Category: NBA

Credit to the rook for even keeping them in this game.

The Sixers’ three-game win streak was snapped with a 114-98 loss to the Boston Celtics Sunday night. They are now 33-27, still one game up in the loss column for the East’s sixth seed thanks to a loss earlier in the day from the Orlando Magic. 

Tyrese Maxey, who got going as the second half progressed, led all scorers with 33 shooting 12-of-34 from the floor along with six assists. VJ Edgecombe, with a stellar 5-of-11 night from deep, dropped 23 points along with five rebounds. 

Jaylen Brown and Neemias Queta led the Celtics with 27 apiece.

Joel Embiid missed his first of at least three games with an oblique strain.

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First Quarter

• It was quite a flashy start, with Maxey and Edgecombe each nailing their first pull-up threes of the game. Maxey shook his defender with a good crossover on two possessions in a row — he nailed the midrange J but missed that three-point attempt.
• Offensive rebounding was a problem from the jump, with Boston grabbing four within the first five minutes of the game. There were plenty of Celtics bricks to grab early, and the Sixers’ quick pace covered that up for the time being.

VJ Edgecombe with the moves in transition 🤩 pic.twitter.com/YOJzV1qckl

— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) March 2, 2026

• Adem Bona gave the Sixers a shot in the arm down low, but similar to Andre Drummond his contributions were more on the offensive end. He was the only Sixer to score for a four-minute stretch as they conceded a 10-1 run. Dominick Barlow nailed and a catch-and-shoot jumper to end that, but he was inside the arc so the Sixers held just a two-point lead after one.

Second Quarter

• For the non-Maxey minutes, Nick Nurse went with all the bench ball-handlers alongside Edgecombe. Quentin Grimes missed his first two pull-ups while Trendon Watford made his first pair of push shots that kept the offense afloat. Cam Payne just picked up one assist in his first four minutes of action.

Trendon Watford gets on the board to start off the second quarter for the Sixers pic.twitter.com/nuSKp1vEZ3

— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) March 2, 2026

• Drummond made his first three of the night, but he really struggled on the other end, chasing around Queta who was suddenly flirting with a 20-point half. This game again exposed how thin they are at center when Embiid is out of the lineup, with Bona picking up his third foul to boot.
• The Sixers went nearly four minutes without a field goal after that Drummond three. Maxey already began to teeter before he left the game and then missed several tough shots when he checked back in. He finally got a tough and-1 floater towards the end of the half. Drummond knocked down another three, but got T’d up for his celebration. Another overaggressive double team led to Brown kicking out to an open three at the buzzer, one that put the Celtics up by 12.

Third Quarter

• Two quick threes to start the second half gave Boston their largest lead of the night. A four-point play from Edgecombe was a good response, and Maxey followed with a trip to the line, but both followed with missed shots in the paint, ending their brief momentum.

4-point play for VJ Edgecombe! pic.twitter.com/BiuBpGjN69

— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) March 2, 2026

• Edgecombe has been shooting really well on pull-ups in the midrange as of late but it was behind the arc in this one. To say it was all they had was an understatement — through three quarters, only three of his teammates had also made a three-pointer.
• His only help for much of the quatrer was Barlow. His three steals helped the 14 points he had, but he was aggressive enough to get to the line eight times as well. Maxey finally got some baskets to go with fast break layups and runners. He threw a really nice skip pass on one break to Grimes, and hit a tough stepback three to get the Sixers within six points.

Fourth Quarter

• Both starters in the backcourt stayed out there to start the quarter and each knocked down another three, but their flurries showed just what it took to keep the lead where it was, much less eat into it. The aggressive double teams didn’t stop against the Celtics, the most three-point hunting team in the league, and the Sixers paid for it again and again.

VJ Edgecombe gets up for the dunk — he's got 22 points and counting tonight. pic.twitter.com/HqSiiTL67Q

— Liberty Ballers (@Liberty_Ballers) March 2, 2026

• They were in no position to risk it, but the Sixers picked up an extremely weak flagrant midway through the fourth. Queta hit Edgecombe hard with a screen but drew no foul, so Kelly Oubre Jr. gave Queta a hard push in retaliation. In ref wars though the Sixers at least got one back a few possessions later. After trying all game Edgecombe finally drew an offensive foul on a Brown push off. No one got the worst of it though than the fan Edgecombe inadvertently kicked leaping into the crowd to save a loose ball.
• Nikola Vucevic killed Bona earlier in the quarter stepping out, and Queta continued to kill Drummond with the starters in down the stretch. On top of his 10 offensive rebounds, he continued to beat the Sixers defense and force them to put him on the line. Finally in the last minutes of this game the Celtics put the game away in a way it felt like they should have way earlier in the half.

March came in like a lamb for the Bucks at the United Center today: a 16-point first-half lead turned into a 120-97 laugher, thanks to a catastrophic 27-0 Bulls run and a 33-8 fourth quarter in the home team’s favor. Still, the Bucks finished the season series 3-1 over the Bulls. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast Bucks In Six Minutes below.

Player Grades

Myles Turner

21 minutes, 8 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 turnovers, 3/10 FG, 2/5 3P, 3/4 FT, -20

Scoreless after the first quarter, and only five further shot attempts. In his defense, Doc wasn’t playing him much for whatever reason. Probably could have used his rim protection for more than nine second-half minutes, given that Chicago outscored Milwaukee 34-10 in the paint after half.

