Category: Basketball

Since the All-Star break, the Knicks’ starting five has been outscored by a combined 34 points in the first quarter. 

On Sunday, after his Knicks were outscored by six against a Warriors team missing eight rotation players, Mike Brown had seen enough. 

 "We have to figure out individually, collectively, how we can start games better…. I’m not talking about the outcome, win or loss, I’m talking about the start of the game,” Brown said after the Knicks walked off the floor with an ugly three-point win over Golden State. “(We need to start games) with a level of focus, a level of physicality, so that they’re feeling us to start the game.

"This group knows it. They understand it. Now we've just gotta go do it." 

Is Brown going to change the starting five of Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Karl-AnthonyTowns?

Not yet.

"If I feel the need, I will. I’m not thinking that right now,” Brown said. “I’m not concentrating on each individual (in the starting lineup) because….we’ve started different people (in recent games)... So it’s collectively (been a problem) in the last seven, eight games.”

The Knicks started Brunson-Bridges-Hart-Aunonoby-Towns for most of last season. The unit helped the Knicks win 50-plus games but had issues offensively in the final 3.5 months of the regular season. Those issues were exposed at points during the postseason. Eventually, Tom Thibodeau changed the starting lineup. That change – which came midway through the Eastern Conference Finals – was ultimately too late.  

Will Brown stick with this starting five for as long as Thibodeau did? He’s not changing anything now, but Brown certainly sounded like a coach ready to shake things up.

“Right now I don’t feel the need to,” said Brown. “But, like I said, if I felt the need to, I would.” 

Brown has been willing to change his closing lineup throughout the season. On Sunday, he again went away from Bridges in the closing minutes of a close game. 

Bridges finished the game with seven points in 21 minutes. He missed five of his six three-point attempts. 

Afterward, Brown praised Bridges’ overall impact on the club. 

“It’s no secret Mikal has not shot the ball well. But he’s given us life at times, and he’s given us life at the right time at times,” the head coach said. “I thought he was fantastic in Indiana (on Friday). On both ends of the floor. So it’s not just Mikal. It’s us collectively as a group.”

Once again, Brown turned to Jordan Clarkson to spark his sleepy team. And Clarkson delivered again. 

He finished with 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting in 21 minutes. New York outscored Golden State by 14 with Clarkson on the floor. 

“Special. The stats don’t lie,” Towns said of Clarkson. “One of the best players coming off the bench in NBA history. He does one thing better than almost anybody in the league, and that’s put the ball in the basket. When he’s doing that, he’s playing with that fire and that passion he has; there’s not many players in the NBA coming off the bench you feel better about.” 

You wonder if, at some point, Brown decides to insert Clarkson more into the rotation. 

Clarkson was averaging just 2.4 minutes per game after the All-Star break until Brown called his number. Over the last three games, Clarkson has scored 49 points on 19-for-35 shooting.

Shorter season?

Steve Kerr wants NBA stakeholders to have a "meaningful discussion" about changing the length of the regular season.

“I’m just saying what I see with all the injuries. The soft tissue injuries. I see all the data about how fast the guys are running, how much distance guys are covering now compared to 20-30 years ago. I see all the injuries, the tanking. I see everything,” Kerr said before the Knicks-Warriors game on Sunday. “I’ve been in the league a long time. I’m well aware fewer games would mean less revenue, which means everybody takes a pay cut, and I’m willing to stick my neck out and say I’m all for that because I think the quality of the product is the most important thing. So I don’t say these things flippantly. I say these things because I mean them.

“I think there’s a meaningful discussion to be had, and I love the league, I’ve loved the NBA my whole life. My whole adult life has been spent in the NBA in some form and it’s an amazing league. We have incredible people in this league and great fans. I just want to make sure we give our fans the very, very best product we can and try to satisfy all of our corporate partners, and I just think there’s probably a way to do that without just completely — I don’t know, ignoring some of the obvious issues we’ve established.”

Earlier this month, Kerr suggested that the NBA shorten its season by 10 games. As stated above, Kerr is well aware of the revenue loss that comes with a shortened season. But he believes something needs to change.

“In talking to performance people, looking at the data, hearing the experts in our own group talk about the load that these guys are facing and then you get older players like Steph (Curry) or Al (Horford) or Jimmy (Butler) – we have to manage them through 82 (games). So there are nights where you just have to say, can’t play this guy. I get emails all the time from fans saying ‘I spent $2,000 on tickets to go to this game and Steph didn’t play.’ And it wasn’t an injury designation and I held him out. Shouldn’t we reconcile that somehow?

“Maybe it’s stretching the season out a little bit. If you can’t give up 10 games, can you extend the season by two weeks and give players more time in between games? I don’t know,” Kerr said. “I know there’s no guarantee that players are going to be out there every night, but I know that we have enough issues all clumped together that if we put our heads together – we’ve got a lot of really smart people in this league. I think we can address a lot of them and satisfy the fans, the owners, the TV partners. I believe that’s possible. Maybe I’m naïve. But I think it’s important to put it out there just for discussion and see where it goes.”

For his part, the Knicks’ Hart seemed lukewarm to the idea of changing the schedule.

“I probably be retired before that happens. So I don’t care,” Hart said. “Nah, do I think it will be probably be better for the game and the quality on the court? I think so. 

“Do I think it will happen? Probably not because everybody is so money-hungry and money-driven. I think everybody puts that above everything else.”

The Utah Jazz fell to the Sacramento Kings, with a final score of 111-116.

