Author: NBA Basketball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

Another failed Dallas Mavericks (21-43) comeback attempt, another dollar. The Mavericks dropped their eighth straight game and their 18th in the team’s last 20, 124-112, against the Atlanta Hawks (33-31) at State Farm Arena on Tuesday.

Nickeal Alexander-Walker led all scorers with 29 points for the Hawks in the win, and Jalen Johnson added 25 more, including 10 points in the fourth quarter. Klay Thompson made five 3-pointers on his way to 21 points for the Mavs in the loss.

Here are five stats that tell the tale of Dallas’ latest comeback attempt that came up short in Atlanta.

40: First-quarter scoring by the Hawks

The Mavericks turned the ball over five times in the first quarter, with four of them coming in the game’s first 4:23. The Hawks sprinted out to an early 10-2 lead as a result and never looked back. They boat-raced the Mavericks throughout the rest of the first quarter, taking a 40-26 lead into the second. Atlanta shot 15-of-26 (57.7%) from the field in the first.

The Dallas defense was nonexistent on several Atlanta drives to the hoop, including one late in the first by Nickeal Alexander-Walker, who waltzed past all five Dallas defenders on his way to the hoop for an easy score that put the Hawks up 40-24 with 25 seconds left in the frame. Onyaka Okongwu led Atlanta with nine points on 2-of-3 shooting from 3-point range in the first quarter, while Brandon Williams matched him with nine off the bench for the Mavs on 3-of-3 shooting.

6-of-9: Dallas’ shooting start to second quarter

The Mavericks fought their way back to within four points of the lead in the first 5:30 of the second quarter. They shot 6-of-9 from the field to outscore Atlanta 13-5 to start the second. The Mavs extended that run to 17-5 before the Hawks responded.

The Hawks came into the game with the league’s No. 1 defensive rating (106.1) over the last month, but the Mavs bucked back to climb back in it after falling down by as many as 16 points in the first quarter. Max Christie finally nailed his first 3-pointer in five first-half attempts to cut the Hawks’ lead to four, 45-41, with 6:35 left in the second.

After Hawks head coach Quin Snyder called a timeout with 6:25 left in the second, Atlanta rattled off six straight quick points, including two transition baskets by Alexander-Walker, who seems to be a shoo-in for Most Improved Player this year. Alexander-Walker led all scorers with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting as the Hawks took a 64-55 lead into the half.

1: Second-quarter shot attempt by Cooper Flagg

We thought we were done with this dilemma after Cooper Flagg’s explosive months of December and January, but the Mavs’ rookie star was nowhere to be found on the stat sheet in the second quarter. He got lost in an offense that more prominently featured the likes of Brandon Williams, Daniel Gafford and Marvin Bagley III.

Flagg grimaced a little on his way to the free-throw line after taking a foul from Jalen Johnson with 6:57 left in the second, but played through whatever ailed him after taking the contact. As noted above, the Hawks are a good defensive team, so maybe his second-quarter absence shouldn’t be that much of a concern, but Flagg needs to see the ball more in order to get out of the shooting funk he’s been in since returning to the lineup after missing eight games with a sprained left foot on Mar. 5 at the Orlando Magic. He came into the game shooting just 21-of-62 (33.9%) from the field in his three games back and shot 2-of-5 for six points in the first half on Tuesday.

Flagg’s funk continued in the second half as he missed his next five attempts, finishing with just 14 points on 6-of-16 shooting to go along with 12 rebounds in the loss. Nine of those 14 points came too little, too late in the game’s waning minutes.

20-6: Mavs’ late third-quarter run

The Mavericks made several runs at the Atlanta lead, but none of them were potent enough to take hold of the lead. Klay Thompson and Khris Middleton keyed a 20-9 Mavs’ spurt late in the third quarter to get to within 93-89, after the Hawks’ lead had ballooned to 15 points midway through the frame.

Thompson scored 10 points in the third quarter, all of which came during that 20-9 run. Atlanta survived the run to take a 95-91 lead into the fourth. Dallas outscored the Hawks 38-31 in the third to close the gap.

18: Second-half scoring from Klay Thompson

Thompson scored 18 of his 21 points in the second half, shooting the lights out from deep as the Mavs tried desperately to win just their third game in their last 20. But it just wasn’t enough as the Mavericks rack up their frequent flyer miles on their current road trip.

Thompson canned 4-of-7 from deep in the second half as Dallas clawed its way back, but Atlanta had an answer for every Mavericks run down the stretch. After a quiet start to the game, Jalen Johnson was the answer for the Hawks late in the game, as he scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to kill the Mavs’ momentum. Johnson finished with 24 points, seven assists and six rebounds in the win, while Thompson scored 21 for the Mavs in the loss.

