DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s sports and youth minister said it's “not possible” for the country to take part in the World Cup after the United States killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in its ongoing war.

Iran was expected to take part in the World Cup that will be held across North America in June, but Iranian Sports and Youth Minister Ahmad Donyamali told state television that his country’s soccer team players are not safe in the U.S., according to a video of the interview posted Tuesday.

“Due to the wicked acts they have done against Iran — they have imposed two wars on us over just eight or nine months and have killed and martyred thousands of our people — definitely it’s not possible for us to take part in the World Cup,” he said.

Iran is scheduled to play in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 before finishing group play against Egypt in Seattle on June 26. The U.S. is hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.

FIFA said Tuesday night that it anticipates Iran’s national team will be allowed to come to the United States.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said “I really don’t care” if Iran takes part in the 48-nation tournament.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said he met with Trump on Tuesday night “to discuss the status of preparations” for the tournament and received assurances that Iran would be permitted to come to the U.S.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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The Denver Nuggets host the Houston Rockets tonight as Western Conference powerhouses do battle for the fourth and final time this season.

Kevin Durant has been electric on the road this season, and my Rockets vs Nuggets predictions expect him to shine offensively at Ball Arena.

Here are my best free NBA picks for this heavyweight bout on Wednesday, March 11.

Rockets vs Nuggets prediction

Rockets vs Nuggets best bet: Kevin Durant Over 24.5 points (-112)

Kevin Durant is scoring just 24.1 points per game at home, but he’s been excellent on the road, dropping 27.9 ppg outside of Houston. He’s been particularly effective across his last six road games, averaging 31.7 points and scoring 25+ five times.

Durant has scored at least 25 points in 21 of 31 road games, and he reached that mark in each of his two games at Ball Arena this season. In a matchup that should feature plenty of scoring, I expect KD to be effective on offense and keep his team competitive on the road.

Rockets vs Nuggets same-game parlay

The Denver Nuggets are just 4-6 ATS across their last 10 games overall. Denver is 14-16 ATS at home and 10-12 as the home favorite. The Houston Rockets have covered the spread in six of seven games as the road underdog. Houston is 1-2 straight up against Denver this season, but both losses were by 3 points.

The Nuggets have hit the Over more than any other team in the Association, doing so in 41 of 65 games. Denver is 16-14 to the over at home, and Houston is 18-16 to the Over on the road. Both teams are close to full strength, and offense won't be in short supply.

Rockets vs Nuggets SGP

• Durant Over 24.5 points
• Rockets +6
• Over 230.5

Our "from downtown" SGP: Jokic does it all

Nikola Jokic leads the Association with 24 triple-doubles in 49 games, reaching that statistical milestone in 13 of 23 matchups at home. He's posted a triple-double in eight of his last 14 games, including two of his last three.

Rockets vs Nuggets SGP

• Durant Over 24.5 points
• Rockets +6
• Over 231.5
• Jokic triple-double

Rockets vs Nuggets odds

• Spread: Rockets +6 | Nuggets -6
• Moneyline: Rockets +195 | Nuggets -240
• Over/Under: Over 231.5 | Under 231.5

Rockets vs Nuggets betting trend to know

The Denver Nuggets have hit the Game Total Over in 33 of their last 50 games (+14.30 Units / 26% ROI). Find more NBA betting trends for Rockets vs. Nuggets.

How to watch Rockets vs Nuggets

Rockets vs Nuggets latest injuries

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The Charlotte Hornets and Sacramento Kings go to battle this evening at the Golden 1 Center, with tip-off scheduled for 10 p.m. ET.

Sacramento has found a rhythm lately, and my Hornets vs. Kings predictions are eyeing them to keep this one competitive.

Read more in my NBA picks for Wednesday, March 11.

Hornets vs Kings prediction

Hornets vs Kings best bet: Kings +12.5 (-110)

The Sacramento Kings are one of the worst teams in the Association at 16-50. However, they’ve captured back-to-back victories against the Bulls and Pacers – the worst squad from the Eastern Conference.

Needless to say, they covered in both of those games. Even in the two losses before this short win streak, the Kings still covered spreads similar to tonight’s line, keeping things competitive against the New Orleans Pelicans and Phoenix Suns.

Most importantly, Sacramento has won three consecutive meetings with Charlotte. It’s a no-brainer to take the ATS tonight.

Hornets vs Kings same-game parlay

Russell Westbrook has been a bright spot in Sacramento’s disappointing campaign. The veteran is averaging 15.5 ppg, and 17.6 points per night in March.

The future Hall of Famer has hit the Over in two of his previous three games, dropping 23 in Sunday’s win over Chicago. He also scored 16 on Tuesday against Indy. Russ is averaging 16.2 ppg at home compared to 14.6 on the road.

Maxime Raynaud did his part on Tuesday as well, dropping 18 points. That was after the 22-year-old erupted for 26 points against the Bulls over the weekend.

He’s cashed the Over in points in four of five contests in March, and three of those outings have been at the Golden 1 Center.

Hornets vs Kings SGP

• Kings +12.5
• Russell Westbrook Over 16.5 points
• Maxime Raynaud Over 13.5 points

Our "from downtown" SGP: Kings putting up points

Sacramento has scored 125 and 130 points across their last two meetings with the Charlotte Hornets, and they’ve cashed the Over in team total in three straight overall.

Hornets vs Kings SGP

• Kings +12.5
• Russell Westbrook Over 16.5 points
• Maxime Raynaud Over 13.5 points
• Kings Over 106.5 points

Hornets vs Kings odds

• Spread: Charlotte -12.5 (-110) | Sacramento +12.5 (-110)
• Moneyline: Charlotte -700 | Sacramento +500
• Over/Under: Over 224.5 (-110) | Under 224.5 (-110)

Hornets vs Kings betting trend to know

The Sacramento Kings have hit the Moneyline in 8 of their last 21 games at home (+7.95 Units / 34% ROI). Find more NBA betting trends for Hornets vs. Kings.

