Mar 10, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Oso Ighodaro (11) shoots during the fourth quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images
The Phoenix Suns began their six-game road trip in Milwaukee on Tuesday night and opened it the right way. A 129-point performance against the Bucks felt almost surreal when you think back a couple weeks. This is the same team that once struggled to scrape together 77 points in a loss. Granted, that stretch came during a period when injuries were chewing through the roster and the offense looked like it was searching for oxygen. What makes the night even funnier in the grand scheme of NBA chaos is what happened elsewhere across the league. One player scored 83 points on Tuesday night. That player was Miami’s Bam Adebayo. Basketball…she’s a funny sport.
SECOND-MOST POINTS IN NBA HISTORY FOR BAM ADEBAYO 😳
It is always interesting when the Suns head to Milwaukee. That building still carries memories that linger, even though the calendar says it has been half a decade since those moments were fresh. And early in the game, it started to feel familiar again.
Giannis Antetokounmpo remains the same force he has always been. A freight train with a runway, barreling toward the rim with the kind of momentum that leaves defenders bracing for impact. If you happen to be standing in that path, the whistle usually follows. That has been part of the experience for years now. Trying to absorb contact from Giannis is almost treated like a violation. Step into the runway, and the call rarely goes your way. That reality has lived in Milwaukee for a long time.
Watching Giannis sometimes feels like watching a fullback run the dive play over and over…except the defense gets called for the foul. We’ve been seeing this shit for too many years
Some things in Milwaukee feel familiar, although one thing has clearly changed. The way the Bucks are built around Giannis does not feel nearly as stable as it once did. It is something I mentioned earlier this season. Yes, they still have that championship banner hanging in the rafters. However, the years that followed have not exactly produced a roster that feels cohesive around their superstar.
You look at this season and it feels like another one slipping through the cracks for Giannis. Injuries have played a role, although the supporting cast has never quite clicked into place. The coaching tenure of Doc Rivers has not brought the level of consistency people expected, either. You could see pieces of that Tuesday night.
Milwaukee had its moments. Players like Kyle Kuzma caught fire for stretches and kept the Bucks within striking distance. Although when the game slowed down and the fourth quarter arrived, Phoenix leaned into its identity.
Defense.
The Suns clamped down and held Milwaukee to 17 points in the final quarter. Possessions became uncomfortable. The pace slowed as the execution tightened. On the other end, the offense continued to produce balance. Three Suns finished with over 20 points for the second consecutive game. I do not even know where to begin digging to see when that last happened, although it speaks to the rhythm this group has started to find.
The result is Phoenix walking out of Milwaukee with another win, opening the road trip the right way. It marks their third straight victory and pushes them to 11 games over .500.
Momentum is beginning to build in Phoenix. That is not something you can currently say about the Bucks.
Bright Side Baller Season Standings
Booker was the engine. He was the gravity. He was the reason the Charlotte Hornets — one of the hottest teams in the league — finally saw their 10-game road winning streak evaporate in the Phoenix desert.
A 30 and 10 night against a team playing that kind of high-level basketball isn’t just a stat line. It is a statement. While we were all (rightfully) impressed with the 24 points that Collin Gillespie and Jalen Green poured in, and we loved every second of Rasheer Fleming’s 16-point breakout off the bench, everything flowed through Number One. He was the catalyst. He was the one bending the defense until it snapped.
Booker rightfully takes home his 15th Bright Side Baller of the season, securing 43% of your votes. That gives him two in a row and means he has accounted for 23.4% of all Baller awards handed out this year. Kudos to Fleming, too, who grabbed 37% of the vote. It was a well-deserved nod for the rookie’s career night.
Bright Side Baller Nominees
Game 65 against the Bucks. Here are your nominees:
They improved to 10-0 in games decided in overtime this season, surpassing the 2020-2021 Vegas Golden Knights, who went nine straight games.
Per @NHLMedia: #Isles recorded their fourth three-goal comeback win in the past decade. The others: Oct. 29, 2022 (vs. COL), Nov. 16, 2019 (at PHI) and Feb. 9, 2018 (vs. DET).
Mathew Barzal scored his second overtime winner of the season, matching Bo Horvat, Matthew Schaefer, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, and Simon Holmstrom.
Because of their overtime success, the Islanders are tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for points (79) but sit third in the Metropolitan Division, with Pittsburgh having one game in hand.
They remain three points up on the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have one game in hand.
They became catnip for night owls, must-see TV for the insomniacs among us.
Hours after ACC basketball hit the hay and after the Big 12 tucked itself into bed, the West Coast Conference, starring Mark Few’s Gonzaga Bulldogs, would treat our bleary eyes.
Gonzaga ‘Til Midnight — or beyond, depending on your time zone — became the college hoops predecessor to Pac-12 After Dark.
It started in earnest in 2001, when ESPN struck a deal with the WCC. By then, the Zags were already of “The slipper still fits!” fame.
Gonzaga served up such late-night ESPN fare as playing St. John’s at midnight Eastern on Thanksgiving night in the ’01 Great Alaska Shootout (RIP), the perfect pairing for your third slice of pumpkin pie.
Gonzaga beat the Johnnies, of course, because Zags basketball is good any time of day, but it’s spectacular in the wee hours.
Trading sleep for hoops meant watching Few’s assembly line of stars. Dan Dickau. Ronny Turiaf. Kelly Olynyk. Rui Hachimura. Drew Timme. Present-day Graham Ike.