For tank-watchers at home, this game was vital for Utah’s chances at picking up a few more lottery balls in May. The Jazz, currently fifth in the lottery standings, are now only 2.5 games behind the Kings for fourth place. Jumping up to fourth would give Utah ~5% increased chance at a top-four pick, and most importantly, eliminate any remote chance of conveying their top-eight protected pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Lottery considerations aside, 17-year veteran DeMar DeRozan led the Kings with 41 points and 10 assists on an efficient 11-21 from the field. At 36 years-old, DeRozan is still one of the most impressive isolation scorers in the league. Utah’s inexperienced group bit on his array of lullaby dribbles, slow spins, and pump fakes. He was helped by recent signee Killian Hayes, who chipped in 16 points and 8 assists. Hayes signed a two-year deal on Sunday following a 10-day contract.

Cody Williams continues to shine for Utah. After setting a career-high of 19 against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday, he blew that away with 34 points on 12-19 on the field tonight. While Williams has struggled with on-court confidence at times, he attacked the rim, made a number of smooth turnaround jumpers, and even attempted seven shots from three.

Isaiah Collier, who left the game because of a right knee contusion, scored 21 points on as many shots and had a team-low plus-minus of minus-15. 10-day contract player Andersson Garcia snagged 10 rebounds, two steals, and two blocks in a team-high 43 minutes.

Utah returns to action in Minneapolis against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.

The Houston Rockets are about to play the most important two-game slate on their schedule tonight and Wednesday against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Houston has lost their season series against the Denver Nuggets, but have chances to win thei season series against the Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves. Houston leads both series 1-0 thanks to wins earlier this season, so only need one win against each to clinch the series since they only play each other three times this season. Both games against the Lakers are obviously at home and Houston has one game left against the Timberwolves at Toyota Center.

The Lakers have won five straight and eight of their last nine games. Their only loss was to the Nuggets, which they avenged on Saturday night. That streak also includes wins over the Knicks and Timberwolves.

Houston won the first game against LA due to their size advantage and great defense. The Lakers are also the top team in the league at getting to the free throw line (hold your gasps), but Houston held them to 11 trips there on Christmas Day. If LA gets to the line as much as they normally do, this could get ugly.

Tip-off

8:30pm CT

How To Watch

Space City Home Network and Peacock

Injury Report

Rockets

Alperen Sengun: GTD

Steven Adams: OUT

Fred VanVleet: OUT

Jae’Sean Tate: OUT

Lakers

Bryce McGowens: OUT

The Line (as of this post)

HOU -2.5

Check here for updates

Looking ahead because we can

Wednesday night at home against the Los Angeles Lakers

Exactly 10 days ago, the Golden State Warriors — sans a whole cast of players — shocked the Houston Rockets with an overtime win on the road. I emphatically proclaimed it as the win of the year, stating that no other game for the rest of the season can match it.

Golden State followed it up by losing four consecutive games, but on Sunday they almost made me eat my words. Again on the road, this time against an arguably even better team in the New York Knicks, and now missing even more players, the Warriors came oh-so-close to pulling off a truly stunning upset, ultimately losing 110-107.

The Warriors were playing without Steph Curry. And without Jimmy Butler III. And without Draymond Green. And without Al Horford. And without Kristaps Porziņģis. And without De’Anthony Melton. And without Moses Moody. And without Seth Curry.

Against a team with NBA Finals aspirations, the Warriors ran out a 10-player rotation that featured one first-round pick, three second-round picks, and six undrafted players. A rotation that used all three two-way contracts, plus a player who began the year on a two-way contract, and also someone just signed to a 10-day contract who was playing in his first NBA game in 23 months.

And it came down to the final possession. And they at one point led by 21.

But they came up just short.

The game started well. The Warriors looked good on offense in the early going, and had lots of energy as they jumped out to an early lead. Quinten Post was pouring in the buckets as the team built up a quick 19-13 lead. Ömer Yurtseven, the aforementioned player on a recently-signed 10-day contract, made his team and season debut before the halfway mark and looked solid. The Dubs weren’t getting much separation until the end of the quarter, when Brandin Podziemski’s aggression started to steer the game, and the Warriors ended the quarter on an 11-0 run that was punctuated on the final possessions when they forced a turnover, then scored on the other end courtesy of a Malevy Leons tip-in. It was a shocking 35-21 advantage after the opening frame.

They continued to pour things on in the second quarter, and within a few minutes held a 46-25 lead. Madison Square Garden was quiet, confused as to why their successful team was getting crushed by a squad that might struggle against some G League teams.

Golden State’s offense, which did a great job all night of penetrating rather than settling for threes, was getting the job done, while the defense was solid, and aided by the Knicks missing plenty of shots. That led to New York defaulting to isolations, as their offense stagnated and the frustration mounted.

Finally, near the end of the half, New York started to shift the momentum. As they tightened their defense, Golden State’s offense started to get sloppy. Not only were the Dubs leaving points on the table, but their turnovers were allowing the Knicks to find a rhythm. It was all punctuated with a very poorly run two-for-one to end the half, where the Warriors missed their chance for two possessions, turned the ball over, and then ceded a three on the other end. Still, they led 54-45 at halftime.

The Knicks picked up where they left off in the second half, quickly scoring the first five points of the third quarter. It was all slipping away from the Warriors, but they refused to back down. From second-chance opportunities to quick hands on defense to a Will Richard poster, the Warriors were finding ways to stay just ahead of the Knicks.

But eventually the damn would break. With just under four minutes left in the frame, Mikal Bridges sank a long corner two to tie the game. With 2:17 remaining, Jalen Brunson banked home a floated to give the Knicks a 77-75 advantage … their first lead since 9-8 in the opening minutes. When the buzzer rang marking the end of the third quarter, New York led 83-80.

To the Warriors credit, they were not at all discouraged. They didn’t stop hustling or flying around the court. Unfortunately for them, the Knicks started to do those things, and the result was that the loose balls and unclaimed rebounds started to equalize, rather than all going in Golden State’s direction. New York, with all their key players healthy, were finally flexing it, and simply executing much better than the Warriors were. And by the halfway mark of the final frame, they had pushed the lead to seven.

