Category: NBA

The Nets didn’t face Giannis Antetokounmpo in their 96-90 win over the Bucks on Tuesday night at Barclays Center, and it’s unclear if they’ll see him Friday when they travel to Milwaukee.

But it’s almost a fait accompli that they’ll call the Bucks about their want-away superstar this summer.

“They’ll make calls,” a source told The Post. “They’ve made calls in the past.”

Antetokounmpo has been Brooklyn’s proverbial white whale going as far back as 2023, with general manager Sean Marks hoarding draft capital to make a bid for the two-time MVP.

But Antetokounmpo has spent so long dropping bread crumbs about a potential exit but never pulling the trigger that the Nets’ timing has gone from terrific to terrible to…whatever it is now.

“If you’re going after max-level talent, they have to automatically and absolutely change the trajectory of your team,” Marks said at this point last year. “This can’t be like, ‘Let’s go get this [guy] and lock ourselves into being a six or seven seed.’ When we go all in, you’re going in to compete at the highest level and contend.”

The Nets never viewed Mikal Bridges as Superman, but as the perfect Robin to team up with a potential Batman like Antetokounmpo. And sources told The Post that Brooklyn’s hope had been to lure the Greek star back in 2023-24.

But when Antetokounmpo opted to stay put in Milwaukee, Marks pivoted and traded Bridges to the Knicks that June for a record-setting haul of five first-round picks and a swap. They picked a lane, and that lane was headed toward a rebuild with no exit ramp.

There was irony in the fact that when Antetokounmpo finally met with Milwaukee general manager Jon Horst last July in his native Greece and expressed a willingness to leave the Bucks, it was only for the Knicks.

The hard bargain that Marks had driven a year earlier had hamstrung the Knicks and left them without enough draft capital to make a viable play for the superstar.

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According to an ESPN report, Horst and Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers pitched Antetokounmpo and Bucks ownership on contending in the Eastern Conference after waiving and stretching veteran guard Damian Lillard. But a horrible start to the season saw Antetokounmpo and agent Alex Saratsis reiterate a desire to leave.

“With the whole Giannis thing, it made everything problematic for us,” Rivers said Tuesday night of Antetokounmpo’s injuries and lack of availability.

“It’s been a tough year. I have not had a lot of these in my career, and this was not one that I thought we’d have one. On the injuries, we knew that our roster construction was tough. We were going to come into the season with quite a lot of young guys, a lot of minimum salary guys; but we thought it’d work. We thought Giannis would be available for 65 to 70 games. We did know that if we had injuries, it’s going to be a tough year.”

What has been a tough year for Milwaukee is about to get terrible.

Nets fans can sympathize, watching the Big 3 of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden break up without even getting the title that the Bucks did.

To be clear, with teams like the Heat, Warriors and Knicks perceived as likelier landing spots, it’s a long shot Antetokounmpo will end up in Brooklyn.

The odds are just better than the microscopic near-zero they were in February.

The Bucks reportedly rejected offers of four first-round picks from Golden State, and Tyler Herro and Kel’el Ware plus assets from Miami.

Despite a Bleacher Report story that claimed Brooklyn had called the Bucks about Antetokounmpo, sources told The Post that the Nets never did. Having paid Houston dearly to reacquire their natural 2025 and ’26 first-round picks — and now committed to building with those lottery picks — it was the worst possible timing.

But this coming summer will surely be better.

Some nights, you play one of the worst teams in the league, and you play down to their level. Other nights, you take care of business. Most nights, if you’re the Minnesota Timberwolves, that second option seems near impossible, but with just a few games left to go in the season and a sixth-seed spot on the horizon, the Wolves did what they had to.

Somehow, even a 20-point blowout does not encompass the entirety of how boring and not close that game was. Let’s be transparent here, both teams have every reason to hope for the exact outcome we got tonight, and the score was 102-77 before the final period. For Indiana, Taelon Peter was the only player with a positive on/off number. For Minnesota, only the five garbage-time players were in the negative.

To that end, the Wolves were led by Ayo Dosumnu (who could’ve guessed?), who had been injected into the three-guard starting lineup. The Fighting Illini product went for 24 points and three steals with a team best +22.

However, it truly was an all-around game from everyone. Julius Randle, for all his inefficiency problems, had 19 points. Bones Hyland had 19, 4, and 7 off the bench, while Naz Reid shot over 50% from three for the first time in what feels like ages en route to 17 points of his own.

There was a moment earlier this season where it felt like the team had turned around, largely through the graduation of Bones from end-of-the-bench reclamation project to real NBA contributor. With the injection of straight nitrous, which was the Ayo acquisition, it felt like everything was coming together. Instead, there was an Anthony Edwards injury that caused everything to spiral out.

Since then, it’s been a “sunken place” as described by Jon Krawczynski. It’s been pretty miserable, honestly. The Wolves have been 1-3 in their last four games since Ant got re-injured.

Still, the Wolves clinched a playoff spot with the Suns’ loss later Tuesday night.

There are worse places to be than the sixth seed. As things stand, that would lead to yet another matchup with the Denver Nuggets. However, Denver is only one game ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers. With the losses of Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić, the Lakers likely won’t catch up to the Nuggets, but whoever does will get a free pass to the second round.

For the Wolves, being able to control their own destiny in the seeding would probably have been better, and any team in the league would agree that you’d rather play against an ancient LeBron James than a prime Nikola Jokić, but there is a chance this could all work out.

Any of the middle four in the conference has its flaws. The Lakers are top-heavy and are now facing major injuries. The Nuggets have been unable to find any real consistency and have a 30 million dollar a year anchor by the name of Christian Braun. The Houston Rockets have a publicized mutiny and an imploding roster without any real ball handlers. The Timberwolves have well… they have a lot of problems.