San Antonio closed out Boston with a late 19-10 surge (including a 12-0 run) to secure its 16th win in 17. The second seeds in each conference treated the viewing audience to a bombardment of three-point makes in a first half where no team led by more than seven. While it wasn’t quite Bird / Wilkins from 1988, Victor Wembanyama (14) and Derrick White (19) countered each other with buckets-a-plenty throughout the third quarter. Celtics star Jaylen Brown was whistled for two technicals and tossed late in the first half for arguing with the referees. With the win San Antonio stayed comfortably ahead of the 3-6 seeds – 7.5 ahead of Houston / Minnesota, 8.5 ahead of Los Angeles, and 9 ahead of Denver (with Wolves and Lakers as the nightcap).

Wembanyama (39 points and 11 rebounds – eight triples) continued to withstand the aggression other teams’ frontline players throw at him, while De’Aaron Fox (25 points and 9 assists) and Stephon Castle (18 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists) matched the Celtics’ intensity to keep San Antonio toe-to-toe with the Celtics until that late flourish. Devin Vassell (14 points) came on late with timely shooting.

Despite pulling up gimpy at the end of the third, White (34 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds) carried Boston’s second half attack in this highly emotional contest. Jayson Tatum (24 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals) and Ron Harper, Jr. – with a career high 22 – provided support in the glaring absence of Brown.

In a taut back-and-forth physical first 12 minutes, Boston and San Antonio treated this matchup with the requisite respect a late-season tilt deserved. Aside from a brief moment where the Spurs went up six, the teams were separated by fewer points for most of the period. Castle carried the Spurs early on, while Wembanyama was pelted in the face twice and smarting from the blows. Brown and White staked the Celtics to a lead with their 7-0 run. Castle and Brown were halted by their respective pair of fouls. Despite Boston’s barrage of threes they snuck out of the quarter only ahead two after Carter Bryant’s corner three.

As intense as the first quarter action, it was visibly heightened in the second. Ron Harper, Jr. had a succession of field goals spanning throughout the half and had a greater impact initially over his younger brother. Fox was able to find easy offense to keep the Spurs close. Late in the half, Brown (despite the consistent physicality throughout the half) meekly fell out of bounds and was tossed for arguing the phantom call with the crew chief and another referee. Julian Champagnie and Vassell were largely kept out of the scorebook; however San Antonio was able to get to halftime even with Boston 58-58.

San Antonio turned the 3-point shooting tables on Boston to start the third with a handful of makes from Fox, Wembanyama, and Castle. White tried to capably play the Brown role – putting up a 11 quick points. When the Spurs’ bench came in, Dylan Harper and Keldon Johnson and helped get the Spurs back on top. Harper’s flurry of scores helped San Antonio nab its largest lead of the night late in the frame. Fittingly, Fox and Wembanyama’s scores completed the scoring for the Spurs and they went to the fourth up seven.

Observations

• Crunchtime Sequence of the Game: Vassell, after swishing a jumper in the lane, shot the gap at the other end to steal an errant pass and soared in for a transition lay-up to make it 115-105.
• I could not imagine what it’d be like to suffer an achilles tear and then have to come back because it’s related to my career (Tatum)… although I had hoped there’d be a longer pre-game recognition of what the Spurs had done (15-1 in the last month).
• Bam Adebayo (83) nearly matched both teams’ outputs for three periods tonight.
• Interesting to see Castle (Spurs’ future) and White (Spurs’ past) paired with each other from the tip.
• My brother in law called during the first period just to say this: ”They (San Antonio) make basketball fun again to watch!”
• Hugo Gonzalez is tailor-made to be a future Spur.
• The Celtics lead the lague with the most impressive bald shaves / facial hair combos (White, Brown, and Jordan Walsh)
• Castle Hills: Castle will need to limit the silly Karl-Anthony Towns-like reach-in fouls during the playoff rounds. His two early ones in the first forced him to the bench.
• Sequence of the Game #1: In the opening moments, and after Wembanyama swatted away a Queta shot, Castle hit from the wing at the other end.
• Sequence of the Game #2:. Early on in the second period, Fox hit a catch-and-shoot three, and then stripped White just across halfcourt and coasted in for a lay-up.
• Sequence of the Game #3: In a early third quarter runout, Vassell splayed out to the right wing – and perhaps thought that his teammates wouldn’t find him, but after Castle fed it to a trailing Wembanyama, the center lasered it out to Vassell – who hit the three.

Game Rundown

Boston thought they had a sly give-and-go action to get Queta a lay-up, but Wembanyama sniffed it out and erased it. The referees missed an obvious foul to the center’s face by Sam Hauser on a dribble drive. Vassell also got hit in the face on a loose ball by Brown, and thankfully that one was called. Fox’s pair of paint buckets put San Antonio up six and he seemed to be the only Spur that found steady success. The Celtics’ output after four minutes was just triples from White and Luka Garza. Brown then spearheaded a 7-0 run to get Boston on top. Taylor Schiermann also made contact to Luke Kornet’s face with a minute to go. Tatum saw some shots go down later in the quarter and Boston headed to the second up a pair.