Grade: D+

Kevin Porter Jr.

32 minutes, 10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4/16 FG, 0/1 3P, 2/2 FT, -23

A lot of really tough shots and few fell, especially inside. What I liked the least, though, was the open threes he passed up over and over again in the second half. Couldn’t stop Josh Giddey, who had a triple-double (and a surprising 14 rebounds).

Grade: D

AJ Green

30 minutes, 13 points, 2 assists, 4 fouls, 4/11 FG, 4/11 3P, -20

Again, all his points in the first half. 0/3 in the second. Made some important ones early, but then disappeared. Offered next to nothing on the other end.

Grade: D+

Ryan Rollins

34 minutes, 11 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 turnovers, 2 steals, 5/11 FG, 1/6 3P, -19

The counting stats are decent until you get to the turnovers, which are a real problem of late with Rylo. His passing in the second quarter was outstanding, but his second half was a brickfest. Starting 4/4 and then going 1/7… hardly alone among the starters today.

Grade: C-

Kyle Kuzma

23 minutes, 10 points, 4 assists, 4 turnovers, 4/5 FG, – 24

I’ll give him credit for being the only Buck to make any hay inside, but otherwise, nothing positive from Kuz today. Seemed too cavalier when he entered in the fourth quarter, and the Bucks continued getting wrecked.

Grade: D

Bobby Portis

24 minutes, 18 points, 5 rebounds, 7/14 FG, 3/8 3P, +1

Too many middies (more on that later) and settling for jumpers, but at least they were falling. A key part of the Bucks’ second-quarter success, but also part of the unit that started to let the game slip away early in the fourth before checking out.

Grade: B–

Cam Thomas

18 minutes, 15 points, 3 assists, 3/11 FG, 8/10 FT, +2

The type of scoring line that looks really efficient if you only look at the free throws. Dribbled the air out of the ball, gets to the line, took ill-advised jumpers… the Cam Thomas experience.

Grade: C–

Jericho Sims

24 minutes, 2 points, 11 rebounds, 1/1 FG, +1

Excellent on the glass in the first half and five offensive boards for the game, but—stop me if you’ve heard this before—didn’t do anything after half. Also part of the unit I mentioned with Portis above, and was hardly near the rim when the Bulls started yamming on them.

Grade: C-

Ousmane Dieng

21 minutes, 7 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 3 steals, 3/12 FG, 1/6 3P, -1

Dieng’s three-point shooting has cratered the last three games (2/14), but a chunk of his misses came in garbage time after the Bucks went down 19. Wasn’t on the floor for too much of the early fourth quarter cataclysm.

Grade: C

Doc Rivers

Oh boy, where do I start? I’ll just give one of his postgame comments, but I have a lot more to say about today, which I’ll do in a separate place. Anyway, the Bucks missed 18 consecutive field goals from the third into the fourth quarter, and a lot were clean looks. Here’s what Doc had to say:

“I don’t care if it’s not in the paint. We’re getting wide-open threes. We’re one of the best shooting threes in the NBA. So if we take 30 of those, I can live with it. What I didn’t like is (that) we didn’t get the right shots. Half of them were twos, contested. That’s what bothered me in the game. Honestly, if we’d have got all those plays and they were wide-open threes and we had two points in the paint, but they were wide-open threes, I could go to sleep tonight. Because I know our guys got the right shots. I thought by the time we got the right shots, it was too late.”

Doc had earlier mentioned that “the good looks came after crappy basketball for the first 11 minutes of the third quarter.” Not addressing crappy basketball is bad enough. Moreover, shooters shoot, but to completely abandon anything inside?

Not that it was even a priority: the Bucks were 6/6 in the restricted area in the first half and 2/7 in the second half. Chicago had three injured in their frontcourt (Zach Collins, Jalen Smith, and Patrick Williams), so Nick Richards and Leonard Miller were their only guys above 6’8”. Matas Buzelis and Guerschon Yabusele rounded out an already-thin Bulls frontcourt post-deadline. Even without Giannis, Doc has five players 6’9” and up at his disposal, enough size and talent to deal with Chicago’s four. Not caring if their shots aren’t in the paint? To quote my colleague Jack Trehearne: diabolical.

Grade: F

Garbage Time: Gary Harris, Andre Jackson Jr., Pete Nance, Gary Trent Jr.

Inactive: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Alex Antetokounmpo, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Taurean Prince, Cormac Ryan

