triple-double with 27 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the loss.

Friday's top fantasy performers

What to do in your league

Waiver priorities from Friday: Davion Mitchell is the top add if he is still on the wire in a 12-team league, and Darryn Peterson should already be rostered everywhere. Tyrese Proctor is a deep-league speculative add with Cleveland's frontcourt banged up. Do not overreact to Nesmith's 18; he is a streamer, not a hold, in standard formats, though he gains value while Haliburton is out.

For DFS and props, Sengun's ceiling night shows why he belongs in core lineups against thin frontcourts, and Miami's two-star frontcourt showed it can carry a game together. Check Verdexed's NBA predictions page at /nba/predictions and the Saturday slate at /blog/nba-picks-2026-11-14 for game-level leans.

What's next

Saturday's five-game slate includes Detroit at Miami and Dallas at Cleveland, with Cleveland on the second night of a back-to-back and Chicago playing again at Minnesota after an overtime game. Monitor the Heat's injury report for Klay Thompson (ankle) and Pelle Larsson (illness), and the Cavaliers' report for Mobley.

The takeaway: add Davion Mitchell now, hold Peterson and Franz as weekly anchors, and treat Friday's Cup intensity as a reminder that group-play games carry real effort, which tends to push starters' minutes up rather than down.