Five-Star Review: This is Lance Stephenson's house

Lance Stephenson hits the game-winner. (USATSI)

GAME OF THE NIGHT -- Hornets 122, Hawks 119 (2OT) : While both of these teams have underperformed so far relative to preseason expectations, this matchup was the best of the bunch on a night with multiple close calls and crazy finishes. Al Jefferson had a monster night (34 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, 15-for-24 shooting), Kemba Walker was one rebound shy of a triple-double and Lance Stephenson prevented a third overtime in spectacular fashion:

Gotta love him doing the jumping-on-the-scorer's-table bit in his sixth game as a Hornet. Stephenson had 17 points and 13 boards, by far his best game with his new team.

There were some other wacky stats here: Gary Neal had 23 points off the bench for Charlotte, the Hawks' Jeff Teague dropped a cool 22 points and 15 assists, and Al Horford scored 24 points on 11-for-16 shooting because that's the kind of thing that he does.

ROYALS: Sacramento moved to 5-1 with a 114-112 2OT win against the Suns. DeMarcus Cousins had 25 and 18 in 34 minutes before he fouled out just before the end of regulation. Rudy Gay had a rough, rough night -- 11 points on 5-for-22 shooting in 48 minutes -- but he made the biggest shot of the game, a go-ahead turnaround jumper late in the second overtime. This was a great road win for a Kings team making a compelling argument to be taken seriously.

ROOKIE MAGIC: Orlando rookies Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon combined for 10 of the team's 18 overtime points against the Timberwolves. The Magic outscored Minnesota 18-9 in the extra frame to win 112-103, and Wolves guard Mo Williams was forced to play 31 minutes because …

RUBIOHHNOOOOO : Ricky Rubio hurt his ankle, and it looked ugly. From @cjzero:

The team is calling it a sprain, and he'll be reevaluated on Saturday.

NOT AGAIN : We were already feeling bad about Rubio, and then Celtics guard Marcus Smart hurt his left ankle against the Pacers. This one appeared to be worse, and he had to be stretchered off the court. He'll have an MRI tonight.

GIF: Marcus Smart rolls left ankle http://t.co/tk4wiMMRH6
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) November 8, 2014

Hey, Pete Campbell, what do you think about these two injuries?

WIN IT FOR THE ROOKIE: The Celtics pulled out a 101-98 win after Smart went down, with Jared Sullinger scoring 11 of his 17 points in the fourth. Boston appears to be as inconsistent a team as there is in the league, but it can look dangerous in stretches. Indy's 1-5 now.

DINO POWER : The Raptors brought back the purple, striped uniforms with dinosaurs on them against the Washington Wizards. Fortunately for the sold-out Toronto crowd, the team performed much better than the mid-to-late-90s teams that originally wore them. Terrence Ross (18 points, four 3s) came alive after a slow start to the season, DeMar DeRozan scored 11 of his 25 points at the free throw line and Kyle Lowry was Kyle Lowry. After scoring 35 points against Rajon Rondo and the Celtics on Wednesday, Lowry had a 13-point, 11-rebound, 10-assist triple-double against John Wall's team. He also stemmed a Washington run in the fourth quarter. The final score was 103-84, and it didn't even feel that close. Here's the shot chart for the Wizards' starters:

TEMPLE OF DOOM : Garrett Temple had a nice chasedown block on DeMar DeRozan:

WITTMANIA: Wizards head coach Randy Wittman was pleasant as a peach in his postgame scrum:

JOERGER BOMB : Memphis head coach Dave Joerger made reference to the fact his team isn't on national TV nearly as much as it should be:

BRIM ROCKER : Carmelo Anthony wore a hat. ESPN analyzed Anthony's hat.

DISH OF THE NIGHT -- J.R. SMITH : Yeah, I'm surprised as you are. The Knicks gunner shook Joe Johnson and assisted Cole Aldrich in an all-around nasty play:

CLASSIC D-WILL : Deron Williams exploded for 29 points on 15 shots (!) against the Knicks. Iman Shumpert, postgame, via the NYT: "He had his way with me."

LINE OF THE NIGHT -- TONY WROTEN : The Sixers guard remains fun and weird. He had 31 points, seven assists and five rebounds in Philly's 118-115 loss to the Bulls. It's worth noting, though, that he attempted 27 field goals, which is 13 more than any of his teammates.

JOEL BACK : Sixers rookie Joel Embiid has rejoined his teammates, and while he obviously can't get back on the court, he is involved:

YAM OF THE NIGHT : Andre Drummond tried to block Giannis Antetokounmpo's dunk. It did not work.

GIF: Giannis Antetokounmpo dunks over Andre Drummond http://t.co/RsKVZjMS9j
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) November 8, 2014

Another angle:

KCP! : Second-year Pistons guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope might be putting it together. He followed up a 20-point performance against the Knicks on Wednesday with 19 against the Bucks, shooting 7-for-11 from the field and 3-for-5 from downtown in the 98-95 win.

TWEET OF THE NIGHT : This is the reporting we need:

Dion Waiters is wearing a rubber bracelet around his wrist that has "I am who I am" printed on it. Sounds about right.
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 8, 2014

SHAKE IT OFF : After a report that two of his teammates had "frozen him out," Thunder point guard Reggie Jackson made a statement with a 22-point, eight-assist, seven-rebound performance against the Grizzlies. It was almost enough for an upset win, but Oklahoma City fell 91-89. Tough one.

TONY ALLEN IS INCREDIBLE PART 1 : The Thunder had a late-game five-second violation, and Allen enjoyed it, via @cjzero:

TONY ALLEN IS INCREDIBLE PART 2 : He hit a 3!

PROGRESS : Dion Waiters had 17 points off the bench for the Cavs, including some timely buckets in the fourth in the 110-102 victory over the Nuggets.. Kyrie Irving looked to facilitate more. Cleveland's defense is still far from optimal and it allowed Randy Foye to go off for 28 points, but it's still a win. Not a particularly impresive win, but a needed one.

Some LeBron James guy had a 22-7-11 line, by the way.

FLAGRANT-100 : This is just dangerous, Darrell Arthur. Not cool.