Category: Basketball

The Knicks (38*-22) host the San Antonio Spurs (43-16) for lunch at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. This will be a significant test for New York against the Western Conference’s second seed. The Knicks have won six of their last ten games, while the Spurs have won 11 straight.

The teams met most recently on December 31, 2025, when the Spurs edged the Knicks 134-132 in Texas. Julian Champagnie beheld the face of God and dropped a career-high 36 points, setting a Spurs franchise record with 11 three-pointers. (Because, the Knicks.) Victor Wembanyama added 31 points and 13 rebounds before exiting with a leg injury. For the Knicks, Jalen Brunson scored 29 points. Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordan Clarkson each added 20, and the team shot 42% from yard.

Prior to that, the Knicks beat the Spurs to win the NBA Cup, which is such an important achievement that it doesn’t even count in the record books. Trophies are cool, though.

The Spurs are one of the league’s most interesting stories this season—not quite as interesting as that betting ring that Chauncey Billups roped me into, but still up there. San Antonio ranks eighth in offensive rating at 118 and third in defensive rating at 111.3. They average 118.5 points per game while shooting 48% from the field, and rank 17th in three-point percentage at 35%. Their defensive rebounding and rim protection have been elite, anchored by that fine French specimen.

Wemby leads the way with 23.7 points and 11.2 rebounds per game while blocking 2.8 shots. De’Aaron Fox averages 19 points and 6.2 assists, and Stephon Castle contributes 16.6 points and 6.8 assists in his second season. Devin Vassell puts up 18 PPG as a reliable perimeter scorer, and veteran Harrison Barnes provides 10.3 PPG.

The Spurs’ probable starting five, based on their most recent game, should be Wembanyama, Castle, Fox, Champagnie, and Vassell. The injury report mentions nothing of note: some guy named David Jones Garcia is out for the Spurs, while McBride remains sidelined for the Knicks.

Prediction

ESPN analytics gives New York a 52% chance to win. Kee-yah! The sizzlin’ Spurs are 22-10 on the road this season, while the Knicks are 22-8 at home. New York’s best answer to Wemby’s presence in the paint is Mitchell Robinson, presumably off the bench. A lively effort from Karl-Anthony Towns would be appreciated, too. If the home team plays defense, controls the pace, limits turnovers, and shoots wells (just basically everything), the sky’s the limit. As for today’s lunch menu, I hear the host plans to serve their guests a fresh hot L with spicy mustard. Knicks by 5.

Game Details

Date: Sunday, March 1, 2026
Time: 1 PM ET
Place: Madison Square Garden, NYC
TV: ABC
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky

* Should be one more, but the Cup Final doesn’t count.

HOUSTON (AP) — Mark Delgado had a goal and an assist, Son Heung-min had two assists and Hugo Lloris posted a second straight clean sheet to help Los Angeles FC beat Houston 2-0 on Saturday night after the Dynamo lost two players to red cards.

Houston defender Antônio Carlos was tagged with a red card in the second minute of stoppage time in a scoreless first half, forcing the Dynamo to play a man down from there.

LAFC (2-0-0) took advantage in the 56th minute when Delgado used assists from Son and Denis Bouanga to score. Delgado scored for the 26th time in 345 career appearances. Bouanga's second assist in as many matches gives him 22 in 103 career appearances. None of Bouanga's 66 goals have come against Houston — the only team he has not scored on.

Stephen Eustáquio scored for the first time in his second league appearance to give LAFC an insurance goal in the 82nd minute — six minutes after Agustín Bouzat was hit with a red card that left Houston two men down. Son notched his third assist this season, giving him six in 12 career appearances. Delgado picked up his first assist this season and the 44th of his career.

Hugo Lloris totaled two saves in his second straight clean sheet to begin the season for LAFC. Lloris and LAFC opened with a 3-0 victory over defending MLS Cup champion Inter Miami at home.

Jonathan Bond stopped four shots for the Dynamo (1-1-0), who were coming off a season-opening 2-1 victory over the visiting Chicago Fire.

LAFC earns its first victory in Houston since July 12, 2019 and leads the all-time series 8-5-5. Coach Marc Dos Santos has the club off to a 4-0 start — over a 12-day span — in all competitions for the first time after posting a pair of CONCACAF Champions Cup victories over Real España by a combined score of 7-1 to reach the Round of 16.

Up next

LAFC: Hosts FC Dallas on Saturday.

Houston: At New England Revolution on Saturday.

___

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

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Luka Doncic had 26 points, eight assists and six rebounds, LeBron James added 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers ran away from the short-handed Golden State Warriors for a 129-101 win Saturday night.

