ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 3: Sharife Cooper #13 of the Washington Wizards drives to the basket during the game against the Orlando Magic on March 3, 2026 at Kia Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Washington Wizards take on an undermanned Orlando Magic team on Tuesday at Kia Center to close out the Florida leg of their four-game road trip.
Game info
When: Thursday, Mar. 12 at 7:00 p.m. ET
Where: Kia Center, Orlando, Florida
How to watch: Monumental Sports Network, League Pass
Injuries: For the Wizards, Kyshawn George (elbow), Jamir Watkins (ankle), Anthony Davis (hand, groin), Cam Whitmore (shoulder), and D’Angelo Russell (not with team) are out.
For the Magic, Jase Richardson (back) and Jonathan Isaac (knee) are questionable, while Franz Wagner (ankle) and Anthony Black (abdominal) are out.
What to watch for
The Wizards will try their best to wash away the stench of the 83-point game they gave up to Bam Adebayo in their Tuesday tilt against the Miami Heat. The Magic will be without key pieces such as Franz Wagner and Anthony Black, but the Wiz may need to be wary of Wendell Carter Jr. going off for a career night.
Kidding aside, the Magic enter the contest on a four-game winning streak and desperately need a victory after getting passed by the Heat for the sixth seed in the East. After getting a rest day on Tuesday, Trae Young is expected to be back in action for his third game in a Wizards uniform.
For the tank watchers out there, the 16-48 Wizards made up some ground in the race to the bottom as both the Sacramento Kings (16-50) and Brooklyn Nets (17-48) picked up victories over the last couple of days. Only the Indiana Pacers currently have fewer wins than Washington.
ORLANDO, FLORIDA - JANUARY 24: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Cleveland Cavaliers dribbles the ball against Paolo Banchero #5 of the Orlando Magic during the third quarter at Kia Center on January 24, 2026 in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to break the Orlando Magic’s four-game winning streak.
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Mar 10, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets guard Amen Thompson (1) and guard Reed Sheppard (15) celebrate after a play during the fourth quarter against the Toronto Raptors at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Houston Rockets vs Denver Nuggets
March 11, 2026
Location: Ball Arena – Denver, Colorado
TV: ESPN
Radio: KBME Sports Talk 790
Online: Rockets App, SCHN+
Time 9:00 CST
Probable Starting Lineups
Rockets: Amen Thompson, Tari Eason, Jabari Smith Jr., Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun
Nuggets: Jamal Murray (GTD), Christian Braun, Cameron Johnson (GTD), Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokić
Knicks guard Mikal Bridges (25) goes to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) during the second half at Madison Square Garden.
SALT LAKE CITY — The precipitous fall in Mikal Bridges’ stats is widespread.
Points. Minutes. Efficiency.
They’ve all plummeted since the end of January. It reached a low point during the Western Conference swing that ended Wednesday in Utah, where Bridges arrived with three straight games playing under 30 minutes and scoring in single digits.
The problem, according to Bridges, isn’t about his lack of aggressiveness.
“The aggression thing is not an issue at all. I don’t think that’s the issue at all,” said Bridges, who failed to score a point in Sunday’s loss to the Lakers and was benched in crunch time of Monday’s defeat to the Clippers. “Even if I miss a couple, there’s nothing wrong with that. Nah, I don’t think that’s the issue.”
So what is it?
“I don’t know,” Bridges answered. “I think it’s just the game of basketball. Sometimes you try to get open and sometimes it doesn’t find me. Just try to find ways to stay aggressive. That’s it.”
In other words, Bridges believes this is more about a lack of opportunity than broken confidence. And whether that’s it or the reasons run deeper, Bridges’ second season with the Knicks — which started strong and efficient — had devolved into disappointment heading into the Jazz game.
New York Knicks guard Mikal Bridges Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Since the All-Star break and before Wednesday, Bridges averaged just 11.4 points and under 30 minutes while shooting 43.2 percent overall and 34.1 percent on treys.
Prior to the All-Star break, Bridges was up to 15.9 points in 34.5 minutes while shooting 50.4 percent overall and 38.6 percent on threes.
When you combine pre- and post-All-Star, Bridges is averaging his fewest points and shot attempts since 2021-22 with the Phoenix Suns.
Knicks guard Mikal Bridges (25) goes to the basket against Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren (7) at Madison Square Garden. Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
On top of his declines in efficiency, Bridges was losing playing time to his surging backup, Landry Shamet, including in fourth quarters.
Jalen Brunson, who was teammates with Bridges at Villanova, said he offers reassurance.
“Tell him to keep shooting. Tell him to keep playing,” Brunson said. “He’s out there. So he has to continue to be who he is.”
It wasn’t supposed to be such a slog for Bridges this season. The coaching change — from Tom Thibodeau to Mike Brown — was pitched as an avenue toward unlocking Bridges’ All-Star capabilities through a faster and freestyling offense.