How to watch Hornets vs Kings

Hornets vs Kings latest injuries

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Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Cavaliers fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

This week’s survey about the Cleveland Cavaliers is simple. Which role player is most important for the playoffs?

For purposes of this discussion, we’re going to label anyone who isn’t in the new core four of Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen as a role player. The options listed below are Dennis Schroder, Jaylon Tyson, Sam Merrill, Dean Wade, or others.

There are good arguments for all of these players.

First, Schroder’s ball handling and playmaking have been extremely important with the second unit. Opponents have had a difficult time keeping pace with the Cavs when he’s playing well. Last season, a lack of play initiators was one of their biggest issues against the Indiana Pacers. Schroder can help in that capacity.

Next, Tyson, at his size, can provide things that few others can on the roster. His ability to playmake in the short roll and knock down threes would be incredibly valuable in a playoff context, especially if the Cavs played a wing-heavy team like the Boston Celtics.

Merrill can be one of the most disruptive off-ball players in the league. His shot can truly break defenses, which is extremely helpful in the playoffs when half-court offenses can bog down.

Wade provides something that few others on the roster can. He’s an extremely versatile defender who can shift between guarding all five positions on the court, depending on the matchup. That’s incredibly valuable. However, he needs to be able to provide something offensively to be playable in the postseason.

Lastly, I included the option of other. This basically encompasses Keon Ellis, Max Strus, Craig Porter Jr., Thomas Bryant, Larry Nance Jr., and Nae’Qwan Tomlin.

So, which role player is most important in the playoffs?

Let us know what you think in the survey and comments below!

The Sixers snapping their three-game losing streak was thanks in large part to Cam Payne dropping a new career-high 32 points, carrying them over the tanking Memphis Grizzlies.

As a league-wide story it was already overshadowed by someone scoring the second-most points in a single NBA game. Bam Adebayo knocked Kobe Bryant down the list with an 83-point performance against the Washington Wizards. Payne wasn’t going to let that rain on his parade though.

“I was worried about Cam Payne honestly,” he said at the podium after the game. “I’m like, ‘Man, Bam can’t take my night.‘”

Payne of course had no problem shouting out Adebayo for his historical performance, but he’ll still remember this day for his own personal achievement.

“Shoutout to Bam though,” Payne said. “I’m a big time Kobe fan, so that’s huge for someone that scored that many points in a game, but man, I’m taking it, this is my night. March 10, this is all me.”

It’s been a whirlwind season for Payne who started the season playing in the EuroLeague for KK Partizan of Serbia. The Sixers of course brought him in following the trade deadline after trading away Jared McCain and Eric Gordon.

It certainly took time for Payne to get his feet under him. Before having the night of his career he had been shooting just 20% from three since returning to Philadelphia. That was on Payne’s mind the night before as the team suffered a loss in Cleveland.

“Yesterday, I was talking about being efficient, and I came out and I was very efficient. So that’s big time,” he said.

Efficient is putting it lightly. He went 9-of-10 from the field and made all eight of his three-pointers. It’s the most made threes in a game for a Sixer without missing.

“That’s crazy, like Tyrese ain’t did that shit?,” is how Payne said he reacted to learning that stat.

This type of production was sorely needed for a Sixers team that is 20th in both three-point attempts and percentage.

“That’s a little bit special, but he’s capable of doing that when he gets going,” said head coach Nick Nurse after the game. “He has some nights where he’ll make four out of five and it seems he’s a little streaky that way but when he gets rolling he can do that.”

Proving he was still capable was just as big for Payne himself as it was for the team. He has a chip on his shoulder after not finding an NBA suitor last offseason.

“I feel like I’m good enough to play in this league, like that’s a really good monkey off my back to show people that I’m good enough,” he said.

Payne has cultivated a reputation of being a bench spark both in terms of intangibles. At any given availability he’ll say something to the effect of his famous “energy costs nothing” quote. Not only is he appreciated by his teammates for that, but it makes them even happier for his success.

“He’s had a crazy year to say the least,” Kelly Oubre Jr. said. “So all the work he’s put in, to grind his way back and just continue to be the same person who brings energy and is a spark, up or down, hit shots. It’s always amazing to see him smile and help us in a victory.”

Payne admitted he has to be more consistent to prove himself, but to Oubre’s point, it’s been a wild year for him. He mentioned getting to hang out with his two dogs before the game since he’s only just been able to move them back to Philly. Perhaps they are the good luck charm. Everyone should hope so, since the Sixers’ backcourt could use a lot of production from Payne over the coming weeks.

History was made yesterday, and it was made in the most bizarre of ways.

Didn’t involve the Knicks, but it surely did involve a bunch of shaddy fouling, freebies… and #HeatCulture, amirite?

New York is playing the Jazz tonight. Who says Landry Shamet cannot hit 130 on the dot? Anyway, here’s the latest from our lads.

"And out of respect Erik Spoelstra will pull Bam Adebayo…"

– Wizards announcer Chris Miller thought Bam would stop at Kobe's 81 😂 Nope pic.twitter.com/34iIikoAD1

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) March 11, 2026

Mike Brown

On what championship-level teams have in common:

“Everybody says what is the difference between the (‘07 Cavs, champion Warriors) teams… But the things I think are common amongst all of them are what we formulated as our standard, and all those teams, they sacrificed for one another. All those teams, they’re connected. All those teams have a competitive spirit. All those teams have a belief in the process and each other. . . Throughout the course of the team we’ve grown a lot in those areas. Everybody needs to go through adversity. We went through some adversity and we were able to try to lean on our standards while we did do that. That’s something that’ll carry us a long way come playoff time.”

Ime Udoka on Bam Adebayo's 83 point night:

"First thing you think is how…… not because of him but because of the way he plays. I saw he only made 6 threes but 40 free throws or something like that, tells the story right there and………….. the Washington Wizards." pic.twitter.com/PScqMKHBPv

— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) March 11, 2026

Jordan Clarkson

On arriving in New York without expectations:

“I ain’t coming in expecting anything, honestly. A lot of people made expectations on my arrival and what I can do and what I’ve done my whole career. But not knowing anything, I came here with an open canvas. I just knew one goal and what we wanted to do, and that’s to win. Talking to Josh and Jalen before this, we never talked about anything but winning. We’re trying to get the goal done. Seeing those dudes last year make it to the Eastern Conference finals, and just want to help them and help this team get the end goal.”

On returning to Utah on Wednesday:

“That’s a home for me. I loved the organization. I love the coaching staff. Yeah, I love the city. All I had was love there. So going back, I don’t know what my emotions are going to be. I’m going to try to keep my cool in terms of not feeling emotional, just all the gratitude and everything that the city is giving me. But yeah, I don’t know how I’m going to feel yet.”

On valuing winning in New York:

“You definitely value winning and being a part of this team and being part of this process in terms of what we want to do in terms of accomplishing winning. But it’s been great. Everything has been purposeful and meaningful. I’m just trying to stay locked in for any moment and opportunity I get here. But it’s been fun.”

The Heat are fouling while up 25 to try and get Bam Adebayo more point, madness.

😂 😂 pic.twitter.com/kThjjCpEb0

— SM Highlights (@SMHighlights1) March 11, 2026

Tyler Kolek

On using every moment on the court as an opportunity to grow:

“Any time you have games like that you can kind of look at that as a positive and just build on those things. You don’t want those things to be the be-all, end-all. My career is about growth and getting better. So I need to learn from those experiences and learn from every one — good or bad. Those were good experiences. But me, personally, I’ve had some bad experiences on the floor. From my play. So learn from both of those things and just continue to grow, continue to get better.”

On learning to follow the game plan as a backup guard:

“Sometimes you’re out there you get in the flow of the game, and as a backup point guard or another guard on the team, when Jalen comes out you have to be really direct and accurate with how you’re playing and how coaches want you to play out there on the floor. So just following our game plan.”

Here’s every foul that led to Bam’s 43 free throw attempts

Right calls?pic.twitter.com/RYShbV8Uo7

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) March 11, 2026

Jalen Brunson

On not being satisfied late in the season:

“It goes back to not being satisfied when we do the things that we’re supposed to do.”

Cam’ron on Bam Adebayo’s 83 point performance:

“The man shot 43 free throws you should get 83, this is not a real stat. This is not Michael Jordan’s 66 or even Kobe’s 81… That sh*t fraudulent, 43 free throws” pic.twitter.com/LDPeo2yvVc

— Hater Report (@HaterReport) March 11, 2026

The Atlanta Hawks notched their seventh-straight victory with a 124-112 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at State Farm Arena on Tuesday night. Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored a game-high 29 points with Jalen Johnson adding 27 points. For the Mavericks, a hot burst in the third quarter saw Klay Thompson lead the Mavericks with 21 points with Kris Middleton adding 16 points off the bench.

Entering the game on a six-game win streak, in addition to the Mavericks’ position on the season at this point, the Hawks entered this contest with a mantra similar to a number of games that have dropped on their schedule after the All-Star break: take care of business.

The hosts certainly played to that mantra in the first quarter, establishing a double-digit lead A balanced scoring effort — led by Onyeka Okongwu’s nine points — helped the Hawks score 40 points in the first quarter, seemingly setting up what was looking like an easy victory.

All appeared to be going to plan, but the Hawks’ second unit really slowed the offensive work that had been done in the first quarter. While Mo Gueye had some good flashes in the second quarter (including a charge, two offensive rebounds, and five points), the others — Jock Landale, Zaccharie Risacher, Corey Kispert — struggled to make a tangible impacts on this game (though, Landale made a literal physical impact at times near the rim).

Despite shooting 61% in the second quarter, the Mavericks only outscored the Hawks by three points, in part helped by a shot disparity of 18-to-24 attempts in the Hawks’ favor, with four offensive rebounds contributing.

The third quarter looked as though the Hawks would finally put the distance between the two sides, taking an 18 point lead through a Gabe Vincent three with 5:08 remaining in the third. While young star Cooper Flagg struggled in this game (more on that later), it was the veterans that pulled the Mavericks back into the game.

After that Vincent three, the Mavericks outscored the Hawks 22-8 in the remaining five minutes, with Thompson and Middleton scoring 18 of those 22 points. Thompson found form, taking advantage of Risacher’s inexperience, while Middleton was a steady force getting to his spots.

“We just broke down,” said Hawks head coach Quin Snyder of Klay Thompson. “I mean, there are positions where we’re standing, watching, and he’s in the corner, and we can get there. We didn’t during that stretch, and we didn’t during other stretches…”

The Hawks’ second unit, again, didn’t covet themselves in glory with their play in the third quarter, and with CJ McCollum also struggling at times in this game (shooting 5-of-15 from the field)

Middleton would tie the game at 97 apiece with 9:02 remaining in the game, and it was the Hawks’ quick response that helped them re-establish their foothold in this game.

A missed three from Alexander-Walker is rebounded by Dyson Daniels, who wants to try and get the ball to Johnson. The Mavericks deny the ball to him, and the screen from Okongwu frees up Johnson on the cut, and Daniels threads the needle to find him for the finish at the rim, plus the foul:

As the shot clock is beginning to wind down, Alexander-Walker steps up to the ball screen, and as Flagg looks to drive left, Alexander-Walker gets his hands down low to poke the ball loose. Kispert goes down to the floor to attempt to recover the loose ball, and by the time all of this has transpired the Mavericks need to get a shot up. Naji Marshall obliges, but can’t convert the three:

A great defensive stance from Alexander-Walker here, stepping up to the screen and managing to poke the ball free on the drive rejecting the screen.

The Hawks quickly establish a five-point lead as lax defense inside the paint allows Okongwu to muscle his way inside and finish at the rim:

After Thompson and Johnson traded threes, the Hawks’ lead would not fall under four points for the rest of the game, before back-to-back threes from Alexander-Walker put the game beyond reach for good with around two minutes remaining. The Hawks eased to a 12-point victory in the end, but they deserve credit for making the quick reply when the Mavericks tied the game, and they did it on both ends of the floor.

Postgame, Snyder was disappointed to see the Hawks’ once-18-point lead disappear in the third, but was pleased with his side’s response.

“We’ve executed really efficiently late,” said Snyder. “What we didn’t do tonight, which we’ve been pretty consistent on, is the 38-point third quarter, where we just traded (baskets) for a while. When you do that — and then we go through a stretch where we had some good looks — you miss a couple, and all of a sudden a lead you worked really hard to build disappears and you create game pressure. The flip side of that is that we handled the game pressure well. There’s some situations that we just didn’t execute, and we’ll have a chance to look at those and get better.”

“That third quarter we gave a big 40 points, which is too much,” added Dyson Daniels. “It was on the defensive end, we weren’t getting stops, Klay was getting hot, we had to take him out of the game and make other people try and beat us. Once we started getting stops, getting the game back on our terms, we were able to get out and run. We executed really well down the stretch. We had a little lapse there in that third, fourth quarter, but glad we could come back from it.”

When the Hawks needed big plays, Jalen Johnson (13 fourth quarter points) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (hitting those back-to-back threes) combined to provide those plays. The Hawks were asked about this tandem after the game, with Quin Snyder praised Johnson getting off the ball — in addition to getting to the rim — and allowing Alexander-Walker to hit those big shots.

“…Jalen’s willingness to get off the ball and find Nickeil (and) Nickeil hit big shots, and JJ got to the rim, got to the line, those guys executed” said Snyder of Johnson and Alexander-Walker in late game situations.

Johnson himself praised Alexander-Walker’s intelligence, and how he and Alexander-Walker have made use of practice time to further develop their chemistry.

“Nickeil’s a hell of a player, obviously, and he’s somebody that’s really smart,” said Johnson of Alexander-Walker. “Just something we’ve been doing in practice is just continue to rip out certain actions we’re in together. So, just developing our chemistry and just figuring out ways we can get each other open, find stuff we like, and different actions we like. So it’s been good.”

Johnson finished with 27 points — 17 coming in the second half — on 10-of-18 shooting from the field, seven rebounds, and eight assists. Johnson did a good job of exploiting his physical advantage inside, and not settling for three.

There havebeen times this season where Johnson could settle for seven three-point attempts, but he took just five in this spot, making two. Johnson was a constant threat at the rim, and the passing ability of Dyson Daniels (five of his 10 assists delivered to Johnson) helped open up the floor for Johnson, this give-and-go from Daniels to Johnson for the dunk being the pick of the bunch:

Speaking of Daniels’ playmaking, his 10-assist, 0-turnover game runs his amazing recent assist to turnover ratio: four turnovers to 50 assists since the Hawks’ win-streak began on Feb 22nd. Postgame, there was (rightly) a lot of praise for Daniels’ playmaking.

“Dyson’s been huge for us,” said Johnson of Daniels. “Not just over this win streak, but the whole year. Dyson brings pretty much every aspect to the game, and he’s somebody that’s just always willing to get better and always willing to learn. 50 assists to four turnovers? That’s insane, it’s just a testament to his work, and obviously we need him to keep being big for us.”

“He’s been really steady,” added Alexander-Walker of Daniels. “He gets to the paint at will, and he’s poised. He does a really good job playing off of two feet and staying under control. I think that’s why he’s had success making plays for others. He’s really starting to slow down, and the game is slowing down for him as well.”

Daniels himself attributed his playmaking success and confidence to decision-making, and getting into the paint to utilize his teammates’ spacing.

“I think for me, it’s just about making the right decisions,” said Daniels in gaining confidence as a ball-handler/playmaker. “A lot of my game is trying to get feet in the paint, find my teammates. whether it be cutting, circle behind, kick out threes, that sort of thing. They make my job easy just by spacing and stuff. When we run in transition is when we look really good. Guys space, we get to the rim, the lane opens up. That’s really good, I want to keep my turnovers down and assists up, so I hope we can keep that rolling.”

While Daniels shooting a, sadly, woeful percentage from three is unfortunate, in last night’s matchup it allowed Daniels to see the floor more than perhaps he may have otherwise seen it, and plays developed within this extra space.

“…The way they were playing me today as well with the big sitting off so much, I was able to see the floor a lot better and make plays,” added Daniels. “Every night’s going to be different scouts, different coverages. It’s just we have to go in and execute against that. I thought we did a pretty good job tonight.”

Daniels’ defense was fantastic, and there’s a lot to be said here as well. The main avenue for a Mavericks upset win would have been Cooper Flagg erupting for a 30 or 40 point-plus game. Now, they got close in the fourth with a Klay Thompson mini-eruption, but without Flagg having a big night offensively it was going to be tough to envisage a Mavericks victory — Dyson Daniels helped ensure that no such night occurred.

A play that set a tone early was this knock-away from Daniels on Flagg on the baseline, leading to a steal:

Daniels wasn’t alone in enforcing the defense on Flagg, who the Hawks allowed to see a second body on drives — their gameplan for defending Flagg was clear to see and well executed.