And who could forget Mr. Mustache himself, Adam Morrison, the only thing finer in 2006 than J.J. Redick?
The casuals didn’t catch their annual glimpse of Gonzaga until March Madness. The diehards and the sleep-deprived had a catalogue of film on them by then. They watched the WCC grow up alongside Gonzaga.
As BYU cycled in and then out of the league, the WCC maintained staying power to the point it regularly sends multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament. The Gonzaga-Saint Mary’s series blossomed into one of the best rivalries anywhere on the Pacific Coast.
No matter how sturdy the WCC became in any given year, Gonzaga kept showing up in the conference tournament finals.
Death. Taxes. Gonzaga cutting down WCC nets on a weeknight in early March.
Conference realignment consumes all things holy in the end, and Gonzaga’s majestic, nocturnal run in the WCC concluded this season — but not before one last celebration.
Gonzaga beat Santa Clara in the WCC final, 79-68 on Tuesday, because how else was this supposed to end but with Few celebrating his 21st conference tournament title?
“We’re 30-3 now," Few said of his team's record entering March Madness, where the Bulldogs are a projected 3-seed, "which is a hell of a record, a hell of a year."
And not finished yet. Just done with the WCC.
Mark Few exits WCC with another March Madness bid
Gonzaga will move next season into the Pac-Whatever Conference, a Pac-12 cheap-fake.
The decades-long WCC-Gonzaga union provided a runway for Few to go 56-6 in WCC tournament games.
Pause, for a moment, and marvel at that record.
I don’t care the league is filled with a bunch of private California schools with smallish enrollments instead of Duke and North Carolina or Kansas and Arizona, the WCC is no joke, and winning 56 times in 62 tries against teams playing for their shot at a March Madness ticket is serious dominance.
Gonzaga rules West Coast Conference, to the end
This team won’t go down as Few’s most electric, but you wouldn’t have known that with the way Gonzaga rallied after Santa Clara dominated the first half.
“It’s a special feeling to go out the right way — on top,” Ike, Gonzaga’s star, told reporters, with a WCC champions hat perched on his head. “Ultimately, we ended where we started this … We started off with championships. That team and those teams that came before us, we just wanted to continue the success that they had.”
Ike must have remembered at halftime he was the best player in the building. He finished with 15 points on perfect shooting. Few was so pleased he publicly stumped for his senior big man’s All-America bona fides.
“He has absolutely, unequivocally, carried us,” Few said on ESPN afterward.
Gonzaga's got its very own Super Mario, too. That's Mario Saint-Supery, who went off for six 3-pointers and 21 points.
The real story, though, was the same as it's been all year for Gonzaga: Its defense ruled the day, leaving Santa Clara on the NCAA bubble, although in Few’s eyes the Broncos ought to be a slam-dunk selection alongside Saint Mary’s. That’d be good for three WCC bids for the fourth time since 2008 and probably the last time for a while, with Gonzaga leaving.
Gonzaga’s conference departure ranks nowhere near the worst sin of realignment. It’s something of an upset the WCC managed to hang on for so long to this team that outgrew the Cinderella label long ago. Surely, the Zags will keep playing late-night tipoffs in their new home. Networks need late-night programming, and Gonzaga is a reliable supplier.
Gonzaga let the night owls off easy in this WCC swan song. It wasn’t even midnight yet on the East Coast when Few donned the postgame headset for a chat with Scott Van Pelt.
Still, the Las Vegas sun was long gone, and night had replaced it. To the very end, Gonzaga ruled the West Coast after dark.
The Philadelphia Flyers have decisions to make on their wingers this summer, and while they do have a logjam, they should also be looking to make upgrades where possible.
It's well established that the Flyers have a glut of right wingers or right-shot wingers, and Matvei Michkov, Porter Martone, and Travis Konecny will be the immediate future there.
On the left, Tyson Foerster and Owen Tippett have played on their weak sides out of necessity, and Alex Bump, Denver Barkey, and Nikita Grebenkin have filled in behind nicely as middle-six options.
The Flyers have good options there, but they lack a clear top dog that they can find elsewhere. Fortunately, the Toronto Maple Leafs, who played ball in the Scott Laughton trade, might be looking to further restructure their roster.
Ahead of the NHL trade deadline, there was a lot of smoke surrounding young forward Matthew Knies, 23, and him potentially being available at the right price.
"I heard some Matthew Knies, and that, to me, is the Maple Leafs seeing if there’s a massive offer they can’t turn down," top NHL insider Elliotte Friedman wrote in a blog post for Sportsnet. "That is the only way I see it happening."
Given how bad they've been this season, the Maple Leafs would sure love to get their 2027 first-round pick back, and they need help at nearly every position.
The 6-foot-3 Knies has 16 goals, 35 assists, and 51 points in 62 games for the Maple Leafs this season and would instantly be in a hit in Philadelphia when paired with the likes of Michkov and Trevor Zegras.
For the cap-strapped Maple Leafs, Knies's $7.75 million cap hit might prevent them from being creative and make it harder for them to divert assets elsewhere on the roster, so more cost-effective options like Foerster or Tippett would be a good starting point.
It helps that Knies does not have any trade protection in his contract, so the Maple Leafs can simply accept the best offer for him at any time.
A bottom-six center group of B.O. Groulx and Jacob Quillan isn't going to get them anywhere, either, and they could assuredly use an upgrade over Simon Benoit on defense as well.