Bonus Bucks Bits

• Eight points is the lowest any NBA team has scored in a regulation quarter this season. Milwaukee was 2/21 from the floor in the period.
• The Bulls’ 27-0 run was a franchise record. And that was the second-largest run the Bucks have ever given up: the worst was a 29-0 Cavs run at the Bradley Center in December 2009, as we found out postgame. For what it’s worth, the NBA record is 30-0.
• Portis asked us assembled reporters in the locker room post-game if we’d ever seen anything like that run. He hadn’t, and none of us had either—at least not in person.
• A few more stats on the Bucks’ epic drought: the 18 straight misses came between Cam Thomas’ lay-in at 1:23 in the third and Dieng’s dunk with 3:12 left in the game. That’s 10 minutes, 11 seconds.
• They also missed 15 consecutive threes across a slightly longer span. At half, they were 10/23 from deep, a nice 43.5%. In the second half: 3/23, 13%. 13/46 overall is 28.3%. Barf.
• There were seven minutes and 32 seconds between Bucks points, and it took them just over six minutes to register a point in the fourth.
• But the most damning thing: of those 18 straight misses I mentioned? They took only one shot within 10 feet: a Portis driving hook.
• For the game, they took 30 attempts in the paint, and the Bulls outscored them there 50-26. The disparity was particularly bad in the second half: Chicago was 17/20 in the paint, and Milwaukee shot just 5/17.
• It was a sloppy game overall with 37 combined turnovers (19 for Milwaukee, 18 for Chicago), and Chicago scored six more points off them than Milwaukee’s 14.
• Strangely enough, the Bucks had a sizeable shot advantage with 11 more field goal attempts than the Bulls. Part of that can be chalked up to the Bucks’ 11-7 edge on the offensive glass. Free throws were 23-17 in favor of the home team.
• Milwaukee racked up 19 first-half assists—their highest total in a half since opening night—on 25 made baskets. Then seven on 10 makes in the second half. I’m no Red Auerbach, but I’d say that means you should probably pass the ball more.
• In checking the shot chart, I was struck by this: the Bulls took only two shots between nine feet and the three-point line. The Bucks took… a whole lot more.
• Matas Buzelis put Portis on a poster early in the fourth, but it’s all love: the two exchanged jerseys after the game. Bobby says he may need another room at home in Arkansas for the collection he’s amassed from opponents.
• There was a baby race at halftime in the United Center. Only two of seven even made it off the starting line (the charity stripe), and one only made it a few feet. Everyone else just sat there. 11-month-old Will—the only one who truly crawled—annihilated the competition and was scooped up at midcourt by Benny the Bull after his victory. He was interviewed by the Bulls’ in-game emcee, and after showing brief tactile interest in the foamy microphone screen, he pushed it away.

Up Next

This was the front end of a back-to-back, with a quick trip back to Milwaukee tonight to face the Boston Celtics tomorrow evening. Tip is 6:30 p.m. Central on Peacock and FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.

DALLAS (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points, Chet Holmgren had 19 points and nine rebounds and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks 100-87 on Sunday night.

Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 20 points in 59 consecutive road games, the longest streak in NBA history. The reigning NBA MVP played his second game after missing nine because of an abdominal strain.

The defending champion Thunder are 47-15, a half-game behind Detroit for the NBA lead. They have a three-game lead in West over second-place San Antonio.

The Mavericks, with star rookie Cooper Flagg among three regular starters sidelined, were held to a season low in points and saw the NBA’s longest active streak of triple-digit games end at 41. They are 21-39.

Caleb Martin scored a season-high 18 points to lead the Mavericks, who lost their eighth consecutive home game and 13th overall in the last 15. It’s their longest such home drought since dropping 12 straight in 1993-94.

It was the first time that Martin, acquired from Philadelphia on Feb. 5, 2025, led Dallas in scoring in 65 games. It was the Thunder's fewest points in a win this season, the previous low being their 101-94 win on Oct. 27.

Flagg missed his seventh consecutive game with a sprained left foot. Dallas was also missing Naji Marshall (right-finger contusion) and P.J. Washington Jr. (left ankle sprain). Reserve Klay Thompson didn't play in the second half because of right adductor soreness.

Mavericks coach Jason Kidd has said Flagg probably won’t play when last season’s collegiate player of the year for Duke makes his first NBA trip back to North Carolina for a game against Charlotte on Tuesday night.

Up next

Thunder: At Chicago on Tuesday night.

Mavericks: Begin a six-game trip at Charlotte on Tuesday night.

___

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

Kristaps Porziņģis will remain out for a fifth straight game due to general illness. He will miss the Golden State Warriors’ game against the Los Angeles Clippers tomorrow night.

Regardless of the question of whether Porziņģis still suffers from the effects of post-orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) or not — a recent controversy sparked by head coach Steve Kerr’s comments during a radio hosting — it is quite clear that Porziņģis isn’t quite 100 percent ready to see the floor for a prolonged period of time.

Additionally, Will Richard, who suffered an ankle sprain against the Los Angeles Lakers last night, will miss the game against the Clippers. Gary Payton II is listed as questionable due to what is being called as “left ankle impingement,” per the official injury report released by the NBA.

Kristaps Porzingis remains out tomorrow night for a fifth straight game with a general illness. Will Richard also out for the Warriors vs Clippers after spraining his ankle last night. Gary Payton II questionable.

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 2, 2026

Per a source that told ESPN’s Anthony Slater, Steph Curry — after waiting 10 days to be re-evaluated — is now set for another re-evaluation for another 10 days.

That means Curry will miss the Golden State Warriors’ upcoming five games, at the very least.

Steph Curry will be re-evaluated again in 10 days, per source. Making progress on that "unpredictable" right knee issue, as Curry called it, but that'll rule him out of at least the next five Warriors games. He's missed the last 10 games.

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 2, 2026

Suffering from patellofemoral pain syndrome — more commonly known as runner’s knee — Curry’s ailment has proven to be quite unpredictable and much tougher to manage than expected. Already out of the running for end-of-season awards, Curry will also be unable to contribute to a last push toward the Warriors gaining respectable position in the play-in tournament.

A mid-game interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews during the Warriors’ game against the Los Angeles Lakers revealed that Curry hasn’t had on-court work at all.

The Dallas Mavericks took on the Oklahoma City Thunder Sunday night with a piece-meal roster. P.J Washington, Marvin Bagley III and Naji Marshall were three key rotation players out for the game, and after 15 minutes of action, Klay Thompson unfortunately joined them. Shortly after Thompson checked out, the announce team said he would be out for the game with an adductor contusion.