The Warriors struggled to produce enough offensive power as Stephen Curry missed his 10th straight game for Golden State still nursing a right knee injury and newly acquired center Kristaps Porzingis sat out with an illness.

Gui Santos scored 14 points to lead the Warriors in his fifth straight double-digit game and 12th in the last 13 — and this one came after he received a multi-year contract extension earlier in the day.

Gary Payton II contributed 12 points for Golden State, his seventh game out of the last nine in double digits.

James went 7 for 13 from the floor with four 3-pointers after he shot around with 11-year-old daughter Zhuri before the game after completing his own warmup in a sweet moment.

The Lakers snapped a three-game losing streak overall and a three-game skid on the road with just their third win in the last eight — and also third in eight on the road against the Pacific Division this season.

Austin Reaves scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting for Los Angeles, Luke Kennard had 16 points with four 3s off the bench and Deandre Ayton grabbed 10 rebounds.

HORNETS 109, TRAIL BLAZERS 93

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Brandon Miller had 26 points and eight rebounds, and the Charlotte Hornets beat the Portland Trail Blazers for their fourth consecutive victory.

Miller made six 3-pointers and the Hornets finished 16 for 42 behind the arc after totaling 72 in the previous three victories, equaling the NBA record for most in a three-game span.

Coby White added 20 points off the bench and LaMelo Ball had 15 points and eight assists. Moussa Diabate finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and five assists as Charlotte pulled within a game of .500 at 30-31.

Jrue Holiday scored 25 points and Jerami Grant had 21 for the Trail Blazers, who played without All-Star Deni Avdija for a third straight game because of a back injury.

HEAT 115, ROCKETS 105

MIAMI (AP) — Bam Adebayo had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Pelle Larsson scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and Miami beat Houston.

Tyler Herro scored 18, Jaime Jaquez Jr. added 14 and Kel’el Ware had a 13-point, 15-rebound game for the Heat. Andrew Wiggins — who needed eight stitches to close a laceration inside his mouth — had 12 points for Miami.

Kevin Durant finished with 32 points, eight assists and six rebounds for the Rockets, who got 20 points from Amen Thompson and 14 from Reed Sheppard.

Both teams had double-digit leads early; the Rockets ran out to a quick 14-4 edge, the Heat answered with a 37-14 run to take a 41-28 lead. And then things settled down, with the sides staying relatively close the rest of the way.

Neither team had a double-digit lead in the second half until Larsson hit a pair of free throws with 1:52 left for a 113-103 lead.

RAPTORS 134, WIZARDS 125

WASHINGTON (AP) — Immanuel Quickley had 27 points and 11 assists to lift Toronto to a victory over Washington.

Brandon Ingram added 24 points for the Raptors, who rebounded from back-to-back home losses to Western Conference contenders Oklahoma and San Antonio earlier in the week. Toronto is in fifth place in the East, now three games clear of the play-in group.

Will Riley scored 19 points for Washington, which lost its fourth straight game after beating Indiana twice in a row coming out of the All-Star break.

The Wizards remain without newly acquired Anthony Davis (finger) and Trae Young (knee, quad), and 7-footer Alex Sarr (hamstring) didn’t play either. Collin Murray-Boyles (thumb) did not play for Toronto.

Washington led by three in the middle of the third quarter before an 11-2 Toronto run capped by Ingram’s 3-pointer. The Raptors were up 98-92 after three and pushed the lead into double digits early in the fourth.

All five Toronto starters scored at least 18 points. RJ Barrett contributed 21, and Scottie Barnes scored 18 and Jakob Poeltl had 18 with 10 rebounds.

Bilal Coulibaly and Kyshawn George scored 14 points each for the Wizards. Washington shot 16 of 34 from 3-point range, but Toronto countered by going 42 of 63 inside the arc.

PELICANS 115, JAZZ 105

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Saddiq Bey scored 24 points as New Orleans won to complete a two-game sweep in Utah after Pelicans star Zion Williamson left the game with an ankle injury.

Williamson left early in the second quarter with a right ankle injury and didn’t return. He had four points, two assists and a rebound in 11 minutes.

Pelicans interim coach James Borrego said only that Williams “tweaked” his ankle. He said he would get more information and hoped it was nothing serious.

Bey, coming off a 42-point performance in Thursday’s 129-118 win of the Pelicans, shot 7 for 16 from the field and 3 for 8 from long distance, and was helped by 7-for-10 shooting from the line.

Jeremiah Fears and Bryce McGowens each scored 18 points, Herbert Jones scored 10 of his 17 points in the first half and Jordan Poole added 11. Fears chipped in 11 rebounds and five assists as New Orleans won its fourth straight and for the sixth time in eight games.