Knies is a talent worth getting the Flyers to consider dangling Noah Cates and/or Cam York, so a potential deal between the two teams could go many ways.
If the Flyers can nab a top center or defenseman in the 2026 NHL draft and acquire an upper-echelon left wing, the rebuild suddenly looks a lot better.
The defense, with or without York, needs a lot of work, and the Flyers can use their horde of wingers to start making something happen this offseason.
MONTREAL — If you didn’t watch the opening 20 minutes of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 3-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday, you probably would have thought the club was just a bit unlucky. But the first period was a disaster; they were fortunate to only be down 2-0 after being outshot 18-5 by a Canadiens club loaded with young talent.
In isolation, it wasn’t the worst game for the Leafs, but they lost their eighth game in a row, falling to 0-6-2 since the Olympic break. They’re out of moral victories, and the playoffs aren’t in sight.
William Nylander scored Toronto’s lone goal, a lovely give-and-go with rookie Easton Cowan, but they just couldn’t finish. The club has averaged just 1.875 goals over the eight-game span.
"I think it's a lot of losses in a row now," Nylander said after the game. "I think in parts of all the games we've been playing, we've been playing snippets of good hockey. And that's not how we want to play. We want to play a full game of good hockey. So until we trend closer to that, I think then it'll be positive".
The issues are evident, but Toronto seems to be at a loss for why they have had a lack of finish. Auston Matthews has now gone 12 consecutive games without a goal as Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube remains at a loss in terms of how to get a full 60 minutes out of his club.
"It's tough to say. I mean, it's hard to win in this league if you don't get it," Berube said. "You don't have to dominate a period, but you have to be in the game. You've got to create and you've got to defend. Throughout this stretch, there's been a lot of good hockey, but then there's that stretch, if it's a period or a 10-minute stretch, where these teams scored two or three goals on us. And, you know, right now we can't find the back of the net enough. So when this is going on, we've got to keep the puck out of our net as much as possible and hopefully find our groove with the scoring. But we need more guys to dig in and contribute than there are right now".
Toronto fell to 27-27-11 this season and is now just five points ahead of the New York Rangers for last in the Eastern Conference. As far as the playoffs go, they are 13 points back with 18 games remaining in the season, and the outlook remains bleak.
Perhaps the first sign of looking toward the future was Toronto calling up the Marlies’ leading scorer, Bo Groulx, and playing him as a prominent third-line center. All things considered, the player showed promise with 14:13 of ice time and two shots on goal. Once the club is mathematically out of contention, I suspect we will see more call-ups.
Mar 4, 2026; Newark, New Jersey, USA; New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes (86) and Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly (44) look for the puck during the second period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images | Ed Mulholland-Imagn Images
Here are your links for today:
Devils Links
“The Devils rank dead last in goals scored above expectation and Timo Meier might be the poster boy for their struggles. He is scoring at a pace of 23.6 goals per 82 games. That’s not a bad total but certainly not $8.8 million worthy – and the worst of any full season in his NHL career.” [Infernal Access ($)]
On Simon Nemec: “Whether another team swoops in and tries to steal the Slovak defenseman remains to be seen. However, a source tells New Jersey Hockey Now that the Nemec camp may start negotiations with Luke Hughes‘ number on his new contract. That’s noteworthy given Nemec switched agents recently and is now represented by Craig Oster of Newport Sports Management.” [New Jersey Hockey Now]
Our guy Jack:
Some insight from #NJDevils Keefe on how Jack Hughes has evolved since the Olympics:
"There’s been a significant increase in Jack speaking up both on the bench and in the locker room (…) to me he’s come back and really taken charge of a lot of different areas for our team." pic.twitter.com/ZHpt884hnG
“The 2026 NHL trade deadline didn’t produce the type of fireworks hockey fans wanted to see — and maybe even some NHL front offices. It might, though, be a precursor to an offseason that delivers some rather explosive moves.” [The Athletic ($)]
“The Colorado Avalanche were not happy after superstar Nathan MacKinnon was ejected from Tuesday’s loss to the Edmonton Oilers. MacKinnon received a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct after colliding with Edmonton Oilers goaltender Connor Ingram.” [Sportsnet]
“The Florida Panthers aren’t expecting to see Brad Marchand play again anytime soon, and with the team’s playoff hopes dwindling it’s possible that the two-time Stanley Cup winner and Olympic silver medalist’s season could be over.” [Associated Press]
Feel free to discuss these and any other hockey-related stories in the comments below.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 7: Manager Mark Deosa of the United States stands for the national anthem before a World Baseball Classic Pool B game between Great Britain and the United States at Daikin Park on March 7, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Houston Astros/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning Birdland,
The baseball world is looking at Team USA manager Mark DeRosa with a raised eyebrow right now. His club lost to Italy on Tuesday night, 8-6, in their final game of pool play. Italy now leads Pool B with a 3-0 record, USA is second at 3-1, and Mexico is in third at 2-1. Italy and Mexico will play each other tonight at 7 p.m. ET with a berth in the knockout rounds on the line. Team USA needs some help if they are going to advance.
The top two teams advance from each pool. If Italy beats Mexico, then Italy would advance as the winners of the pool, and USA would advance as the runner up, regardless of the score. If Mexico wins, it all comes down to the tiebreaker, which is a calculation of number of runs allowed divided by number of outs recorded. You can read the exact tiebreaker rules on the WBC website. But in short, USA is going to be rooting for an Italy win outright OR a relatively high-scoring game in which Mexico plates at least five runs.