The Wolves are relying on the playoff bump they’ve gotten the past two years to not just take them from good to great but from up and down to only up. That’s a lot to ask. The pair of stars leading the charge has been the subject of many think pieces, many of them about bad habits. The guard rotation, while it now claims a lot more juice, also doesn’t boast stability, as both Donte Divincenzo and Bones Hyland are certainly not strangers to bad shooting nights.

All that is to say, the top seeds are likely hoping to face someone, but I, for the life of me, cannot figure out which of those four teams is best set up to succeed in the playoffs.

Maybe the Wolves will ride a good matchup to another extended playoff run. Years ago, that would’ve been worth celebrating. Now, in the midst of the most successful era in Wolves history, it rings hollow. How can we be excited about lucking into a few extra weeks of basketball?

The standard has been raised. The expectations are for a championship. That’s it. Those hopes have already been dashed for this year, but if the Ant era ends without a title, we will call it a failure regardless.

That’s terrifying. It should be scary that the best we have ever had may still not be good enough. But, with Bones and Ayo and Ant and Jaden (and Joan Beringer on the back burner), there is a real idea that this may not be the only iteration of Wolves with Ant we get to see.

Tonight means nothing. But this season keeps crumbling to dust, limping along before a miraculous crutch comes along that fixes everything for a few games. Maybe that’s not sustainable. It probably isn’t.

So many fans want heads to roll this offseason, largely to start that second swell of this team. A first-round exit probably results in some changes, just as missing the playoffs would’ve resulted in bigger ones. The man on the line is Chris Finch. With three games left in the season, and then somewhere between four and fourteen in the playoffs, we will get to see what the lasting legacy of this version of this team.

Goodnight Wolves fans. You’ve got nothing to worry about tonight, at least.

The monster will wait for another night.

Up Next

The Timberwolves are right back at it tomorrow night on the road against the Orlando Magic for their final back-to-back of the season. The game begins at 6:00 PM CT. Fans can watch the game on FanDuel Sports Network.

Highlights

In a game the Utah Jazz had to lose, they got the job done in a big way against the New Orleans Pelicans, losing 156-137.

Defense was absolutely optional in this one, but it was exceptionally bad for the Utah Jazz, who somehow gave up 156 points. But this is not something to be shamed or mocked, this is the best form of tankmogging. With the Brooklyn Nets winning again and the Jazz tied with the Kings, this is exactly what the Jazz needed to do. Utah is on a mission to land another top pick in the draft and, if successful, could become one of the league’s elite teams. To lose big like this is the biggest expression of competitiveness.

For example, which of these two teams would you rather be? Utah owns their pick in the upcoming draft if it stays bottom-8. Utah has over a 99% chance to keep their pick and will add that player to a core that should compete for playoff positioning next season. It’s also decent odds that they jump into the top of an elite draft that has a great group of players to choose from. On the other hand, you have the Pelicans, who traded the rights to their pick in the upcoming draft to pick Derik Queen and are sitting in the 8th spot in the lottery. They get to watch the Hawks pick someone who would have been added to their core. Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen have had some nice moments this season, but they’ve led the Pelicans to the 8th spot in the lottery standings. It’s a pretty easy answer.

It’s also a sign that the Jazz understand the assignment. This is how the Jazz can maximize their chances at a championship. If Utah somehow lucks into a top three to four pick, they become an absolute monster, overloaded with talent at every position.

And that’s just the benefits of losing. Utah is also finding out what they have with their young players. Cody Williams, Ace Bailey, Brice Sensabaugh, and Kyle Filipowski have all shown real signs during this tank, something they couldn’t have done if they were pushing for wins. They’ve also found a nice player in Blake Hinson, who has been almost too good since he joined the team. Oh, and they also might have a guy in John Konchar, who had a triple-double tonight. Which, by the way, is the fourth triple-double of the season for the Jazz.

All in all, it’s a highly successful night for the Jazz, who are now on their way to a potential three-way tie with the Nets and Kings for the third pick. If Utah gets lucky, lottery night could be even more interesting than it looked a month ago.

E.J. Liddell rises up for a 3-pointer from the left wing, and he misfires wide right, perhaps a little long. Only, the ball bounces off the top of the glass and right back down toward the rim, swirling the net like a mini-golf ball on uneven artificial turf. It drops. Next time down, Liddell tests his luck by pulling up near the top of the key. The ball puts a dent in the backboard, then swishes right in.

Liddell scored 17 points in the first half, ultimately leading the team with 21 total points on 7-of-9 shooting, as the Brooklyn Nets beat the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night in one of the least watchable NBA games in an April already chock-full of snoozers.

This is a callous way to write about professional athletes, though not professional sports. E.J. Liddell was a tremendous NCAA player at Ohio State, then tore his ACL at Las Vegas Summer League before his rookie season and has spent the last four years bouncing around the G League in search of steady, lucrative opportunity. In Sunday’s victory over the Washington Wizards, Liddell scored a career-high 15 points. He outdid himself on Tuesday.

“I talked to my mom after my first NBA start,” said Liddell. “Couldn’t stop smiling, so I mean, the second one felt the same way. Any opportunity I get to put on this Brooklyn jersey, it feels special.”

Of all the anti-tanking arguments put forth by the NBA, or its fans, or people who proudly dislike the NBA but hold cachet anyway, this is the most convincing. Tanking infects the soul of competition, and even if the league trips over itself trying to remedy the virus, it is a worthwhile effort anyway. (Don’t ask about gambling).

In the meantime, Tuesday’s game was a must-lose for both the Bucks and Nets. Both teams admitted it with their injury report…

The Bucks listed the following players as OUT tomorrow vs. the Nets:

Giannis Antetokounmpo
Myles Turner
Bobby Portis
Ryan Rollins
Kyle Kuzma
Kevin Porter Jr.
Gary Trent Jr.

Another tough tank matchup for Brooklyn.