Klay Thompson has been ruled out for the rest of tonight’s matchup against the Thunder due to a right adductor contusion, per the Mavericks. pic.twitter.com/WNPBTFwjo4

— Artoftheleague 🖌️ (@artoftheleague) March 2, 2026

The adductor muscles are located in the inner thigh and the injury is akin to a “groin strain” or “groin contusion.” There are various grades to this type of injury and we do not yet know how severe Thompson’s is. On the low end (grade 1), a two-to-three-week recovery timeline is common. More serious injuries (grade 2 or 3) could take up to two-to-three months!

Again, we do not yet know the severity of the injury and can only speculate as to what it means for Thompson. Given that we’re in the home stretch of the season with only about six weeks remaining, it’s not impossible to envision a scenario where Thompson played his last game for 2025-2026. Hopefully we’ll get further clarity soon, and hopefully it will be good news that Thompson can return to action quickly.

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Lionel Messi scored twice in a four-goal second half, defender Telasco Segovia added a goal and two assists and defending champion Inter Miami rallied to beat Orlando City 4-2 on Sunday night, winning for the first time at Inter&Co Stadium.

Messi took a pass from Segovia and scored in the 57th minute to pull Inter Miami (1-1-0) even at 2-2 and Segovia scored unassisted in the 85th for the lead. Messi put the finishing touch on the victory when he scored off a free kick in the 90th. The reigning MVP’s first two goals of the season give him 52 in his first 55 regular-season MLS matches — 51 of them in his last 49 appearances.

Marco Pašalić took a pass from Iván Angulo and scored in the 18th minute to give Orlando City (0-2-0) a 1-0 lead. Pašalić has scored in four straight matches against Inter Miami.

Defender Griffin Dorsey set up Martín Ojeda for a goal six minutes later for a 2-0 advantage that stood through halftime.

Inter Miami cut it to 2-1 four minutes into the second half on Mateo Silvetti's first career goal. Defenders Segovia and Facundo Mura had assists as the 20-year-old forward found the net in his fifth career appearance. Segovia had eight goals and six assists as a rookie last season, while Mura collected his first assist in his first season.

Dayne St. Clair, the reigning goalkeeper of the year, turned away three shots — all in the second half of his second start with Inter Miami.

Maxime Crépeau had four saves in his second start for Orlando City.

Teenager Colin Guske, 19, will miss Orlando City's next match after the rookie picked up two yellow cards in his first start — the second one led to his exit in the 88th minute.

Inter Miami, which had never won in its previous nine trips to Orlando, was coming off a 3-0 road loss to Los Angeles FC.

Orlando City swept Inter Miami during the regular season last year and leads the all-time series 8-7-4.

Up next

Inter Miami: At D.C. United on Saturday.

Orlando City: At New York City FC on Saturday.

___

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

The Washington Wizards are playing the Houston Rockets Monday night. I’ve got you covered with the preview.

Game info

When: 7 p.m. EST on Monday, Mar. 2

Where: Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

How to watch: Monumental Sports Network

Injuries

Wizards — Leaky Black, Anthony Davis, Trae Young and Alex Sarr are all listed as OUT. Tristan Vukcevic, Anthony Gill and Kyshawn George are all listed as DAY-TO-DAY. D’Angelo Russell is not with the team.

Rockets — Jabari Smith Jr., Steven Adams, Jae’Sean Tate and Fred VanVleet are all listed as OUT.

Game notes and more

• The Houston Rockets added DMV legend Kevin Durant in the offseason, though in the absence of Fred VanVleet and any suitable offensive organizer to replace him, the Rockets have pigeon-holed themselves as a high floor, low ceiling non-contender. They were a hot pick to make the NBA Finals before the season, but now I would not be surprised if they lose in the first round of the playoffs.
• The NBA will look to change its tanking rules following this season, so the Wizards have embarked on potentially one last tankathon for the ages ahead of a loaded 2026 draft class.

Stephen Curry is expected to miss time with the Golden State Warriors due to an injury.

He has missed the team's last 10 games and is expected to miss the next five games. Golden State went 4-6 during his absence. Curry will be reevaluated again in 10 days, according to ESPN.

Curry's injury is listed as patellofemoral pain syndrome, also known as "runner's knee.”

The Warriors are eighth in the Western Conference standings with a 31-29 overall record.

How did Stephen Curry get injured?

Curry appeared to be uncomfortable with his right knee during a game against the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 30. He had a brace on his knee and was grabbing at it during the game.

What is runner’s knee?

According to John Hopkins Medicine, runner's knee is when a person has “pain in front of the knee or around the kneecap (patella). This is where the knee connects with the lower end of the thighbone (femur).”

Who is Stephen Curry’s backup?

Brandin Podziemski and Pat Spencer are expected to serve as the primary backup options while Curry remains out of the lineup.

Podziemski has averaged 12.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game in 60 games this season. Spencer has averaged 6.3 points, 3.5 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game in 44 games played.

When do Warriors play next?

The Warriors will host the L.A. Clippers at the Chase Center on Monday, March 2, at 10 p.m. ET.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Steph Curry injury update: Warriors star out with runner's knee

NEW YORK (AP) — Still recovering from a broken thumb, James Harden made a successful return for the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.