Bryant’s second threed brought San Antonio within two to start the second. Fox’s personal 5-0 run momentarily put the Spurs back up. Bryant’s fadeaway in the paint(?!) was matched by White’s second lay-up of the stanza. Brown and Wembanyama matched each other with consecutive pairs of field goals. Brown doinked a dunk attempt that caromed all the way out past the 3-point line. The teams stayed glued to 51-47 for some time as the feistiness ratcheted up several levels. After Brown tried to sell a fou call by falling out of bounds, he spent an embarrassing amount of time protesting it and was teed up twice. Though the Spurs squandered several chances to tie or lead, Castle’s degree-of-difficulty banker tied things at 58.

The baskets again came furiously after the break, and Fox’s stepback three put the Spurs up six. White screamed like (Keldon) Johnson on several pull-ups to draw fouls. Vassell’s first field goal came 27 minutes into game action. White and Tatum helped the Celtics leapfrog San Antonio back into the lead. Harper’s first field goal came against his brother nearly 2 1/2 quarters in and then proceeded to add to his tally prodigiously. White nearly matched San Antonio’s output for the quarter by himself. Wembanyama’s stepback triple helped get the Spurs went to the fourth up 97-90.

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For the Celtics fan’s perspective, please visit Celtics Blog.

San Antonio’s continues its slate of games against Western Conference contenders Thursday night with Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets at 8:00 PM CDT.

2025-26 Sixers Bell Ringer season standings:
Tyrese Maxey – 22
Joel Embiid – 9
VJ Edgecombe – 9
Paul George – 6
Kelly Oubre Jr. – 4
Jared McCain :’( – 3
Dominick Barlow – 2
Andre Drummond – 2
Justin Edwards – 2
Jabari Walker – 1
MarJon Beauchamp – 1
Adem Bona – 1
Quentin Grimes – 1
Trendon Watford – 1
15th roster spot – 1

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It’s hard to think of a team that needed a win for a morale boost quite like the Philadelphia 76ers.

Fortunately, they got it on Tuesday, coming from behind to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 139-129 in South Philadelphia.

Tipoff came less than a half hour after it was confirmed by the team that Tyrese Maxey has a tendon injury in his pinky and will be reevaluated in three weeks. Joel Embiid (oblique) and Paul George (suspension) are also still sidelined… so I’m sure the mental status of everyone on the roster was just stellar going into this one.

At least rookie VJ Edgecombe returned for the contest after a three-game hiatus due to a lumbar contusion from a hard fall taken in a game last week. He didn’t seem to be in any pain on Tuesday, getting back to work with physicality and even a nice soaring dunk at one point.

Though the Sixers were being a bit outmatched for some of this, it didn’t stop them from getting energetic for the second half comeback. After once trailing the Grizzlies by 14 points in the third, the shorthanded Philadelphia squad battled back, outscoring the visitors 41-25 in the final frame to grab the victory at home. And, it all included some excellent individual performances, which we will get to below!

The Sixers will now have a day off on Wednesday before hitting the road again — this time to visit the Detroit Pistons on Thursday.

Until then, let’s get to the Bell Ringer.

Kelly Oubre Jr.: 31 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 1 block

It was good to see Kelly Oubre Jr. start this one off strong after a tough game for him on Monday that saw him pick up quick fouls and rendered him pretty much irrelevant for the rest of the contest (he only played 13 minutes). He looked much different on Tuesday. Oubre hit a triple on the first possession of the game and got more physically involved from there, starting to drive straight into the Grizzlies defense and finishing at the rim more often, helping him score 11 points in his first nine minutes.

It was far from his most efficient night shooting, especially the jumper, with Oubre going just 10-for-24 from the floor and 1-for-9 from long range. That being said, he kept doing what did work, which was using his speed and agility to go through traffic to the bucket whenever he could, scoring there and drawing more than a few fouls out of the Grizzlies in the process. He was making the right cuts off the ball and simply kept taking advantage of the right opportunities with his aggressive drives. Oubre even made some really good plays defensively, especially down the stretch.

He was also by far the best rebounder the Sixers had tonight, leading Philadelphia with 12 boards and trailing only Memphis’ Cedric Coward, who led the field with 16.

Oubre finished this one with a 31-point, 12-rebound double-double. He also had one assist, two steals and a block.

Oubre with nine points in the first on 3-4 FG so far 🔥 pic.twitter.com/CUUEtHUEdB

— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) March 10, 2026

Cam Payne: 32 points (8-for-8 triples), 3 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks

After scoring just two points on free throws in a the last few minutes of the first quarter when he was subbed in, Cam Payne exploded in the second. The second-time Sixer scored 11 straight points (including three triples) for Philadelphia across two minutes early in the second and chipped in another three later in the frame as well to round out his perfect 5-for-5 field goal, 4-for-4 from long range period. And that’s not even mentioning the defensive plays made in-between all the scoring. He finished the first half with 16 points, one rebound, three assists, a steal and two blocks — all in 12 minutes off the bench.

He wasn’t done. Though he did miss one two-point field goal, Payne stayed red hot from long range. And by red hot, I mean perfect. Payne tied his career-high for triples (seven) on seven attempts with over six minutes left in the fourth. He sank one more to simultaneously set new career marks in both triples (eight now) and points (32). This was Payne’s first +30-point game in his career — and he’s in his 11th NBA season.