Less structure and fewer isolations (Brown says he doesn’t call plays) theoretically meant a better version of Bridges, who is one of the top-conditioned players in the NBA and thrives with movement.
That began harmoniously as Bridges excelled through most of December. Lately, though, his attempts and conversions have dropped.
“It’s got its pros and cons,” Bridges said about Brown’s offense, specifically when asked about not having plays called. “You try to have the feel of the game sometimes.”
The good news that Knicks fans can fall back on is that Bridges also struggled through stretches of last season before awakening like a five-alarm fire in the playoffs. His heroic performances in Rounds 1 and 2 against the Pistons and Celtics, respectively, were viewed as justification for signing Bridges in the summer to a four-year, $150 million extension — which doesn’t start until next season.
There was also his big Christmas of 2024 against the Spurs, and the OT thriller a year ago in Portland. So Bridges is capable. He’s proven it. But that also makes his regression this season more confounding as he adjusts to a decreased role.
Knicks guard Mikal Bridges (25) shoots the ball against Los Angeles Lakers forward Rui Hachimura (28) at Crypto.com Arena. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
“It’s all right,” Bridges said. “I’m just trying to do whatever it takes to win, trying to find opportunities, try to do all the right things and be aggressive.
“Sometimes [the ball] doesn’t come my way. Just try to do other things.”
Oct 29, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets General Manager Sean Marks looks on during warmups prior to the game against the Atlanta Hawks at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
It may not have seemed so in the early hours of February 9, 2023, but the Nets’ trade of Kevin Durant in February 2023 is increasingly seen by many as a big positive for the Brooklyn franchise. Sean Marks & co. ultimately wound up with 11 first round picks and swaps when all the by-products of the deal are accounted for. It is indeed the foundation stone of their current rebuild.
Of course, the trade dashed all hopes that the “Clean Sweep” and “Big Three” era would lead to a title. Now though, in some quarters particularly at the HSS Training Center, it’s seen as a sunk cost, not something to dwell on. But even outside those halls and behind the Great Window, there’s a new take. It may not be unanimous and Marks’ position with the fanbase remains tenuous, but it’s there.
Call it revisionist history or worthy counter-narrative, but in recent weeks, we’ve started to see a new appraisal of Marks tenure, nowhere more effusively than on a little noticed discussion last week between the two hosts of the “Third Apron” podcast co-hosted by Sam Quinn of CBS Sports and Yossi Gozlan on his “Third Apron” podcast. The two are known for their attention to detail and insight.
In that discussion, Quinn not only called the Durant trade a “historically great trade” in NBA annals and “the home run of home runs,” but he and Gozlan said it was the first of several deals in which Marks secured a much better deal that he had initially been offered, whether for Mikal Bridges or Cam Johnson, whose trades Quinn described as “awesome” and “killer”, respectively. Quinn even suggested that one of the fire sale trades that preceded Durant — those of Kyrie Irving and James Harden — also deserve some praise. For his part, Gozlan said he believed the Bridges trade alone warranted him consideration as Executive of the Year in 2024-25.
The two also offered critiques of Marks, particularly on the loss of the “Big Three” but in general that stand firmly on the side of NBA punditry that think Marks may be about to turn the corner again … with the support of the team’s owner, Joe Tsai.
“They’ve consistently done very well when trading away their own players,” said Quinn with Gozlan nodding in agreement. “Think about what the market was for Kyrie when hey traded him away to Dallas Getting what they got for Kyrie was a win.
“The Kevin Durant trade?!? The home run of home runs. Other than the Paul George trade, maybe the best selling away trade of a player in NBA history. I guess they didn’t get Shai Gilgeous Alexander (as OKC in the 2019 Paul George trade.) That’s why the Paul George trade has to be better. but you get the point. It was a historically great trade.”
The two officially were discussing Quinn’s February 17 analysis of all 30 NBA front offices on Gozlan’s “Third Apron” podcast (starting at about 42:00 in) but wound up going more in depth. That analysis was published coincidentally on the 10th anniversary of Marks hiring by the Nets. It ranked the Nets F.O. 15th. Quinn has admitted, including in talking with Gozlan, that he now thinks Marks deserves even a higher grade, that his analysis may have been colored by pushback he received after ranking Marks 17th last year! Gozlan said that he had voted for Marks as Executive of the Year in 2024 based mainly on the biggest off-shoot of the deal, the subsequent trade to Mikal Bridges to the Knicks!
“They have held on to their players throughout good offers in search of great ones and that has worked out very very well for them. Like how many offers did they get for Mikal Bridges that would have been fine. Like if they had traded him to Memphis for all those picks (in the aftermath of the KD trade) that would have been a decent trade. I think the Rockets came in with an offer at one point. I don’t know what it was. They waited and got the historic haul for Mikal Bridges, that now looks like an awesome trade for him.”