Appearing on MLB Network, DeRosa said “It’s weird. We want to win this game even though our ticket’s punched to the quarterfinals.”
Obviously, that was not true. What’s worse, it doesn’t sound like DeRosa was alone in his interpretation because he went on to say that “there’s some guys dragging today” due to the team’s prolonged celebration after beating Mexico on Monday. Clearly, the entire team thought that beating Mexico clinched them a spot in the next round, and they did not take Italy seriously.
It makes the entire team look incompetent, and it’s a stain on the World Baseball Classic as a whole. It will be made even worse if Mexico pulls off an entirely possible win over Italy while scoring four or fewer runs.
On the Orioles front, they lost 7-6 to the Astros. but Coby Mayo had himself a day! The third baseman went 4-for-4 with a home run and five RBI. He is going to be the team’s Opening Day third baseman, and it is well deserved. The pitching side of things was not as enjoyable, but none of the pitchers used are expected to part of the big league picture to begin 2026, so let’s not fret.
The O’s will host the Pirates today. First pitch is at 1 p.m. ET.
Orioles 1st base coach Jason Bourgeois on his experience: ‘I can relate’ | Baltimore Baseball We have a whole new coaching staff to get to know this year, well almost. Some of the old guard remained in place as Albernaz stepped in, but many others are fresh. That includes Bourgeois, who is hoping to connect with players that are standing right where he did a decade or so earlier.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
Frank Mata turns 42 today. He pitched in 15 games for the 2010 Orioles, his only big league experience.
Rich Hill is 46 years old. The journeyman southpaw played for 14 different teams during his career. That included 14 games with the O’s way back in 2009.
Steve Reed is 61 today. A longtime reliever in MLB, Reed wrapped up his 14-season career in 2005 as a member of the Orioles bullpen.
Phil Bradley turns 67. He spent parts of two seasons with the Orioles from 1989-90, accumulating 3.6 bWAR and a 116 OPS+ in that time. The Orioles dealt him to the White Sox at the 1990 trade deadline in exchange for Ron Kittle
This day in O’s history
1991 – Baseball Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, attempting to make a comeback as a non-roster player in Orioles camp, gives up five hits and two runs over two innings against the Red Sox. The very next day he retires for the second time (he had originally retired in 1984), citing a hamstring injury.
Oct 9, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jesus Luzardo (44) reacts after the tenth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game four of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
At this point in two weeks, the Grapefruit League of 2026 will be but a memory. We usually wish these games are over as soon as possible, looking forward to the regular season commencing as quickly as possible, but the lingering question is hovering over baseball. Will these be the last spring training games we see for a while?
Free of charge for the discerning reader.Happy birthday, Rich Hill* and other stories.
Today in baseball history:
1901 – The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Baltimore OriolesmanagerJohn McGraw has signed a Cherokee Indian named “Tokohama” to play second base. In reality, Tokohama isn’t a Native American; he is an African-American whose actual name is Charlie Grant, who McGraw is trying to pass off as an Indian, but the ruse does not work. Baseball’s color line will prevent Grant from ever playing a game for the Orioles.
1957 – New York Representative Emanuel Celler, whose committee investigated baseball, calls Ford Frick a “czar” who wishes to “gag” officials; Frick had cautioned Major League Baseball owners about commenting on the recent Supreme Court decision on professional American football coming under antitrust rules.
1974 – CommissionerBowie Kuhn orders the Atlanta Braves to play Hank Aaron in at least two of the team’s season-opening three games in Cincinnati. The Braves had planned to bench Aaron on the road in order to increase his chances of hitting his record-breaking 715thhome run at home.
2018 – One of the few remaining first-rung free agents left unsigned, P Jake Arrieta, inks a three-year deal with the Phillies worth $75 million. Alex Cobb is now the last pitcher still looking for a team.
2021 – Major League Baseball announces that it will be testing out some potential rules changes when the minor league season gets under way. In Triple-A, the games will be played with bases 18 inches in length, instead of the usual 15, and made of a material that performs better in wet conditions, both in order to limit injuries; in Double-A, there will be limits on defensive shifts, forcing all infielders to be placed within the infield dirt boundary when play starts; in High-A, pitchers will be required to step off the mound to attempt a pick-off throw; in Low-A, they will be limited to two such throws per plate appearance, and there will also be either a 15-second pitch clock or a robot umpire to call balls and strikes, depending on the league. The objective is for some of these rule change to make their way to the major leagues if they prove successful, which will happen within two years (except for the robot umpire).
1669 – Mt Etna in Sicily erupts in its largest recorded eruption, killing 15,000.
1779 – US Army Corps of Engineers established (first time).
1824 – US War Department creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
1918 – US Army mess cook Private Albert Gitchell of Fort Riley, Kansas becomes the first documented case of Spanish flu; start of worldwide pandemic killing 50-100 million.
1941 – Bronko Nagurski beats Ray Steele in Minn, to become wrestling champ.
1958 – American B-47 accidentally drops unarmed nuclear bomb 15,000 ft on a family home in Mars Bluff, South Carolina; creates crater 75 ft across.
2020 – COVID-19 declared a pandemic by the head of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, with 121,564 cases worldwide and 4,373 deaths.
Keldon Johnson is the longest tenured member of the San Antonio Spurs. Last night he hit his 657th three-pointer, moving him past Matt Bonner into 6th all-time for the Silver & Black.
Keldon Johnson now has more three-pointers for the Spurs than Matt Bonner.