Couldn’t have come at a better time if you ask me!

Payne finished this one with 32 points on 9-for-10 field goal shooting, 8-for-8 shooting from long range, three rebounds, 10 assists, three steals and two blocks in 30 minutes off the bench.

Cam Payne. The first +30-point game of his career (in his 11th season). A perfect 8-for-8 from long range, 9-for-10 from floor.

32 PTS (career-high), 8 triples (career-high), 3 REB, 10 AST, 3 STL, 2 BLK in Sixers-Grizzlies

Here's every bucket from Payne's near-perfect night 👇 pic.twitter.com/oKaKMogj06

— Erin Grugan (@eringrugan) March 11, 2026

VJ Edgecombe: 21 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals

After three games sidelined due to a lumbar contusion, VJ Edgecombe was back in the lineup on Tuesday night. His shot was a bit off at times, especially from long range — something one might expect after missing a week of game action — but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to find ways to chip in from the jump, even if it just meant getting himself to the free throw line early while he got into the groove of the game.

Edgecombe seemed to really settle in more and more as the contest went on — another thing one might expect after a week off. The rookie was absolutely hustling, using everything in his bag to help facilitate and contribute to the Sixers’ comeback in the second half of this one. Considering the lineup he was playing in and the leadership role he was tasked with tonight, I’m not sure you could have asked for a more encouraging injury return from the rookie.

Edgecombe finished Tuesday with 21 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.

Certainly looks like VJ Edgecombe's back is feeling better! 💪 pic.twitter.com/7M6YJ8RDFi

— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) March 10, 2026

The Detroit Pistons still might have a ways to go to recapture the magic of the first half of their stunning season, but at least on Tuesday night, they exorcised some recent demons by throttling the Brooklyn Nets 138-100 just three days after blowing a 23-point lead and losing to the very same Nets team.

The Pistons took the game seriously; they were more talented at every position and made quick work of the Nets. Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren combined to make their first 15 shots on the night and ended the game a combined 17-of-20 for 47 points.

Cunningham contributed 21 of those points and added 15 assists. Duren led all scorers with 26 points and added four rebounds, two blocks, two steals, and two assists.

The Pistons led by 23 by the midpoint of the second quarter and never looked back. The Nets were led by Michael Porter Jr.’s 19 points.

With the outcome decided relatively early, it was an opportunity for some lesser sung players to show some stuff. Marcus Sasser started again in the place of the injured Ausar Thompson, and the guard finally got to see his shot start falling. He scored 14 points and hit four of his five 3-pointers. Kevin Heurter played 21 minutes and had a good all-around game, scoring seven points. You can tell he knows where to be and makes the right decisions, but he’s gotta start hitting his shots.

Daniss Jenkins had a tough game as a ball handler, but a great game as a ball hawk. He had 14 points, six assists, and five steals on the night.

Finally, there is Ron Holland, who did plenty of Ron Holland things, including getting under the skin of his opponent. Nets wing Nolan Treore got whistled for a flagrant foul for a hard shove on Holland in the second quarter. That was followed quickly by a Nic Claxton shove to Ron Holland that started at his collarbone and traveled up to his neck. Holland went flying, and they reviewed the play to see if it was a flagrant. Stunningly, they then decided to keep it a common foul but whistle Holland for flopping (aka exaggerating the contact).

It felt to me like the refs knew exactly where this game was going and simply wanted to concoct a solution to get the crowd and the Nets players to simmer down before an actual fight broke out. You gotta love Ron Holland.

The Pistons will get another test of whether their mojo is back on Thursday when they host the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers have some talented players, but their injury report is pretty heinous. The bad news on that front got even worse with the announcment that star guard Tyrese Maxey is going to miss several weeks with a finger tendon injury.

On a night where the Celtics were without Payton Pritchard and Jaylen Brown was ejected, the Celtics were hunting for offense. They found it from a career high 22 points from Ron Harper Jr. However, it was not enough as Victor Wembanyama dominated and the Spurs made 20 three pointers to beat the Celtics, 125-116.

The Celtics were without two key bench pieces in Payton Pritchard and Nikola Vucevic. They started their new regulars; Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, Jayson Tatum and Neemias Queta. The Spurs were missing Harrison Barnes and Lindy Waters. They also started their regulars; De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie and Victor Wembanyama.

It was a cold start for the Celtics, who missed 6 of their first 7 shots. The Spurs jumped out to a 11-3 lead. However, the Celtics then settled into the game as Jaylen Brown took over. He had 4 points, 2 assists and 2 steals in the first 5 minutes of the game.

We had the Harper brothers going at it in the first quarter as Ron Harper Jr. and Dylan Harper shared the floor as opponents for the first time in a regular season NBA game.

The Celtics led at the end of the first quarter, 31-29. Derrick White led the team with 7 points while Boston’s Harper (Ron Jr.) had 5 points of his own off of the bench.