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) April 6, 2026

In addition to the players already ruled out for the season, Brooklyn sat Nic Claxton with a finger sprain, Noah Clowney with ankle soreness, Ziaire Williams with foot soreness, and Terance Mann with not one but two different areas of soreness.

It’s tough to blame Brooklyn for their inability to lose this one. Nolan Traore and Chaney Johnson played under ten minutes, Jalen Wilson played under 20, though they each won their minutes handily.

Milwaukee was simply terrible. Awful. They turned it over 20 times, turning 2-on-1 opportunities into errant alley oops and handoffs into hot pockets. To Brooklyn’s credit, they picked up their defense after the first quarter and guys like Malachi Smith and Trevon Scott flew around on the perimeter like they’ve been playing under Jordi Fernández for years…

Bucks went 1-of-12 from deep in the 2Q but Nets have also picked up the defense, if they win it'll be in large part due to their rotations pic.twitter.com/pVdcfUOpGt

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) April 8, 2026

Said Fernández of his energetic bunch: “If you have the right intentions and always try to make the right play, one day you’ll maybe miss some shots, but it will even out when the work is there, the work that these guys put in every single day. The positive energy, it just ends up working out. So, you’ll see performances like this.”

It’s a miracle the Bucks even had a chance to make it interesting. The Nets shot 7-of-13 from deep in the first half, thanks to Liddell’s luck and 10-day Trevon Scott, who made the most of his first career start with 8/5/2 on a couple long-balls and four steals.

Traore hardly played, but Ben Saraf and Drake Powell combined to shoot 9-of-29 in a combined 76 minutes of action. Sadly, they did not look out of place in this game of supremely low quality, though Saraf did get shoot 9-of-10 from the line thanks to his insistence on getting downhill…

Saraf with a crafty bucket 🪣

he's got 15 points and counting… pic.twitter.com/dOT3aTSSJn

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) April 8, 2026

“I felt like I can get to the paint and create from there, so I tried to be as aggressive as I could,” said Saraf postgame.

Brooklyn’s outside shooting fell off a cliff in the second half while the Bucks saw some drop, and the visitors trimmed a 16-point deficit to just one possession in the closing minutes. AJ Green and old friend Tauren Prince hit some huge triples, and the Nets had a chance to snag a miraculous defeat in a 180º turn from Sunday.

It didn’t happen. Ben Saraf drove left, hit the brakes, and baseline referee Che Flores called a foul on Ousmane Dieng, likely the correct call but one the Bucks bench really hated. Their front office? Not so much. Saraf sank both, pushing the lead to four, and it was all over but the shouting.

So close.

Final Score: Brooklyn Nets96, Milwaukee Bucks 90

Tankathon Update

Here is the race to the bottom, courtesy of Tankathon.com

At time of writing, the Sacramento Kings are currently trailing the Golden State Warriors in the second quarter. Assuming they hold on and lose, they will be 21-59, just a half-game behind Brooklyn, though crucially, it’s in the win column, like the Utah Jazz).

Milestone Watch

• It was a career-high in points for E.J. Liddell for the second straight game
• Trevon Scott is joins Kenyon Martin, Chris Childs, Keith Van Horn, and Bernard King to record 4+ steals in their fifth career game or earlier. Quite the list!

Next Up

It does not get any easier. The Brooklyn Nets face the Indiana Pacers in their final home game of the season on Thursday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

• Boxscore: Brooklyn Nets 96, Milwaukee Bucks 90 – NBA
• Game Highlights: Brooklyn Nets 96, Milwaukee Bucks 90 (Video) – NBA
• Liddell scores a career-high 21 points to lead the Nets over the Bucks 96-90 – Denis Gorman – AP
• Nets’ tanking plan in more danger after beating Bucks for second straight win – Brian Lewis – New York Post
• E.J. Liddell’s career night lifts Nets past Bucks, 96-90 ($) – C.J. Holmes – New York Daily News
• Nets beat Giannis-less Bucks 96-90 behind EJ Liddell’s 21 points – Sharif Phillips-Keaton – USA TODAY

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rob Dillingham scored a career-high 26 points and the Chicago Bulls ended a seven-game skid, pounding the NBA-worst Washington Wizards 129-98 on Tuesday night in the opener of a two-game set.

In the first game since they fired their top two basketball executives, the Bulls were in firm control by the end of the first quarter, leading 38-18 against a Washington team that’s seeking to maximize its odds of landing a top draft pick.

Chicago extended its lead to 66-37 by halftime and 100-63 by the end of the third against a Wizards team that appeared disinterested on defense. Patrick Williams added a season-high 20 points and Tre Jones had 20 points and nine assists for the Bulls, who play at Washington again on Thursday night.

TIMBERWOLVES 124, PACERS 104

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Ayo Dosunmu scored 24 points and Julius Randle and Bones Hyland each added 19 as Minnesota picked up a critical victory over Indiana.

Hyland also had seven assists and Rudy Gobert finished with 12 rebounds. Minnesota is on the cusp of clinching a top six seed and avoiding the Western Conference’s play-in tournament. It could happen later Tuesday — if Houston beats Phoenix. For the Timberwolves, it was a much-needed turnaround. They snapped a three-game losing streak and won for just the second time in six games as they try to build postseason momentum.

The Timberwolves also won despite the absences of All-Star guard Anthony Edwards and Jayden McDaniels. Edwards has missed nine of Minnesota’s last 11 games with a bad right knee, this time on the front end of a back-to-back and against a Pacers squad missing a large group of injured players. McDaniels missed his sixth straight game with an injured left knee.

Ethan Thompson scored 17 points to lead Indiana, and Obi Toppin and Jalen Slawson each had 14 points. The league’s second-worst team lost its third straight and fell to 4-22 in its last 26 games. Indiana still needs two wins to avoid posting the lowest single season victory total in the franchise’s NBA history.

NETS 96, BUCKS 90

NEW YORK (AP) — E.J. Liddell scored a career-high 21 points to lead Brooklyn to a victory over Milwaukee.