Johnson moves into 6th all-time in San Antonio history with his 657th three.
Johnson, now in his seventh NBA season, has carned himself a role that has elevated him into a contender for Sixth Man of the Year. His three-point shooting, defensive acumen, and ability to pushi himself into the paint for high-percentage layups while coming off the bench are an essential facet to the Spurs success.
Johnson is now five threes for passing Bruce Bowen. Devin Vassell is currently holds the fourth ranking with over 250 threes to catch Danny Green and a nother 212 beyond that to reach Patty Mills, whose 1171 is second only to Manu Ginobili, whose 1495 made threes is safe for years to come.
Welcome to the Thread. Join in the conversation, start your own discussion, and share your thoughts. This is the Spurs community, your Spurs community. Thanks for being here.
Our community guidelines apply which should remind everyone to be cool, avoid personal attacks, not to troll and to watch the language.
Heat center Bam Adebayo shoots a free throw to reach 83 points, the second-highest single game total in NBA history, during a win over the Wizards on Tuesday in Miami. (Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press)
Wham, Bam, pfft.
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo scored 83 points Tuesday night, the second most in an NBA game in history, surpassing Kobe Bryant’s iconic 81 points two decades ago.
Congrats to Adebayo, I guess.
The way it went down was highly questionable. Nothing romantic or real about it. We thought flopping and foul-baiting made for unethical hoops, but those are but basketball misdemeanors; Adebayo’s big night was felonious.
Tuesday’s game featured intentional clock-stopping, game-extending fouls by the Heat. And it was ripe with free-throw-abetting fouls by the Washington Wizards, an actively tanking team that got itself blown out, 150-129.
So, no. Bryant’s necessary, organic 81 this was not. The Lakers trailed that game against the Toronto Raptors on Jan. 22, 2006 at halftime and actually needed Kobe’s 55 second-half points to pull away for the win.
The Heat were up by as many as 28 points in the fourth quarter with Adebayo continuing to play pop-a-shot in the historic farce — which also moved him past LeBron James, whose 61 points in 2014 stood as Miami’s previous franchise record.
“Honestly, it hurts,” said Los Angeles’ Erik Ortiz, who was 6 years old when Bryant had his 81-point night. “And it’s kind of messed up. All those free throws? No disrespect, but it didn’t feel earned.”
“A disrespect to the game,” said Robert Horry, who played with Bryant in L.A. for seven seasons. “To me, don’t cheat the game. If you’re gonna play like that, that’s cheating the game.”
“But,” Horry added, diplomatically, “scoring 83 points is still hard regardless if you cheat the game or not.”
Lakers star Kobe Bryant scores in front of Toronto's Matt Bonner on his way to scoring 81 points during the Lakers' 122-104 victory on Jan. 22, 2006. (Matt A. Brown / Associated Press)
JJ Redick offered his most diplomatic two cents: “It’s incredible what he was able to do.”
The Lakers’ coach described walking in and seeing the Heat leading with three minutes left, on the verge of winning their sixth consecutive game and Adebayo on the free-throw line (naturally).
“I said to my coaching staff, ‘Ah, the Heat are rolling.’ And they kind of looked at each other and they were like, ‘Are you kidding right now? No, Bam has 77!’ I watched the last three minutes and … that was a different type of basketball.”
Adebayo scored 31 points in the first quarter, 12 in the second and 19 in the third — a legitimately impressive career-high 62 points, and in just three quarters. Precisely the same number of points that Kobe had after three quarters when coach Phil Jackson pulled him from a blowout win against Dallas a few weeks before he dropped 81.
But on Tuesday, Adebayo kept going, for no reason but to pad his points tally in pursuit of Kobe.
If only Adebayo, well respected by peers and fans alike, could’ve taken the baton from his basketball hero while playing regular old basketball. Lakers fans know ball; they wouldn’t have held it against him, they would have saluted.
Heat players celebrate with center Bam Adebayo after he scored 83 points, the second-highest single game total in NBA history, against the Wizards on Tuesday in Miami. (Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press)
But Adebayo shot 3 for 8 from the field in the final period, including 1 for 6 from three-point range. And he went 14 for 16 at the line in the final frame, bringing his free-throw shooting total to a historic 36 for 43 from the charity stripe, so aptly named for this game.
There’s magic, and then there are magic tricks, manufactured illusions, sleight-of-hand acts of pseudo-sorcery. That’s how we should remember Adebayo’s 83. That’s how we should explain that game to our children and grandchildren.
It isn’t as though Kobe’s 81-point output wasn’t going to be eclipsed. It was only a matter of time, especially considering the offensive emphasis in today’s NBA.
In 2024, then-Maverick Luka Doncic scored 73 points in a 148-143 win against the Atlanta Hawks. But Doncic went just 15 of 16 from the free-throw line that night, and 25 for 33 from the field, including 8 of 13 from behind the arc.
Or imagine, going forward, what 7-foot-4 center Victor Wembanyama could be capable of if the San Antonio Spurs force-feed him offensively for a full game.
But records are made to be broken, not stolen. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters he was “caught up in the moment like everyone else, and I didn’t want to get in the way.”
PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - AUGUST 22: Bryan Reynolds #10 celebrates with Oneil Cruz #15 of the Pittsburgh Pirates after scoring during the fifth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on August 22, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Pirates fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
The Pittsburgh Pirates made some moves this offseason to address their offense. And at least so far this Spring, things are looking up in the hitting department. The Bucs sit at 12-5 in Spring Training play, and their 98 runs scored lead the Grapefruit League. What we want to know, is who do you think will the Pirates best hitter this season? Will it be one of their newcomers? Or will it be a veteran?