That’s the point where the game is supposed to unofficially end. Once you’ve taken your best shot as an underdog, and then blown the lead, you’re supposed to cave as the game gets away from you.

But it didn’t. The Warriors kept making hustle play after hustle play, and highlight after highlight. They blocked shots to get surprising stops, and creatively found their way to the bucket on offense, led by 11 ultra-crafty fourth-quarter points from Gui Santos. And in the final moments of the game, they pulled to within a point.

After getting a stop inside the final minute, Golden State had a two-for-one — if they acted quickly — and a chance to take the lead. They couldn’t quite get a shot off quickly enough, but Podziemski still got a good look at a three, though it didn’t fall. The shot clock was now off, and the Dubs were forced to foul. Landry Shamet made a pair of free throws to push New York’s lead back to three points, but Podziemski answered with a quick layup, pulling the Dubs back to within one. After OG Anunoby made his free throws, the Warriors had one last chance, and inbounded the ball from their own sideline with 6.2 seconds remaining, needing a three to force overtime.

But New York’s defense smothered them, and they were unable to get a shot off. And instead of a shocking win, the Warriors got a fifth straight defeat.

Podziemski led the Warriors with 25 points on 8-for-15 shooting, and added five rebounds, six assists, and two steals. Also clearing the 20-point barrier were Post, who had 22 points, three rebounds, and three assists, and Santos, who had 20 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and two steals. That trio, though, combined for 13 turnovers as the Warriors squared off with one of the sport’s strongest defenses.

The Dubs will be back in action tomorrow night at 4:00 p.m. PT, when they visit the Washington Wizards. That should be an easier game — the Wizards are very bad, and the Dubs should be getting at least Green and Melton back — but then again, the Warriors seem to struggle more with the easier games these days.

The Warriors (32-35) entered Madison Square Garden with eight rotational players sidelined by injury, including Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jimmy Butler. The Knicks (44*-25) were playing their first home contest after a five-game road trip and even though their last two games were unconvincing wins against lesser opponents, we figured tonight’s tilt against such a short-handed club would be an easy outing. Fat chance. New York spent much of the evening digging a 21-point hole and then clawing their way out. The replacement Warriors fought to the wire, and the Knicks were lucky to escape with a 110-107 win.

Shooting just 32% from the floor and 3-of-15 from deep, the Knicks went down 28-21 by midway through the first. Then it got worse. For Golden State, Quinten Post (22 PTS) sparked the offense with two early triples while Pat Spencer chipped in seven points off the bench. Jalen Brunson (30 PTS, 9 AST) carried nearly all of New York’s scoring load with 13 points and played the entire quarter. The Knicks were sleepy defensively and beaten on the boards. An 11-0 Warriors run, led by Brandin Podziemski (25 PTS, 6 AST), sent Golden State into the second up 35-21.

For New York, Mohamed Diawara hit a first-quarter three-pointer but was quickly pulled in the second after two turnovers. Meanwhile, Podziemski opened the quarter with a step-back three, Gary Payton II (19 PTS, 6 RBS) followed with back-to-back triples, and the Dubs stretched the lead to 21 before the midway point.

Jalen Brunson led the charge in New York's largest comeback of the season, a 21-point turnaround 🔥

30 PTS
9 AST
2 STL

3 wins in a row for the @nyknicks! pic.twitter.com/Xi1UB9e9L3

— NBA (@NBA) March 16, 2026

The Knicks steadied themselves briefly behind a couple of buckets from Karl-Anthony Towns (17 PTS, 12 RBS), while OG Anunoby (14 PTS, 4 RBS) added a dunk off a Jose Alvarado (4 PTS, 4 AST) dime. Jordan Clarkson (14 PTS), back in the rotation after a strong showing in Utah, came off the bench for a layup and some free throws, while Mitchell Robinson (10 RBS) provided some much-needed assistance on the glass. The Warriors are among the league’s worst for turnovers, and it showed in the first half. Their 13 giveaways became 15 points for the Knicks, who needed all the help they could get. With a little bit of a push, including a Landry Shamet (10 PTS) as time was running out, the Knicks cut the score to 54-45 at halftime.

JC brought the energy ⚡️🔌 pic.twitter.com/tjxljCuWnl

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 16, 2026

Through the first half, the Warriors shot 51% from the field and 42% from three (8-of-19), while the Knicks managed 41% overall and just 5-of-21 from deep (24%). Golden State also won the rebounding battle 23-17 and outscored New York in the paint 22-14. Podziemski topped the Golden State column with 14 points, and Jalen Brunson led all scorers with 17 points.

In the third quarter, the game finally regained some sanity. Brunson hit a three early, then fed Towns for a layup and a dunk as the Knicks began chipping away. Josh Hart (12 RBS, 7 PTS, 5 AST) owned the glass during that stretch, extending possessions with a string of rebounds while New York slowly trimmed the deficit.

Golden State countered through Podziemski, who mixed drives with a pull-up jumper and set up Payton for both a three and a reverse layup. Anunoby added a timely three, and by the middle of the period, the Knicks had seized the momentum behind Brunson’s shot creation and Towns’ efforts inside. The hosts kept grinding until they finally nudged ahead, taking an 83-80 lead into the fourth.

The final quarter unfolded as a tight back-and-forth. Gui Santos, inserted into the starting lineup, scored 11 of his 20 points in the period. With 3:30 remaining, Shamet buried a three to stretch New York’s lead to five, but Payton answered with a layup off Santos’ seventh assist. After two empty Knicks possessions, Santos drove for a bucket that cut the margin to one.

a BIG mitch putback 🤠 pic.twitter.com/PZjHhriItg

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 16, 2026

Captain Clutch (who broke 30 points for the first time in 12 games) hit a jumper to make it 106-103, only for Podziemski to respond with a drive seconds later. Both guys came up empty on the next trip before a take foul sent Shamet to the line with 16 seconds left. He made both. 108-105.