Ben Saraf added 19, while Drake Powell and Malachi Smith each had 11 for the Nets (20-59), who have won two straight and three of their last five.

AJ Green scored 20 points for Milwaukee, which dropped to 31-48. Taurean Prince added 16 points, Cormac Ryan chipped in with 14 and Jericho Sims had 12.

Five years after the Bucks edged the Nets in Game 7 of a thrilling second-round series on their way to the NBA championship, both teams are out of the playoff race and Milwaukee’s Doc Rivers indicated before the game he might not coach much longer.

RAPTORS 121, HEAT 95

TORONTO (AP) — Scottie Barnes scored 25 points, Brandon Ingram finished with 23 and Toronto beat Miami, an outcome that locked the Heat into the play-in tournament for a fourth consecutive season.

Jakob Poeltl scored 17 points for the Raptors (44-35), who moved within a game of idle Atlanta for the No. 5 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff chase. Toronto is aiming for its first playoff trip since 2022 and leads Philadelphia (43-36) by one game in the race for the sixth and final guaranteed berth in the East.

RJ Barrett scored 16 and Jamal Shead had 11 assists off the bench for Toronto.

A 19-2 run by the Raptors in the first half turned a two-point deficit into a 13-point lead, and Toronto maintained the double-digit margin virtually the entire rest of the way.

Andrew Wiggins scored 24 points for Miami (41-38), which now likely needs to win its final three games to have any realistic chance of escaping the No. 10 seed going into the play-in tournament for a second consecutive year.

CELTICS 113, HORNETS 102

BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown had 35 points and nine rebounds, and Boston outlasted Charlotte.

Brown has scored 26 or more points in his last 10 games. Jayson Tatum added 23 points and has had at least 20 in each of his last six games. Both played the entire fourth quarter.

With the win, the Celtics inched closer to locking up the No. 2 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. It also gave Boston a 2-1 win in the season series with the Hornets, who could potentially be its first-round opponent.

The Hornets led by 11 in the first half but were outscored 35-26 in the third quarter as Boston took a 90-87 edge into the final period. The Celtics limited the Hornets to 15 points in the fourth, when they built a 13-point lead.

LaMelo Ball led the Hornets with 36 points, his second straight 30-point game.

PELICANS 156, JAZZ 137

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jeremiah Fears set a Pelicans rookie record for points in a game with 40, and New Orleans snapped an eight-game losing streak with a victory over Utah, who lost their 10th straight.

Fears, the seventh overall pick in the draft, shot 17 for 29 from the field and 1 for 7 from 3-point distance. Jordan Poole scored 34 points, including 22 in third quarter, when New Orleans set a franchise record for points in a period with 50. The Pelicans also set a franchise record for points in a game, despite playing without usual starters Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, Dejounte Murray, Herb Jones and Saddiq Bey.

While Murphy (right ankle) and Murray (bruised left hand) were injured, Williamson, Jones and Bey were all active, but were left on the bench for New Orleans’ final home game of a second-straight non-playoff season.

Poole, who has spent more than half the season on the bench, shot 7 of 16 from 3-point range in his seventh start for New Orleans.

Rookie Micah Peavy scored a season-high 20 points, 2023 first-round draft choice Jordan Hawkins added 25 points for New Orleans and 2025 first-rounder Derek Queen (13th overall) had 17 points and 12 rebounds as the Pelicans finished with a franchise-record 90 points in the paint.

Jazz lose. Nets win. You can’t ask for a more successful night at this point in the season. Hopefully the Kings can win tonight to complete a perfect night for the Jazz.

Cody Williams – C

Cody had a pair of airballs tonight, and also went 0-5 from deep, but his midrange shot continues to look pretty nice. He also had some impressive passes in transition.

Brice Sensabaugh – C

Tough night for Brice, who went 2-8 from deep. He also couldn’t get a call to go his way either which didn’t help. He has looked better on defense and has made some strides as a passer.

Kyle Filipowski – B

Flip’s minutes suffered tonight because he’s another guy that is too good for the tank. In his 19 minutes he was solid, putting up 9 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists. The reigning Summer League MVP will have his minutes return to normal when the season mercifully ends, and the Jazz are playing meaningful basketball again.

Kennedy Chandler –A

Forgive me Kennedy Chandler I was unfamiliar with your game! I remember when the Jazz first signed him to a 10 day contract I looked up his stats, and when I saw that he was listed at 5’11 and shot 13% from deep I thought that he would be back in the G league or playing overseas when his 10 day expired. I am so glad I was wrong, as Chandler has been really solid in the few games he has played with the Jazz so far. Tonight was his best game by a mile, he logged a career high in points, with 31, and rebounds with 7. He also had 8 assists. The Jazz would be wise to see what they have in Chandler and keep him around for Summer League.

John Konchar –A

Thurl Bailey’s favorite Jazz man secured himself his second career triple double. Konchar continues to be a calm and reliable presence on the court. He also was very kind and passed on a freebie layup to give Brice (who had a frustrating game) a bucket. A very classy move from the veteran.

Bez Mbeng – A

Bez had his best game as a Jazzman as well tonight. He had 26 points on efficient shooting and had 5 steals. There’s no question about his defensive ability, it’s just a matter of developing his shot from deep. Luckily for him he’s got two more seasons to work on it with the Jazz.

Oscar Tshiebwe –C

Tshiebwe shot efficiently tonight, and nabbed 7 rebounds. He’s just not the most impactful player, and I doubt he will be on the squad next year, but I will forever be an Oscar Tshiebwe fan.

Blake Hinson –B+

Blake is such a good shooter that the Jazz couldn’t risk him getting too much playing time tonight. He played 5 minutes before he was pulled, and he wouldn’t return until the game was safely out of reach. When he returned he secured the triple double for Konchar, and immediately followed it up with a steal, and a 3 ball. 10 points in 11 minutes, with 3 assists is awesome. What a great pickup Hinson has been for the Jazz.