Harden had 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in Cleveland's 106-102 victory at the Brooklyn Nets. The 11-time All-Star went 4 for 7 from 3-point range.

The 36-year-old Harden missed two games after fracturing his right thumb during Tuesday night's 109-94 win over the New York Knicks.

“You could see in the first half he's not 100 percent, obviously,” Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said. “I thought in the second half though he had that stretch there where we were struggling, he kind of took over, got to the free-throw line, hit a couple 3s, so that was good.”

Harden was acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 3. The 17-year veteran is averaging 19.3 points, 8.0 assists and 5.1 rebounds in eight games with Cleveland.

The 6-foot-5 guard had eight points in the first half against Brooklyn, and the Nets led 52-46 at the break. But Cleveland rallied in the second half.

Harden made two foul shots and converted a four-point play to help the Cavs take a 70-64 lead with 4:40 left in the third quarter.

“We needed him tonight,” Atkinson said. “Obviously playing handicapped, he still played really well.”

___

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

SAN FRANCISCO — After a game in which the Lakers’ three best players (Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves) all had strong performances, the team’s newest addition received the first name drop from coach JJ Redick after the blowout win over the Warriors on Saturday night. 

“And, boy, Luke Kennard, he just starts the blender for us,” Redick said. “We frankly have not had a ton of blender starters.”

What does Kennard creating the blender look like?

Like what took place around the 7:14 mark of the fourth quarter when Kennard ghosted (faked) a back screen for Jake LaRavia before flying off a pindown from Maxi Kleber and relocated to beyond the 3-point arc in screen-the-screener action.

This forced Warriors big man Quinten Post to step out and close out on Kennard, who has shot 44.2% on 3s in his career and is shooting a league-best 49.1% on 3s this season. Kennard drove past Post to force the Warriors defense to collapse onto him inside the arc, with Kennard kicking out to Jarred Vanderbilt in the weakside corner. 

Three passes later, Kennard benefited from the blender he created, knocking down a step-back 3 over Gui Santos.

“Obviously, Luka gets two on the ball, AR gets two on the ball, LeBron will get two on the ball,” Redick said. “But just to be able to create a closeout and then make the right read and right play from there … Luke was huge for our offense.” 

The play was part of Kennard’s 16-point performance (6-of-10 shooting, 4 of 7 on 3s) against the Warriors, which was his highest scoring total since being traded to the Lakers on Feb. 5.

“Obviously, I’ve been here for a short amount of time, but when we are a team that gets in the paint and we share the ball, we have multiple passes on a possession, I feel like we’re a different team,” Kennard said. “We get a lot of great looks, and we can put up a lot of points. Obviously, we need the ball to be in (Doncic’s, Reaves’ and James’) hands to make plays for us, and that’s how it’s got to be. But for us guys coming off the bench, we need to be ready to play the right way, get the ball moving and just play with some pace.”

On the Lakers’ next possession and with Pat Spencer top-locking him, Kennard actually set the back screen for LaRavia by forcing Spencer to make contact with LaRavia’s defender (Nate Williams) to free up LaRavia for an alley-oop layup assisted by Marcus Smart. 

“That’s just connective offense right there,” Redick said. “And that’s just what Luke does.”

Kennard wasn’t credited with the statistic in the box score, but his screening made the play possible.

Luke Kennard scored 16 points in tonight's win over the Warriors, which is his highest scoring total as a Lakers.

LeBron James on the impact Luke has had on LAL since being traded to the Lakers over three weeks ago:

"It gives us another scoring threat…Because he shoots the… pic.twitter.com/A9dKpnNMRE

— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) March 1, 2026

“Being a good screener, it’s something that you don’t really talk about much,” Kennard said. “You don’t kind of see the impact of what that can be. But JJ has put me in positions to be a screener. And I think just the gravity that I have is being one of the top shooters in the league, teams don’t wanna leave me. So being a screener, getting guys open, it gets me shots if I set good screens. I take pride in being a good screener.”

The Lakers value not only Kennard’s shooting but also what the other parts of his skill set can open for the offense.

JJ Redick said Luke Kennard "starts the blender" for the Lakers. Luke on how he views those opportunities: " I love it. It kind of gives confidence in me, not just being like a spot-up shooter." pic.twitter.com/hoCitxW5Gc

— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) March 1, 2026

“His ability to make plays, getting to the paint, uses his (shooting threat); because he shoots the ball so well, a lot of teams like to run him off the line,” James said. “But his ability to get into the lane and make plays for others as well has been a big part of what we want to do, too. Just making that extra pass, those kick-out plays and those extra ones, he’s damn good at it.”

And Kennard appreciates being able to show off his offensive tools.

“It kind of gives confidence in me, not just being a spot-up shooter,” Kennard said. “There’s been stops, I think, where that’s kind of what I’ve been, and I’ll find my role and try to do the best I can with that. But I think just creating havoc offensively, just getting in the paint … when we get in the paint and we have multiple passes on possession, we’re such a different team. I can kind of initiate some of that. If two guys are on, like Luka, Bron or Austin, and I get a swing pass, if I don’t have a shot, I can get in the paint and try to make a play. I pride myself on that, trying to make the right play every single time. I’ve been having a good time.”

CHICAGO (AP) — Josh Giddey had 20 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for his eighth triple-double this season, and the Chicago Bulls used a 27-0 run to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 120-97 on Sunday and stop an 11-game losing streak.

Giddey had his 15th triple-double as a member of the Bulls, tying Scottie Pippen for second on the franchise list.