Coach Mike Brown opted not to foul, and Podziemski again attacked the rim to make it 108-107 with seven seconds remaining. Anunoby was fouled on the inbound, made both free throws, and shut the door on this ugly affair at last. Quoth memitim, “It shouldn’t be this hard.” Ditto, that.

PODZ FOR THE WIN 🔥 pic.twitter.com/eySuAssRDW

— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) March 16, 2026

Up Next

The Indiana Pacers visit the Garden on Tuesday. Rest up, Knickerbockers.

Box Score

* Should be one more, but NBA Cup wins exist in an alternate dimension.

The Knicks won, but their coach was fuming. 

Facing the minor league version of the Golden State Warriors, the Knicks needed to climb out of a 21-point hole to pull off a 110-107 nail-biter Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. 

Mike Brown was so disgusted he declined to name a defensive player of the game for the first time after a win. He harped on the start of the game, noting that his team’s struggles from tipoff have become a trend. 

“We have to figure out how we don’t have to go into games relying on some amazing comeback because we did not start the game the right way,” Brown said. 

The win was sealed with an ugly turnover in the closing seconds by Golden State center Quinten Post, who couldn’t handle a pass on the perimeter and gave it up to Landry Shamet. 

Before that, Shamet and OG Anunoby connected on clutch free throws in the final 20 seconds — going 4-for-4. 

So the Knicks (44-25) still found a way. But the mood in the locker room was more appropriate for a loss, with the focus on the terrible start. 

“Don’t play like that,” said Karl-Anthony Towns, who notched another double-double. “I think it’s pretty simple.” 

“Yeah, [Brown] was frustrated,” Towns added. “Obviously, the win’s everything, but we don’t want to win games like that, especially this late in the year when we should have better standards and a better execution in playing. I understand it.” 

Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 30 points, shooting 9-for-20 while going 10-for-10 from the foul line. He knocked down an important pull-up jumper with 65 seconds left. Jordan Clarkson was again a spark off the bench, dropping 14 points in 22 minutes. 

Mikal Bridges continued his season to forget while managing just 21 minutes and getting benched in crunch time for Shamet. 

“It’s not just Mikal,” Brown said. “It’s us collectively as a group.” 

The Warriors weren’t just short-handed. They were short an entire lineup. Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Jimmy Butler III, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Seth Curry were all out. 

Their starting lineup resembled a G-League outfit — Malevy Leons, Gui Santos, Brandin Podziemski, Will Richard and Post. 

The Knicks, meanwhile, were at full strength outside of Miles McBride, who continues to recover from hernia surgery. They were also coming off a five-game road trip and clearly unfocused. 

Within three minutes into the second quarter, the Knicks were trailing by 21. They were missing shots and committing turnovers. The Warriors were on fire. 

But order was soon restored. Golden State started missing in the second quarter. The Knicks were better at taking care of the ball. By the end of the third quarter, they retook the lead. 

“If we play better from the start, we don’t have to play catch-up,” Brunson said. “It’s definitely something that we need to get better at and it has to be our focus.” 

It followed a similar trajectory of the previous two Knicks wins, both against bad teams (the Jazz and Pacers). The Knicks struggled early but found their footing before pulling it out in the fourth quarter. 

They survived again Sunday, but left MSG with more concerns. 

“I’m sitting here bitching about this and somebody told me from the first of January on, we had the No. 1 defense in the league. Something like that,” Brown said. “We can play better. I know for myself and every man in that locker room, every person in that locker room, expects more. And somehow, someway, we got to figure it out.”

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Connor McDavid had three assists, linemate Leon Draisaitl scored, but was injured soon after and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Nashville Predators 3-1 on Sunday to end a two-game losing streak.

Draisaitl took a hard early hit from Ozzy Wiesblatt. The Edmonton star came back for a couple of shifts, but didn’t return for the start of the second period.

Matthew Savoie and Zach Hyman also scored for Edmonton, and Connor Ingram made 26 saves. The Oilers are 16-1-3 record in their last 20 games against Nashville.

Fedor Svechkov scored for the Predators, and Justus Annunen stopped 27 shots. They have lost six of eight.

Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm picked up his 30th assist. He came over from Nashville at the 2023 trade deadline.

Up next

Predators: At Winnipeg on Tuesday night.

Oilers: Host San Jose on Tuesday night.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

After winning every matchup during their five-game homestand, the Lakers (42-25) are back on the road, where they will play two crucial games against the Houston Rockets (41-25). This will be the final matchups between both teams this season.

Start time and TV schedule

Who: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Houston Rockets

When: 6:30 p.m. PT, Mar 16

Where: Toyota Center

Watch: Peacock, NBC Sports, Spectrum SportsNet

---

If it feels like every Lakers game has been crucial as of late, that’s because it has. LA is just a game above their next opponent. So, the winner of Monday’s contest will automatically claim the third seed in the Western Conference.

The Rockets embarrassed the Lakers on Christmas Day, and LA needs to win both games against Houston if they want to win the season series and own the tiebreaker over them. Fortunately, Los Angeles is playing its best basketball of the year.

Led by the trio of Luka Dončić, LeBron James and Austin Reaves, the Lakers will face a Rockets team that’s built with a ton of size and athleticism. Note that they’re top 10 in the league in both offense and defense and that’s the kind of team the Lakers have had trouble with all season. It’ll be interesting to see if LA, in its current form, can conquer Houston’s defense.

On the other side of the ball, the key to stopping the Rockets’ offense is to make sure Kevin Durant — who is averaging 26.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game — isn’t the best player on the floor.

It’ll also be nice if the Lakers can contain Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Şengün to the point that they don’t play to their usual standards. It’s not going to be easy, but that’s basketball at this time of the year.

Let’s see if the Lakers can draw first blood in the first matchup against the Rockets on Monday.

Notes and Updates

• For the Lakers’ injury report, Maxi Kleber (lumbar back strain) is out.
• As for the Rockets, Fred VanVleet (ACL recovery), Jae’Sean Tate (knee sprain) and Steven Adams (ankle surgery) are out.
• Alperen Şengün (lower back pain) is questionable.

You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani.

CLEVELAND — Max Strus was the last Cleveland Cavaliers player in uniform after the game was long over. Maybe that was just a coincidence, but it didn’t feel like it. This was a man who was glad to be back playing basketball after not doing so in an NBA game since May 11.

Once Strus finally got his jersey off, he took questions from the media — an activity he’s known for not always outwardly enjoying — but this time was different. After making it through five minutes of answering questions, he finally broke down.

“I worked my ass off,” Struss said.

Then, he had to take a second to collect his thoughts and regain his voice that had started to waver.

“It was a long road, but I only know one way to work, and that’s as hard as possible. I did that every single day. … I’m just happy to be playing.”

It didn’t take Strus long to make his presence felt on the court. After receiving a raucous ovation after entering the game for the first time this season, he knocked down a contested three off a James Harden feed on his first offensive possession in almost a year. Then, he did the same thing on the next trip down the court, only this time from a Dennis Schroder dish.

The first triple got the crowd on their feet. The second sent them into a frenzy.

Strus wasn’t just back, he was better than ever.

“It was a pretty amazing performance after seven months of not playing in an NBA game,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said afterward. “Maybe the best I’ve seen.”

Strus certainly did have an amazing performance. He went on to nail his first four threes before finishing the night going 6-7 from beyond the arc in his 24-point performance in 20 minutes.

“That’s the Max Strus we know,” Donovan Mitchell said afterward. “The shooting was there, but it was the little things [that were impressive].”

Strus looked like he hadn’t missed a beat in Sunday’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks. He was able to impact the game in all the little ways he’s continually done since coming to Cleveland. He was effective at attacking closeouts off the dribble, getting teammates involved as a secondary playmaker, and making an impact on the glass. All of which are things the Cavs have desperately missed in his absence.

The journey back to the court has been more grueling than expected. “It wasn’t meant to be this long, but I can’t control the way my body heals.”

The initial estimates after the injury in August had him returning around Christmas, but it took three months longer than expected. Strus mentioned that he could’ve just shut it down for the entire season. That would’ve been an easier option, but he isn’t exactly known for taking the easy way out when presented with that choice.

“He’s put in so much time and effort [into his recovery],” Mitchell said. “It’s easy for a guy to get discouraged, but he’s not the type to give up.”

Strus credits his family with getting him through this process. This ordeal has also led him to seek a different outlook. One more focused on being positive and grateful for everything that he has.

Life has a way of testing us in uncomfortable and unexpected ways. These last seven months have been incredibly difficult for Strus, but he’s come out on the other side with a better grasp of who he is.

“You learn a lot about yourself when something is taken away from you,” Strus said. “I think I understand how important this is and how much it does mean to me that I want to be back. I want to make an impact. I want to help this team win. I do love basketball. I do love doing it with a good group of guys.

“I’m just happy to be back.”

The Knicks scored their largest comeback win of the season, overturning a 21-point deficit, against the Golden State Warriors for a 110-107 win at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

Jalen Brunson scored 30 points (9-for-20 shooting, 10-for-10 from the line), with nine assists, and was a plus-7 in 36 minutes. But the Knicks really got good stretches from Josh Hart (seven points, 12 rebounds, five assists in 31 minutes for a team-high plus-17) and Jordan Clarkson off the bench (14 points on 6-for-11 shooting) and a plus-14 in 22 minutes.

New York (44-25) played down to the competition for much of the game against an undermanned Golden State (32-35) that was playing without Steph Curry, Kristaps Porzingis, Draymond Green, Al Horford, Moses Moody, Seth Curry, and De'Anthony Melton.

After shooting 16-for-39 (41 percent) in the first half, the home side improved to 23-for-45 (51.1 percent) as they finally showed off the gulf in quality after the break. But the three-point shooting was bleak, going 10-for-32 (31.3 percent) for the game and letting the Warriors go 14-for-38 (36.8 percent), which kept them in the contest.

Here are the takeaways...

- The Warriors, who shoot and make more threes than any team in the league, kept on counter-punching. Clarkson proved his worth with six quick points in the quarter to give him 12 as he was a plus-17 (a team-high) in his first 17 minutes on the floor. 

Mitchell Robinson's put-back slam and Clarkson's elbow floater gave New York its largest lead at seven at the midway point, but Quinten Post’s three, to give him 20 in the game, and Gui Santos' layup after jumping on a loose ball, to give him 16, forced a Mike Brown timeout to get Brunson back into the game. 

The Knicks had several chances to put the game out of reach but missed buckets, and the Warriors took advantage, getting to the cup to keep it a one-point game. After Brandin Podziemski missed a three with 24 seconds to play, Landry Shamet knocked down two at the line to give the home team a 108-105 lead with 16 seconds to play.

A Podziemski layup with seven seconds left made it a one-point game for the third time in the last minute of action. After two OGAnunoby free throws, the Warriors, out of the timeout, had a chance to tie, but couldn't even get a shot off before turning it over with one second remaining. 

- Halftime adjustments worked as the second half began with Karl-AnthonyTowns showing more impetus, scoring seven quick points, and Steve Kerr called for time with their edge to just four points four minutes into the quarter.

The Warriors weathered the storm with Gary Payton II and Podziemski going at Towns and Brunson, before Mikal Bridges knocked down a long two to tie the game at 73 with under four left in the third. And with 2:16 to play in the period, Brunson gave the Knicks a two-point lead, their first since two minutes into the game, giving him nine points to go with five assists in the quarter. Shamet's layup gave New York an 83-80 edge to protect in the fourth, thanks to a 38-point third.

- The Knicks started the game well, connecting on five of their first seven attempts from the field, but the Warriors started better, hitting five of five and with four more from the line had a four-point edge after Post knocked down his second three, leading to a Brown timeout under four minutes in.

New York just had nothing after that, going 2-for-16 the rest of the first quarter and looked very out of sorts on offense. Meanwhile, Golden State was a respectable 6-for-13 and with an 11-0 run, took a 35-21 lead into the second quarter as the air all but left MSG.

- Payton's back-to-back threes, the second on a total defensive breakdown that saw him left wide open, meant another Brown timeout just two minutes into the second quarter with the visitors' lead pushed to 19. The Warriors looked out of control as they ran a rudimentary offense with so many regular players out (nine turnovers to that point), but the Knicks couldn’t take advantage and cut the lead as they were 3-for-17 from three to that point.

The Knicks, after falling behind by 21, finally came back to life with an 11-4 run, taking advantage of three more Warriors turnovers. Shamet's corner three cut the deficit to single digits at 54-45, but it was papering over a lot of ugliness from New York.

Brunson led the Knicks with 17 in the first half (5-for-12 from floor, 1-for-5 from deep) in 19 first-half minutes, and there was just not much from any of the other starters: Anunoby had seven (2-for-4) in 13 minutes, Towns had four points (2-for-4 in 12 minutes), Bridges had three (1-for-4) in just eight minutes, and Hart had two (1-for-2) in 17 minutes.

- Towns finished with 17 points (7-for-12 shooting) with 12 rebounds (five offensive) and two assists. He had an even plus-minus in 31 minutes. Bridges had seven points (3-for-10, 1-for-6 from three) with three rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and was a minus-2 in 22 minutes. 

Off the bench, Robinson added four points and 10 rebounds in 17 minutes and was a minus-6. Shamet had 10 points (3-for-10, 2-for-8 from deep) and was a plus-3 in 27 minutes. Jose Alvarado added four points and four assists, but was a minus-13 in 15 minutes.

- Play was paused temporarily twice in the first quarter, first when Podziemski had a cut on his hand and later when Anunoby took a shot to the face and had blood coming out of his nose. Anunoby would eventually have to head to the New York locker room when he checked out midway through the period before checking back in.

What's next

The Knicks are back in action at MSG on Tuesday night against the Indiana Pacers. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 20 points and 10 assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-103 on Sunday for their eighth straight win.

Gilgeous-Alexander barely extended his record streak of games with at least 20 points to 128. He had just 10 points heading into the fourth, and he re-entered the game with 7:10 left after resting.

He scored on a stepback against Anthony Edwards with 1:46 remaining and was fouled to reach 19 points. With the crowd standing and chanting “M-V-P!” he drained the free throw to keep the streak alive and push himself further past Wilt Chamberlain’s old mark of 126.

Chet Holmgren had 21 points and nine rebounds and Isaiah Joe added 20 points for the Thunder, who improved to a league-best 53-15.

Julius Randle scored 32 points and Edwards added 19 for the Timberwolves.

The Thunder forced 22 turnovers while committing just seven. Oklahoma City attempted 101 shots while Minnesota tried 77.

MAVERICKS 130, CAVALIERS 120

CLEVELAND (AP) — Cooper Flagg scored 27 points, Naji Marshall added 25 and Dallas bounced back from a 33-point loss to Cleveland two days ago to defeat the Cavaliers.

The Mavericks, who were routed 138-105 on Friday night, pulled away in the second half to snap a seven-game losing streak against the Cavaliers.

P.J. Washington had 20 points and 11 rebounds for Dallas, which won for just the second time in 11 games.

It was the 12th time this season Flagg has scored at least 27 points. The top overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft was 10 of 17 from the field and also had 10 assists and six rebounds in 33 minutes.

RAPTORS 119, PISTONS 108

TORONTO (AP) — Brandon Ingram had a game-high 34 points and Toronto defeated Detroit.

RJ Barrett added 27 points and six rebounds for Toronto, which has won back-to-back games.

The win helped the Raptors hang on to sixth in the Eastern Conference.

Jakob Poeltl and Scottie Barnes each had a double-double. Poeltl finished with 21 points and a season-high 18 rebounds while Barnes added 14 points and 10 rebounds for Toronto.

Cade Cunningham had 33 points and nine assists as the first-place Pistons had their three-game win streak snapped.

BUCKS 134, PACERS 123

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 31 points and pulled down 14 rebounds before leaving the game with an injury, and Milwaukee beat Indiana.

Antetokounmpo landed awkwardly as he completed a dunk late in the third quarter. He briefly remained in the game and dunked again on Milwaukee’s next possession. He got fouled the possession after that and attempted a pair of free throws before heading to the locker room.

Antetokounmpo also had eight assists while Bobby Portis scored 29 points and added 10 rebounds. Ryan Rollins shot 8 for 12, including 3 for 5 from beyond the 3-point line, to finish with 20 points, seven assists and three steals.

Aaron Nesmith led the Pacers with 32 points. Indiana also got 16 points and two blocks from Jay Huff.

76ERS , TRAIL BLAZERS

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Quentin Grimes scored 14 of his season-high 31 points in the fourth quarter as short-handed Philadelphia beat Portland.

The Sixers were playing without Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre Jr. due to injuries.

Justin Edwards scored 21 points, and VJ Edgecombe had 18 points and a career-high 12 rebounds for the rookie’s third double-double this season.

Deni Avdija led Portland with 25 points, and Jerami Grant added 20. But the Trail Blazers shot just 17 for 53 from 3-point range (32.7%). Donovan Clingan added 11 points and 15 rebounds.

KNICKS 110, WARRIORS 107

NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson had 30 points and nine assists, and New York rallied from a 21-point deficit against a patchwork Golden State lineup to beat the Warriors.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Knicks, while OG Anunoby and Jordan Clarkson both had 14 points. The Knicks took a while to wake up in their return home from a five-game road trip before eventually picking up their third straight victory.

The Knicks led briefly in the opening minutes of the game and then not again until the final minutes of the third quarter after back-to-back baskets by Brunson.

Brandin Podziemski scored 25 points for the Warriors, who had Stephen Curry and most of their recognizable names on the bench in their season-high fifth straight loss. Quentin Post had a career-high 22 and Gui Santos finished with 20.

Curry missed his 17th straight game with right knee pain and inflammation. Younger brother Seth Curry is out at least a week with a left groin strain and veteran forward Al Horford has a left calf strain that will also sideline him at least a week.

KINGS 116, JAZZ 111

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — DeMar DeRozan scored a season-high 41 points and had 11 assists to help Sacramento hold off Utah.

DeRozan, who passed Hall of Famer Tim Duncan last week for 18th place on the NBA’s career scoring list, was 11 of 21 from the floor while reaching 40 points for the first time since Feb. 2, 2025. It’s the 417th time he has scored 20 or more points while shooting at least 50 percent.

Precious Achiuwa added 20 points and 11 rebounds in the matchup of the two worst teams in the Western Conference. Killian Hayes, who signed an extension with Sacramento earlier in the day, had 16 points and eight assists. Nique Clifford and Daeqwon Plowden each scored 10.

The Kings (18-51) have won four of five.

Cody Williams scored 34 points for the Jazz (20-48). Brice Sensabaugh had 22 points and Isaiah Collier 21.

Fresh off a surprising 130-120 win on Sunday at the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Dallas Mavericks (23-45) will play their fourth game in five days on Monday against the struggling New Orleans Pelicans (22-46) at Smoothie King Center. Tipoff in New Orleans is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The Mavericks have lost two of three against the Pelicans thus far this year, most recently dropping a 119-113 decision in New Orleans on Dec. 22. Monday’s game will be the fourth and final meeting between these two teams this year.

The Pels had won seven of 10 until their 107-105 loss at the Houston Rockets on Friday.

Whats left in the tank?

The Mavericks may not have much left to give in the second back-to-back set in the last five days, but, hell, how much gas did they have left traveling to Cleveland on Sunday for their third game in four days? That stunning win was evidence that anything can happen in an NBA game.

Dallas is at the tail end of a brutal scheduling stretch that will see them play nine games in just 14 days. The Mavs have gone 2-6 in their first eight games of that stretch and will have traveled more than 2,000 miles criss-crossing the country when it comes to an end after Monday’s game in New Orleans.

The Pelicans, meanwhile, have been twiddling their feathers, waiting on the Mavericks to arrive since they got home following Friday’s loss at Houston.

Cooper gets on the good foot

Cooper Flagg has been on a tear in his last two games after struggling a little in his first five games back from a foot sprain. He scored 25 points and dished five assists in Friday’s 138-105 loss to the Cavaliers at American Airlines Center, then one-upped himself the second time around with 27 points and 10 dimes in Sunday’s win. He’s shot 18-of-33 (54.5%) from the field in those last two, compared to 33-of-94 (35.1%) in his first five games since returning from the foot injury.

He’s had huge second halves in both of those last two games as well. It’ll be interesting to see if he can get going a little earlier against the Pels on Monday. Flagg has scored 20 or more in two of the three games the Mavs have played against New Orleans so far this year. His 29-point, seven-rebound game against the Pelicans on Nov. 21 was one of the first “wow” moments of his impressive rookie year.

Big Tankathon game

The Mavs come into Monday’s game with the seventh-worst record in the NBA, and the Pelicans are one game worse than Dallas, sitting at sixth in the Tankathon standings. The Mavericks would move past New Orleans in the race for better NBA Draft Lottery odds with a loss on Monday, due to losing the season series with the Pelicans, 1-3.

A win on Monday would inch the Mavs ever closer to the Memphis Grizzlies, who are in the eighth slot in the Tankathon standings. It seems a little perverse to root for your team to lose, but if ever there were a game you wouldn’t mind Dallas to lose, it would be Monday’s at New Orleans.

How to watch

The Mavericks and the Pelicans will tip off at 7 p.m. CDT from Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. The game will be televised locally on KFAA Channel 29 and on sister stations throughout the Mavs’ regional viewership area. The stream will be on MavsTV and on NBA League Pass where available.

All Times EDT

Monday, March 16

MLB - Spring Training

Philadelphia vs. Detroit, at Lakeland, Fla., 1:05 p.m.

Pittsburgh vs. Minnesota, at Fort Myers, Fla., 1:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay vs. Atlanta, at North Port, Fla., 1:05 p.m.

Toronto vs. Miami, at Jupiter, Fla., 1:10 p.m.

L.A. Angels vs. Athletics, at Mesa, Ariz., 4:05 p.m.

Milwaukee vs. L.A Dodgers, at Phoenix, 4:05 p.m.

Cincinnati vs. Arizona, at Scottsdale, Ariz., 4:10 p.m.

San Francisco vs. San Diego, at Peoria, Ariz., 4:10 p.m.

Boston vs. Baltimore, at Sarasota, Fla., 6:05 p.m.

Washington vs. N.Y. Mets, at Port St Lucie, Fla., 6:10 p.m.

Chicago White Sox vs. Texas, at Surprise, Ariz., 8:05 p.m.

Chicago Cubs vs. Cleveland, at Goodyear, Ariz., 9:05 p.m.

NBA

Golden State at Washington, 7 p.m.

Orlando at Atlanta, 7 p.m.

Phoenix at Boston, 7:30 p.m.

Portland at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.

Dallas at New Orleans, 8 p.m.

Memphis at Chicago, 8 p.m.

L.A. Lakers at Houston, 9:30 p.m.

San Antonio at L.A. Clippers, 10 p.m.

NHL

Boston at New Jersey, 7 p.m.

Calgary at Detroit, 7 p.m.

Los Angeles at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.

Utah at Dallas, 8 p.m.

Pittsburgh at Colorado, 9:30 p.m.

_____

MONTREAL (AP) — Cutter Gauthier scored with 2:30 left, Leo Carlsson had two goals and an assist and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on Sunday night to regain the Pacific Division lead.

Alone in front of the net, Gauthier took Jeffrey Viel's behind-the-back pass and snapped a shot past goalie Jacob Fowler.

Troy Terry added a goal and two assists in his return from an upper-body injury to help Anaheim improve to 37-27-3 and move a point ahead of Vegas in the Pacific Division. Chris Kreider had two assists, and Lukas Dostal made 27 saves.

Terry missed nine games. He tied it at 3 with 4:21 left in the five-goal second period when his pass deflected off the skate of Montreal forward Josh Anderson and over Fowler’s shoulder.

Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist for Montreal, Alex Newhook and Cole Caufield also scored. Fowler stopped 24 shots in his second start since being recalled from the American Hockey League’s Laval Rocket on Wednesday.

The Canadiens were coming off a 3-2 loss to San Jose on Saturday. They are third in the Atlantic Division, two points behind Tampa Bay.

Defenseman John Carlson finally made his Ducks debut after coming over in a trade-deadline deal with Washington. He played 23 minutes in his return from a lower-body injury.

Montreal forward Kirby Dach left early in game because of an upper-body injury after a high hit from Viel.

Viel caught Dach in Anaheim’s end three minutes in after the Montreal forward swatted at the puck with his arm but missed. Dach fell to the ice with his face in his gloves before gingerly making his way to the bench, and eventually to the dressing room. Viel was not penalized.

The hit came three days after Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas ended Toronto captain Auston Matthews’ season with a knee-on-knee hit. Matthews has a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee. Gudas was given a major penalty and ejected, then suspended five games for kneeing — the maximum the Department of Safety could levy because the hearing was by phone.

Up next

Ducks: Host Philadelphia on Wednesday night.

Canadiens: Host Boston on Tuesday night.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost this game on the defensive end.

All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.

James Harden

13 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 6 turnovers

I think Harden played his best game as a Cavalier last week in Orlando. Today might have been his worst. He shot 4-12 from the floor and finished with six turnovers.

This was an example of all the classic Hardenisms. Careless turnovers. A total disinterest in playing defense. It’s the type of performance that’s bound to happen every once in a while when he’s on your team. Thankfully, this is only the first one we’ve seen in Cleveland.

Grade: F

Donovan Mitchell

26 points, 1 rebound, 11 assists, 1 turnover

It feels like the Cavs are leaning on Mitchell more than you’d expect, given the amount of weapons they have offensively. At times, he’s calling his own number; at times, it feels like no one else on the team wants it as badly as he does.

No one wants to see Mitchell take 10-24 shots on a night where he doesn’t particularly have it. And we definitely don’t want him to exert all of his energy on offense, leaving nothing to spare on the defensive end (though to be clear, I am not excusing Mitchell for his poor defense recently).

A better balance needs to be found soon.

Grade: D+

Evan Mobley

18 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks

The Cavalier defense has done Mobley no favors recently. Holes are popping up faster than anyone can plug them. That said, we know he’s capable of doing more on his own. A world-class performance would have helped patch some of the glaring issues this team currently has on defense. Instead, Mobley’s impact felt blunted despite his 4 blocks.

On the other end, this was a strong Mobley performance. He used his size early in the first half to punish Dallas in the paint, going 6-6 for 13 points in the second quarter. He finished with 18 points on 8-14 shooting.

Grade: C+

Max Strus

24 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist

Not sure you could have imagined a better return for Strus. He buried his first three three-point attempts and sent Rocket Arena into a frenzy. He finished with six three-pointers and was arguably the only thing keeping Cleveland alive at various points in the game.

Grade: A+++

Keon Ellis

5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block

Ellis had been lights out recently from downtown. Packaging that with some of his defensive traits can be lethal. Neither his three-point shot nor his defensive tenacity was apparent today.

Grade: D

Nae’Qwan Tomlin

4 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 1 steal

Tomlin’s earned some extra opportunities recently with injuries to Jarrett Allen, Sam Merrill, and Jaylon Tyson. Today wasn’t much better than any of the games where he previously struggled, but it certainly wasn’t worse. I just think we’ve seen the ceiling for Tomlin this season.

Grade: D+

Dennis Schroder

8 points, 6 assists, 1 rebound

Schroder’s time in Cleveland has been erratic. This was one of the better games from him, as he scored efficiently and dished out 6 assists. His defense wasn’t anything to write home about, but I could say the same for pretty much anyone on the roster today.

Grade: B

Dean Wade

12 points, 0 assists, 5 rebounds

Wade started this game with a bang. He hit his first couple shots and even took his defender off the dribble for a tough hook.

Grade: C+

Thomas Bryant

10 points, 2 rebounds, 0 assists

The issues plaguing this team recently are above Bryant’s pay grade. He’s checked in and given them servicable backup big minutes. Anything more than that is not his job.

Grade: B