Jordan Poole/Jeremiah Fears – A+

Poole, and Fears saved this game for the Pelicans, who found themselves down by double digits at the end of the first quarter. That’s when Poole, and Fears locked in and dropped 34, and 40 respectively. Jazz nation is forever in their debt!

NEW YORK (AP) — E.J. Liddell scored a career-high 21 points to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 96-90 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.

Ben Saraf added 19, while DrakePowell and Malachi Smith each had 11 for the Nets (20-59), who have won two straight and three of their last five.

AJ Green scored 20 points for Milwaukee, which dropped to 31-48. Taurean Prince added 16 points, Cormac Ryan chipped in with 14 and Jericho Sims had 12.

Five years after the Bucks edged the Nets in Game 7 of a thrilling second-round series on their way to the NBA championship, both teams are out of the playoff race and Milwaukee's Doc Rivers indicated before the game he might not coach much longer.

Liddell, who came off a 15-point, five-rebound, two blocked shots effort in Brooklyn’s 121-115 win over Washington on Sunday, scored 17 points in the first half. But he was the only Nets player to score in double figures in the opening 24 minutes and Brooklyn only led 49-43 at halftime.

The game remained close throughout the third quarter, with the Nets holding a 70-62 advantage.

Brooklyn extended its lead to 83-72 in the first five minutes of the fourth. Saraf converted a one-legged fadeaway and had a breakaway dunk in consecutive possessions.

Milwaukee cut the deficit to 88-87 on Prince’s corner 3 with 2:28 left. But that was as close as the Bucks would come.

Up next

Bucks: Visit Central Division rival Detroit on Wednesday.

Nets: Conclude the home portion of their 2025-26 season against Indiana on Thursday.

ATLANTA — There were only about 3 ¹/₂ minutes remaining in a game that the Knicks felt they had to win to build momentum and confidence.

They trailed the Hawks by five. They had just 92 points. They needed offense in a half-court set because the game had slowed down.

Just like the playoffs.

And they found something.

Five times over their next six possessions — interrupted only by a transition bucket off a turnover — the Knicks ran the same play: Brunson brought up the ball and gave it to Karl-Anthony Towns, who was on the wing at the 3-point line with a defender pressuring him.

The same spot every time.

From there, options were abundant and, as it turned out, highly efficient.

Brunson twice hit runners in the lane off give-and-gos; KAT drew a foul after spinning around his draping defender; Brunson hit an open 3-pointer after a dribble handoff because his defender couldn’t get around Towns.

Half of Towns’ six assists were collected in a 40-second stretch of crunch time. The Knicks went from down five to up two, eventually beating the Hawks 108-105 on Monday night.

It became an example of two gifted offensive players — KAT and Brunson — working in harmony, rather than taking turns as they had for most of this campaign.

“I thought we did a great job [Monday] of utilizing it,” Towns said. “When the game got dicey, the coaching staff and our teammates leaned on us to have that two-man game show up when we needed it the most. And it worked.

“We have a good rapport where I think that, what you saw at the end of the game with me and J.B., allows him not to have so much pressure on him and allows me to help him out and do what I do best — cause gravity, which allows him to get a step on a defender, and that’s all he needs to score. It gave us a chance for him to play one-on-one and also get a step on the defender and give him some of the best looks of the night.”

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Towns was giddy after Monday’s win and clearly excited about the play calling. He and Brunson combined for 51 points and 19 assists, engaging more often with the pick-and-rolls that were always projected as key to producing a powerful offensive duo. It wasn’t just down the stretch Monday.

“It’s huge to know a guy like Jalen can shoot and score the way he does. On top of that, he’s crafty. He’s crafty with the ball, crafty without the ball,” coach Mike Brown said. “Having KAT as a passer [makes it tougher on the opposition]. On top of that, KAT’s a great shooter. So you put those two guys in space in a two-man game, and teams gotta make decisions. Both those guys came through.”

However, the Knicks have gotten away from that two-man game for much of this season. Perhaps not coincidentally, Brunson and Towns both produced down years statistically — especially Towns.

Monday became a reminder of the possibilities with the playoffs around the corner.

“Playoffs are going to come down to a possession game,” Brunson said. “It’s real important for us.”

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With the Wizards losing to the Bulls 129-98 on Tuesday night, they will keep their protected first-round pick as they cannot fall past seventh in the draft order (the pick was top-eight protected).

The Knicks will now get Washington’s 2026 and 2027 second-round picks instead.

The Boston Celtics hosted the eighth-placed Charlotte Hornets for their final matchup of the regular season. With four games to go in the regular season, the Celtics needed just two wins from the final four games to lock in the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference. In what could be a possible playoff match up, Boston held their nerve to mount a strong comeback to start the 4th quarter after going behind multiple times against a feisty Hornet team, they hold on to win, 113-102.

Boston came into the game with the first clear injury list of the season, as Nikola Vucevic was finally cleared to play. It was Jayson Tatum bobblehead night at the TD Garden, and the C’s started Sam Hauser, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Neemias Queta. The Hornets started LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel, Miles Bridges, and Moussa Diabate.

Jaylen Brown got the C’s on the board first with a cutting layup; Neemias Queta scored the second bucket of the night on a fast break cut to the basket. La Melo rattled home 8 of Charlotte’s first 10 points, with Sam Hauser failing to stop La Melo Ball’s score on the offensive end. A Sam Hauser three-pointer made the score 11-13, Charlotte ahead early.

Queta was dominant inside for Boston; he had 3 big scores on the interior and a pair of second-chance makes in the Charlotte key. La Melo was hot to start the game; he had 13 quick points for Charlotte after just 7 minutes of action. At the first timeout, the scores were deadlocked at 18 apiece in a frenetic start.