On the drive from Flagg, McCollum is the extra defender that picks up the dribble, forcing Flagg to pick up his dribble, pivot, and when he tries to lift a shot inside it’s rejected by Onyeka Okongwu:

On the drive, Daniels is happy for Flagg to wander to an extra body, this time, Okongwu, and the attempted pass inside to Marshall doinks off his head and out of bounds:

On a swing to the weakside corner, Flagg’s fake takes him past Johnson, but Daniels is waiting to contest, and his vertical challenge forces Flagg to try and adjust to finish with a reverse, and Okongwu is there to knock the shot out of bounds:

Flagg finished with 14 points on 6-of-16 shooting, and in a 12 point victory, the Hawks limiting Flagg was one of the defining elements of this game. Daniels was asked about guarding Cooper Flagg postgame, and praised his teammates for switching and moving bodies for each other.

“I’ve never played Cooper Flagg, or seen him play before, this was the first time I really went up against him and he’s going to be a great player over time,” said Daniels. “Once I come up against players I’ve already seen before, I know what they like to do, I know their tendencies. So, it’s about taking that away. Every night’s going to be somewhat difficult. Every team has a great player. For me, it’s just about being locked in on that assignment, making sure I make their life as difficult as possible, making them take tough shots. As a team, we’ve been doing a really good job shifting for each other, switching and keeping the same coverages as well. So, we just got to continue to do that.”

As a whole, Daniels believes that his season started slow defensively, and has picked up the challenge of guarding the opposition’s best offensive player of late.

“…I feel like I started the season slow with my defense,” said Daniels of his defense. “The last few games have kind of taken the challenge of really getting the best player every night and trying to take him out of the game.”

Overall, the Hawks did a great job of turning defense to offense, scoring 21 points off of turnovers, and 26 fastbreak points. When the Hawks are able to get those stops/force those turnovers and can get out and run, it’s arguably Atlanta at its best offensively. Johnson can pass and run, Daniels is able to lead passes in transition, Alexander-Walker is excellent at running the floor, Okongwu can threaten from behind the arc, Mo Gueye is a good rim-runner. There’s a lot of options for the Hawks to exploit their opponents in transition once they get going (fifth in the NBA at points off of turnovers, and second in the league in fastbreak points).

Elsewhere offensively, Daniels shot an efficient 6-of-11 from the field for 14 points to go with those 10 assists, Okongwu shot 7-of-12 from the field for 18 points, including 3-of-5 from three to go with nine rebounds and four blocks. If there was a criticism of the Hawks last night, their bench play was really poor last night, and allowed Dallas to get back in this game twice.

Landale was a tough 0-of-5, and any positive contribution Risacher made to this game was undone by his defense of Thompson in the third quarter; ‘Know Your Personnel’ is a well-known defensive principle which would apply here. McCollum’s play with the bench unit wasn’t brilliant, and Kispert didn’t add a ton (two points on 1-of-3 shooting) in nearly 15 minutes. Any consistent bench play and this game is a blowout, and on another night against stronger opposition it would cost them far more than it did against the Mavericks.

Ultimately, the Hawks took care of business and run their winning streak to a current NBA-best seven games. However, the Hawks’ focus is on a playoff berth, taking it one game at a time.

“It’s been good,” said Johnson of the Hawks’ seven-game win-streak. “I think the biggest thing is just us taking it one game at a time. We’re not focused on a win streak, that’s not our end-goal. Our end goal is to make a playoff push, and the best way to focus on doing that is just taking it one game at a time and continue to stay together throughout this. Obviously, we’re winning, but understanding what we need to get better at moving forward, because we’re going to have some closer and tougher games. The more we stay together through it, I think it’ll be good.”

A comeback victory for Philadelphia against Memphis, a narrow victory for Charlotte over Portland, and Bam Adebayo’s 83 points (what.) saw the Hawks’ immediate playoff rivals all notch victories on Tuesday, so it’s important for the Hawks that this run continues.

Fortunately, the schedule may allow for this run to continue: Brooklyn is the Hawks’ next opponent, followed by Milwaukee. Then, a potentially pivotal game against the Orlando Magic at State Farm Arena awaits — a chance to, potentially, run the streak to 10 and notch a victory over a direct rival… that’s the big game to circle in the Hawks’ upcoming schedule.

In the meantime, the Hawks (34-31) remain in Atlanta to take on the Brooklyn Nets (17-48) on Thursday night at State Farm Arena.

Until next time!

One of the beautiful things about basketball at its core is the versatility of it. It can be played on blacktop or hardwood, but the 2026 Big 12 Tournament is adding another surface to the mix: glass.

While the LED court isn't new by any means — the technology has been in play abroad since 2008 and the women just played on the same surface at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City for their conference tournament — it's the first time some fans are seeing it.

March Madness live bracketology: NCAA Tournament bracket updates today

The decision to utilize the floor has been met with mixed reception. While some have praised the court's innovation, a word Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark has repeatedly used to describe it, others have been skeptical of how it would affect play.

The Big 12 Conference will debut a LED glass basketball court this March.

It marks the first time this technology will be used in official competition in the United States.pic.twitter.com/1Gvj7fXitW

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 3, 2026

After a full day of play on the men's side, reviews of the floor were lukewarm to bad.

"It's pretty bad, to be honest," said Kansas State's Taj Manning after the Wildcats were eliminated with a loss. "It's slippery. The lights and stuff caused (Kansas State forward Khamari McGriff) to get a migraine. It's a bad floor, they shouldn't bring it back, if you want my honest opinion ... It's just an eyesore, it's constantly changing and stuff. With flashing different lights and all that. Nobody wants to play on that thing, just want the normal hardwood."

Athletes at a certain level are obviously creatures of habit, and the introduction of the floor is disruptive to those habits.

A work of art 🤌#Big12MBB | @Big12Conference | @asbglassfloorpic.twitter.com/Tm3Q7GlAcx

— Big 12 Studios (@big12studios) March 10, 2026

The floor, developed by German company ASB GlassFloor, was also referred to as slippery.

“The traction, to be honest with you, is really good, but when you go really, really hard, you slip,” said Arizona State guard Allen Mukeba, per The Athletic. “You’re gonna slip, for sure. I think it’s more like the shoes and the court, they don’t really match that much."

Keba Kaita of BYU took a spill and left the game for a bit, but didn't have much to say about the court itself postgame.

“It’s nice,” he said, per Pat Forde. “It’s cool. Good-looking court. But I don't know how I feel about playing on it.”

Perhaps the simplest way to refer to the new court is "a lot." While it creates a ton of possibility for in-game graphics and can elevate the fan experience, the question as the tournament progresses will be if it hinders the gameplay. While it mostly didn't appear to on the women's side, it will have another test as the week goes on.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Big 12's glass LED floor had mixed reviews after full day of games

With six wins in their last seven games, the Lakers leap-frogged the Minnesota Timberwolves in the standings Tuesday after a convincing 120-106 win over the two-time Western Conference finalists.

The Lakers (40-25) own the valuable head-to-head tiebreaker against Minnesota (40-25) that could decide home-court advantage in the tight playoff race. The third- to seventh-place Western Conference teams are within 2.5 games in the standings, with the Lakers trailing third-place Houston (40-24) by just half a game.

Here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s win:

Getting defensive

Luka Doncic’s 31-point, 11-rebound and 11-assist triple-double stole the show Tuesday. Austin Reaves’ 29 second-half points turned a highly anticipated nationally televised game into a blowout. But the quiet force behind the Lakers’ recent surge is the team’s defensive improvement.

The Lakers were 23rd in defensive rating before the All-Star break, giving up 116.6 points per 100 possessions. They’ve jumped to 12th during the past 15 games with a defensive rating of 112.3.

Doncic credited the team’s improved effort and communication on defense. Some of it is simply time together.

“It’s later in the season, so obviously we’re heading towards the playoffs now,” forward Jake LaRavia said at practice Monday. “I couldn’t tell you why [the defense has improved], but it’s a good time to do it, that’s for sure. And I think we’re all getting closer with each other off the court and just continuing to build relationships and that helps when you get on the court as far as just being there for one another defensively.”

Read more:Luka Doncic has a triple-double as depleted Lakers defeat Minnesota

Guard Marcus Smart led the effort to hold Anthony Edwards, the NBA’s third-leading scorer averaging 29.6 points per game, to 14 points on two-for-15 shooting. It was his most inefficient shooting performance with more than 11 shots of his career. He missed nine of 10 shots from beyond the arc. Some were uncharacteristic misses on open chances, Lakers coach JJ Redick conceded, but he commended his players for making the majority of Edwards’ chances difficult.

“It starts with Smart, he was starting on him,” Doncic said. “But for guys like that, you need the whole team to stop them, not just one guy. So I think we did a great job.”

Tuesday's performance doubled down on one of the Lakers' best defensive games of the season when they held the New York Knicks to 97 points on Sunday. The 99-point defensive rating was the fifth time the Lakers held a team to less than 100 points per 100 possessions in a game, and the first time doing so against a team with a record of .600 or better.

Deandre Ayton shows his 'monster' side

With 33 missed shots between both teams in the first quarter, Deandre Ayton certainly had plenty of opportunities for rebounds, and the 7-foot center made the most of them.

Ayton almost single-handedly kept the Lakers in contention in the first half, scoring 12 of his 14 points in the second quarter and had a first-half double-double with 11 rebounds.

Ayton, who was scoreless in the first quarter but had six rebounds, scored three of his first four baskets off offensive rebounds. The only exception came when Reaves drove in the lane, wrapped a pass around his back and found Ayton cutting down the lane for a vicious two-handed dunk. The crowd roared.

“He was a monster,” said Reaves, who had 31 points and eight assists. “... He was the only person scoring for us efficiently and then just being high energy on the other end, just doing what he does. That’s what we need him to do. When he does that, we’re a different team and we’re thankful to have him.”

Read more:How Luke Kennard's prolific three-point shooting is transforming the Lakers

Ayton’s effort has waned throughout the season, sometimes resulting in him getting benched late in games. But he provided major lifts in marquee wins against the Knicks (six points, eight rebounds) and Timberwolves to earn the confidence and trust of his teammates.

The Lakers needed Ayton at his best after backup centers Jaxson Hayes (back soreness) and Maxi Kleber (lumbar back strain) were ruled out of the game about 15 minutes before tip-off. Hayes was starring in his reserve role in recent weeks, bringing much-needed energy off the bench and a seamless connection with Doncic, but hearing that Ayton would have to hold down the front line by himself gave the former No. 1 draft pick extra motivation.

“I know I'm the only big,” Ayton said, “so I try my best to stay out there as long as possible, especially down the stretch."

Lakers cruising without LeBron James 

LeBron James missed his third consecutive game, still recovering from a hip contusion suffered in a fall against the Denver Nuggets last week. The 41-year-old participated in on-court shooting Tuesday before the team’s walk-through but “probably just needs a couple more days,” Redick said.

The Lakers “obviously want him in the lineup,” Redick said, but they haven’t necessarily needed him this season when his absences typically open greater opportunities for Doncic and Reaves.

In 316 minutes on the court together, James, Doncic and Reaves have a net rating of -1.1 points per 100 possessions. James and Doncic have a -3.1 net rating together while the Doncic and Reaves duo is outscoring opponents by six points per 100 possessions. In their fifth season together, James and Reaves have their worst net rating together at -1.7.

Read more:'I always had a mission': How LeBron James has maintained peak performance

How the trio of ball-handling stars would coexist was one of the major questions entering Doncic’s first full season with the Lakers. But alternating injuries to James and Reaves have limited the group’s time together.

“The human struggle to want what you want while also having the emotional maturity and recognition that you have somebody next to you, it hasn’t been as clean,” Redick said before the game. “... There’s a clear pecking order when LeBron or when Luka and AR on the floor together with guys that are low usage players. That’s the nature of it. That’s the nature of nearly every Big Three that’s ever existed. We’re going to get there. We’ve seen some positive signs and I know LeBron, he recognizes the importance of having Luka as the engine. All he really wants is to impact winning.”

The Lakers are 13-7 (65% winning percentage) in games without James this season and 26-18 (59%) with him in the lineup.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Japan’s Vissel Kobe claimed a place in the quarterfinals of the AFC Champions League Elite with a 2-1 win over FC Seoul of South Korea on Wednesday.

Yuya Osako and Yosuke Ideguchi scored late at home as Kobe advanced 3-1 over two legs in the round of 16. Patryk Klimala scored in the first half for Seoul.

Kobe becomes the second Japanese team to reach the quarterfinals after Machida Zelvia qualified on Tuesday.

Johor Darul Tazim of Malaysia also advanced despite a 1-0 loss at Sanfrecce Hiroshima, thanks to its 3-1 win in the first leg, to prevent a third Japanese reaching the last eight.

Buriram United of Thailand rounds out the eastern zone quarterfinalists.

The tournament is divided into two geographic zones until the quarterfinals. Games in the western zone have been postponed because of the Iran war.

All matches from the quarterfinal stage onward are scheduled to take place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from April 16–25 but it’s unclear when games in the western zone can resume.

___

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

John Tonje has had a whirlwind couple of months.

The 24-year-old guard was traded from the Utah Jazz to the Celtics in the trade that sent Chris Boucher to Utah, and quickly became the Celtics’ third two-way player.

Tonje has split his time between the Maine Celtics and the Boston Celtics so far, and made his NBA debut on February 24th. Just a few days later, he scored his first NBA points in a game against the Brooklyn Nets at TD Garden.

“It all happened fast, it kind of caught me by surprise,” Tonje told CelticsBlog last month. “But I’m blessed to be in this position.”

On Tuesday night, Tonje recorded his best G League game yet. He exploded for 42 points on 12 of 20 shooting and sank 8 of his 10 three-point attempts. In turn, the Maine Celtics beat the Osceola Magic 119-112 to improve to 14-16 on the season. The Magic currently has the best G League record in the Eastern Conference, at 19-8.

☘️ John Tonje hits his 8th three of the night and is up to a career-high 40 points. pic.twitter.com/RNjnRbzdy8

— Maine Celtics (@MaineCeltics) March 11, 2026

John Tonje’s rookie campaign continues with the Celtics

Before the trade, John Tonje appeared in 32 games for the Jazz’s G League affiliate this season, the Salt Lake City Stars, averaging 18 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game.

That came on the heels of an NCAA Tournament run with the Wisconsin Badgers, in which he averaged 19.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Before Wisconsin, he spent four seasons at Colorado State and one year in Missouri.

A fun tidbit about Tonje is that he was high school AAU teammates with Baylor Scheierman in Nebraska, almost a decade ago.

And, Scheierman remembers him as a prolific scorer.

“He can score in a variety of ways,” he said. “He’s a good defender. I think those are the two biggest things that stood out to me back in those days. I was a completely different player and build back in those days, but I think those are the two things that stuck out the most, was just his physical maturity, it was just the ability to score.”

After being drafted 53rd overall by the Jazz back in June, Tonje assumed he’d be in Utah at least for a bit. But he landed in Boston, not even a full season into his NBA career.

And, the Celtics already feel different.

“I think it’s the culture — just the way that everyone is bought in there’s a little bit of aura, for lack of a better term, on the team,” he said.

For now, Tonje is getting up to speed with the Maine Celtics.

But, he’s also spent plenty of time with the parent club, joining the Celtics for their West Coast road trip last month on a 10 Day contract.

“Everyone’s been super welcoming, and Joe is super humble, so it’s been great,” he said. “Just kind of learning from him. And, knowing some of these guys from afar — getting a chance to meet them and be around them has been awesome.”

The Atlanta Hawks took on the Dallas Mavericks on March 10th at State Farm Arena. Ahead of the game, the Hawks were 33-31, above .500, on a 7-game win streak. Dallas had a record of 21-43. Atlanta has had recent victories over the Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, and others.

Atlanta defeated Dallas 124-112, increasing their record to 34-31.

The Hawks are currently the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference, behind the 76ers and Miami Heat, while being ahead of the Charlotte Hornets and Bucks. Dallas Mavericks forward and no. 1 overall pick, Cooper Flagg did play in this game as he was dealing with an injury previously.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s Big Game

Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker had himself a game, especially in the first half, scoring 14 points and accumulating an assist. Alexander-Walker was an important piece to the Hawks tonight, making a lot of plays and getting off to a great start, especially from three.

Alexander-Walker did a good job of creating space against defenders to get good shots while driving past them to the basket at a high rate. Alexander-Walker was one of the better players on the floor.

Alexander-Walker concluded the game with 29 points, two rebounds, and three assists. Alexander-Walker was also 5/8 from three, with 15 points in that feat. Alexander-Walker has been averaging 19.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists in the regular season.

In the postgame press conference, Alexander-Walker stated that assistant player development coach Ashton Smith had been on him about “slowing down and playing with pace.”

What’s Next For Atlanta?

The Hawks are on an 8-game win streak, and they will face the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday, March 12th.

Did anyone else have a good Tuesday afternoon? What did you say? ██ ███████ dropping █ points? I have no idea what you’re implying. You’re speaking nonsense. Over here, we’re only focused on things that are actually real and matter, such as Utah staying inside the top five so they can have the best chance at keeping their pick. And that mindset begins tonight, as the third-seeded Knicks come to town looking to create some separation between them and the lower dwellers in the East. Albeit I did crack a smile at seeing Blake Hinson hit a dagger shot over Draymond Green Monday night, that win crossed some dangerous territory for Utah; the chosen children Mavs are only one game behind the Jazz in the Tankathon standings. As we all know, they are the most deserving of AJ Dybantsa after only being in the finals a pitiful two years ago.

It’s a perilous trajectory for Utah, considering the rebuild has yielded only one top-five pick and a couple of late lottery picks. Now they must call a forfeit against a cold-streaking Knicks team that has dropped three of their last four matches. New York has practically been playing on dead legs after playing 12 playoff contenders in their last 16 games. And they’ve mirrored a lot of the Jazz’s mistakes — during that stretch, they’ve recorded a higher turnover percentage (16.1%) than the founding fathers of poor ball security, as well as 33.6% three-point percentage that ranks 22nd in the league.

This is a team that threw in all their future chips for Mikal Bridges, who is literally being played off the floor by rookies. He’s been the weakest link of the Nova Knicks trio, scoring his fewest points per game since 2022 (15.2). They may chow down on the actively trying to lose each possession Jazz if they’d like, none of this concerns the front office, who have been throwing out lineups composed of guys on two-way contracts and guys fighting for their next contract.

Case in point, Monday night in the Delta Center, where the closing lineup consisted of Cody Williams, Elijah Harkless, John Konchar, Blake Hinson and Kyle Filipowski. Keyonte George played through two and a half quarters before unfortunately falling ill to cholera. Brice Sensabaugh had 21 points through three quarters before stubbing his pinky toe while walking back to the bench.

But what all eyes are actually falling on is the return of The Flamethrower. JC. Sixx. Manila Man. All the nicknames I could find online. Jordan Clarkson is welcomed home in the Delta Center for the first time since his departure in the offseason. We saw a glimpse of him in the Knicks orange when the Jazz visited them back in December, but now it’s really gonna hit home Though he’s been shackled to the Knicks bench, rarely playing over 10 minutes a game, Mike Brown would be a cruel and sickened man not to give him extended runtime against the city that embraced him with open arms for over six years.

The Knicks are going to hilariously beat them down, or at least in theory — no one is sure what Blake Hinson is capable of as of this moment. The Jazz are once again going to see how long they can get away with using the illness label on any player capable of contributing more than a single win share. Keyonte gets hit with a big fat questionable on the injury report, John Konchar is uncertain with left calf soreness, but Ace and Collier rejoin the team.

ESPN gives the Jazz a 13.5% chance to win. That’s a little higher than what I’m comfortable with, but one man’s toxic sludge is another man’s potpourri. It’s tough to say out loud that your team needs to be as bad as possible, but this is more about future survival in a brutal Western Conference than anything else.

Injury Report

Jazz:

QUESTIONABLE – Keyonte George (illness), John Konchar (left calf soreness)

OUT – Lauri Markkanen (right hip impingement), Jusuf Nurkic (nose surgery), Jaren Jackson Jr. (left knee surgery), Walker Kessler (left shoulder surgery)

Knicks:

QUESTIONABLE – Josh Hart (left knee soreness)

OUT – Miles McBride (hernia surgery)

How to watch:

Who: Utah Jazz (20-45) vs. New York Knicks (41-25

When: March 11th, 6:00PM Mountain Time

Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City

Channel: Peacock, Jazz+, KJZZ

Radio: 97.5/1280 The Zone

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The Cleveland Cavaliers head to the Kia Center this evening for a matchup with the Orlando Magic. 

James Harden already cooked Orlando earlier this season, and my Cavaliers vs Magic predictions are eyeing an encore from "The Beard." 

Read more in my NBA picks for Wednesday, March 11. 

Cavaliers vs Magic prediction

Cavaliers vs Magic best bet: James Harden Over 19.5 points (-110)

James Harden has been solid since coming to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a blockbuster trade, averaging 19.3 points over 11 games. Not the numbers we saw in LA, but he’s also sharing the rock more. 

“The Beard” has cashed the Over in points in two of his last four, and he just dropped 21 on Monday night in a revenge game against the 76ers. 

Back in November, while still with the Clippers, Harden erupted for 31 points against the Orlando Magic. He’s also hit the Over in back-to-back road outings.

Cavaliers vs Magic same-game parlay

Donovan Mitchell has been a solid playmaker, averaging 5.8 dimes per night. While Harden’s arrival helps Cleveland facilitate, Spida has also been relied upon to pass more, now that Darius Garland is gone. 

The Louisville product has hit the Over in assists in three of his last four, and is averaging 6.4 dimes on the road. He's compiled 13 assists vs. the Magic this season across two meetings. 

Cleveland has won three of its last four games, covering tonight’s spread in each of those victories. It's also grabbed two straight wins against the Magic, winning 119-105 and 114-98. 

Cavaliers vs Magic SGP

• James Harden Over 19.5 points
• Donovan Mitchell Over 4.5 assists
• Cavaliers -3.5

Our "from downtown" SGP: Wading in the Deep End

Dean Wade is averaging 1.3 makes this season, but he’s cashed the Over in triples in two of his previous three appearances.

Cavaliers vs Magic SGP

• James Harden Over 19.5 points
• Donovan Mitchell Over 4.5 assists
• Cavaliers -3.5
• Dean Wade Over 1.5 made threes

Cavaliers vs Magic odds

• Spread: Cavaliers -3.5 (-110) | Magic +3.5 (-110)
• Moneyline: Cavaliers -165 | Magic +140
• Over/Under: Over 226 (-110) | Under 226 (-110)

Cavaliers vs Magic betting trend to know

The Cleveland Cavaliers have hit the Moneyline in 18 of their last 24 games (+10.85 Units / 15% ROI). Find more NBA betting trends for Cavaliers vs. Magic.

How to watch Cavaliers vs Magic

Cavaliers vs Magic latest injuries

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