Collin Sexton added 22 points, and Matas Buzelis had 20, helping Chicago come out on top after matching the third-worst skid in franchise history. The Bulls were 0-11 in February and had not won since Jan. 31 at Miami.

Bobby Portis scored 18 points for Milwaukee. The Bucks missed 17 straight shots down the stretch in their second straight blowout loss.

Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo missed his 15th consecutive game because of a strained right calf. The two-time MVP has not played since Jan. 23.

The Bulls trailed by 16 in the second quarter following a 17-0 run by Milwaukee and were down 66-51 at halftime. It was 89-81 late in the third when Tre Jones made two free throws for Chicago to start the decisive rally.

LAKERS 128, KINGS 104

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic had 28 points and nine assists, LeBron James added 24 points and Los Angeles finished a back-to-back set with a victory over Sacramento.

Austin Reaves scored 12 points for the Lakers, who also won at Golden State on Saturday to end a three-game skid. After a week of unimpressive play following the All-Star break, Los Angeles snapped back into form on the weekend, beating its two Northern California rivals by a combined 52 points.

Doncic made four 3-pointers as the NBA’s leading scorer played only the first three quarters, while James, Marcus Smart and Luke Kennard hit three 3s apiece. The Lakers made 17 of their first 33 3-point attempts while the starters were still playing, flirting with the franchise record for 3-point shooting percentage before finishing 18 of 39.

The 41-year-old James had a pair of rim-shaking dunks that he celebrated with zeal during a comfortable win for the Lakers, who never trailed again after Sacramento scored the game’s opening basket.

KNICKS 114, SPURS 89

NEW YORK (AP) — Mikal Bridges had 25 points, Jalen Brunson scored 24 and New York snapped San Antonio's 11-game winning streak with a victory.

After going unbeaten in February, the Spurs were shut down to open March, never recovering from the Knicks’ 26-2 run in the first half and losing for the first time since Jan. 31 in Charlotte.

Victor Wembanyama bounced back from two quiet offensive games with 25 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, but a Spurs team that became the first in NBA history to go unbeaten and score at least 110 points in every game while playing at least 10 in a month fell flat after a fast start.

Mohamed Diawara had 14 points off the bench for the Knicks, who also beat the Spurs earlier this season to win the NBA Cup in Las Vegas.

Wembanyama had been limited to 12 points in each of the last two games. He was much sharper Sunday in his first game at Madison Square Garden since finishing with 42 points and 18 rebounds in a loss on Christmas 2024 in his first time playing on the holiday.

CAVALIERS 106, NETS 102

NEW YORK (AP) — James Harden scored 22 points in his return to the lineup with a broken thumb and Cleveland snapped a two-game skid with a victory over Brooklyn.

Harden missed two games after fracturing his thumb earlier in the week. He bounced back and shot 5 for 9 from the field, 4 for 7 from 3-point distance and 8 for 12 from the line, with nine rebounds and eight assists. He was injured Tuesday night in a 109-94 home victory over New York. X-rays Wednesday showed a non-displaced fracture of the distal phalanx. The 17-year veteran was traded by the Los Angeles Clippers to Cleveland on Feb. 4.

Jarrett Allen scored 20 points and Evan Mobley added 16 points and 13 rebounds as the Cavaliers improved to 12-1 in their last 13 games against the Nets. Sam Merrill finished with 15 points and Dennis Schroder had 10.

Michael Porter Jr. scored 26 points on 10-for-17 shooting, and Danny Wolf added 23 points and nine rebounds for Brooklyn, which lost its eighth straight game and for the 11th time in 13 games. Nolan Traore contributed 17 points and Grant Nelson 11 as the Nets slipped to 15-45 overall.

TIMBERWOVLES 117, NUGGETS 108

DENVER (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 21 points, Bones Hyland had 15 of his 18 points in the first half against his former team, and Minnesota moved a game ahead of Denver in the Western Conference with a win over the Nuggets.

Minnesota swept its three-game trip to improve to 38-23 and jump into fourth in the West, beating Denver for the first time in four games this season.

There are just two games separating third-seeded Houston and the Los Angeles Lakers in sixth place, with Los Angeles set to host Sacramento later Sunday.

Nikola Jokic finished with 35 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists but couldn’t carry the Nuggets over their Northwest Division rivals. Jamal Murray had 25 points on 9-of-22 shooting, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range.

GRIZZLIES 125, PACERS 106

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Taylor Hendricks scored 19 points, Jaylen Wells had 18 and Memphis beat Indiana.

Olivier-Maxence Prosper added 17 points, and Scotty Pippen Jr. and Ryan Rupert each had 16 to help Memphis sweep the season series for the third time in five years.

Jarace Walker led Indiana with 21 points, and Micah Potter had 18.

Memphis took a 77-66 advantage four minutes into the third period.

The Grizzlies were without guard Ja Morant for the 17th consecutive game because of a left elbow injury. Rookie Cedric Coward sat out with a knee injury.

HAWKS 135, TRAIL BLAZERS 101

ATLANTA (AP) — Onyeka Okongwu scored 25 points, CJ McCollum added 19 and Atlanta rode a huge first quarter to an easy win over Portland.

Jonathan Kuminga had 20 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the Hawks (31-31), who reached .500 for the first time since Dec. 23. They have won four straight games by an average of 26.5 points and moved into ninth place in the Eastern Conference.