I found it interesting that Joe Mazzulla matched Neemias Queta’s minutes with old friend Luke Kornet and Luka Garza’s minutes to Victor Wembanyama. It was likely in an effort to pull Wemby away from the basket with Garza’s shooting and open up more driving lanes.

Jaylen Brown got thrown out of the game with a double technical after he thought he was pushed out of bounds and did not get the call. He got some leeway at the beginning but get yelling until he got not only one technical foul but two and was ejected from the game.

Then again, Tyler Ford was officiating the game.

It was Ford's smug reaction that set Brown off. He's consistently that way and it's why players can't stand him.

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 11, 2026

The teams were tied at halftime, 58-58. Derrick White led the team with 13 points while Jaylen Brown had 8 points and 7 assists before he was ejected.

Jayson Tatum was 4/14 in the first half with 10 points but I thought he played well. The shot will come, it just isn’t falling yet, but he got good shots and continued to make all the right reads.

D-White had it going for the Celtics in the third quarter, he had 11 points in the first 5 minutes of the quarter. A Tatum layup put the Celtics up 76-75.

White just kept the Celtics within striking distance throughout the third quarter, he had 19 points in the quarter to keep the Celtics in the fight as the Spurs kept draining threes.

The Celtics trailed by 7 at the end of three quarters, 97-90. D-White led the team with 32 points while Jayson Tatum had 14 and Ron Harper Jr. had 11 of his own.

Tatum had the first 7 points of the quarter for the Celtics to make the game 100-97.

The Celtics were able to get the fame to a 1 point spits lead but a 12-0 Spurs run game them a 13-point lead with 3 minutes to go.

On an NBA night that belonged to Bam Adebayo and his 83 points, this game belonged to Victor Wembanyama. Wemby scored 39 points with 11 rebounds and 2 blocks while hitting 8 three pointers, tying a career high, in the game.

Derrick White gave 34 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds, Jayson Tatum gave 24 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals and Ron Harper Jr. gave 22 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists but it was not enough as the Celtics fell to the Spurs. 125-116.

Boston shot 47% from the field and 37% from three while San Antonio shot 52% from the field and 43% from three. The Celtics next game is Thursday night in Oklahoma City against the Thunder at 9:30 EST.

The Detroit Pistons got back in the win column after a dominant performance from their All-Stars. Cade Cunningham led the way with 21 points and 15 assists while Jalen Duren crushed bones on his way to 26 points in the 138-100 win over the Brooklyn Nets.

The Pistons got right to it with a Duncan Robinson 3, and Marcus Sasser immediately followed suit. Detroit was 5/12 from 3 in the first period alone. The offense was flowing after a couple of rough games. Duren dominated the paint. With nifty fastbreak euro steps and thunderous off-hand jams, Duren’s fingerprints were already all over this one. He finished the game going 9/10 from the field. No one could contain the beast.

The defensive intensity rose a bit when Ron Holland checked in. He forced offensive fouls with constant pressure. Javonte Green had a teammate-of-the-year moment when he stopped Holland from going at Brooklyn’s Nolan Traoré after Traoré pushed Holland. Holland’s defensive pressure frustrates opponents like that.

javonte green just saved nolan traore’s jaw pic.twitter.com/WjfmfC4KRq

— nick (@nick__xo) March 11, 2026

The Holland, Green, Cade, Kevin Huerter, and Isaiah Stewart lineup held the Nets to two points in their five minutes together to start the second quarter. This group was flying around. Huerter was a part of the group’s success even with his jumper still lagging behind. He hit the offensive glass and did the little things.

Brooklyn only scored 13 points in the second period. Detroit needed a showing that reflected its defensive identity. The defense had not been dominant over the last few games. Detroit got back to what they do best.

It’s understandable when a top-flight defense like Detroit slows any team down. That said, no one in Brooklyn could get it going while the game was in reach. Michael Porter Jr. has played at an All-Star level but had nothing for Detroit. The Pistons bottled up the sharpshooter as he was 1-6 from deep. Brooklyn was only 13/38 with some 3s coming in garbage time.

The Pistons didn’t have those struggles from 3. Detroit shot 50 percent as a squad, and Cade led the charge. He was 4/5 from range. Over the last 11 games, he’s shooting 45 percent on seven 3-point attempts. Cade’s jumper could be one of the Pistons’ X-factor come playoff time. He’s trending in the right direction. If teams can’t go under because he’s nailing shots like this, then good luck.

Sasser stepped up in the starting lineup with Ausar Thompson out. He buried four triples. Detroit will need that type of microwave shooting. The same goes for the night Daniss Jenkins had. He won’t average four steals, but that level of ferocity can offset tough shooting nights.

The Nets aren’t world-beaters by any means, but Detroit got out of its defensive slump. Shots won’t always fall, but defense is a non-negotiable for this team. Turning defense into offense has been a staple all season. Detroit scored 29 points off turnovers. That hadn’t happened since before the losing streak. Detroit handled the tanking Nets behind their physical brand of basketball. Next up is the Philadelphia 76ers in Detroit.

