Category: Sports News

The Dallas Mavericks (22-45) complete their season series with the Cleveland Cavaliers (41-26) Sunday with an early 2:30pm CST tipoff at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. The two teams met Friday with Cleveland routing the Mavericks at American Airlines Center, 138-105. Cavs center Evan Mobley led all scorers with 29 points on 12-15 shooting, while the Mavericks were led by Cooper Flagg’s 25, as he emerged from an injury-related slump with a monster third quarter.

For the Mavericks, Friday’s game ended a one-game winning streak that was scarcely 24 hours old as they beat Memphis the night before, 120-112, ending an eight-game skid. For Cleveland, a won Sunday would equal their longest win streak since Feb. 20, as a tough run of the schedule including the Thunder, Celtics, Knicks, Pistons, Magic, and 76ers ended a win streak that reached seven games as the team brought aboard guard James Harden in a trade Feb. 3. While the team hasn’t yet replicated the wins from that honeymoon period, Harden’s time meshing with his new teammates looks promising as Cleveland gears for a deep playoff run.

The Cavaliers, who treated much of Friday’s matchup in Dallas as a tune-up game as they determine their playoff rotation and build chemistry with Harden, will bring a deeper roster to Sunday’s game as center Jarrett Allen and wing Max Strus plan to return from knee and foot injuries.

Game of inches

The Mavericks, for whom perimeter defense is already a nightly liability, were also without much size Friday to counter the Cavs’ relentless attacks at the rim. Forward PJ Washington and centers Daniel Gafford and Moussa Cisse were all unavailable, as frontcourts anchored by Marvin Bagley III and Dwight Powell got torched for 72 paint points achieved through a dazzling array of methods. Guard Donovan Mitchell got to his spots at will, making 10 of 12 two-pointers, while Harden and Mobley seemingly found a breakthrough building the pick-and-roll rapport that has proven elusive in their six weeks so far as teammates. Against the Mavericks, Harden and Mobley each seemed to speed things up with Harden attacking earlier off screens and Mobley rolling much harder to the basket, and the yield was lobs, pocket passes, and finishes with an easy rhythm as Harden was able to get Mobley switched onto guards and strike.

Allen, a more conventional kind of screener and roller than Mobley, is already a match for Harden’s style of play, with the 21.5 points per game he has averaged playing with Harden (not counting the game Allen left with injury against Detroit March 3) raising his season scoring average to 15.3. If the Mavericks offer the kind of resistance at the rim that was on display Friday (Washington, Gafford, and Cisse are all day-to-day), expect Harden to use this game as a laboratory to synthesize Allen’s and Mobley’s natural abilities, waiting a beat longer to accelerate around Allen’s hard screens, and finding the versatile Mobley further from the basket more often.

Welcome wagon

Max Strus also returns for Cleveland against the Mavericks; on Feb, 27, 2024 he caught fire late against a very different Mavericks club, connecting on five three-pointers in the game’s final five minutes, including the game-winner- a 60’ heave on a last-second inbounds that closed it with the Cavs up 121-119. Strus, a starter in 37 of the 50 games he has played this year, joins a wing core that had things humming against the Mavericks Friday, as Keon Ellis hit three of his five three-pointers in his first start for Cleveland and Plano native Jaylon Tyson made two of his three. The team was nearly as effective shooting beyond the arc, making 18 of 38, as it was in the paint.

How not to repeat history

While Flagg’s brilliant second half and Naji Marshall’s return to form Friday gave Mavericks fans something to cheer for besides the team’s draft lottery chances, there were not many other bright spots, as jumping out to an early two-bucket lead in the game’s opening minutes doesn’t qualify as a bright spot given what followed. In the game’s second quarter, in which the Mavericks actually played the Cavs to a 29-29 tie, eight Maverick turnovers led to 13 Cleveland points. Dallas went on to cough it up 17 times in the game overall, and although Ryan Nembhard’s 9-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio counts as a bright spot, the undersized Mavs backcourt’s inability to stop Harden and Mitchell made for bright spots for quite a few folks wearing wine and gold.

While the Mavericks will probably run some different lineups at the Cavs, the most likely result will be another early night on the bench for Harden, Mitchell, and Co., while the Mavericks get another long look at forwards Thomas Bryant and Nae’Qwan Tomlin, who combined to go seven-for-seven on two-point attempts. Winning is still the objective for this hard-playing Mavericks team, but its fans can be forgiven for quietly rooting for another strong Coop performance and no lost ground in the “other” standings if things go sideways as rapidly as they did Friday.

How to watch/listen

You can watch the game on NBA TV, KFAA Channel 29, or MAVS TV (streaming), or listen at 97.1FM KEGL (English), and 99.1FM KFZO (español).

