Saturday Tripleheader: Three Must-See Games, Three Epic Matchups

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Three games. Three must-see matchups. And a stacked lineup of stars.

NBA TV’s tripleheader boasts two Western Conference duels featuring four former Kia NBA MVPs and an electrifying showdown between Ja Morant and Paolo Banchero.

Clippers at Nuggets (5 ET, NBA TV): After each winning 50+ games in 2023-24, which side will rebound from its opening season loss?

Russ Reunion: After spending 1.5 seasons with LA, nine-time All-Star Russell Westbrook will face his former team in his second outing with DenverStars Shine: In their respective season openers, James Harden (29 pts, 12 reb, 8 ast) stuffed the stat sheet, while Nikola Jokić (16 pts, 12 reb, 13 ast) recorded the season’s first triple-doubleAnother Joker Ace?

In three games against LA last year, Jokić averaged a near triple-double (30.0 ppg, 16.0 rpg, 9.7 apg), but the two clubs ultimately split the season series 2-2

Magic at Grizzlies (8 ET, NBA TV): With both teams in the second leg of a back-to-back, Ja Morant and Memphis will look to rebound from Friday’s loss as they host Paolo Banchero and the Magic, who will look to improve to 3-0.

Do-It-All Paolo: In Orlando’s two wins, Banchero is averaging 24.0 points, 8.5 assists and 6.0 rebounds, while hitting 2.5 3s a game at 50.0% a clipNo Signs Of Rust:

Meanwhile, Morant has posted back-to-back 20 pieces in his first regular-season action since Jan. 5

Kings at Lakers (10:30 ET, NBA TV): After going 0-4 against the Kings last season, can LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the 2-0 Lakers help swing the in-state rivalry back in their favor?

Kings Of L.A.? The Kings have gone 7-1 against the Lakers over the last two years and haven’t dropped a season series to Los Angeles since 2019-20, when the Lakers won the NBA titleNew Royalty: In his Kings debut on Thursday, DeMar DeRozan poured in a team-high 26 points in a loss to the WolvesAD Kobe:

After dropping 36 points on opening night and 35 last night, Davis became the first Laker to score 30+ points in the team’s first two games since Kobe Bryant did so in 2005