LeBron James opens up about fatherhood, independence, and life alongside Bronny as they share their second season with the Lakers.

Five takeaways from the Miami Heat’s 143-107 blowout win over the Chicago Bulls (8-7) on Friday night at United Center to open a two-game grip and improve to 2-1 during the four-game group-stage of the NBA Cup in-season tournament. The Heat (10-6) closes the trip on Sunday afternoon against the 76ers in Philadelphia:

The Indiana Pacers made this one interesting, climbing back to within 10 points in the final quarter, but a final surge of offense from Cleveland put this one to bed. Four Cavaliers topped 20 points tonight, while Indiana’s Pascal Siakam, Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard scored a collective 79 points. Mitchell 3. Mobley 3. Hunter 3.

If Portland wins, Denver has to run up the score on the Spurs on Friday to advance as the top second-place team. The Nuggets currently have a better point differential than the Clippers and Suns, but they trail the Wolves and Thunder in the tiebreaker.

Back in 2023, the NBA decided to spice up the first half of its regular season with the In-Season Tournament, now known as the NBA Cup, which puts prize money and bragging rights on the line for all 30 teams, months before the NBA Playoffs arrive.

The Timberwolves are 4-2 in the last six games and 6-2 since Anthony Edwards return. While the record is impressive, Minnesota has beaten Washington, Dallas, Sacramento twice, and Utah twice with losses to Denver and New York. Minnesota actually hasn’t beaten a team with a winning record yet and can with a road game at Phoenix next.

The Milwaukee Bucks (8–8, 10th in the Eastern Conference) host the Detroit Pistons (13–2, 1st in the East) at Fiserv Forum on Saturday ( 8 ET, NBA TV ). Milwaukee is coming off a 123–114 overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday, while Detroit hasn’t played since Tuesday’s 120–112 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

Minnesota had the game in the bag until two turnovers and a pair of missed free throws killed them in Phoenix.

Find best bets and props for the biggest games in sports on Saturday from the SportsLine Projection Model and top CBS Sports experts

With Cooper Flagg's last career performance for the Mavericks in the win over the Pelicans, it's put him in the area as LeBron James.