HOUSTON (AP) — Kevin Durant scored 29 points and Amen Thompson scored 23 points as the Houston Rockets beat the Toronto Raptors 113-99 on Tuesday night.

Durant shot 12 of 16 from the field while adding seven rebounds. He scored 22 of his points in the first half.

Thompson eclipsed the 20-point mark for the fifth time in six games. He converted on 6 of his 10 field goal attempts while making 10 free throws.

Jabari Smith Jr. also added 23 points for the Rockets, who pulled into a tie for third place in the Western Conference standings. Alperen Sengun scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.

Houston shot 60% in the first quarter and outrebounded the Raptors 11-5, but with the help of six Rockets’ turnovers the game was tied at 29. The Rockets closed the first half on a 14-4 run to take a 58-49 halftime lead.

The Rockets shot 49% from the field for the game and outrebounded the Raptors 53-30, finishing with 22 second chance points to Toronto’s five.

RJ Barrett’s 25 points led the Raptors. Scottie Barnes scored 24 points, but Toronto made just 9 of 36 three-point attempts.

The Raptors’ lead over the Orlando Magic for fifth place in the Eastern Conference is down to ½ game.

Up next

Raptors: At the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.

Rockets: At the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA

In one of the more shocking performances in a long time, Bam Adebayo passed Kobe Bryant for the second-most points all-time in a single game, pouring in 83 points for the Heat in their win over the Wizards on Tuesday.

With the game well out of hand down the stretch, Bam took a number of trips to the free throw line down the stretch to move past Kobe.

THE MOMENT BAM FINISHED WITH 83 PTS TO BREAK KOBE’S SINGLE-GAME SCORING RECORD 🤯👏 pic.twitter.com/DSDfP7g2gv

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 11, 2026

83! pic.twitter.com/qn8x8xsuxM

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 11, 2026

Bam set a number of records in this game outside of the 83 points. He finished the night shooting 20-43 from the field, 7-22 from three and 36-43 from the free throw line. He added nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.

But the record-breaking parts of that have to do with the shooting. The 36 made free throws are the most ever, the 43 attempted free throws is the most ever and the 22 attempted threes is the third-most ever.

Bam Adebayo tonight:
– 83 points, 2nd-most in a game in NBA history
– 36 made FT, most in NBA history
– 43 FTA, most in NBA history
– 22 3PA, tied for 3rd-most in a game in NBA history

— Keerthika Uthayakumar (@keerthikau) March 11, 2026

There was certainly some gamesmanship down the stretch of this one to get Bam the record. The Heat were comfortably ahead in the fourth and began force-feeding the ball to Bam, as any team would do.

The Wizards, being the awful basketball team they are, kept fouling him and sending him to the line. Their attempts at double- and triple-teaming him did little to slow him down as they kept fouling him. Very late on in the game, the Heat began intentionally fouling to allow more chances for Bam to pass Kobe.

Hilariously, Washington answered by intentionally fouling other Heat players to send them to the line. Eventually, though, Bam did pass Kobe for the second-best scoring game in league history.

There will certainly be a lot of debate and consternation about this game compared to Kobe’s 81-point game. In his performance, Kobe went 18-20 at the line, attempting half as many free throws as Bam. He also made as many threes as Bam (7) in nearly half as many attempts (13).

But at the end of the day, records were made to be broken. None of it is all that serious. Kobe’s legacy is not changed by this game. In fact, it’s a good time to remember his final tweet and what he said of the future of the game.

Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames. Much respect my brother 💪🏾 #33644

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) January 26, 2020

You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.

NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Duren scored 26 points, Cade Cunningham had 21 points and 15 assists, and the Detroit Pistons snapped a season-worst four-game skid, beating the Brooklyn Nets 138-100 on Tuesday night.

Duren shot 9 of 10 from the field and Cunningham was 8 of 10, including 4 of 5 from three-point range. Duncan Robinson added 15 points and Marcus Sasser finished with 14 for the Eastern Conference-leading Pistons, who never trailed.

Michael Porter Jr. had 19 points and Jalen Wilson added 14 for the Nets, who saw their two-game winning streak end.

Part of Detroit’s skid was an improbable loss to visiting Brooklyn on Saturday night in a game it led by 23 points midway through the third quarter. The Nets ended a 10-game skid with that victory.

Cunningham — who did not play in that game — and Duren combined for 21 first-quarter points as the Pistons shot 57 percent from the field and 45 percent from beyond the arc for a 38-27 advantage.

The Pistons then outscored the Nets 35-13 in the second quarter for a 73-40 halftime lead.

Detroit finished the game shooting 56 percent from the field and 50 percent (16 of 32) from three-point range.

Up next

Pistons: Host Philadelphia on Thursday.

Nets: Visit Atlanta on Thursday.

The Milwaukee Bucks lost 129-114 to the Phoenix Suns to drop their fourth of the last five games, ending a disappointing home stand. The game saw the return of Giannis Antetokounmpo after a one-game absence and Taurean Prince after he had missed most of the season with a neck injury. Devin Booker led the Suns with 27 points, while Kyle Kuzma paced the Bucks with 33 points and a big milestone, passing 10,000 career points.