As Adrian Wojnarowski reported at the 2024 trade deadline, the Nets had offers of four or five firsts that they turned down. Brian Lewis subsequently wrote that the Rockets offer mentioned by Quinn would have retuned two firsts and other assets to Brooklyn and there was a rumor that the Trailblazers would’ve offered the rights to Scoot Henderson.
“They waited on Cam Johnson too. It might have cost them draft position in 2025. I think Egor Demin looks good. I’d be very excited to have him. Maybe they could have gotten higher up in that lottery, who’s to say. BUT they get an unprotected pick for Cam Johnson plus Michael Porter Jr. who’s better than Cam Johnson. That’s a killer trade”.
“I don’t think you can fault them for holding on to their guys. It’s worked out for them,” Quinn added. (One league source told ND that indeed that policy of waiting for a better deal has been a criticism of Marks. Quinn also said that the Nets have succeeded in some lesser deals areas have some big if less tangible assets.
“They’ve done pretty well on the margins. Day’Ron Sharpe is one of the better back-up values in the NBA,” the CBS Sports writer added, speaking of the two-year, $12.5 million contract Sharpe signed last summer. The second year of that contract is a team option making it even more favorable to Nets.
“Jordi Fernandez … awesome coaching hire,” Quinn added. “I think that’s going to manifest in the enxt couple of years. And by the way we don’t think about them because they’re not the Knicks, but they ARE in New York, they ARE a big market team. Guys want to live there. By the way, I don’t know if casual fans know this, when you play for the Knicks, you don’t live in New York City. Their practice facility is in in Westchester, They’re an hour away. When you play for Brooklyn, your practice facility in sin Brooklyn. You get to live in New York It’s a very desirable place to be.”
His bottom line: “They’re loaded with draft picks right now. They’re in an awesome position. They’re going to be good again in two or three years.”
Gozlan echoed Quinn in many ways.
“I had Sean Marks as my big vote for Executive of the Year mainly because of the Bridges trade,” he noted. “I thought that if those rumors were true that the Nets declined four picks for Mikal Bridges from the Grizzlies in 2023 as soon as soon as they got him. If that was true, I thought it was they declined these trades. and yet to worked out.
“You’re right. They are so good at valuing players on the market. and knowing how long that value could sustain I really can’t think of a situation where that lost value on a guy although maybe if you want to say Kyrie.That was Kyrie destroying his own value.”
Quinn countered by arguing that the Nets “lost a ton of value with Harden.” (Internally the company line on the deal centered on Harden-for-Ben Simmons is that neither the Nets nor the 76ers won that trade.)
“As an organization you have to bear some blame for what went wrong for Kyrie and Durant and Harden, like when a player quites on you like James Harden did, that’s a red flag,” Quinn argued, reiterating the single biggest criticism of the Nets front office, its inability, at least in the hires before Fernandez, to choose the right coach.
“I think the Steve Nash coaching hire. I think it showed some promise early. They just thought we’re not going to need an experienced coach. Oh now, you did need an experienced coach,” said Quinn. “I think they let the players have a little bit too much control over the roster and therefore there was nobody to put their hands on the wheel when things went south. Trading Jarrett Allen to appease Kyrie and Kevin Durant? Not looking great.”
“I think there are some organizational things they should be dinged for but mostly I’m thinking I should have ranked them a little bit higher. and maybe let backlash from previous rankings get to me.
Gozlan agreed.
“But when you think of all the things they do on the margins … they’re excellent at free agency, not just getting KD and Kyrie, but getting all these good players to come on the minimum. There’s so many good assets that they good in the buyout market,” he said, referring primarily to Blake Griffin and Lamarcus Aldridge, even getting Paul Milsap and Goran Dragic,“ admitting ”they really didn’t work out.“
“Theyre pretty good at the draft,” Gozlan, editor of capsheets.com, said ticking off the 20 and 30-something values they got: Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, Nic Claxton, Day’Ron Sharpe, even contending that while Cam Thomas wound up wanting out, they got good value for him at No. 27.“
Gozlan’s one big criticism is big contracts. Not so much superstars but stars.
“Negotiating below maximum contracts leaves a lot to be desired,” he added. “The Claxton deal is okay. The Joe Harris deal was pretty bad. the D’Andre Jordan deal was pretty bad. The one deal that I thought was a pretty good value was the Dinwiddie one from like six seven years ago when they got him at the midlevel at the time.”
Gozlan said he also has questions about the 2025 Draft.
“The strategy going into last year’s draft is pretty hard to evaluate,” he said of the five first round picks. “It just seems so weird that they took all these picks. They don’t have one pick that has real value. You can’t point to anyone there so far that can really turn things around. It’s still early to see if anyone there that can at least become an All-Star. But that’s the kind of thing if they can get only one guy to really pop, that would set them back.”
He, like Quinn, pointed to the failure of the “Big Three” and still less-than-fulsome explanation of what happened.