Kuminga played his third game for the Hawks since being traded by Golden State. He is averaging 21.3 points and 7.7 rebounds with Atlanta after barely playing for the Warriors. He soared for a windmill dunk on a breakaway late in the fourth quarter that ignited the home crowd.

Atlanta shot 55% from the field, outrebounded Portland 54-38 and had 36 assists to 23 for the Blazers.

Jrue Holiday scored 23 points for Portland, which has lost its last two games. Donovan Clingan had 15 points, 15 rebounds and a team-high five assists.

PISTONS 106, MAGIC 92

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 29 points and 11 assists, Tobias Harris scored 23 points and the NBA-leading Detroit beat Orlando for their sixth straight road victory.

The Pistons improved to 45-14, winning for the eighth time in nine games. They have won 10 of 11 on the road and are 21-7 overall away from home.

Jalen Duren added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Detroit.

Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 24 points and 11 rebounds, but also had nine turnovers. Tristan da Silva added 19 points and Desmond Bane had 17, but the Magic shot 30.7% in the second half and experienced a third-quarter collapse for the second time in three nights. They squandered a 19-point lead in less than four minutes in a loss to Houston on Friday night.

CELTICS 114, 76ERS 98

BOSTON (AP) — Neemias Queta scored a career-high 27 points and added 17 rebounds to help Boston recover from a slow start and rally to beat Philadelphia.

Jaylen Brown added 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and Derrick White finished with 21 points and eight assists as the Celtics became the fourth team to reach 40 victories. They have won six of seven.

It was the 11th double-double of the season for Queta, who also had three blocks. He has three double-doubles — with at least two blocks in each — over his last five games.

Philadelphia cut what was a 16-point lead by Boston in the second half to 103-97 with just over four minutes to play. But Queta scored Boston’s next eight points to put the Celtics in front 111-98 and help close it out.

Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with 33 points and six assists. VJ Edgecombe added 23 points as Philadelphia’s three-game win streak was snapped.

THUNDER 100, MAVERICKS 87

DALLAS (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 30 points, Chet Holmgren had 19 points and nine rebounds and Oklahoma City beat Dallas.

Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 20 points in 59 consecutive road games, the longest streak in NBA history. The reigning NBA MVP played his second game after missing nine because of an abdominal strain.

The defending champion Thunder are 47-15, a half-game behind Detroit for the NBA lead. They have a three-game lead in West over second-place San Antonio.

The Mavericks, with star rookie Cooper Flagg among three regular starters sidelined, were held to a season low in points and saw the NBA’s longest active streak of triple-digit games end at 41. They are 21-39.

Caleb Martin scored a season-high 18 points to lead the Mavericks, who lost their eighth consecutive home game and 13th overall in the last 15. It’s their longest such home drought since dropping 12 straight in 1993-94.

CLIPPERS 137, PELICANS 117

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 23 points and Los Angeles beat New Orleans to end a three-game losing streak.

Tenth in the Western Conference, the Clippers improved to 28-31. The Pelicans are 13th in the West at 19-43.

New Orleans star Zion Williamson sat out after injuring his right ankle at Utah on Saturday night. He had played a career-high 35 straight games.

Los Angeles never trailed. It led 43-32 after a quarter and had a 76-70 advantage at the half. It was 107-94 after three, and the Clippers stretched the margin to 26 in the fourth.

Jordan Miller added 19 points for Los Angeles. Derrick Jones Jr. had 17, Brook Lopez 16 and John Collins 15.

The Detroit Pistons outscored the Orlando Magic 56-35, behind 29 points from Cade Cunningham and 23 points from former Magic Tobias Harris. That second-half performance was a far cry from a sluggish first-half showing where the Pistons couldn’t hit a three to save their lives and couldn’t keep the Magic’s Paolo Banchero off the free-throw line.

Banchero was 12-of-14 from the charity stripe at halftime, and it looked like Detroit had no answers for a feisty Magic team that took a seven-point lead into the break. But the switch flipped in half No. 2. Banchero (24 points) had only seven points and two trips to the foul line in the second half. Meanwhile, the Pistons started hitting threes, getting transition opportunities, and imposing their will on their opponent.

Aside from a broken three, where he was just 2-of-9, Cunningham had everything working against the Magic. He was knifing inside for layups, hitting fadeaway J’s, and getting his teammates great open looks.

Just as impressive was Tobias Harris, who punished the team that drafted him by continually backing down his opponents for stepback jumpers on the baseline or clean looks on the elbows. He was 10-of-18 from the field and added seven rebounds of his own.

I don’t know if Harris was simply finding his shot within the flow of the game or if he pointedly wanted to punish the Magic and Banchero, who went viral for some trash talk against Unc last season. Me thinks it is the latter.

After a first half where you couldn’t credit many players with exemplary effort, it was hard to find any Piston who was giving anything less than 100% in the second half. Ron Holland was flying around, natch, and Ausar Thompson was deflecting passes and skying for rebounds. That included a poke-away steal at midcourt that led to a Thompson dunk with just over 1 minute left to put an exclamation point on the victory

The sequence gave Thompson nine points, 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and three blocks on the night. In other words, a vintage Ausar showing. Jalen Duren’s run of 25-plus points ended with a 16-and-10 showing against Orlando.

Banchero led the Magic with 24 points, but more than half of those were courtesy of free throws. He ended the night 5-of-10 from the floor with 11 rebounds, two assists, and nine turnovers. Desmond Bane, who has been shooting the nets off, had to settle for 17 points on 5-of-14 shooting.