NBA.com Box Score

Game Recap

The Bucks limped out of the locker room once again, surrendering easy buckets amid a 9-2 start for the Suns. The home team quickly found its offense, though, climbing back to tie it up 9-9 as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Ousmane Dieng found their scoring groove. It was largely back and forth for the rest of the frame, with a brief Bucks’ lead peaking at 19-14. The Suns decisively won the battle of the Greens: Jalen Green finished with 14 points, while AJ Green was scoreless and committed a foul on a made 3-pointer to close the first and help the visitors pad their lead. After one, it was Suns 36, Bucks 30.

Quarter two continued in an even-steven manner, with runs by both teams that largely canceled each other out. The Bucks went on a 9-0 mid-quarter run off three quick three-pointers, two by Myles Turner that bookended one by Ryan Rollins. The visitors were helped by a reawakened Devin Booker, who found his groove late in the quarter for 13 points to send him to the locker room with a game-high of 20. Kyle Kuzma also got cooking late in the quarter, pouring in nine points in the final two minutes, including a 28-footer at the buzzer to send the Bucks hootin’ and hollerin’ into the break. Halftime: Bucks 65, Suns 62.

The Bucks were the aggressors coming out of the half for a change, jumping to a 73-62 advantage. But prosperity just can’t last for this squad. The Suns roared back, with a 15-4 midquarter run clawing them back to even, 77 all, at the 7:38 mark. The remainder of the quarter was the battle between two unlikely gunslingers. Kyle Kuzma ended the frame with 16 points to push him to 31 for the game. Royce O’Neale managed to outduel him, finishing the frame with 18 points, including a buzzer-beating three-point make. Phoenix was ahead 100-97 entering the final period.

Phoenix came out feisty to start the fourth, starting with a 7-0 run to push their lead to 10. They held onto a double-digit lead throughout the final frame, as the Bucks seemed to run out of gas on what started as a promising night for the beleaguered squad.

Stat That Stood Out

17. That’s the Bucks’ turnover total. Those gifts resulted in 22 points for the visitors.

Jaylen Brown had an early exit Tuesday night — and he didn’t wait long to voice his frustration.

The Celtics star was ejected in the second quarter of Tuesday night’s 125-116 loss to the Spurs after he received a double technical seemingly for arguing over the lack of a call against San Antonio’s Stephon Castle.

Brown, dribbling near the sideline, lost the handle of the ball as Castle guarded him, and possession was given to the Spurs. Brown took exception to the decision, immediately holding out his arms in disbelief.

Jaylen Brown has been EJECTED after being assessed a double technical foul for his reaction to this no-call

Foul or nah?
pic.twitter.com/1SzvGD4edW

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 11, 2026

Instead of really going back on defense, an incensed Brown yelled at referee Tyler Ford and the rest of the officiating crew, which eventually gave him a double technical and the early boot.

It marked just the second career ejection for Brown, according to ESPN.

Minutes after he was given the heave-ho, Brown took to X in what seemed like his way of voicing anger with what went down.

“This the s–t I be talking about,” he wrote.

Brown had eight points, seven assists and two rebounds before exiting.

“I just give a ton of credit to my high school principal. He had the balls to throw a student out,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game, per ESPN. “He didn’t leave it to the hall monitor. … “I understand completely where Jaylen’s coming from. Absolutely. And I’ve got his back 100 percent, I think he was 100 percent right to be frustrated and do what he did.”

Largely without Jayson Tatum — who just returned from an Achilles tear on Friday — Brown has excelled this season at 28.7 points per game, which ranks sixth in the NBA.

Another game, another loss. The Washington Wizards lost to the Miami Heat, 150-129 on Tuesday night.

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo scored a franchise-record 83 points, shooting 20-of-43 from the field and making 36-of-43 free throws tonight. He even made 7-of-22 three pointers. Adebayo, by scoring 83 points has the NBA’s second highest scoring game in history, only behind Wilt Chamberlain’s 100 point game in 1962 for the Philadelphia (now Golden State) Warriors. Adebayo scored 31 of those points in the first quarter, and scored 21 more in the fourth quarter, though 14 of those points were from the free throw line.

For Washington, let’s forget about the 83 point game by Adebayo. The thing that did the Wizards in was the turnovers and points off them. Washington committed 24 turnovers which turned into 31 Miami points. The Heat committed 17 turnovers themselves, but the Wizards only scored … 9 points off them.

Alex Sarr led the Wizards with 28 points with Will Riley adding 22 more. Jaden Hardy added 17 more points off the bench.

The Wizards’ next game is on Thursday when they travel on the road to play the Orlando Magic. Tip off is at 7 p.m. ET. See you then.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Freshman Preston Edmead scored a season-high 26 points and Hofstra is returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 25 years after defeating Monmouth 75-69 for the Coastal Athletic Association Tournament championship on Tuesday night.