“Why did all those stars just lose faith in the organization. and we still don’t know what it really is. it just imploded … There’s clearly more than went wrong with that team and until we see them turn the corner with a new group i think it’s reasonable to hold it against them.”
Quinn agreed. “There’s clearly more to the story about what went wrong for that team and until we see them turn the corner with that team, the new group, I think it’s reasonable to hold that against them BUT if in two or three years, they’re really good, it’s going to pretty easy to push them up because we can just look back at it and say, Kevin Durant has had a checkered few years since he left and Kyrie is Kyrie. It speaks for itself. Harden is now four trades and multiple trades since then. It may have been a weird cocktail of personalities.”
As for the immediate future, Quinn and Gozlan debated whether the Nets exchange of first round picks with the Rockets the same night of the Bridges trade was worth it. In that deal, Marks retrieved the 2025 and 2026 first round picks they lost in the trade that brought Harden to Brooklyn. In return, the Nets gave up picks and swaps between 2027 and 2029 they got from the KD and Kyrie deals.
Quinn was more the skeptic, asking if “the lottery balls they got in 2026 was worth the assets they gave up in the Rockets trade that they ultimately had to give up just to get a pick in the 2026 lottery. I think that’s something that’s going to have play out over time and if they jump up to No. 1 or No. 2, yeah of course The 2026 draft is maybe so good, maybe it’s still worth it but I’d be holding my breath on that.”
Gozlan sees that trade and the Bridges trade as “one big trade,” and believes the Nets “had to do it.”
“I think you still have to do it knowing what we knew at the time that the Nets were so bad in 2024 and with the Suns … no one thought they’d implode as bad as they did.” he said. “I just think it’s better to have control of your draft. That trade doesn’t work without the Mikal Bridges trade. You really have to factor that in as one big mega-trade because the other element is that they’ve got all these Knicks picks in the future. They have control over their destiny and that could come into play whether they get some good picks of value or maybe they could leverage some type of trade in the future with the Knicks.”
We are approaching what Jordi Fernandez confidently described as, “the summer of our lives” and what they do in the off-season is going to tell the tale of just where Marks will stand when Quinn and Gozlan speak again a year from now. Internally, the Nets seem confident in what they have built and where they’re headed.
Adebayo’s feat is drawing polarized reactions not just because of how he reached the second-highest point total in NBA history but because of whom he surpassed.
Lakers legend Kobe Bryant scored 81 points against the Raptors in January 2006. Getty Images
Adebayo leapfrogged Bryant’s 81-point performance against the Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006. That was one of the most awe-inspiring performances of Bryant’s career. The Lakers needed those points for the come-from-behind win, and Bryant transformed into an unconscious scoring machine to make it happen.
It was thrilling. It was vintage Bryant. It was part of the magic of what made him a legend.
What Adebayo did Tuesday against a tanking Wizards team was very different than Kobe. He made 36 of 43 free throws to get to 83 points. With the Heat leading by as many as 28 points in the fourth quarter, what he was doing was pure, unadulterated stat chasing, a far cry from Bryant’s organic artistry.
Wilt Chamberlain scored an NBA-record 100 points for the Philadelphia Warriors against the Knicks on March 2, 1962, in their 169-147 victory. Chamberlain went 36 of 63 from the field and 28 of 32 from the free-throw line.
He scored 23 points in the first quarter, 41 by halftime, 28 in the third and 31 in the fourth.
The question is should Adebayo have allowed Bryant to keep the second-best mark?
Absolutely not.
Here’s the thing, admittedly, something feels icky about watching Adebayo pass Bryant, who tragically died in a helicopter crash in 2020 alongside his daughter, Gianna. But that instinct needs to be curbed. Why? Because Bryant wouldn’t have wanted another player to defer to him.
Bryant’s persona was being a stone-cold killer on the court. He was the Black Mamba, the human form of one of the most dangerous snakes on the planet.
He wouldn’t have wanted mercy. He wouldn’t have wanted conciliation.
Bryant would’ve wanted Adebayo to go for it. He would’ve been cheering for him louder than anyone. He would’ve scowled at anyone who criticized how he scored those points.
Just look at how Bryant handled things in the past.
Back in 2018, when the sports world devolved into a nightmarish echo chamber as pundits endlessly debated whether LeBron James was the greatest player of all time after he reached the NBA Finals eight straight seasons, Bryant cut through the white noise.
Tweeted Bryant: “We can enjoy one without tearing down one. I love what he’s doing. Don’t debate what can’t be definitively won by anyone #enjoymy5 #enjoymj6 #enjoylbjquest.”
Heat teammates celebrate center Bam Adebayo (13) on Tuesday after he scored 83 points, the second-highest single-game total in NBA history. AP
Here’s to guessing Bryant would’ve said something similar after Adebayo’s performance.
It doesn’t matter whose performance was more pure. Both feats can be celebrated. They were both superhuman.
After Bryant tragically died at age 41, his legend took on a completely different dimension, becoming sacrosanct.