The Pistons have now won 8 of 9, including 6 of the 7 games Isaiah Stewart was suspended for. Beef Stew has been out of the lineup since getting ejected in the Hornets game on Feb. 9. That means Stewart has had a three-week break to rest up and get his body right. He will be available on Tuesday as the Pistons visit Cleveland after an inexplicable and controversial 122-119 overtime win on Feb. 27.

CARDIFF, Wales (AP) — FIFA president Gianni Infantino has raised the prospect of red cards being shown to players who cover their mouths when confronting opponents.

The issue has been highlighted in recent weeks after Real Madrid player Vinicius Junior said he was racially insulted by Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni during a Champions League match.

Prestianni, who denies the allegations, had approached Vinicius while covering his mouth with his jersey during Madrid's 1-0 win in the first leg of the playoff match. He was provisionally suspended for the second leg while an investigation was being carried out.

The issue of players covering their mouths was discussed on Saturday at a meeting of the International Football Association Board (IFAB).

Measures could come into force at this summer’s World Cup.

“If a player covers his mouth and says something, and this has a racist consequence, then he has to be sent off, obviously,” Infantino told Sky News. “There must be a presumption that he has said something he shouldn’t have said, otherwise he wouldn’t have had to cover his mouth.

“I simply do not understand - if you don’t have something to hide, you don’t hide your mouth when you say something.

“That’s it, as simple as that. And these are actions that we can take and we have to take in order to be serious about our fight against racism.”

___

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

The Atlanta Hawks were in action on Sunday evening to face the Portland Trail Blazers. The Hawks came in on a three-game winning streak, with the Blazers being the final game of their recent homestand. As for the Blazers, this was their second game of a back-to-back after losing to the Charlotte Hornets yesterday.

The Hawks were able to get Jalen Johnson and Nickeil Alexander-Walker back in the game after they missed the previous one against the Washington Wizards.

The Hawks started off raining three-pointers, with Onyeka Okongwu hitting a pair of them.

Triple O times TWO 🏹🏹 pic.twitter.com/1H7g1WUXIu

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 1, 2026

Dyson Daniels laid down the hammer on his former teammate, Vit Krejci, in a welcome back moment.

DYSON LEFTY HAMMER 🔨 pic.twitter.com/FJ6kRBZLAr

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 1, 2026

Okongwu didn’t stop knocking down threes in the quarter, and his total went up to four.

O HAS 4 THREES IN 7 MINUTES pic.twitter.com/YNToWy4yYi

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 1, 2026

The defense and ball movement were on full display for the Hawks in the first, and it helped them build a double digit lead while also putting 40+ points on the board.

Jonathan Kuminga came in and lived at the free throw line, and was also a beneficiary of the ball movement.

Zacch steal
Nickeil between the legs
Kuminga finish
🤩🤩🤩 pic.twitter.com/tOtFJeJ34B

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 1, 2026

Going into the second, the Hawks led 44-25.

The Hawks continued to maintain their lead as they kept making shots and getting stops on defense. Corey Kispert’s hot shooting from Thursday ran over to this game.

That's another Corey 3-ball 🎯 pic.twitter.com/MPohCnURNE

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 1, 2026

Alexander-Walker pulled some tricks out of his bag, getting to the rim after a few swifty handles.

Sheeshhhh pic.twitter.com/H2fvVxyMME

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 2, 2026

Okongwu knocked down his sixth three-pointer of the game.

Big O has SIX threes in the first half for 20 PTS 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/FQSFvX0W3X

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 2, 2026

The Hawks shot 60% from the field in the first half, and going into the second, they trailed 75-58.

The third quarter started with a lot of ball movement and ended with a easy paint shot from Daniels.

Good ball movement fellas pic.twitter.com/uhYwbDlLf7

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 2, 2026

Alexander-Walker found Jalen Johnson on this dime.

Don't blink or you'll miss this dime from NAW to JJ 👁️ pic.twitter.com/CK1YW5ZGwI

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 2, 2026

Daniels once again found a way to put Krejci on the highlight board, blowing past him for another floater.

Dyson too quick ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/MWqINKCU92

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 2, 2026

The Blazers didn’t have much of an answer for the Hawks were doing, and even when they did knock down a few shots, the Hawks answered back.

Going into the fourth, the Hawks led 103-85.

Kuminga and CJ McCollum connected on this play for an easy two points to start the fourth.

Kuminga pick & roll flush 💪 pic.twitter.com/HF79y6JwKw

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 2, 2026

The game was pretty much decided, but that didn’t mean the Hawks stopped competing. Okongwu was able to knock down his seventh three-pointer of the night.

JJ finds OO for his 7th three of the game 🏹 pic.twitter.com/12l8SP1y3C

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 2, 2026

Kuminga in the open lane is a problem.

KUMINGA WINDMILL 😳 pic.twitter.com/AsnqZ4LrFa

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 2, 2026

Kuminga didn’t stop there, and threw down another crazy dunk minutes later.

KUMINGA CHILL DAWG 🤯 pic.twitter.com/wvXig6OuJs

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 2, 2026

The end of the bench came in after this play, and the Hawks walked away with their fourth straight win.

Okongwu finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists, Kuminga finished with 20 points and seven rebounds, and McCollum finished with 19 points.

The Hawks will be back in action on Wednesday to face the Milwaukee Bucks.