Nikola Vucevic had his first reps in over a month, coming off the bench alongside Payton Pritchard and Baylor Scheierman. Former Boston Celtic Grant Williams got early first minutes back on the court at TD Garden; he hit six straight points as the scoring dried up for Boston. Charlotte went 7/17 from three after the first quarter compared to Boston’s 2/11. That hot shooting gave Charlotte an eleven-point lead after one quarter, 20-31.

Boston was just 35 percent from the field after the first and scoreless for it. four minutes to end the quarter. Payton Pritchard nailed his first triple on a cross-court pass from Hauser. Tatum hit three straight free throws as the C’s raced back into the game. Just 5 points, 28-33.

Neemias Queta had 10 early points to lead the C’s as he continued to impact the game for the home team. Tatum and Diabate were whistled for a double foul after tangling on the baseline as both teams and the refs broke up the action.

Derrick White connected on his first triple of the game, Tatum hit a fade away deuce, and JB scored on a terrific spinning reverse layup to make it 37-44, Charlotte’s first-quarter lead shrinking in real time.

Jaylen Brown’s free throws, followed by a transition three-pointer with four minutes to go in the half, cut the Hornets lead to just 2 points. Boston improved their efficiency and scoring output in the second quarter; the Hornets’ climbing foul count saw the home team in the bonus with a lot of time remaining in the half.

A Jordan Walsh corner triple in front of the Charlotte bench gave Boston its first lead since the opening minutes of the game. Jordan Walsh pressured LaMelo Ball into a backcourt turnover to give Boston another scoring attempt, JB converting a layup for his 18th point of the night.

Boston had 13 second chance points in the first half compared to just 6 for Charlotte. LaMelo Ball’s shot-making (23 points) was the difference between the two teams at the half, Charlotte up 55-61 at the half.

Jayson Tatum hit his first three-pointer to start the 3rd quarter. Neemias Queta found himself in rebounding position on the offensive glass; he caught a Tatum miss and went right back up to score his twelfth point. White hit a triple from up top, with Queta getting the assist. Boston down by one, 69-68.

Jaylen Brown hit on his 2,000th point of the season, becoming just the eighth Celtic all time to achieve such a feat. In an entertaining third, the Hornets and Celtics were trading leads throughout. Boston, however, recorded 4 straight turnovers in a horrible stretch as Charlotte opened back up a 7-point lead, 75-82.

Jordan Walsh was having an outstanding game for Boston; he had 9 points and 5 boards while matched up on LaMelo Ball. Baylor Sheierman had a dagger triple with Charlotte scrambling to cut it back to 4 late in the third. A JB step back over Knueppel gave Boston the lead back. JB then converted on a floater to give Boston their biggest lead of the game, 3 points, 90-87.

Vooch finally scored his first points of the game to start the fourth; he hit on a turnaround hook shot off a great Pritchard entry pass. Jaylen Brown hit the thirty point mark with 9 minutes to go in the game, he had 31 points, 8 boards and 2 assists.

Tatum had a tough step through lay up over Miller and Diabate, he had 18 points of his own. Pritchard’s three-pointer came after multiple kick outs, White with the assist, C’s go up 101-94. Boston extending it’s lead with La Melo on the bench for Charlotte, before Charles Lee went back to his high scoring guard.

In a crucial period, Boston went on a 26-7 run to start the 4th, Boston up double digits, 106-94. Vucevic showed good defensive minutes also in that stretch for Boston with Queta out after knocking heads to end the 3rd quarter. That was pretty much ball game as Tatum and Brown showed the young Hornets how to close out a tight contest.

Boston will next face the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, Thursday night (9th April) at 7:30pm, a win would see them secure the 2nd seed.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Jeremiah Fears set a Pelicans rookie record for points in a game with 40, and New Orleans snapped an eight-game losing streak on Tuesday night with a 156-137 victory over the Utah Jazz, who lost their 10th straight.

Fears, the seventh overall pick in the draft, shot 17 for 29 from the field and 1 for 7 from 3-point distance. Jordan Poole scored 34 points, including 22 in third quarter, when New Orleans set a franchise record for points in a period with 50. The Pelicans also set a franchise record for points in a game, despite playing without usual starters Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, Dejounte Murray, Herb Jones and Saddiq Bey.

While Murphy (right ankle) and Murray (bruised left hand) were injured, Williamson, Jones and Bey were all active, but were left on the bench for New Orleans' final home game of a second-straight non-playoff season.

Poole, who has spent more than half the season on the bench, shot 7 of 16 from 3-point range in his seventh start for New Orleans.

Rookie Micah Peavy scored a season-high 20 points, 2023 first-round draft choice Jordan Hawkins added 25 points for New Orleans and 2025 first-rounder Derek Queen (13th overall) had 17 points and 12 rebounds as the Pelicans finished with a franchise-record 90 points in the paint.

Veteran center Kevin Looney also started for just the seventh time this season and finished with 12 rebounds.

Kennedy Chandler scored 31 and Cody Williams scored 26 for Utah, which lost for the 14th time in 15 games. Brice Sensabaugh, who was averaging 25.7 points in his previous 10 games, finished with 18 points.

Bez Mbeng, a first-year player out of Yale playing in his 13th game, added a personal-best 26 points and John Konchar had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

New Orleans' previous record for points in a game by a rookie was 37, set by Marcus Thornton in 2010. The club's previous high-scoring game was 153 points, also against Utah in January 2024.

Up next

Jazz: Host the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.

Pelicans: At the Boston Celtics on Friday.

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

All Times EDT

Wednesday, April 8

MLB

San Diego at Pittsburgh, 12:35 p.m.

Kansas City at Cleveland, 1:10 p.m.

Milwaukee at Boston, 1:35 p.m.

Baltimore at Chicago White Sox, 2:10 p.m.

Seattle at Texas, 2:35 p.m.

L.A. Dodgers at Toronto, 3:07 p.m.