It was painful watching Adebayo break Bryant’s mark. It felt wrong. If he had stopped at 81 points as an ode to Bryant, Adebayo would’ve gotten even more respect. All he had to do was sit with 1:37 left and the Heat up by 27 points. All he had to do was take the high road.
But Bryant wouldn’t have wanted that. And that’s what matters most.
Bryant fully believed in celebrating greatness. He believed in putting a high heel on his opponent’s throat and stomping. What happened Tuesday was a celebration of that type of spirit.
When James surpassed Bryant as third on the league’s all-time leading scoring list on Jan. 25, 2020, Bryant was at the front of the line to congratulate him.
In his final tweet, Bryant wrote, “Continuing to move the game forward @kingjames. Much respect my brother. #33644.” Bryant died the next morning.
Canada advanced past the first round of the World Baseball Classic for the first time, beating Cuba 7-2 Wednesday in a winner-take-all game at San Juan, Puerto Rico, behind Abraham Toro's homer and Otto Lopez's two-run single.
Brothers Bo Naylor and Josh Naylor drove in runs, Owen Caissie had two RBIs and reliever James Paxton struck out six over 2 2/3 scoreless innings for Canada (3-1), which eliminated the Cubans (2-2) and won Group A over Puerto Rico (3-1). Cuba was knocked out in the first round for the first time.
Canada and Puerto Rico will play quarterfinals in Houston this weekend.
Cuba finished with three errors, and left fielder Ariel Martinez allowed Toro’s catchable fly starting the seventh to fall for a double. The Canadians broke open the game with a three-run sixth inning that included a dropped popup, a foul pop that fell, a wild pickoff throw and a catcher's interference call on Andrys Perez, whose passed ball led to Canada's first run.
Later Wednesday, Mexico and Italy were to play at Houston in a Group B game that will determine whether the U.S. advances.
Cuba escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first when Matt Davidson hit an inning-ending popout off loser Livan Moinelo, but Canada went ahead in the third on Caissie's sacrifice fly. Toro homered in the fifth on a splitter from Yariel Rodríguez, a 420-foot drive to right.
Cuba scored in the bottom half on Yoelkis Guibert's run-scoring groundout off winner Cal Quantrill, who allowed an unearned run and two hits over five innings.
Canada opened a 3-1 lead in the sixth on Bo Naylor's RBI double.
Martinez drove in a run in the bottom half with his third hit and Josh Naylor had an RBI single in the seventh on a soft fly to left that popped up of the glove of Martinez, who tried for a sliding catch.
Cuba went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position. Adam Macko escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth when Yiddi Cappe swung over a curveball and James Paxton struck out Moncada in the seventh to leave runners at the corners.
Stephen Curry has missed 15 games due to patella-femoral pain syndrome/bone bruising — commonly called runner's knee — and in that stretch the Warriors have gone 5-10 and slid to ninth in the Western Conference. Golden State needs its best player back.
That's not happening for another 10 days, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania and Anthony Slater. That means Curry will miss at least another five games and return — at the earliest — with a dozen games left in the season. The next five games Curry will miss are mostly tough ones, including at New York on Sunday as part of NBC's Sunday Night Basketball broadcast.
It's not just Curry who is out, Jimmy Butler is done for the season after tearing his ACL, leaving the Warriors struggling for consistent shot creation during this stretch.
Curry, 37, still looks elite when he does get on the court, averaging 27.2 points and 4.8 assists a game, shooting 39.1% from 3-point range. His gravity to draw defenders is still what makes Golden State's offense work, and without him things get stuck in the mud.
Which is what Warriors fans are going to see for another five games, at least.
Luka Doncic has packed quite the life into just 27 years.
The Lakers point guard has grown from a basketball prodigy to a bonafide NBA superstar.
He’s set new scoring records, won a Western Conference championship and been a part of arguably the biggest trade in professional hoops history.
Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers celebrates during the game against the New York Knicks on March 8, 2026 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) NBAE via Getty Images
Along the way, he found love and became a father of two.
But he recently split from his longtime partner, model Anamaria Goltes, which prompted us to take a look into the most significant moments of the NBA player’s time on earth.
FEBRUARY 28, 1999
A beauty salon owner, Mrijam Poterbin, and a basketball player, Sasa Doncic, welcomed Luka into the world in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
2007
After Sasa joined Slovenian basketball team Olimpija, 8-year-old Luka, who had just picked up basketball a year prior, followed his dad and began honing his skills on the hardwood with the club’s youth team, according to ESPN.
Luka Doncic and Anamaria Goltes
Instagram/@lukaxtra
2011
At the age of 12, Luka met Goltes while the two were hanging out with mutual friends in Croatia, Goltes revealed in a 2020 Instagram post.
2012
After years of dazzling in youth basketball games, Luka inked a contract with Real Madrid and left his parents to focus on hoops in the organization.
2015
At 16 years old, Luka made his pro debut for Real Madrid, becoming the org.’s youngest-ever player.
2016
Luka and Goltes began dating.
Luka Doncic and Anamaria Goltes
Instagram/@lukaxtra
June 21, 2018
The Hawks selected Luka with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 draft, but quickly traded him to the Mavericks.
March 2020
Goltes shared in an Instagram post she and Luka were quarantining together during the pandemic in Dallas. She posted photos of the two with their dogs, and wrote, “Dallas is a lot like Europe.”
“I love Dallas,” she added. “It reminds me of home.”
“It’s been great and she helps me a lot,” Doncic said of Goltes. “It’s a lot of pressure outside. When I get home, it’s no basketball talk. She don’t like basketball, but she goes to every game.
“I mean, she likes it now, but she didn’t like it, which is good for me. I really like that.”
June 2024
Luka participated in his first-ever NBA Finals after he helped lift the Mavericks to a Western Conference finals victory over the Timberwolves.
February 2, 2025
The Mavericks stunningly traded Luka to the Lakers in a swap that included All-Star Anthony Davis.
February 11, 2025
Goltes showed in a photo on Instagram that she and Luka’s daughter followed him to Los Angeles, calling the move a “new chapter” for them in a caption.
Goltes sparked breakup rumors with her social media activity, which included her curiously leaving him out of a message about the “ups and downs” she had faced in the previous decade.
March 9, 2026
Goltes filed a petition in a Los Angeles County court seeking child support from Luka, adding further fuel to the rumors of their split.
Anamaria Goltes, Luka Doncic’s ex-fiancee, requested child support and attorney’s fees from the Lakers star this week, according to new court filings. Instagram/@ anamariagoltes
“I love my daughters more than anything and I’ve been doing everything I can for them to be with me in the U.S. during the season, but that hasn’t been possible, so I recently made the tough decision to end my engagement,” Dončić said. “Everything I do is for my daughters’ happiness and I will always fight to be with them and give them the best life I can.”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Jamichael Stillwell had 17 points and 15 rebounds, Riley Kugel added 15 points, and eighth-seeded UCF rallied to beat ninth-seeded Cincinnati 66-65 in overtime on Thursday and advance to the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
John Bol scored 13 points for the Knights (21-10), who trailed by as many as 12 in regulation, then watched as the Bearcats' Jalen Celestine missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left in overtime to earn a date with top-ranked Arizona on Thursday.
Moustapha Thiam had 18 points and 16 boards to lead the Bearcats (18-15). Day Day Thomas had all of their seven points in overtime and finished with 15, while Celestine had 11 points and Keyshuan Tillery finished with 10.
The Knights won despite going 3 of 24 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Cincinnati had taken control with about 10 minutes to go, when Thomas was fouled by Kugel about 30 feet from the basket and the shot-clock running out. His two free throws gave the Bearcats a 46-37 lead, and Stillwell immediately picked up his fourth foul at the other end, sending the Knights' best rebounder to the bench.
UCF still faced a 58-50 hole with about two minutes to go when Stillwell hit a soft jumper in the lane. Cincinnati proceeded to turn the ball over on three straight possessions, and Kugel's driving layup tied the game 58-all with a minute to go.
The Bearcats had the final shot of regulation, but Thiam didn't appear to realize the clock was about to expire. Cincinnati coach Wes Miller frantically called timeout from the bench, but there was only 0.8 seconds left — time enough for an airballed 3-point try.
Up next
The Knights lost their only game to the top-seeded Wildcats in mid-January.
Cincinnati must hope a first-round win over Utah in the Big 12 tourney will get it off the NCAA Tournament bubble on Sunday.
For as hard as it is to make the NCAA Tournament, it’s really easy to take yourself out of it.
Auburn, one of the most polarizing March Madness bubble candidates, was on the brink of kissing its chances goodbye in the opening round of the SEC tournament. The Tigers were shaken by Mississippi State in the first half with a 10-point deficit, not looking remotely close to a unit that should hear its name called on Selection Sunday.
But to their credit, Auburn recovered and played like its life was on the line. It was a night-and-day performance coming out of halftime with a dominant final 20 minutes to avoid the upset and advance.
Projected to miss the tournament in the latest USA TODAY Sports Bracketology, It’s not a win that will drastically move the 17-15 Tigers into the field. Yet, it wouldn’t be possible without it.
Auburn is as confusing as it comes. You can argue why it should be in with some major wins and tough schedule, or shouldn’t be in with all of the losses. No matter which way you lean, everyone could agree it needs to impress in the SEC tournament. A Quad 3 loss and Auburn would’ve surely been out of consideration. Instead, there is hope.
The work is far from over since a win over the Bulldogs doesn’t move the needle much. However, what’s ahead surely will.
Auburn now has one of the biggest bubble games of the season in the second round against Tennessee. A win over the Volunteers would be monumental and could alter the projected field completely. Advancing to the quarterfinals against Vanderbilt and winning that could silence the critics.
But it has to get Step 1 done first and beat Tennessee. Auburn got a second life to keep its tournament hopes alive, and it cannot waste it as it leads the tournament watch winners and losers from Wednesday’s action.
March Madness bubble winners
NC State
A team trending in the wrong direction, NC State ended the regular season with four straight losses with a couple of ranked beatdowns and bad losses. The Wolfpack weren’t in danger of missing the tournament, but needed to show something to not fall into a possible No. 11 seed situation.
Against Pittsburgh in the ACC tournament second round, early it looked like a devastating Quad 3 loss was on the horizon. However, Will Wade’s offense kept pace and used a strong second half start to avoid the collapse.
It’s not an impressive victory, but one NC State needed to calm the waters. Now there really won’t be a worry for Selection Sunday, and it can just focus on moving up the seed line. It gets a chance against Virginia in the quarterfinals.
March Madness bubble losers
Cincinnati
The late push for Cincinnati all came crashing down with a stunning collapse that all but keeps the Bearcats out of the NCAA Tournament.
Up by eight with just over two minutes left, Cincinnati looked like it was closing in on a major victory over Central Florida. Then came the shocker. It couldn’t stop turning the ball over and it allowed UCF to tie the score and send it to overtime. The Bearcats were rattled and couldn’t regroup in the extra period, with UCF ending the last seven minutes on a 15-6 run to win.
It’s a devastating outcome as seven wins in nine games brought Cincinnati into the conversation for a bid. In the First Four out, it needed the win to keep trending up. Now the season ends in missing the tournament for the sixth straight season.
SMU
Get ready for a couple of stressful days, SMU, since it was unable to boost its resume in the ACC tournament.
After finally ending a four-game skid with an opening round victory over Syracuse on Tuesday, the Mustangs needed more and had a chance against Louisville. For the majority of the day, SMU looked like it could take down the Cardinals and get a massive victory. However, it didn’t score in the final two and a half minutes and Louisville powered through for the win.
SMU is one of the last four in, but can now only hope no other team steals bids and pushes them down the line. Had the Mustangs won, they could have secured their selection. It’s a miserable feeling being unable to do anything about it, but it’s the price to pay for having such a rough end to the season.
Lakers superstar Luka Doncic says he has separated from his fiancée after his efforts to spend more time with their two young daughters were thwarted.
TMZ reported Tuesday that Anamaria Goltes filed a petition for child support and attorneys’ fees in California. Doncic then issued a statement to The Associated Press saying he had recently ended his engagement to Goltes because he was unable to have his daughters with him in Los Angeles more often.
“I love my daughters more than anything and I’ve been doing everything I can for them to be with me in the U.S. during the season, but that hasn’t been possible, so I recently made the tough decision to end my engagement,” Doncic said in his statement. “Everything I do is for my daughters’ happiness, and I will always fight to be with them and give them the best life I can.”
The 27-year-old Doncic and Goltes had been dating for a decade after meeting as teenagers in Slovenia. They became engaged in July 2023.
Their oldest daughter, Gabriela, was born in November 2023. Their second daughter, Olivia, was born in December 2025, with Doncic missing two Lakers games while he traveled to Slovenia to be with Goltes.
“I don’t even know how to describe it. It was a lot,” Doncic said at the time. “I was there for the birth of my daughter, so that means everything to me. But it was definitely a roller coaster.”
Goltes deleted all of her Instagram photos of her and Doncic together last week, fueling increased speculation around Doncic’s relationship.
Doncic moved from the Dallas Mavericks to Los Angeles in a stunning trade for Anthony Davis in February 2025. He agreed to a three-year, $165 million contract extension with the Lakers last summer, cementing his near future in Los Angeles.
Any tumult in Doncic’s personal life hasn’t appeared to affect him on the court with the Lakers. He is the NBA’s leading scorer this season at 32.5 points per game, and he ranks third with 8.4 assists while grabbing 7.8 rebounds.
Doncic had 31 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in his 89th career triple-double on Tuesday night while the surging Lakers beat Minnesota 120-106 to move into fourth place in the Western Conference standings.
Injured Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors stands on the side of the court during the first half of their game against the Chicago Bulls at Chase Center on March 10, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) Getty Images
The ailment has cost the Golden State superstar the past 15 games, and the absence will reach at least 20. The earliest the Warriors could have Curry back would be their March 21 game against the Hawks.
Despite the lengthy absence, the Warriors’ sinking position in the standings and their otherwise beleaguered roster, all indications are that Curry intends to return this season.
According to the team, Curry has started doing individual work on the court with plans to intensify. He will be re-evaluated again in 10 days, next Saturday, the Warriors said.
Golden State faces Atlanta in the fifth leg of a six-game road trip that night. The Warriors finish the trip against the Mavericks on Monday before a stretch of seven of eight at home begins March 25 against the Nets.
Since the last time Curry took the court, in a Jan. 30 loss to the Pistons, the Warriors have gone 5-10 and fallen out of the No. 7-8 play-in matchup to the No. 9-10 game, further complicating their path.
They hold a 1.5-game lead on the Trail Blazers for the No. 9 seed and the right to host the initial play-in game. Either way, they would have to win that game and beat to the 7/8 loser to advance to a potential first-round matchup with the No. 1 seed, likely to be the Thunder.
“The goal is to get into that seven-eight game,” guard Pat Spencer said after the Warriors’ 130-124 loss to the Bulls in overtime on Tuesday. “We know how important every game is now down the stretch. So hopefully we get No. 30 healthy here.”
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry puts up a shot over New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby during the third quarter. (Photo by Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post)
Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
Overall this season, Golden State is 23-16 with Curry and 9-17 without him.
“Obviously it’s a completely different team with him here,” Kristaps Porzingis added after the loss, Golden State’s second in as many nights against a team in tank mode. “Hopefully I’ll get that chance (to experience it) soon.”
The combination of size and spacing makes Porzingis the ideal fit with Curry.
The Warriors’ injuries have meant that the duo hasn’t played together since Mike Dunleavy Jr. swung the trade for the 7-foot-3 sharpshooter at the deadline.
“I want to play with Steph,” Porzingis said. “Who doesn’t?”
Golden State is already without Jimmy Butler for the remainder of the season, and it has had to be careful with Porzingis, Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton as they deal with age and health issues.
Moses Moody has missed the past four games with a sprained wrist, Will Richard just returned Tuesday from an ankle injury that cost him four games, and Seth Curry played only his third game of the season Monday.
Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors celebrates after a three point shot in the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on March 04, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
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Curry is also waiting for the chance to share the court with his brother for the first time despite Golden State signing the younger Curry in December. Seth, 35, missed the past 40 games before returning Monday night in the Warriors’ 119-116 loss to the Jazz.
In all, the Warriors find themselves in a precarious position with 17 games left to play. At best, they will have Curry for the final 12 while trying to climb out of the lower play-in matchup.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Kevin Overton scored 22 points, including 15 in the second half, as No. 12 seed Auburn rallied past No. 13 seed Mississippi State 77-61 on Wednesday in the first round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
The win helps Auburn’s NCAA Tournament chances under first-year coach Steven Pearl. The Tigers entered the SEC Tournament on the bubble after finishing as the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament on their way to the Final Four a year ago.
Auburn (17-15) erased a 33-30 halftime deficit and dominated after the break, outscoring Mississippi State 47-28.
Overton led the charge with six 3-pointers and five assists as Auburn found its rhythm from the perimeter in the second half. KeShawn Murphy added 15 points and nine rebounds, while Keyshawn Hall finished with 14 points and Tahaad Pettiford contributed 11.
Mississippi State (13-19) saw its streak of three straight NCAA Tournament appearances come to an end.
Josh Hubbard finished with 22 points on 8-of-25 shooting for the Bulldogs. Jayden Epps added 14.
The Tigers gradually took control midway through the second half as Overton connected on consecutive 3-pointers to turn a tight game into a multi-possession lead. Auburn pushed the margin into double digits down the stretch.
Up next
Auburn faces No. 5 seed Tennessee on Thursday in the second round.
CHICAGO (AP) — Zoom Diallo had 22 points and 11 assists and scored the go-ahead basket in overtime as Washington defeated USC 83-79 in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday.
The 12th-seeded Huskies (16-16) will take on fifth-seeded Ohio State in a quarterfinal on Thursday.
Diallo scored 15 points over the second half and overtime despite staying on the floor after picking up his fourth foul with nearly 13 minutes left in regulation. Quimari Peterson made five 3-pointers for his 15 points and Wesley Yates III also scored 15. Hannes Steinbach, who scored 24 and 22 points in Washington's two regular-season wins over the Trojans, finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Kam Woods scored 24 points with seven assists for the 14th-seeded Trojans (18-14), who lost their eighth straight. Jacob Cofie added 14 points, Jordan Marsh had 13 and Ezra Ausar and Ryan Cornish 10 each.
Diallo’s bucket with 2:18 left in overtime gave the Huskies the lead and Peterson added a 3-pointer with a minute to go. Woods completed a three-point play to get the Trojans within a point and forced a turnover by Diallo with 24.2 seconds left. But Woods missed on a drive and fouled Diallo, who made two free throws for an 82-79 lead. USC called timeout with eight seconds remaining but Marsh missed an awkward 3 and Hannes Steinbach made 1 of 2 free throws.
USC led by as many 13 in the second half then Washington went on a 20-4 run to go up 64-61 with six minutes left in regulation. The game was tied at 71 with a minute left but Diallo and Woods missed jumpers on their teams' final possessions.
Up next
Washington beat Ohio State at home 81-74 on Jan. 11.
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