We thought about adding Konnor Griffin, but according to Ben Cherington, it doesn’t sound like they’re going to run him out there to start the season. So without a clear timeline on when to expect him, we left him off the list.
Cast your vote, tell us in the comments, and we’ll be back soon with the results.
JUPITER, FLORIDA - MARCH 09: Matthew Liberatore #32 of the St. Louis Cardinals throws a pitch against the Baltimore Orioles during the first inning of a spring training game at Roger Dean Stadium on March 09, 2026 in Jupiter, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Last week I used creative accounting measures on the projections systems to come up with a scorching hot take taken from the end of days (of the hot stove season): the Cardinals could win over 80 games. I have predicted 85! Several players will outdo their best projections.
As winter is winding down and spring arises, the Cardinals have already illustrated several stories worth of baseball experiences. Two of the Cardinals best spring training hitters have already been sent out of camp, Josh Baez with 3 home runs (4 leads spring training currently) and Chase Davis with 2. Ok it’s a stretch to say Chase Davis is one of our best hitters, but a 113 wRC+ while being second in home runs on the team with Gorman is at least somewhat encouraging. I’m not saying that Chase has turned the corner into being a good player, just not to give up on the guy yet. Baez in particular, has looked superb, leaving spring training with a wRC+ just under 200. He did so well that many fans are mad that he isn’t in our starting outfield. Do you know who is hitting at a Baez level during spring training?
Yohel Pozo! Also barely under 200 wRC+, lol. Go Pozo! So with Baez gone, who is the Cardinals second best hitter for the rest of this spring training? It is exciting to say that JJ Wetherholt currently has a 184 wRC+! Hopefully his spring training success translates into regular season success. Similar to JJ, Nolan Gorman has 2 home runs… the similarity ends there because Gorman is batting below .200. Sigh. His OBP is definitely better, but not really passable. Are there any other bright spots on offense in Spring Training for the Cardinals? Nelson Velasquez and Alec Burleson are both over 150 wRC+! Prettayyy, prettayyyy, prettaaaayyyyy good.
The good stories don’t end there on the topic of spring training offense: Nathan Church is hitting at 137 wRC+. Does he somehow steal Victor Scott II’s starting center field job? Or is he playing himself into a starting corner position with Nootbaar still recovering? That outfield defense would be nearly impenetrable, or at least 2/3 of it.
After that it don’t look so good, with Gorman a below average hitter, Walker even worse, while Fermin and Scott II have been terrible. Blaze Jordan takes the crown of worst Spring Training position player though! Small sample size and whatnot. Who has the most plate appearances so far? Fermin and Jordan. But the Cardinals have given Gorman, Walker, Wetherholt, and Velasquez plenty of looks at the plate as well.
How about Church vs Victor Scott II? VSii only has two more plate appearances, so it could definitely be a competition for starting center fielder. Or maybe they will share a lot of time playing center.
Looking around MLB during spring training, Paul Goldschmidt has a fun batting line of 7 RBI and 2 HR in 14 AB. Konor Griffin has an .894 OPS and Matt McLain of Cincinnati is utterly destroying baseball. Ely de la Cruz is also hitting well this spring, which is good news so far for Reds fans, because those two will need to carry the team with Hunter Greene out. Or whoever ends up hitting better than McLain, heh.
Who are the St Louis Cardinal standouts pitching wise during spring training over halfway through? Matthew Liberatore, similar to his 2025 spring training, seems like a definitive ace. He has 14 K and a rather zen-like WHIP of 1.0. Quinn Mathews was a spring training success story, being close to the MLB lead in strikeouts at 12 (Liberatore is 2nd in MLB) while holding batters to a .185 BA. Perhaps Matthews could be a factor in the rotation this very season. Or maybe they’ll work him into the bullpen somehow as longman or 6th starter.
There are so many possibilities right now, it is rather uncanny. You know who else has been awesome: Kyle Leahy. He’s thrown 9 K and held batters to a .167 batting average! 3.67 xFIP. Pallante is also doing well, outside of his FIP numbers. And McGreevy? He’s doing just fine! 3.24 ERA and safe FIP numbers, while walking very few.
Success out of the bullpen? Yep. Stanek, O’Brien, Soriano, Naughton, Roycroft, Cijntje, Rajcic, Blewett, Svanson, Gastelum, all with a light’s out spring. May and Mautz both have looked really good as well, so far. Fitts throwing really hard, also encouraging.
Game Reviews with Statcast
March 10th: Jared Shuster and Austin Love got hit the hardest today, 2 Cardinal prospects I have never heard of. Yohel Pozo hit a ball the hardest on the Cardinals. Who is this guy? Blaze Jordan and… Victor Scott II? also hit scorchers on this date! 104.2 mph for Victor. Every once in a while he really gets into one. It was a double. Other Cardinals pitchers who got hit hard today? Matt Pushard and Packy Naughton. Who was dialing it up into the upper 90s for Cardinals pitchers? Riley O’Brien and Scott Blewett. Nelson Velazquez hit a home run for the Cardinals.
March 9th: Velasquez hit a 111.9 mph single on this date. Richard Fitts got hit hard by the Astros. Jordan Walker scorched a 109.8 mph single. Fitts was throwing 96.3 to 98.7 mph fastballs. In fact, Fitts threw 17 of the top 20 fastest pitches in this game. Max Rajcic had the highest spin rate for the Cards with his curve, while throwing a 95 mph 4 seam fastball.