Houston at Colorado, 3:10 p.m.

Philadelphia at San Francisco, 3:45 p.m.

St. Louis at Washington, 4:05 p.m.

Atlanta at L.A. Angels, 4:07 p.m.

Arizona at N.Y. Mets, 4:10 p.m.

Chicago Cubs at Tampa Bay, 6:40 p.m.

Cincinnati at Miami, 6:40 p.m.

Athletics at N.Y. Yankees, 7:05 p.m.

Detroit at Minnesota, 7:40 p.m.

NBA

Atlanta at Cleveland, 7 p.m.

Milwaukee at Detroit, 7 p.m.

Minnesota at Orlando, 7 p.m.

Memphis at Denver, 9 p.m.

Portland at San Antonio, 9:30 p.m.

Dallas at Phoenix, 10 p.m.

Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers, 10 p.m.

NHL

Buffalo at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.

Washington at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

Edmonton at San Jose, 10 p.m.

PWHL

Seattle at Ottawa, 7 p.m.

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Are Brooklyn’s lottery dreams turning into a nightmare?

The first Nets winning streak in a month — beating the Bucks 96-90 before a crowd of 16,834 at Barclays Center on Tuesday night — had the players cheering and their tank-happy fans in a collective meltdown.

In a tanking season that is all about jostling for lottery positioning, Tuesday’s victory was counterproductive.

The Nets — who had a chance to pull into a first-place tie in the lottery race with a loss to Washington on Sunday — have essentially forfeited all hope of landing the top seed. The Nets (20-59) are three games behind the Wizards and two behind the Pacers with just three to play — two of those against tanking squads.

Now the Nets have fallen to third and are suddenly in very real danger of sliding out of the top three altogether.

They enjoyed a 2 ½-game cushion on both the Jazz and Kings entering Sunday, but have seen that lead cut to a half-game on Utah and just one on Sacramento, pending the latter’s game at Golden State.

Holding on to third would give the Nets a 40.1 percent chance of landing a top three pick, and 52.1 percent odds of a top four pick. AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Cam Boozer are all seen as franchise-changing prospects, followed by Caleb Wilson.

The Nets will host the pitiful Pacers on Thursday.

E.J. Liddell had a career-high 21 points on 7-for-9 shooting, despite not playing a second in the fourth quarter. Ben Saraf scored 17 points, while sparkplug Tyson Etienne — generously listed at 6 feet — had nine points and a team-high six boards.

“I talked to my mom after my first NBA start; couldn’t stop smiling. So the second one felt the same way,” said Liddell. “Any opportunity I get to put on this Brooklyn jersey, it feels special.”

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Terance Mann (right patellar tendon/left Achilles), Noah Clowney (left ankle), Ziaire Williams (left foot), Nic Claxton (right fifth finger), Danny Wolf (left ankle), Michael Porter Jr. (left hamstring), Day’Ron Sharpe (left thumb surgery) and Egor Dëmin (left plantar fascia) were out for the Nets.

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The Bucks played without Giannis Antetokounmpo, Myles Turner, Kyle Kuzma, Kevin Porter Jr., Bobby Portis, Ryan Rollins and Gary Trent Jr.

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• CHECK OUT THE LATEST NBA STANDINGS AND NETS STATS

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Cam Thomas didn’t stick with the Bucks long enough to make his return to Barclays Center Tuesday.

He got waived by the Nets because he didn’t defend or pass or take Brooklyn’s two-year contract offer, but Thomas got cut by Milwaukee on March 23 to make room for a 26-year-old two-way Pete Nance.

“At the end of the day, it really came down to contracts with him,” said Doc Rivers. “When we got him, we thought we were going to make a run. Then right when we saw we were not, ownership [decided] we’re just not going to take the extra salary on there, [hurting] our flexibility. And I got that, too. I don’t know all the stuff here, but with me, him and the team, I thought overall he was pretty good for us.”

The Mavericks disputed how Lakers coach JJ Redick charactersized the imaging process that led to Austin Reaves being diagnosed with a Grade 2 left oblique strain. 

After the Lakers’ practice on Saturday at Southern Methodist University, Redick said the team was waiting for the results of Reaves’ MRI after he suffered the oblique injury during last Thursday’s loss to the Thunder. 

At the time, Redick said Reaves’ second MRI was on Saturday after the team arrived in Dallas on Friday. 

“Again, I don’t know where the chain of command lies with Dallas imaging, but they scanned the wrong area,” Redick said. “So not on our end. We made it explicit what was supposed to be scanned but they scanned the wrong area.”

The Mavericks issued a statement, first to DLLS Sports, that disputed Redick’s comments. 

“Our medical team followed standard imaging protocols based on the information provided at the time,” the Mavericks said. “There was no error in the scan performed.”

When asked about the comment ahead of the Lakers’ home game against the Thunder on Tuesday, Redick said the Lakers were going to move forward.

“Well, I just, look, I think in the end we got the image we needed,” Redick said. “And obviously very appreciative, because it’s happened throughout the season whenever the home team is accommodating to us, just like we would be for them. And we’re gonna move on.”

Reaves is out for the remainder of the regular season because of the oblique injury, joining fellow star guard Luka Doncic (Grade 2 left hamstring strain) as Lakers who are on the shelf for the foreseeable future. 

Smart update

Marcus Smart missed his eighth consecutive game on Tuesday, but Redick said the starting guard should be back in the lineup within the next few days. 

“He’s progressing well,” Redick said. “We thought he’d be back by now. It’s not that he had a setback last week. He was doing on-court work and he wanted to dial it back. So he had a great day [on Tuesday] on the court, trending towards playing at some point this week.”

The Lakers will play the Warriors in San Francisco on Thursday before hosting the Suns on Friday.

Star forward LeBron James also wasn’t available on Tuesday against the Thunder, sitting because of left foot injury management. 

Doncic in Spain 

With Doncic in Spain to seek medical treatment for his hamstring, Redick emphasized how Doncic is motivated to do what he can to get back on the court as soon as possible during the Lakers’ playoff run.   

“I’m not going to share how long he’s gonna be over there, but I think he’s in good spirits,” Redick said “In my conversations with him, he’s motivated to do everything possible. And I know for him, it’s hard for him not to be on a basketball court. That’s his happy place. And he’s one of the handful of guys that really plays year round. And it’s not just international competition. But he likes to be in the gym. He likes to be working on his craft. And I think it’s hard for him. He wants to get back on the court.”

The Milwaukee Bucks had a bad shooting night against a poor 20-win team, the Brooklyn Nets, losing 96-90. AJ Green led the Bucks with 20 points on 6/12 from three, while E.J. Liddell scored a career-high 21 in as many minutes (as he didn’t play in the fourth quarter because… you know why).

NBA.com Box Score

Game Recap

The game started back and forth, and no side truly earned an advantage early in the first quarter. However, through three quick triples from AJ Green, Milwaukee established an advantage over Brooklyn as the game wore on. Milwaukee continued its characteristic defensive lapses as Brooklyn exploited opportunistic double-teams for easy points in the paint and open threes. That, coupled with an inability to find good looks on offense and frequent turnovers, allowed Brooklyn to storm to a 10-0 run, giving them a 30-29 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Milwaukee looked shocked by Brooklyn’s resolve during the second quarter. They had to fight for every shot, dealing with an uncharacteristically tough Nets defense. Even when they found open shots, they didn’t land. Milwaukee shot 1/12 from long range throughout the quarter, opening the door for a 10-4 run by the Nets. They ran circles around the Milwaukee offense, using a mixture of pick-and-rolls and handoffs to find open shots. Both teams began to falter offensively towards the end, settling for contested shots. Despite finding some important stops towards the end of the half, Milwaukee continued to trail Brooklyn 49-43.

The Bucks struggled to chip away at the Nets’ increasingly imposing lead. They struggled on defense, frequently giving up physical paint buckets to Liddell and rookie Drake Powell. On offense, the three-ball didn’t fall, and they continued to make clumsy turnovers in transition. As Liddell reached a career high in points, Milwaukee fell behind by as many as 16 points. Although Milwaukee’s shooting from range gradually warmed up, the game’s stop-and-go nature continued to frustrate the Bucks’ offense. They ended the quarter down 70-62.

Milwaukee continued to get in its own way in the final frame; careless turnovers, a general softness in the paint, and woeful shooting stopped any momentum. Cormac Ryan’s open three-pointer three minutes deep into the fourth was their first three in around six minutes of game time, and, although the team followed it up with a Green triple, they subsequently turned the ball over twice inside a minute. However, Green’s scoring came in clutch during crunch time, pouring in 11 of his 20 points in the final quarter. Taurean Prince’s corner three trimmed Brooklyn’s lead to just one with 2:30 left. However, a pair of missed threes, along with two clutch Brooklyn layups, put the Nets up five with little under a minute to go. Although Green’s 30-foot heat-check gave Milwaukee life late, Ben Saraf drew a tricky foul on Ousmane Dieng and put the Nets up by four. Dieng’s late contested three-pointer from range missed the mark, effectively icing the game for the Nets.

Stat That Stood Out

The Bucks only hit 5/8 from the free throw line, their third-lowest total of the season. By comparison, the Nets hit 21/23.

The Toronto Raptors are holding onto their playoff spot for their lives as the last few games in the NBA regular season creep by. A pair of home games against Miami this week are essential to their playoff positioning, and the first one on Tuesday saw some injured Raptors return to the lineup. Fumble this last week of games, and you end up in a Play-In Tournament situation — something the Raptors would obviously rather avoid.

The Miami Heat are also holding onto their spot for their lives, but they are fighting just to stay in the Play-In Tournament period. As Masai Ujiri once said, “play-in for what?”

The Raptors did well in the second quarter to defend the Heat, stopping a budding Wiggins scoring run and effectively shutting down Bam Adebayo. Adebayo was held to four points in the first half. On the other end, the Raptors were holding steady, and both Brandon Ingram and Scottie Barnes were pushing offensively to help Toronto to a 13-point lead at halftime.

From there, it was about keeping that lead through the rest of the game… something the Raptors have struggled with at times this year. Tyler Herro and Andrew Wiggins weren’t going to make it easy on them, either. Luckily, Brandon Ingram was in peak form, scoring a neat 23 points on 9-16 shooting from the field.

Scottie Barnes was right there with Ingram, scoring 25 points on 10-16 shooting from the field. Poeltl had 17 points, and RJ Barrett scored 16 of his own. The only starter below 10 was Quickley, in his first game back from resting his plantar fasciitis. Still, it was enough for the Raptors to get the win, 121-95 over Miami.

“There are some things to clean up,” Darko Rajakovic said after the game. “but they did what their job was tonight.”

It was a simple, locked-in defensive game for the Raptors. Exactly what they needed this week — low drama, good results, something to be confident about. A near wire-to-wire win, one game closer to locking down their 6th seed. The thing about playing the same team twice in a row, though, is that the second game can be highly unpredictable. Toronto, as the winning team in the first game, knows what it needs to do to win. Yet, Miami also knows exactly what it needs to do to not lose again. The next game could be a carbon copy of this one, or go completely different.

The Raptors need to stay focused in these last few games. They are banged up and tired, but the difference between the 6th seed and 7th seed is so vast that they need to stay where they are. Having a week off before a playoff series instead of having to grind through the Play-In would make so much difference for this young, slightly injured team. More than that, the difference between who you play as a six-seed versus a 7-10th seed could be major as well.

The Raptors play the Heat again at home on Thursday. Then, all they have is a road game in New York, followed by the last game of the regular season on Sunday against Brooklyn.