_____

The Lakers seemingly lost their mojo after the All-Star break, with three consecutive losses leaving them in search of the "consistency" and “togetherness” they had earlier in the season.

Their 129-101 win over the Golden State Warriors on Saturday at Chase Center was a step in the right direction, even if the Warriors didn't offer much of a challenge.

The Lakers (35-24) built a 17-point lead in the first quarter, stretched it to 24 in the second quarter and to 30 points in the third before leading by 32 in the fourth and coasting the rest of the way.

“It goes back to finding that consistent level of playing the right way on both ends, doing what we’re supposed to be doing, executing at a high level,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “You saw those trends. We haven’t had it for a sustained, like, full stretch of a game, really. It’s come in spurts in all four of our games that we played prior to this. It was definitely our most complete game post-All-Star break.”

Luka Doncic led the charge with 26 points, eight assists and six rebounds in just 29 minutes. LeBron James was strong with 22 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in 28 minutes. He also made the 1,000th three-pointer of his career. Austin Reaves had 18 points in 28 minutes.

Luke Kennard scored 16 points, his best with the Lakers so far, and Jake LaRavia had 15 points off the bench.

Read more:Luka Doncic's 41-point effort can't save Lakers from last-second loss to Suns

“We just needed to get a win ... get back on the right front and I think we did that tonight,” James said.

He then added, “It’s been a while since we’ve had a 48-minute game where we was able to sustain the effort and I just thought we came out with the right mindset. Obviously dropping the last three, last two at home and then the Phoenix game was a tough one. So, we just came in with the right mindset and understanding the assignment and we took care of business.”

The Lakers got it done on offense, shooting 53% from the field and 46% from three-point range.

“We certainly made some threes,” Redick said. “LeBron made a couple of iso threes. Luka got hot to start the third quarter with some set plays and then the iso three, the second one in transition on the left wing. It wasn’t like all our threes were coming from that, but I just thought the ball was moving tonight.”

They faced a Warriors team (31-29) playing without Stephen Curry (right knee), Jimmy Butler (right anterior cruciate ligament surgery) and Kristaps Porzingis (illness). Still, a win was far from guaranteed since the Lakers lost to an injury-depleted Phoenix Suns team on Thursday.

The Lakers are 2-3 since the All-Star break. They face the Sacramento Kings at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday night, as they try to remain in the top six in the Western Conference.

“Like I said before the game, these guys want to do it right,” Redick said. “They are trying. I know our staff, myself, we’re always looking for answers and solutions. That’s what this is. We’re trying to find solutions, and I said before the game, I’m confident we are going to find that level that we want to get to.

"It’s been partially just because of the disruptions of lineups and different factors. We just haven’t had the continuity that I thought we were going to have coming into the year and it’s taken longer than I thought. But I’m confident that we are going to get there.”

Even with back-to-back defeats to Oklahoma City and San Antonio, the Lakers went 7-4 ahead of the All-Star break. The Lakers won their first game after the break against the Clippers before losing to Boston, Orlando and Phoenix.

That put the Lakers in the sixth spot in the West and struggling to find their groove again.

“At the end of the day, I just think our minds was right,” James said. “The numbers speak for itself. You can talk about the numbers, but I just think mentally we knew what we was against. We knew how we lost these last three games and it didn’t sit well with us obviously. We just came out and we just executed.”

Note: Lakers forward Rui Hachimura missed his second straight game because “he's still under the weather,” Redick said.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) — Patton Pinkins made 8 of 10 from the field and finished with a career-high 26 points, AJ Storr also scored 26 points, and Mississippi beat Auburn 85-79 on Saturday night to snap a 10-game skid.

Ole Miss (12-17, 4-12 SEC) also ended a 10-game losing streak against the Tigers.

Auburn (15-14, 6-10 SEC), which has lost seven of its last eight, took a crushing blow to its NCAA Tournament hopes.

Storr was 9-of-15 shooting while Pinkins made 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Malik Dia added 10 points for the Rebels.

Tahaad Pettiford led Auburn with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting. Keyshawn Hall added 21 points, Elyjah Freeman scored 15 and Kevin Overton 10.

Freeman and Overton hit back-to-back 3-pointers to spark an 11-2 run to open the second half that culminated when Pettiford converted a three-point play that gave Auburn an eight-point lead with 17:16 left in the game. The Tigers went nearly six minutes without a field goal and Ole Miss scored 27 of the next 34 points to take a 67-55 lead when Storr hit a 3 with 7:32 remaining.

Auburn responded with a 16-4 run that made it a two-point game with 3:20 to go, but Ilias Kamardine answered with a 3 and Pinkins made 6 of 6 from the free-throw line from there to seal it.

Auburn is 0-13 this season when trailing with five minutes left.

Up next

Auburn: Hosts LSU on Tuesday.

Ole Miss: Hosts No. 25 Vanderbilt on Tuesday.

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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Cameron Carr scored 26 points and Obi Agbim hit the winning free throw with 1.3 seconds left to give Baylor an 87-86 victory over UCF on Saturday night.

UCF used a 17-6 run, capped by Devan Cambridge's two free throws, to knot it 86-all with 25 seconds left.

Following timeouts from both sides with 3.2 seconds remaining, Agbim was fouled by Riley Kugel on a 3-point attempt. Agbim missed his first free throw but made the second, and then purposely shot at the front of the rim on the final attempt to run out the clock.

Carr was 6 of 13 from the floor, 4 of 8 from long range and made all 10 of his free-throw attempts. It was his second consecutive game scoring 26 points. Dan Skillings Jr. added 15 points, Isaac Williams IV had 14 and Agbim finished with 12 for Baylor (15-14, 5-11 Big 12).

Tounde Yessoufou scored nine and has 511 points this season, breaking the previous program record (509) for points by a freshman. He also grabbed eight of the Bears' 35 rebounds.

Kugel scored a career-high 26 points to lead UCF (20-8, 9-7).

Baylor took the lead about midway through the first half, and closed on a 12-6 surge for a 56-42 halftime advantage. The Bears never trailed in the second half.

Up next

Baylor: The Bears play at No. 5 Houston on Wednesday.

UCF: The Knights host Oklahoma State on Tuesday.

___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Brian Schwake had two saves for Nashville SC on Saturday night in a 0-0 tie with FC Dallas.

Matthew Corcoran, a 20-year-old midfielder who made his first start of the season and the fourth of his career, was shown his second yellow card in the 84th minute and Nashville (1-0-1) played a man down the rest of the way.

Schwake, who had his first shutout in his second MLS start, made a diving stop of a shot by Anderson Julio from outside the area in the first minute of stoppage time.

Michael Collodi had a save for Dallas (1-0-1).

Nashville had 54% possession but was outshot 10-7, 2-1 on target.

Joaquín Valiente made his MLS debut when he subbed on for Patrickson Delgado in the 62nd minute.

___

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

Listen, there are losses you see coming, and then there are losses that still somehow feel like catching a stray. The Golden State Warriors fell 129-101 to the Los Angeles Lakers Friday night, and honestly? The box score is doing them a favor by not including the vibe. IT WAS DEPRESSING.

Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Kristaps Porzingis all missed the game. And without that super trio, Golden State sent a crew of guys who were genuinely trying out there and got reminded, rather loudly, that trying only gets you so far against a team built different.

Oh, and it just happened to be Luka Doncic’s birthday. Cool timing, Warriors.

LUKA DONCIC TONIGHT
🪄 29 minutes
🪄 26 points
🪄 8 assists
🪄 6 rebounds
🪄 +26 +/-

W FOR THE BIRTHDAY BOY 🥳 pic.twitter.com/Hn3YMSx5k4

— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) March 1, 2026

Luka turned in a 26-point, 8-assist, 6-rebound gift-wrapped performance and looked like a man who specifically requested a Warriors beatdown on his birthday cake. 4-of-9 from three, efficient when it mattered, and just different enough from the Luka we’ve seen lately to make it sting a little extra. Happy birthday, big fella. The Dubs paid for the party.

The Warriors starters were a collective nightmare. Draymond Green went -30 in 24 minutes. That’s not a plus/minus for the future Hall-of-Famer, that’s a hostage situation. De’Anthony Melton shot 3-of-12 from the field Brandin Podziemski and Moses Moody combined to go 8-of-23 in an effort that showed they definitely have growing to do. The bench tried (Gary Payton II had a sneaky 12 points, Malevy Leons showed some life ) but this was a waves-on-a-sinking-ship situation.

Barkley sarcastically apologizes to the Lakers, says they’re serious contenders.

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭pic.twitter.com/thgAUxX6JC

— HeroOfTheDay (@Hero_OfThe_Day) March 1, 2026

The Lakers? 53% from the field, 46% from three, 47 rebounds. LeBron James cooked for 22 in 28 minutes and didn’t even break a sweat. Austin Reaves tossed in 18 like it was a pick-up game in his driveway.

And look, no one’s blaming the guys who suited up. They competed with the wrong tools for the job. You can’t ask a backup band to headline Madison Square Garden and then wonder why the crowd left early. This is the Warriors’ reality right now: impossibly gutsy when the moment calls for it, impossibly limited when the moment calls for stars. Curry changes every single calculation on both ends. Without him, the math just doesn’t work.

Watching this Warriors Lakers blowout should make everyone watching realize tha Stephen Curry deserves MVP every year

— justfax (@justfax15) March 1, 2026

Lakers fans absolutely loved this one. Good for them. The Dubs will need their guys back before this gets darker.

Luka Doncic and LeBron James led the Los Angeles Lakers to an easy 129-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center on Saturday, Feb. 28.

Both of the Lakers’ stars flirted with triple-double performances but sat out the latter part of the second half. Doncic was celebrating his 27th birthday on Saturday.

Austin Reaves contributed to the offense with 18 points.

Los Angeles snapped a three-game losing streak that had it entering this game just 1-3 following the All-Star break.

The Lakers improved to 35-24 on the season. The Warriors fell to 31-29.

LeBron James stats vs. Warriors

• Points: 22
• FG: 7-for-13
• 3PT: 4-for-6
• Free Throws: 4-for-5
• Rebounds: 7
• Assists: 9
• Steals: 1
• Blocks: 0
• Turnovers: 4
• Fouls: 1
• Minutes: 28

Luka Doncic stats vs. Warriors

• Points: 26
• FG: 9-for-17
• 3PT: 4-for-9
• Free Throws: 4-for-4
• Rebounds: 6
• Assists: 8
• Steals: 1
• Blocks: 1
• Turnovers: 2
• Fouls: 2
• Minutes: 29

How did Lakers celebrate Doncic's birthday?

After the Lakers' victory over the Warriors, Doncic told ESPN what he received for his birthday from his teammates.

"Nobody gave me a gift yet, it's crazy."

—Luka Doncic tells @malika_andrews what his teammates got him after the birthday W 😂😭 pic.twitter.com/fPUMDCXWcP

— ESPN (@espn) March 1, 2026

Lakers wishing Luka a happy birthday before taking on the Warriors 🥳

Watch LAL-GSW at 8:30 ET on ABC and the ESPN App 🍿

(via @Lakers) pic.twitter.com/24ZBorWOHK

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 28, 2026

Lakers vs. Warriors highlights

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lakers vs Warriors score, stats, highlights as LeBron, Luka key win

Minnesota Timberwolves at Denver Nuggets
Date: March 1st, 2026
Time: 2:30 PM CST
Location: Ball Arena
Television Coverage: ABC
Radio Coverage: Wolves App, iHeart Radio

After a relatively mundane month of February, the kind where the Timberwolves looked like they were physically present but spiritually on a beach somewhere, March is kicking the door down with a steel chair.

This is the month where the standings stop being a fun little scoreboard and start feeling like a knife fight. March is the month where you look up and realize you have 20-something games left and every dumb January faceplant is now sitting in the corner like a credit card bill you ignored.

And it starts Sunday afternoon with the Denver Nuggets. National TV. Two conference heavyweights. Two franchises that have spent the last few years taking turns trying to rip each other’s souls out in the playoffs. Anthony Edwards versus Nikola Jokic.

This is more than just a standings game. It’s a pride game. It’s the type of game where Wolves fans will either spend the rest of Sunday walking around the house like they’re ten feet tall… or staring at the wall trying to remember why they chose this life.

The Wolves have been building toward this moment. They survived the first two stops of this road trip against the Blazers and Clippers, even though both of those wins were more stressful than they had any right to be. But they won. They banked the wins. And now they arrive at the prizefight. They get to stare straight at the Nuggets and say: We’re coming for your spot.

Denver is vulnerable in a way that makes this feel even bigger. Jokic has missed time this year. Aaron Gordon, one of most underappreciated “essential” players in the league, has been sidelined with a hamstring. He might be back Sunday, but even if he plays, he’s almost certainly not going to be peak Gordon. Denver’s had some uneven weeks. They’ve felt human.

The problem, of course, is that their version of “human” is still: Nikola Jokic sauntering into a triple-double like it’s his morning coffee order. The Wolves know that better than anyone, because Denver has taken all three meetings this season. Their most recent victory was Christmas Day, when the Nuggets built a commanding lead, the Wolves summoned that 2024 Game 7 comeback energy, Ant hit yet another clutch shot to force overtime… and then Denver still walked away with the win like the villain in a movie who gets shot and keeps walking.

This is Minnesota’s final chance to avoid the regular-season sweep. It’s also their chance to leapfrog Denver in the standings and finally stop spending the entire season looking up at them like the Nuggets are some mountain peak the Wolves can’t quite climb.

---

#1: Play Team Defense Like It’s 2024 Again

The Wolves didn’t beat Denver in that 2024 playoff series because they had one magic trick. They beat them because they played connected defense with five guys moving like a single organism. That version of Minnesota has shown up this season… in brief flashes. Most notably in their last game against OKC, when they swarmed the champs like they’d been personally insulted.

“In flashes” doesn’t work against Denver. If you help lazily, Jokic finds the open guy. If you ball-watch, Murray’s got a dagger in your chest before you realize he’s open. If you rotate late, you’re giving up layups and corner threes all afternoon.

This starts on the perimeter, where the Wolves guards need to put Jamal Murray in a straight jacket keep him from going on one of his patented heaters. They need to rotate with purpose and prevent Jokic from setting up his teammates with open threes and easy cuts. The guards have to actually contain dribble penetration so Rudy isn’t living in emergency mode.

And then it ends with Rudy. Which brings us to…

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#2: You Can’t Stop Jokic, But You Can Make Him Miserable

There’s no stopping Jokic. He’s the best player on the planet for a reason. You survive him. You limit the damage. You pick your poison and hope the poison is only mildly lethal.

Minnesota has done this before. The blueprint is still sitting right there in the 2024 playoff tape. It starts with Rudy Gobert being Rudy Gobert, making the paint feel crowded and annoying. Jokic wants to dictate where you stand and what you do. Rudy has to resist that gravity.

And then you throw bodies at him. Julius Randle has to use his size like a bounce He’s not going to out-skill Jokic, but he can out-physical him at moments. Naz Reid needs to bring help as the second big, and use his ability to launch from deep and drive to space the floor to keep Jokic uncomfortable on defense.

The goal isn’t to hold Jokic to 14 points. The goal is to make him work, make him feel every possession, and most importantly, prevent him from going nuclear like he did on Christmas. Because once Jokic hits that mode where he’s scoring, assisting, and controlling the universe, it may as well be “game over”.

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#3: The Ball Has to Move, and the Shots Have to Drop

Thursday night in LA was a slog. The Wolves offense looked like it was trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube while wearing oven mitts. Shots rimmed out, possessions died, and everything got sticky.

Sticky offense against Denver is how you lose by 12 and spend the fourth quarter doing math like, “If we just hit three straight threes and get two stops and Jokic misses twice…“

Minnesota’s best version is when the offense has flow with Ant and Randle as scorers and facilitators, allowing shooters to get clean looks in rhythm. It keeps their teammates engaged, cutting and moving with purpose instead of standing around watching hero ball.

If Ant and Julius turn into black holes, they’re playing into Denver’s hands. Denver wants the Wolves to make it a two-man show. They want predictable. The Wolves have to play like a five-headed monster. They have too many weapons to reduce themselves to “Ant bails us out.”

But, when the open looks come? Donte, Naz, Jaden, Ayo, and the rest of the crew have to make them.

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#4: Win the Boring Stuff

Big games are decided by the stuff that doesn’t make the highlight reel.

• Rebounding: You cannot give Denver second chances. On the flip side, Rudy turning misses into putbacks is a cheat code. It’s how you survive stretches where the jumpers go cold.
• Turnovers: Guarding Jokic is already difficult enough. Erasing a hard-earned defensive stop by coughing the ball up and allowing an easy transition basket is demoralizing.
• Free throws: Minnesota cannot keep leaving points at the line like it’s some quirky personality trait. Against Denver, you don’t get to throw away free points and then act shocked you lost by four.

This is the game where you have to play grown-up basketball.

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#5: You Need Peak Ant and Peak Julius

Let’s start with Julius Randle.

He’s been in a funk. There have been games where he looks like he’s wearing ankle weights on defense.

But here’s the truth: the Wolves don’t have another option. They need Beast Julius, the guy who can bully smaller defenders, collapse the paint, make smart kickouts, and occasionally remind everyone he’s capable of turning a quarter into his personal WWE match. If Minnesota gets that version of Julius, the game tilts.

And then there’s Ant.

Ant is going to have moments where he has to put on the cape, but Chris Finch was begging him late against the Clippers to move the ball for a reason. There were possessions where the Wolves were up four with a chance to create meaningful separation, Ant dribbled the clock down, forced an inefficient shot, missed, and suddenly LA was scoring before Minnesota even set its defense. It happened multiple times. That hero ball worked against a depleted Clippers team. It will not work against Jokic.

This is the distinction: we don’t need Superman. We need the Avengers.

Ant has to be the best version of himself, the one who scores but also makes everyone else better. The one whose gravity bends the floor and creates clean looks for the Wolves’ talent snipers. The one who wins the game in the first three quarters so the fourth quarter isn’t a coin flip.

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This Is the “Flip the Script” Opportunity

The Wolves have spent most of this season looking up at Denver in the standings. Sunday is the chance to flip that dynamic. It’s the chance to change the season-series story. It’s the chance to take a big step toward that three-seed dream that keeps popping up every time Minnesota strings together a few wins. It’s the chance to set the tone for March, a month that’s going to be a gauntlet of West Coast road games, heavyweight matchups, and real tests.

If you’re a Wolves fan, you know how this goes. The Wolves are capable of beating anybody. They’ve proven it. They can look like a contender with a capital C.

They can also sleepwalk, get disinterested, treat the moment like it’s optional, and wake up too late.

So the game is simple:

• If they bring the switch-on defense,
• if they make Jokic work,
• if the ball moves and the shots fall,
• if they win the boring stuff,
• and if Ant and Julius play like leaders instead of solo artists…

…they can win this game. They can take the standing spot. They can plant the flag.

This is the next rung on the ladder.

Can they pull themselves up and over Denver?

We’ll find out Sunday afternoon.

After three straight losses, the Lakers got a sorely-needed win on Saturday, crushing the Warriors 129-101. LA led nearly wire-to-wire, hit a season-high 19 3-pointers and cruised to a very comfortable victory.

The purple and gold shot 53.3% overall and held Golden State to just 27.3% from range.

The game started with a Draymond Green dunk after both teams missed their first two shot attempts. Austin Reaves was cooking early with four points. Both LeBron James and Marcus Smart drained 3-pointers. Los Angeles jumped to an eight-point lead. 

At the 7:43 mark, the Warriors were sitting on only two points. 

Out of a Golden State timeout, Moses Moody knocked down a triple. The Lakers were having a great game from behind the arc, converting on five of seven attempts. LeBron was a perfect 2-2 on his triples. 

The Lakers are hot from 3 early, hitting 5 of 7, including LeBron's 2 for 2, but allowed 3 quick layups to GSW in transition after Lakers makes that kept the Warriors in range at 23-11.

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) March 1, 2026

Gary Payton II provided a spark off the bench for the Warriors with four points. Reaves was leading all Laker scorers with nine points. Golden State picked up its play towards the end of the quarter by scoring four in a row, but LA was still in control of the game with a 13-point lead. 

The second period began with Los Angeles converting on two 3-pointers, one from Luke Kennard and one from LeBron, extending their lead to 21, which led to a timeout by Golden State.

LA continued to extend its lead over the Warriors to as much as 24. LeBron was still a perfect 4-4 from behind the arc. He and Reaves were the only Lakers in double figures with 14 and 11, respectively. 

The Warriors began to find their offense with a 13-2 scoring run, while Los Angeles suddenly went cold from the field. 

LA ended the quarter well, stopping Golden State’s scoring run to keep an 18-point lead at halftime. The Lakers managed to play well despite Luka Dončić scoring just10 points in the half. 

Good half for the Lakers, who take a 65-47 lead into the locker room.

LA hit 9 of 17 3's, including a perfect 4 for 4 from LeBron (20 points), and held GSW to 40% FG's.

— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) March 1, 2026

Luka began the third period by draining two 3-pointers in a row. Ayton then converted on a hook shot to push it to a 26-point lead for Los Angeles. After Golden State knocked down two triples, Luka responded with two more 3-pointers as he was red-hot from behind the arc.

4-FOR-4 FOR LUKA TO OPEN THE 3Q ON HIS BIRTHDAY!

The NBA's leading scorer is catching fire on ABC 🚨 pic.twitter.com/x8qf5mzuMo

— NBA (@NBA) March 1, 2026

The Warriors were shooting a brutal 22% from behind the arc. 

LA’s incredible night from behind the arc continued with Jake LaRavia and Reaves both draining 3-pointers. As a team, Los Angeles was shooting 51% from the three. 

Gui Santos surged with seven points, trying to put some life back into the Warriors. Kennard entered double figures after converting on a jumper. The Lakers had extended their lead to as much as 30 and headed into the fourth comfortably ahead. 

Most serious game the Lakers have played in a while

— Raj C. (@RajChipalu) March 1, 2026

LeBron opened the final frame converting on a pair of free throws. Kennard knocked down his third triple of the night. Maxi Kleber started to get in on the scoring with four points. Moody and LaRavia exchanged triples, prompting a Warriors timeout. They were down by 31. 

Both sides emptied their bench with just over half the period remaining. 

Key Player Stats

Luka finished with 26 points, six rebounds and eight assists. LeBron ended with 22 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. Reaves pitched in with 18 points and three assists. 

Kennard continued his stellar play off the bench with 16 points, three rebounds and three assists. Marcus Smart notched eight points with five rebounds and two steals. Jaxson Hayes scored six points with five rebounds. 

Ayton had a rough offensive night with four points but did grab 10 rebounds. LaRavia pitched in with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists. Kleber had four points with three blocks. 

The Lakers’ next matchup will be against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday at 6:30 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Diego Rossi scored late in the second half to offset a two-goal effort by Dejan Joveljić, rallying the Columbus Crew to a 2-2 draw with Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night.

Rossi found the net unassisted in the 82nd minute to help the Crew (0-1-1) earn a point on the road after falling 3-2 to the Portland Timbers in a season opener in Oregon.

Wessam Abou Ali scored in a second straight match, finding the net unassisted off a turnover in the 33rd minute to stake Columbus to a 1-0 lead that it carried into halftime.

Sporting KC (0-1-1) pulled even three minutes into the second half when Joveljić used assists from Jake Davis and Calvin Harris to score the club's first goal of the season. Joveljić had 18 goals in 32 appearances last season after coming over from the 2024 MLS Cup champion Los Angeles Galaxy.

Joveljić gave Sporting KC a 2-1 lead with an unassisted goal in the 72nd minute.

Patrick Schulte stopped two shots in goal for the Crew — in their first season under Henrik Rydstrom after Wilfried Nancy left to coach in Scotland.

John Pulskamp totaled three saves for Sporting KC, which was coming off a 3-0 road loss to the San Jose Earthquakes to begin the season under first-year coach Raphael Wicky.

Sporting KC is 5-2-9 in home openers at Sporting Park and 16-4-11 in home openers all time.

Sporting KC has a 7-2-4 record in the last 13 matchups with the Crew and leads the all-time series 26-23-10, including a 14-9-5 mark at home.

Up next

Columbus: Hosts Chicago Fire on Saturday.

Sporting KC: Hosts San Diego FC on Saturday.

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

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said on social media Saturday that the school is working to try and help a few former players return home from Israel where they are playing professionally.

The trio of former Gamecocks — Tiffany Mitchell, Destiny Littleton and Mikiah Herbert Harrigan — as well as other former WNBA players are playing basketball in Israel, which along with the United States, launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday.

“Please pray for our @GamecockWBB @TiffMitch25 @2121Mikiah @dstnylttltn24 who are in a war zone in Israel,” Staley said on X. "We are working a plan to get home. Let us pray for our loved ones to return home safely asap! Thank you in advance.”

Mitchell played last season in Seattle, while Harrigan was on the Phoenix Mercury. Other players in the Israeli league with WNBA ties include Victoria Vivians, Christyn Williams, Shyanne Sellers, Arella Guirantes and Evina Westbrook.

“It’s 12:48 am and I’m going to attempt to get some sleep,” Littleton tweeted. “Prayers for safety for everyone impacted.”

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba

SANDY, Utah (AP) — Teenager Aiden Hezarkhani scored his first career goal, Ariath Piol scored early in the second half and Real Salt Lake continued to dominate the Sounders at home with a 2-1 victory on Saturday.

Real Salt Lake (1-1-0) improves to 14-1-4 when the Sounders (1-1-0) visit America First Field. Seattle hasn't won in Sandy since winning a U.S. Open Cup match in 2016.

Hezarkhani staked Real Salt Lake to a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute, scoring with assists from defender Juan Manuel Sanabria — in his league debut — and Luca Moisa. Hezarkhani, 18, played 57 minutes in two appearances last season.

Piol made it 2-0 two minutes into the second half with assists from 18-year-old Zavier Gozo and defender Philip Quinton. Piol had a goal and two assists in 24 appearances as a rookie last season. Quinton's assist was his first in 50 career appearances. Gozo's assist was his first this season and fourth in 29 career appearances.

Seattle cut its deficit to a goal when Cristian Roldan took a pass from Albert Rusnák and found the net in the 62nd minute.

That was it for the Sounders in their first match since learning Jordan Morris would miss 4-to-6 weeks with a quad injury he suffered eight minutes into a season-opening 2-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids in Seattle.

Rafael Cabral saved eight shots for Real Salt Lake as the 35-year-old begins his second season in the league.

Andrew Thomas finished with two saves for the Sounders as mainstay Stefan Frei moves into a backup role.

Up next

Seattle: At St. Louis City on Saturday.

Real Salt Lake: At Atlanta United on Saturday.

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