March 8th: Pedro Pages hit a double really hard! 110.3 exit velocity! Another catcher of ours, Yohel Pozo, hit a 105.5 mph single. Ryne Stanek was throwing in the upper 90s, 98 to 99.5 mph 4 seam fastballs. Pallante peaked at a 95.9 mph sinker. The Marlins had several pitchers with high spin rates. This game was a low scoring tie with the Marlins.
March 7th: Mautz got hit hard a few times in this game but was able to mostly avoid damage. Riley O’Brien throwing in the upper 90s with a sinker. The spin rate on Kyle Leahy’s sweeper the best of the Cardinals pitchers. I’m so far really glad they stuck with the Kyle Leahy as a starter plan because both horizontal and vertical break on his sweeper has been very good and overall his mix of pitches seems to be working out.
Thanks for reading!
and now for the music…
1981
In 1981, the big time box office movies that I loved as a kid were Raiders of the Lost Ark, On Golden Pond, Superman II, and just cracking the top 10, Time Bandits. Saw all of those in the theater. Outside of the higher grossing movies, Excalibur was another good one. Werewolf movies were definitely “in” back in 1981, and American Werewolf in London and The Howling were my cool older sister’s favorites. Evil Dead was also released but I saw it years later, another classic!
In baseball, a minor league game went almost 8 and a half hours, the longest professional baseball game in history! It was the Rochester Redwings vs the Pawtucket Red Sox in Rhode Island. At the MLB level, there was a player’s strike from June 12 to July 31! This resulted in one of the only split seasons in baseball history. The champs in each division of the first half made it to the playoffs, as did all the champs in the second half of the season. Somehow, the Cardinals missed the playoffs despite having the best winning percentage at the end of the season. They finished in 2nd place during both halves. Especially aggravating was that during the 2nd half of 1981, the Cardinals finished 1/2 a game out of first place. And they were only 1 1/2 out during the first half of the season. The Phillies ended up winning the first half of 1981, and the Expos won the 2nd half.
The Dodgers ended up defeating the Yankees that year, so it was sort of anticlimactic. The bigger news was that Bob Gibson was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility! Fernando Valenzuela won both the Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award! Rollie Fingers one-upped him by winning the MVP and the Cy Young Award in the AL. Mike Schmidt was the NL MVP.
The Tribune bought the Cubs from the Wrigley family.
The first sampler made, the E-mu Emulator was released mid-1981, changing the music world with sampling capabilities. Stevie Wonder was given serial No. 1. High speed rail between Paris and Lyon, France, began.
Top Album Picks for 1981
We will all have our top albums for any given year, but I am hoping to uncover some undiscovered early 80’s gems. Some will be more well-known, but I found some obscure heavy metal releases to round out the end of the playlist.
#1 This Heat – ‘Deceit’ Even better than their first album, This Heat perfects their sound then pretty much disbands not long after. Super influential underground classic, inspiring experimental approaches to rock music, new alt punk sounds. Quoting this reviewer because he said it better than I can say myself, “James Joyce once said that “History is a nightmare from which we are trying to awaken” and this album is a graphic evocation of that nightmare.“”
#2 King Crimson – ‘Discipline’ King Crimson reinvent themselves and prog rock in the process by bringing in Adrien Belew to be frontman, another guitar virtuoso to complement Robert Fripp’s complex guitar lines, plus Frippertronics pushing the envelope of music performance push this instant prog rock classic over the top.
#3 Rush – ‘Moving Pictures’ it was tough to decide between KC and Rush here, especially with the epic huge guitar and bass on this album, the musicianship every bit as good but with more synthesizers. Neil Peart’s drumming is at its most musical and subtle here as he drives this music ship into alternate dimensions and parallel futures.
#4 Eskaton – ‘4 Visions’ how do you top the epic bass playing on Discipline and Moving Pictures? Listen to this! A totally surreal, beautiful dream of an album. Speaking of parallel dimensions, I think this is from one. Beautiful vocals soar above it all, singing their own language. More Zeuhl mastery, for fans of Magma.
#5 Dün – ‘Eros’ this is one of my big unheard of finds this week! For fans of Magma and Eskaton or mad prog rock. Fantastic sounding album!
#6 Brian Eno and David Byrne – ‘My Life in the Bush of Ghosts’ my favorite thing that either Brian Eno or David Byrne did! A masterclass in sampling to the point where you don’t even realize what’s happening, you’re just floating in a sea of sounds as well as music genres and it just keeps changing. I have been very into this album since reading ‘Ocean of Sound’ by David Toop.
#7 Glenn Branca – ‘The Ascension’ is this huge sounding, incredibly recorded album of beautifully epic guitar sounds and occasionally drums. 20th century classical music in guitar form. For fans of drone, ambient, experimental punk, avant garde, art rock.
#8 Gang of Four – ‘Solid Gold’ super catchy way ahead of its time punk you just have to hear it. Genius heady party music.
#9 Fred Frith – ‘Speechless’ another big find, if you love guitarists on the more creative side of things, this is for you! The variety of cool songs here is highly impressive.
#10 Takeo Moriyama – ‘Smile’ I feel a little guilty placing this absolutely stunning jazz masterpiece this low, but it was a reallllyyyyyy good year for music.