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Hany Mukhtar scored four minutes into second-half stoppage time — the 25,000th goal in MLS history — and Brian Schwake earned his second clean sheet in his fourth MLS start as Nashville SC beat the Columbus Crew 1-0 on Saturday night.

Mukhtar subbed in to begin the second half for Nashville (3-0-1) before scoring for the second time this season. It was his 84th goal in 183 career appearances with the club.

The 34-year-old Schwake saved two shots for the shutout.

Cristian Espinoza collected his second assist of the season on Mukhtar's goal and defender Andy Nájar notched his first. Espinoza, in his first season with Nashville, had 70 assists in 218 appearances for the San Jose Earthquakes dating to 2019. Nájar had a career-high 10 assists with Nashville last season, his first with the club.

Patrick Schulte totaled three saves in goal for the Crew (0-2-2), who were also shut out at home last week in a scoreless draw with the Chicago Fire.

Nashville had three players receive first-half yellow cards — Jack Maher, Ahmed Qasem and Woobens Pacius. Sam Surridge and Mukhtar replaced Qasem and Pacius after halftime.

Twenty-year-old Taha Habroune had his first goal of the season and the second of his career waived off for Nashville in the 18th minute when Max Arfsten was caught offside after a video review.

Nashville played to a 2-2 draw in Columbus last season and beat the Crew 3-0 at home.

The all-time series is tied 4-4-4.

Up next

Nashville: Hosts Orlando City on Saturday.

Columbus: Visits Toronto FC on Saturday.

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

LAS VEGAS (AP) — MJ Collins Jr. scored 20 points to lead No. 1 seed Utah State past No. 2 seed San Diego State 73-62 on Saturday to win the Mountain West Championship.

Collins was 8-of-15 shooting and 4 of 10 behind the arc with three steals for the Aggies (28-6). Mason Falslev, who was named Mountain West Player of the Year, had 16 points — 10 in the second half — and six assists. Drake Allen added 13 points and six rebounds.

The Aggies led by one point with 7:40 to go before going on a 12-2 run over the next three minutes, led by a pair of 3-pointers from Collins. The Aztecs (22-11) never got closer than eight points after that.

Reese Dixon-Waters led the Aztecs with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. BJ Davis scored 14 and Magoon Gwath had 12 to go with eight rebounds.

It's the final Mountain West Conference game for both teams. They'll head to the Pac-12 after this season. The Aztecs' 46 Mountain West tournament wins are the most in conference history.

The Aggies have punched a ticket to the NCAA Tournament, while the Aztecs will have to wait to see their fate on Sunday.

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The Boston Celtics won their 44th game of the season and the team’s 11th consecutive game against the Washington Wizards with a 111-100 showing on Saturday at TD Garden.

After two tough losses to the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder over the past week, Boston could have been at risk of suffering the team’s first three-game losing streak since going 0-3 to start the season.

Luckily, the Celtics were gifted with a matchup against the lowly 16-49 Wizards, the loser of 10 straight heading into the game.

Washington has not won a game against Boston since March 28, 2023, when Kristaps Porziņģis torched the C’s with 32 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 stocks — a game that might have inspired Brad Stevens to trade for the lengthy Latvian.

The Wizards had no such savior on Sunday, as Neemias Queta feasted on Washington’s porous post defense to the tune of 24 points and 10 rebounds, leading Boston to a 3-0 sweep of the season series.

Boston started Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, Jayson Tatum and Neemias Queta. Nikola Vučević, who is not expected to return until early April, was the team’s only inactive player.

Washington started Trae Young, Tre Johnson, Bilal Coulibaly, Will Riley and Alex Sarr. Anthony Davis, Kyshawn George, D’Angelo Russell and Cam Whitmore were all inactive.

Neemias Queta got the Celtics started strong by scoring 8 of Boston’s first 10 points. He finished the first quarter with 13 points on 6 makes — his highest-scoring quarter of the season so far — and 3 rebounds over the frame.

While Queta dominated, the rest of the team struggled in the first quarter, especially from the perimeter, where Boston only hit 2 shots. Jaylen Brown was the only other Celtic to make multiple field goal attempts, with 3 makes. Derrick White and Baylor Scheierman each chipped in one three-point make.

Keep feeding the big fella 🍽️ pic.twitter.com/qKbPMx72gU

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 14, 2026

Jayson Tatum started the game 0-4 from the field, with one good-looking layup attempt roll off the rim, and 0-2 from three-point range.

On the other end, the Celtics had a hard time stopping the Wizards’ perimeter attack. Washington made 7-16 of its three-point attempts during the quarter, outnumbering Boston’s made threes by five.

Despite the shooting deficit and a missed buzzer beater attempt by Payton Pritchard, the Celtics ended the quarter up 29-27.

The second quarter began with a pair of high effort plays by Luka Garza, who scored Boston’s first two field goals of the quarter and 6 points over the frame’s first three minutes.

The lid also came off the basket a few minutes into the quarter for Sam Hauser. He hit his first three-point shot of the night early in the quarter, then his second less than a minute later.

Behind Garza’s effort, Hauser’s three-point makes, and some beautiful defense, the Celtics went on a 17-2 run over the first half of the second quarter that gave Boston the first big lead of the evening.

Queta also came back in with about 7 minutes left to go in the second quarter and immediately looked as dominant as he did in the first.

He followed his 13-point first quarter with a 9-point second quarter, as he continued to feast on a defense that seemingly refused to guard him. He finished the half with 22 points on 10-12 (83.3%) shooting from the field, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block.

Much like Hauser, Tatum came alive in the second quarter. He scored his first points on a pair of free throws with 3 minutes left to go in the half. Tatum then hit a three-point shot less than a minute later, and a slick midrange shot a minute after that.

JT from wayyy out 🎯 pic.twitter.com/S9A861HzPQ

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 14, 2026

Despite poor efficiency, Tatum finished the half on pace for a triple-double, with 7 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, as well as 1 steal.

The Celtics went into the half up 64-41 after winning the second quarter 35-14.

Tatum followed up his strong finish to the second quarter with a couple of early makes in the third quarter, and had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds with more than 20 minutes left to go in the game. He continued to attack the Wizards’ defense and racked up 11 points, 6 rebounds and 1 assist over the quarter.

Queta, Boston’s MVP of the first half, did not attempt a single shot throughout the quarter, but continued to keep Washington’s offense in check during his time on the court.

The Celtics went up by 30 with 4 minutes to go in the third quarter, but finished the frame with a 93-72 lead over the Wizards.

The game was all but over by the time the fourth quarter began, but Washington did not give up.

The Wizards went on a 7-0 run to start the final frame against Derrick and the Whites (Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, Baylor Scheierman, and Luka Garza) in a late attempt to narrow the lead.

Garza hit a pair of free throws and a three-point shot, but was subbed out alongside Hauser in favor of Queta and Jaylen Brown with about 8 minutes to go in the game.

Brown immediately scored on a driving layup, but Washington scored the game’s next three field goals to chip the lead down to 14.

The Celtics took a timeout and got Jayson Tatum back on the court, but the Wizards continued to hit shots. With less than 5 minutes to go, Washington was only down by 12.

Nevertheless, a Tatum layup and a fourth Hauser three-pointer brought the lead back up to 17 with 2:31 to go in the game. The starting crew was then subbed out with about 1:33 to go, and the bench was able to finish the game.

Queta finished the game as Boston’s top scorer, with 24 points on 11-13 (84.6%) shooting from the field, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks.

The euro step 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/9o04tjtABo

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 14, 2026

Tatum finished with the second-most points on the team, with 20 points on 8-19 (42.1%) shooting from the field, 14 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals.

Overall, the Celtics shot less efficiently than the Wizards, hitting 44.1% from the field and 26.1% from three-point range, while Washington shot 44% from the field and 38.5% from the perimeter.

Nevertheless, Boston won the battle of the boards, with 62 total rebounds to Washington’s 47, and won the math game, taking 9 more shot attempts than the Wizards.

The Celtics’ next game will be against the Phoenix Suns at 7:30 p.m. EST on Monday, March 16, at the TD Garden.

The Washington Wizards traveled to Boston to face the Celtics on Saturday in the final game of a three-game road trip. Behind a sluggish second quarter and poor interior defense, the Wizards fell, 111-100.

Boston opened a 20-11 lead thanks to a flurry of Neemias Queta layups. But Tristan Vukcevic answered with a trio of 3-pointers in less than two minutes to tie the game at 20. Washington’s bench outscored Boston’s bench 16-3 in the opening frame to enter the second quarter trailing 29-27.

The second quarter was dominated by the Celtics, who opened on a 19-2 scoring run to take a 19-point lead. Washington scored just two points over the first 7:28 of the frame as Boston locked in on the defensive end. Trae Young added a few late buckets, but the Wizards entered halftime trailing 64-41.

Young connected with Bilal Coulibaly on a half-court lob and Will Riley added a few baskets in the third quarter, but it wasn’t enough to trim the deficit. Boston opened a 30-point lead halfway through the frame and looked poised for a dominant win.

Jaden Hardy scored 12 points on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting to pull the Wizards within 12 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Celtics pulled away.

The loss marked Washington’s 11th straight defeat and dropped the team to 16-50. