Category: Basketball

John Calipari is quite proud of Darius Acuff Jr. and others for getting their own signature shoe. It helps that the Arkansas star is partnered with Reebok and Allen Iverson.

In addition to Acuff, Calipari mentioned that he had numerous players with mega shoe deals and worth a lot in endorsements. While speaking on the Pat McAfee Show, Calipari was eager to talk about the partnership, but also get ready for Arkansas’s next game in the NCAA tournament against Arizona.

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“Having a signature shoe with AI, who I coached when we were in Philadelphia. And I love him. He and I have stayed in touch,” Calipari said. “I got about 10 guys that have signature shoes. And, you know, I have them all in my office. We have 13 all-stars, two MVPs, $6 billion in salaries, I mean, and the guys I have on this team, they’re going to be NBA players because they deserve to be. 

“Now, they got the challenge of their lives with Arizona. Tommy’s done an unbelievable job with his team. And so we’re going in like, let’s go, let’s see who we are. Probably have to make adjustments as the game unfolds, because of how they’re going to play, and seeing what they’ll do defensively to us, because we’re a good offensive team. We score 90 a game. And so they’ll probably do some different things. We’ll have to see.”

Acuff Jr. originally signed an NIL deal with Reebok last May, joining Tennessee freshman Nate Ament and Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese on the brand’s roster. Following a stellar freshman campaign, which saw him become just the second freshman in the past 13 seasons to win SEC Player of the Year, he now earns his first signature shoe before landing on an NBA team.

The Detroit native averaged 23.3 points, 6.5 assists, and 3.1 rebounds this season for John Calipari‘s Razorback team. He has been even better in the postseason play, averaging 30.2 points in five SEC Tournament/NCAA Tournament games this season.

The announcement comes as Reebok continues to invest more in basketball after legends Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson joined the company in 2023. Angel Reese is a key part of the roster and launched her own signature shoe last September, as part of an extension with the brand. The company added other stars such as Dink Pate, Matas Buzelis and DiJonai Carrington, as well.

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Our NBA player prop projections are locked in for tonight’s clash between the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns, with the model highlighting several standout opportunities.

After digging into the data and lining it up against current market prices, we’ve identified the bets with the strongest value.

These Nuggets vs. Suns predictions aren’t based on feel — they’re backed by the numbers.

If you’re putting together your card, these are the model’s top NBA picks for Tuesday, March 24.

Nuggets vs Suns computer picks for March 24

Nuggets	Suns
Murray o23.5 points -115	Booker o25.5 points -115
Jokic o13.5 rebounds -110	Gillespie u4.5 assists  -140
Hardaway Jr. u2.5 3-pointers  -150	Ighodaro o6.5 rebounds -130

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Nuggets computer picks

Jamal Murray Over 23.5 points (-115)

Projection: 23.8 points

From an offensive standpoint, the Denver Nuggets lead the league with an impressive 120.8 points per game this season.

This matchup against the Phoenix Suns sets up favorably, as they’ve allowed a league-high 29.2 points per game to opposing starting point guards over their last five contests.

That trend creates a strong opportunity for Jamal Murray to clear his 23.5-point line, especially after going Over in four of his last 10 games.

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Nikola Jokic Over 13.5 rebounds (-110)

Projection: 13.7 rebounds

The Nuggets have pushed the fastest pace in the league over their last 10 road games, and Nikola Jokić continues to pile up rebounds with ease, clearing the 13.5 line in five of his last 10 outings.

Expect him to get Over that number again tonight.

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Tim Hardaway Jr. Under 2.5 3-pointers (-150)

Projection: 2.3 3-pointers

Tim Hardaway Jr. has gone Under his 2.5 three-pointers line in six of his last 10 games, and this matchup suggests that trend is likely to continue against the Suns. 

Against Phoenix, that concern is amplified. The Suns have done a solid job of running shooters off the line and forcing opposing wings into mid-range looks or drives into traffic.

With defenders closing out aggressively on the perimeter, Hardaway may struggle to find clean catch-and-shoot opportunities, which is usually his bread and butter.

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---

Suns computer picks

Devin Booker Over 25.5 points (-115)

Projection: 26.3 points

Devin Booker has averaged 29.8 points Over his last 10 games, about 5.4 more than his season-long average.

With the Suns set to face the Nuggets, who’ve played at the fastest road pace in the league over that span, this matchup should create an uptick in scoring opportunities.

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Collin Gillespie Under 4.5 assists (-140)

Projection: 4.4 assists

The Suns have played at the slowest home pace in the NBA over their last 20 games, which could limit playmaking opportunities for Collin Gillespie.

With that tempo working against him — and having gone Under this 4.5 assists line in four of his last 10 games — he’s at risk of falling short of the mark again.

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Oso Ighodaro Over 6.5 rebounds (-130)

Projection: 7.2 rebounds

The Suns rank as the top offensive rebounding team in the NBA over their last 10 home games, creating extra opportunities on the glass.

That sets up well for Oso Ighodaro to see an uptick in rebounds, especially after clearing the 6.5 line in three of his last 10 outings.

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How to watch Nuggets vs Suns tonight

Location	Mortgage Matchup Center, Phoenix, AZ
Date	Tuesday, March 24, 2026
Tip-off	11:00 p.m. ET
TV	Peacock

Not intended for use in MA.
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Embiid listed as questionable to make return vs. Bulls originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Joel Embiid looks to be on the verge of making his March debut.

The Sixers on Tuesday night officially listed Embiid as questionable ahead of their Wednesday matchup with the Bulls. Embiid’s appeared to be nearing a return from his right oblique strain in recent days. He participated in the Sixers’ shootaround Monday and also did a post-shootaround workout on the Xfinity Mobile Arena floor. 

A loss Monday night to the Thunder dropped the Sixers to 6-7 in their past 13 games without Embiid. They may very well receive two major reinforcements against Chicago, since Paul George is set to come back from his 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. 

When available, Embiid’s often played at a superb level this season. He’s averaged 26.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists over 33 games.

The 39-33 Sixers will still be without Tyrese Maxey (right pinky finger injury), Kelly Oubre Jr. (left elbow sprain) and Johni Broome (right knee surgery recovery). Quentin Grimes was listed as questionable with an illness.

The 29-42 Bulls’ absences include Jaden Ivey, Zach Collins and Noa Essengue. Isaac Okoro, Anfernee Simons and Guerschon Yabusele were all listed as doubtful. 

No. 9 seed Iowa and No. 11 Texas saved the 2026 NCAA Tournament from an almost-completely chalk Sweet 16.

Only two teams seeded No. 1 through No. 3 were bounced during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, after Iowa took down No. 1 Florida and Texas upset No. 3 Gonzaga, both of which happened in the second round. Only four double-digit seeds won first-round games this year — No. 12 High Point, No. 11s Texas and VCU and No. 10 Texas A&M.

Re-seeding Sweet 16 teams: Separating the contenders from pretenders

March Madness predictions redo: Revised Final Four picks ahead of Sweet 16

Will there be any more upsets in the Sweet 16?

Iowa has a chance to keep its March Madness run going when it faces No. 4 Nebraska, a Big Ten foe it has already defeated once this season. Same for Texas, although with a much-tougher matchup against No. 2 Purdue, winners of 10 straight.

Here's a look at the full Sweet 16 schedule, including times and TV channels for all eight remaining games:

When are the next March Madness games? Sweet 16 schedule, channel info

All times Eastern.

Thursday, March 26

• No. 11 Texas vs. No. 2 Purdue | 7:10 p.m. ET | CBS (Fubo)
• No. 9 Iowa vs. No. 4 Nebraska | 7:30 p.m. ET | TBS/truTV (Sling TV)
• No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 1 Arizona | 9:45 p.m. ET | CBS (Fubo)
• No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 2 Houston | 10:05 p.m. ET | TBS/truTV (Sling TV)

Friday, March 27

• No. 5 St. John's vs. No. 1 Duke | 7:10 p.m. ET | CBS (Fubo)
• No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 1 Michigan | 7:35 p.m. ET | TBS/truTV (Sling TV)
• No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 2 UConn | 9:45 p.m. ET | CBS (Fubo)
• No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 2 Iowa State | 10:10 p.m. ET | TBS/truTV (Sling TV)

What TV channel are Sweet 16 games on? How to stream March Madness

• TV channels: CBS, TBS, truTV
• Streaming:Fubo,Sling TV

Sweet 16 games will air on either CBS or TBS/truTV in 2026. Games airing live on CBS can be streamed with Fubo, which offers a free trial and carries CBS. Games airing on TBS/truTV are available for streaming on Sling TV, which carries both TV channels.

Both TV channels can also be accessed with March Madness Live, which requires a TV subscription login.

Updated March Madness bracket

The East Region and South Region match up in the Final Four, along with the West and Midwest Regions.

Here's a look at the updated March Madness bracket after the first weekend:

East Region

• No. 5 St. John's vs. No. 1 Duke
• No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 2 UConn

South Region

• No. 9 Iowa vs. No. 4 Nebraska
• No. 3 Illinois vs. No. 2 Houston

West Region

• No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 1 Arizona
• No. 11 Texas vs. No. 2 Purdue

Midwest Region

• No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 1 Michigan
• No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 2 Iowa State

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When are next March Madness games? Sweet 16 schedule, how to watch

NBA Draft analysis makes for some funny discourse.

Some basketball fans are obsessive about it. Once a player hits 25, they’re like Leonardo DiCaprio – they lose interest.

(My fingers typed that without my permission. It just, happened).

There’s nothing (in the case of basketball) wrong with that. Taking an interest in prospects is fun. There is a bit of a tendency to overrate young players. You’ll hear draft acolytes suggest that a team can plug an immediate hole by drafting a particular player, neglecting to consider that even the best prospects are typically bad NBA players in their first season. Otherwise, it’s fine.

Here’s the funny thing about draft discourse: It’s a funk that can be readily faked. It is frustrating for fans who commit large swaths of their free time to watching obscure 17-and-under Balkin tournaments. You can cobble together highlight packages and other people’s scouting reports, and honestly, make predictions that are comparable in accuracy to the zealots.

All of which is to say: Take my draft takes with a grain of salt. I try to watch prospects, but I’m not “A Draft Guy”. It’s a tertiary interest. In 2021, I would have moved mountains for Jalen Johnson. In 2022, I would have done the same for Ousmane Dieng. It’s possible that I “simp” for any ball-handling wing to hit the court.

Still, I’m pretty sure the Rockets should target Luigi Suigo in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Perfect Rockets target could be available in draft

Yes, it would be nice if the Rockets could target AJ Dybansta or Darryn Peterson. If you’re beginning to relitigate the Nets-for-Suns picks trade, you’re not alone. Sure, the Nets likely don’t move Bridges if they’re not getting their pick back. Are we sure the Nets aren’t a lottery team with Bridges? Is it possible that Bridges demands a trade anyway?

Such is life. The Rockets don’t have the pick. For the first time in five years, they won’t even have a first-round pick. Rockets fans watching 7’3″ behemoth Aday Mara in the March Madness tournament are even dreaming too big.

Suigo is different. He’s a projected second-round pick. To my semi-educated eye, he looks like he could exceed his projected value.

He’s a 7’2″ big man who plays for a club called Mega Superbet in Serbia. Side note: Does it feel like a lot of these European teams have the words Mega or Super in their name?

Table that. Suigo is a real big man at 250 pounds. He’s shooting 26.7% from three-point range this year. That’s not great, but let it be said that it puts him ahead of, as a random example, Blazers big man Donovan Clingan. He didn’t shoot threes in college, and he’s a credible floor spacer at the NBA level. At the NBA level, trainers will emphasize shooting for any big man who’s even hinted at floor spacing capacity. Suigo can likely flirt with 35% shooting in time.

Defensively, he’s mostly a rim protector. He seems to be, let’s say, not entirely useless in space, but he’s not a switch big. Still, at 7’2″ with good instincts, he should have considerable utility on that end of the floor.

By now, I know my audience. I know what you’re thinking: I’m in your head, man. The Rockets already have a starting-caliber big:

Is this guy really trying to replace Alperen Sengun again?

Rockets need a long-term rotational solution

Put it this way: If Suigo is good enough to replace Sengun, he’ll be a top five-or-ten second-round pick in NBA history.

More likely, he’s a career backup. That’s a value pick in the second round. In time, the hope is that he can replace Steven Adams and Clint Capela.

His viability next to Sengun in situational double big lineups should be part of his appeal to Houston. If Suigo does continue to develop as a floor spacer, that could be more effective than any of the two non-shooting bigs looks Ime Udoka has gone with. If he’s on the board when the Rockets are picking, they ought to give him some serious consideration:

Unless I’m missing something.

Who: Phoenix Suns (40-32) vs. Denver Nuggets (44-28)

When: 8:00pm Arizona Time

Where: Mortgage Matchup Center — Phoenix, Arizona

Watch: NBC, Peacock

Listen: KMVP 98.7

The Phoenix Suns need to string together good performances to get back on track before the playoffs. The Suns have been missing two starters for almost a month now and have had their chances to climb into the race for a top-six seed in the Western Conference playoffs. However, now 3.5 games behind the Rockets and just 10 games left this regular season, the Suns will likely finish the season in seventh spot in the West.

The Nuggets are now playing at full strength for the first time in 2026 and are starting to come together as a championship contender. The extremely undersized Suns will need Oso Ighodaro, Khaman Maluach, Rasheer Fleming, and others to defend and rebound against the best offense in the NBA, led by Nikola Jokic. The Suns will need Devin Booker, Jalen Green, and Collin Gillespie to score at a high level to keep pace.

The good news for the Suns is that the Nuggets have the 21st-best defense in the NBA with a 120.2 rating. This nationally televised game should be a fun, high-scoring, highly entertaining affair if the Suns can keep pace.

Probable Starters

Injury Report

Suns

• Grayson Allen — QUESTIONABLE (Left Knee Injury Management)
• Dillon Brooks — OUT (Left Hand Fracture)
• Amir Coffey — OUT (Left Ankle Sprain)
• Haywood Highsmith — OUT (Right Knee Injury Management)
• Royce O’Neale — PROBABLE (Left Knee Soreness)
• Mark Williams — OUT (Left Foot Third Metatarsal Stress Reaction)

Nuggets

• Payton Watson — OUT (Right Hamstring Injury Management)

What to Watch For

In the previous two matchups this season, Phoenix has had no answer for Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets, who have blown the Suns out of the water and scored over 130 points in both games. Both games took place before December, which was before Ighodaro’s jump to a higher level of play. Ighodaro and the rest of the Suns’ defense will need to play ultra-aggressively by creating turnovers with their frenetic defense. While Maluach is still young and raw, the reason why the Suns drafted him is for his physical gifts defensively against the players in the world. It will be interesting to see how Jordan Ott deploys Maluach and if he will get substantial reps against the best player in the world.

Offensively, poor fourth-quarter play has plagued Booker and Green specifically, and the rest of the Suns over their recent five-game losing streak that they snapped on Sunday against the Toronto Raptors in a blowout win. Unless the Nuggets fall completely flat, the Suns will likely need to win a close game to defeat the Nuggets. Elite shotmaking from Green and Booker in the fourth quarter is a necessity to hang with the Denver, and the two have to take care of the ball as well. The Nuggets’ defense is nothing special, so the Suns just need to play a clean game to be in this one late, then it comes down to whose stars can come up with the win.

Key to a Suns Win

Turnovers. The Suns have to take care of the ball and force the Nuggets to make mistakes. While the Suns are significantly undersized against the Nuggets, they can make up for that disadvantage by pressing the Nuggets and creating turnovers that lead to easy offense on the other end. Jordan Goodwin and Ryan Dunn need to lead the charge in causing the kind of chaos this team thrives in when they are at their best.

Offensively, the Suns are going to target Jokic. While he does not block shots at an elite level, he is incredibly smart with great hands and forces turnovers at a high level. The Suns have to effectively attack Jokic without turning the ball over and giving the Nuggets easy baskets in transition. The Suns have to take care of the ball to win the game.

Prediction

Jokic leads the Nuggets to a narrow win.

Nuggets 125, Suns 121

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It’s a light night on the hardcourt with just four games on the NBA schedule, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of betting value to be found in the player prop markets.

I’ve found my three favorite for today, which include Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray continuing his epic comeback in a matchup with the Knicks.

That and more NBA picks for Tuesday, March 24, below.

Best NBA player props today

Player	Pick
Brandon Miller	Over 3.5 threes made	+122
Dejounte Murray	Over 16.5 points	-112
Collin Gillespie	Over 4.5 assists	+110

Prop #1: Brandon Miller Over 3.5 threes made

+122 at bet365

The Charlotte Hornets' Brandon Miller has been letting it fly from downtown, and there’s no reason to think he’s going to stop in tonight’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings.

Miller is a big reason there’s been so much buzz around the Hornets. He’s shooting nearly 50% from three-point range on 7.8 attempts per game over his last 15 games. He has drained four or more threes in three straight games, and eight times over this 15-game stretch.

Now, he gets a matchup against a Kings team that allows the second-highest three-point shooting percentage in the NBA.

• Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: NBCSCA, FanDuel Sports Network Southeast-Charlotte

Prop #2: Dejounte Murray Over 16.5 Points

-112 at bet365

With everyone healthy, the New Orleans Pelicans aren’t your typical projected lottery team. In fact, they’ve won six of their last nine, going 8-1 ATS.

The return of Dejounte Murray has been a big part of that. Murray is putting up 18.7 points, 6.2 assists, and 5.1 rebounds in the 10 games since he’s been back, and I’m betting he keeps getting buckets tonight against the New York Knicks.

The Knicks allow the most points per game to opposing guards and rank 22nd in opponent made threes per game.

Murray’s point total is a modest 16.5, a number he’s topped in four of his last five games.

• Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: GCSEN, MSG

Prop #3: Collin Gillespie Over 4.5 assists

+110 at bet365

It has been the March of dimes for Collin Gillespie. The Phoenix Suns’ guard has been racking up the assists this month, and he’s going to keep that going in tonight’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets.

Gillespie has handed out 5.3 assists per game over 12 games this month, topping 4.5 eight times during that period.

The Nuggets' ability to prevent buckets has been suspect all season and enters this game ranked 21st in defensive rating. One way to really burn them is by making the extra pass. Denver also ranks 21st in opponent assists per possession.

• Time: 11:00 p.m. ET
• Where to watch: Peacock

These props are available now at bet365, one of our best betting sites.

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They’re 16-2 since the All-Star break. They’re relatively healthy. They seem like they’re not only rounding into form but, quite possibly, existing in the roundest form any of us could’ve possibly imagined. I found myself at various times during the broadcast almost wanting to turn it off because it felt too bright. Too pure. Almost like we weren’t meant to be seeing this yet.

As always, my caveat here is that I’m an anxious person. When things are going too well, I get suspicious almost immediately. What do you mean they’re ready to win the title? You’re comparing Victor to who? No. Nope. Doesn’t add up. Something’s amiss.

If this isn’t you, congrats! I’m sure you’re having a wonderful time basking in the glow of this deliriously happy run of basketball. You’re having a better time than me and I’m well aware of it. If this is you, well, get on in here, brother and hug it out. Our team hasn’t been this good in years! It’s driving us nuts!

Truly, it’s a surreal experience to sit down and watch something you love and, against your better judgment, desperately try to poke holes in it. It’s made only more bizarre when you can’t find any.

Last night was billed as a test. On the road, against a talented team fighting for their playoff lives. The Spurs didn’t need this game the way the Heat desperately did. This was a classic setup for us to wander into a Heat Culture™ landmine and simply get outworked.

From the jump, it felt like that might happen. The Heat came out in a nonstop sprint, and instead of slowing things down, the Spurs decided to match them. The game was breathless at times. Back and forth, up and down. Fast and sloppy and difficult to track. It was like getting thrown in a cage with a steak and a starving wildcat and being told “don’t let him get that steak.” I kept waiting for the Spurs to put their hands up and say, “you know what, we have bigger fish to fry.”

Instead they led wire to wire, up by 30 at their peak, the largest road margin any team has had in Miami all season.

My assumption for the last few weeks has been that Wemby’s heater would die out any minute. Surely Bam Adebayo and the Heat would find a way to stifle him. What’s that? He had 26 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks, and became just the third player in NBA history to reach 4,000 points and 300 three-pointers in their first 175 career games? Ok then.

The Spurs are vulnerable when Vic has to come out though, right? That’s the part where it all unravels. Except it didn’t. It actually got worse for Miami. Keldon Johnson and Dylan Harper combined for 42 off the bench. Carter Bryant wreaked havoc on the Heat’s athletic wings. Harrison Barnes looked spry. Luke Kornet held down the fort. The second unit didn’t just hold serve, they buried them.

The Spurs grabbed 17 offensive rebounds to Miami’s 6, a relentless physical edge that turned every missed shot into a threat and generated extra possessions all night. The Spurs won the paint 60-40, collapsing Miami’s interior on offense.

At every turn, every moment, when I had a question, the Spurs had an answer.

So… I guess that’s it. The Spurs solved basketball. Let’s go home, yeah?

I genuinely can’t put my finger on why this lack of flaws puts me on edge. It’s like, if I could just say “well, the three-point shooting isn’t good enough” or “they just lack physicality” then I could relax. I would know exactly where playoff opponents would try to exploit them and I could focus all my energy into stressing out about that.

I can’t, though. The Spurs have plenty of areas where they aren’t perfect, but they don’t have anything glaring. They have nits you can pick. They have theoretical blind spots. But they don’t have holes. They don’t have a weakness. Their floor is alarmingly high.

I’m left grappling with known unknowns over here. Stressing about things like playoff experience and injury luck. I’m having genuine stress dreams about Luka dropping 60 on us in a playoff game. Never mind that the Lakers are probably going to guard Wembanyama with DeAndre Ayton. I’m certifiably insane, is what I’m trying to say.

The answer can’t simply be that the Spurs are this good.

Can it?

Takeaways:

• Amidst all my unnecessary anxieties and worries about our very good basketball team, probably worth giving a brief nod to the boys clinching their first Southwest Division in a decade. Pretty cool! I don’t think any of us are rushing out to buy Southwest Division champs shirts at Academy this morning, but I’m certainly not mad about it. We’d rather be winning divisions than not winning them, yeah? 54-18, 22-2 since February. Again, the Spurs are very good, if you aren’t stressed about them then you are the correct one.
• I loved seeing Stephon Castle back in the lineup. I hated watching him repeatedly dive around on the court landing directly on his hip. It felt like that, didn’t it? It’s like he decided that the best way to prove he wasn’t actually that injured was to go out, throw his body around, and get to the line as much as possible. He went 9-of-10 from the line for 19 points, which tracks, because every time I looked up he was diving hip-first into the hardwood. Come on dude! Relax! Take the edge off! It’s hip to be square!
• Let me be the millionth person to point out that Dylan Harper has been out of his mind lately and we are exceedingly lucky to have him. Back-to-back 20-point games, eight on the season, and playing like a foundational piece of this team’s future. If I hear one more person say the Spurs should’ve drafted Kon Knueppel I’m going to…uh, stew about it internally, watch a series of YouTube compilations, and ultimately not do anything about it. You hear me! You’ve been warned!
• I don’t know how to describe this using words so I won’t:

WWL Post Game Press Conference

– If the team being good stresses you out, are you happier when they are bad?

– Of course not, I’m miserable! Every loss fills me with a deep sense of agony. I’m still fuming about a game they lost to Chicago on Valentine’s Day in 2022.

– You’re fuming about a loss from four years ago?

– Yeah dude, it was a nightmare, they were playing pretty well and then just like, could not buy a stop down the stretch. DeRozan just picked us apart.

– I’m almost positive your first child was born like two weeks before that game.

– Sounds right. Look, they’re basically little potatoes at that point so, I mean, not much going on really.

– Plenty of time to check in on a middling Spurs team starring Jakob Poeltl.

– Exactly.

I don’t think anyone was more excited about Jordan Clarkson joining the Knicks this summer than I was. I had been hoping they’d bring him in since last season. From day one, Knicks fans understood his role would be coming off the bench, but beyond that, it was unclear how much of an impact he would actually have. We expected some inconsistency, with off nights mixed in with games where he could get hot and take over.

Instead, it never really played out that way early on. Mike Brown used Clarkson sparingly for much of the first half of the season, as he averaged under 20 minutes per game and scored 20 or more just three times through December. The rhythm just never seemed to be there, and it was clear he hadn’t fully carved out a defined role within the rotation.

By mid-January, his role had basically turned into DNPs or the occasional garbage-time minutes. With the arrival of Jose Alvarado, Clarkson’s spot in the rotation became even less consistent heading into early March. During that stretch, he only appeared in about half the games, totaling just over 130 minutes. That left him behind younger and fringe rotation players like Tyler Kolek, Ariel Hukporti, and Mohamed Diawara in total minutes, which only added to the uncertainty around where he fit.

Clarkson’s usage during that stretch really highlights how inconsistent things had become. Between early February and early March, his minutes were all over the place, ranging from short stints of 5 to 12 minutes to multiple DNPs. Even when he did get on the floor, the production was hit or miss. He had a few efficient scoring nights, like shooting 5-of-7 and 5-of-8 in back-to-back wins, but those flashes were mixed in with quiet outings where he barely made an impact in limited time.

Things started to shift after the Knicks’ 126–118 loss to the Clippers, their second straight defeat following a loss to the Lakers the night before. In that Clippers game, Clarkson played just three minutes, and it felt like Mike Brown was searching for any kind of spark off the bench. Whether it was the matchup, a sense of urgency, or simply an opportunity, Clarkson responded. With 26 minutes of playing time, his most since Christmas, he delivered one of his best performances of the season with 27 points on 10-of-15 shooting against Utah. It was the type of game Knicks fans had been waiting for, a reminder of the scoring punch he can bring when given real opportunity.

Since that performance, Clarkson has settled back into more of a steady bench role over the past five games. He’s still been efficient and playing under control, but the scoring hasn’t reached that same level. He followed up with a solid 14-point performance against Golden State, but outside of that, he’s mostly hovered in the 8 to 10 point range. Against teams like Indiana, Brooklyn, and Washington, he’s contributed in shorter bursts, typically in about 20 to 22 minutes per night.

And maybe that’s enough right now. Since those back-to-back losses in Los Angeles, the Knicks have rattled off six straight wins and are starting to build real momentum at the right time. The offense looks more balanced, the rotations are tightening, but more importantly, they’re winning.

The Warriors’ longest road trip of the season lasted an extra five minutes.

A grueling six-game excursion spread across eight days and six states came to a merciful end Monday night in a frenetic 137-131 win in overtime over the Mavericks.

The extra period ultimately cost them much more.

Moses Moody, who had scored a team-high 23 points in his first action since March 2, collapsed as he went up for what would have been a game-sealing dunk with 58 seconds left.

Moody immediately grabbed his left knee and was eventually carried off on a stretcher after the game was paused for more than five minutes. The teammates whose faces weren’t buried in their hands wore expressions of despair.

“We don’t know what it is,” coach Steve Kerr told reporters afterward, “but it sure looked bad.”

Golden State both trailed by 15 in the first half and held a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter, but it still came down to overtime after the injury-ravaged team couldn’t put away Cooper Flagg and the Mavs.

Flagg scored 18 of his game-high 32 points after halftime, but the Warriors outscored Dallas 11-5 in the extra five-minute period to earn only its second win on the six-game trip.

Kristaps Porzingis returned from low back soreness and contributed 22 points in 29 minutes, while Brandin Podziemski played 40 minutes posted a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

But the win was overshadowed by the loss of Moody in the final minute.

What it means

The Warriors improved to 5-12 since the All-Star break while playing without Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and a rotating cast of other names on the injury-report.

The Mavericks are one of seven teams with fewer wins since the All-Star break.

Turning point

The Warriors were leading 136-131, but the Mavericks had possession with a little more than a minute left in the overtime period. The ball was in Flagg’s hands.

All of a sudden, it was in Moody’s.

After missing the past 10 games with a sprained shooting wrist, Moody was in prime position for a game-sealing steal-and-score. He picked Flagg’s pocket at midcourt, glided toward the rim and had nobody between him and the basket. Then his knee buckled.

MVP: Gary Payton II

The only bucket Payton didn’t convert was a desperation alley-oop at the end of regulation that apparently didn’t go down as an attempt in the box score.

Payton, also returning from a one-game absence, finished 8-for-8 from the field for 17 points in 21 minutes off the bench. Will Richard, Gui Santos and LJ Cryer all scored in double figures as the Warriors got 61 points from their bench. 

Stat of the game: 17 offensive rebounds

The Warriors won the game on the offensive glass, grabbing 17 offensive rebounds that led to 23 second-chance points. The Mavericks got only five second-chance points.

Up next

The Warriors return home, where they’ll play seven of their final 10 games of the regular season. Golden State is 19-14 at Chase Center, opposed to 14-23 on the road.

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