Third-seeded Hofstra earned its fifth NCAA Tournament bid and first in the tenure of Hofstra alum Speedy Claxton, who has been head coach since the 2021-22 season. Hofstra last played in the tournament in 2001.

A 3-pointer by Edmead gave Hofstra a 64-58 lead with 3 1/2 minutes remaining. Monmouth battled back and got within 66-65 on a 3 by Justin Ray with 1:18 left.

Hofstra’s German Plotnikov hit a jumper for a 69-65 lead and two free throws by Edmead made it 71-65 with 14 seconds left. Kavion McClains' four-point play made it interesting at 71-69, but he missed his next 3-point attempt and Hofstra locked up the automatic bid with four free throws down the stretch.

Cruz Davis scored 12 points and Plotnikov 10 for Hofstra (24-10). Silas Sunday grabbed 12 rebounds.

Edmead's previous high was 24 points against Monmouth in January.

McClain scored 19 points, Jason Rivera-Torres and Stefanos Spartalis 16 each and Ray 11 for Monmouth (19-15). Spartalis had 11 rebounds.

Monmouth, the No. 4 seed, led throughout the early going and it was 18-13 with 10 1/2 minutes left in the half. Hofstra took its first lead at 24-23 when Davis drained a 3-pointer and the Pride went on to lead 35-32 at halftime.

Before the loss, the Hawks were 8-2 in February and March and had won five in a row.

Up next

NCAA Tournament pairings will be announced on Sunday.

___

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — TJ Burch scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half to help top-seeded Wright State rally from a 12-point deficit and beat No. 3 seed Detroit Mercy 66-63 in the Horizon League Championship title game on Tuesday night.

Wright State used a 25-7 run, capped by consecutive 3-pointers from Logan Woods, for a 62-56 lead with 1:21 remaining. With nine seconds left, TJ Nadeau's 3-pointer pulled Detroit Mercy to 65-63. Michael Cooper then missed two free throws for the Raiders, but on the Titans' final possession Kellen Pickett blocked Orlando Lovejoy's layup attempt. Michael Imariagbe ended it with a free throw.

Pickett added 17 points and Imariagbe finished with 12 for Wright State (23-11). They each had seven rebounds.

Lovejoy scored 26 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the field and 10 of 11 from the free-throw line to lead Detroit Mercy (17-15). Nadeau made four 3-pointers and scored 21 points. Legend Geeter added 11 points and nine rebounds.

Detroit Mercy closed the first half on a 13-1 run for a 29-26 lead at the break. Lovejoy scored nine points during the surge and finished with 13 in the first half.

The Titans led 49-37 with about 10 minutes to play.

It was Wright State’s seventh championship game in the last 14 seasons and the first meeting between the teams in the tournament since 2016. The Raiders have won 22 of the last 26 games against the Titans.

Wright State is the third straight team to complete the regular-season and tournament-title sweep, joining Oakland (2024) and Robert Morris (2025).

Up next

NCAA Tournament pairings will be announced on Sunday.

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Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown was ejected from a Tuesday night game against the San Antonio Spurs with 3:38 remaining in the second quarter after earning a pair of technical fouls from the officials. Brown was driving near the sideline and appeared to be pushed out of bounds by San Antonio’s Stephon Castle, but the refs called it a turnover on Boston and gave San Antonio the ball. Brown berated the refs after the call and earned a technical foul. He kept going, and earned a second one, which triggered the ejection.

It’s only the second ejection of Brown’s career. There’s some context to his frustration: he was fined $35K earlier this year for criticizing the refs in the last meeting with the Spurs. Did Brown really deserve this ejection? Judge for yourself with the video below:

This is the play that Jaylen Brown got ejected on. This is just ridiculous pic.twitter.com/HIHzWIzGdZ

— Ian Inangelo (@iinangelo) March 11, 2026

This Celtics vs. Spurs game feels like a possible 2026 NBA Finals matchup. It’s a spotlight national game on Peacock that should be a great advertisement for the playoffs ahead. Ejecting Boston’s best player this year in such a big game takes away from a matchup that should be getting fans excited for the stretch run.

It sure looks like Brown was shoved out of bounds by Castle on the drive in question. He’s right to be upset about that call. Do the refs really think he’d just run out of bounds?

Brown immediately tweeted about his ejection from the locker room:

This the shit I be talking about

— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) March 11, 2026

Here’s what Brown said about the refs after Boston’s loss to the Spurs in Jan. that earned him such a big fine:

“I’m driving to the basket. I’m physical. I don’t flop. I don’t shy away from contact. I go up strong. I’m athletic — and nothing,” he said. “The inconsistency is f—ing crazy. Give me the fine.”

“Curtis, all them dudes was terrible tonight. I don’t care. They can fine me whatever they want,” he said. “But it’s crazy. Every time we play a good team, it’s the same bulls—. Somebody please pull up the clips. I’m irate how they officiated the game today.

The Celtics suddenly look like favorites in the East with Jayson Tatum back from his torn Achilles. Too bad we can’t see them test themselves against an elite Spurs team to end this game.