#11 Eider Stellaire – ‘Eider Stellaire’ another top tier Zeuhl album, 1981 was the year of Zeuhl masterpieces!
#12 Frank Zappa – ‘You Are What You Is’ acerbic comedy music with tons of relatable content to today’s world, but written 45 years ago! Including hits like “Drafted Again”! “Dumb All Over” is my favorite song though. Zappa shows off both his advanced prog side and his unforgiving observational “comedy” which for me at times is a bit cringe but overall, this album is an important chapter in rock music.
#13 Chick Corea – ‘The Three Quartets’ Chick Corea: piano; Eddie Gómez: bass; Steve Gadd: drums; Michael Brecker: saxophone. Perhaps my favorite Chick Corea album.
#14 Hawkwind – ‘Sonic Attack’ one of my favorite Hawkwind albums and now we are getting into the truly epicly cheesy album covers too! This is where it gets fun.
#15 Prince – ‘Controversy’ Prince really hits his stride here and his production job on this 1981 album is so good! Perhaps his most underrated album.
#17 Holocaust – ‘The Nightcomers’ if you’re a fan of early Metallica, you have to hear this!
#18 Riot – ‘Fire Down Under’ omfg that album cover! The music rules too, super tight Australian metal.
#19 Venom – ‘Welcome To Hell’ how this album sounds was super influential to early metal in its most extreme forms. Another one for fans of early Metallica, but even more for fans of early Slayer! Included because it was freakin’ 1981.
#20 Gaskin – ‘End of the World’ that album cover is ridiculous. But the music is ridiculously awesome and the bassist is mixed super loud for a metal album. Unique stuff.
The Montreal Canadiens were back in action at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night, hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs for one last time this season. Jakub Dobes got the start following his outstanding outing against the Los Angeles Kings, and the talk of the town in the run-up to the game was whether he should be playing both games of this important back-to-back.
Meanwhile, the Leafs showed up riding a seven-game losing streak, with a captain who hadn’t found the back of the net in 11 games. For a player like Auston Matthews, who has won multiple Rocket Richard trophies and just captained Team USA to the gold medal in Milano-Cortina, that’s worrying. Before the game, he had just 26 goals in 58 games.
If we’ve seen the Canadiens be dominated in the first frame at times this season, what we saw from the Leafs on Tuesday night was even worse. Toronto looked like it was simply going through the motions; they had no spring in their step and no emotion whatsoever, looking as active as a piece of agonizing roadkill on a highway.
At the end of the first frame, shots were 18-5 Montreal, and the score was 2-0. It almost felt like Toronto wanted Dobes to be fresh and ready to go for Tuesday’s game in Ottawa.
That was until Brendan Gallagher hit Easton Cowan while the youngster didn’t have the puck. Veteran blueliner Jake McCabe took exception and immediately came for Gallagher. The alternate captain had no intention of fighting, nor should he with the number of injuries he’s had on his hands, but McCabe wouldn’t let it go, so he dropped the mitts.
Toronto came out much stronger in the second period, with two power plays, which helped them gain some momentum. They managed to cut the lead in half through William Nylander, after two cross-zone passes, Dobes had no chance.
Dobes’ Confidence
Meanwhile, Dobes looked as confident as can be in the net, stopping 10 of the 11 shots he faced in the second frame. He made quite a few glove saves, adding some mustard, a bit like Patrick Roy used to in the good old days. I’m not comparing him to Roy but just saying that his demeanour in net and his attitude remind me of Roy’s. It’s a stark contrast with what Montembeault looks like when he’s in the net, and that plays on the team’s confidence as well.
The Czech netminder only surrendered a goal on 18 shots, finishing his night with a .944 save percentage. Since he wasn’t particularly busy, it will be interesting to see if Martin St-Louis will give him the nod for Wednesday’s game or if he’ll stick to his alternating policy on back-to-backs.
The Alex Newhook, Oliver Kapanen, and Ivan Demidov line hadn’t been impressive in its first two games back together, but tonight, they were much better. Kapanen, who scored the first goal, had seven attempts on net tonight, three of his shots made it to the goalie, and he looked like he was just everywhere.
As for Demidov, he only had one shot on net, but his combativity along the boards was the key factor in the Canadiens’ first goal. He was knocked down in a battle but managed to shake it off, jump back up, and make the play that led to Kapanen’s goal. That was his 20th goal of the season, meaning he'll be getting a $250,000 bonus.
Cole Caufield started the game on the top line, as he always does, but then, in the second period, he had his last shift at 14:23 and was stapled to the bench until the Canadiens had a power play in the third.
There was much speculation about why he wasn’t playing since nobody had seen an injury, and no one could remember a bad play that could have warranted benching him. Then, he was back on the ice for the two power plays. After the game, Martin St-Louis confirmed the winger wasn’t feeling well; that he was a bit sick, but he does believe he’ll be available for Wednesday’s game against the Ottawa Senators.
In the end, given how the Leafs looked for much of the game tonight, this game should have been easier for the Canadiens, but if you have a glass-half-full approach, the Habs managed to win a tight hockey game and protect a lead, even at five-on-six, a rare feat. The coach praised his team’s decision-making in the neutral zone tonight; they didn’t take any unnecessary risks. The coach summed it up by saying his charges took what the Leafs gave them.
Montreal kept its effort level high right up to the end. Mike Matheson made a very good play, diving to clear the puck and send it to Jake Evans, who outskated Easton Cowan to score the third goal and put the final nail in the Leafs’ coffin.
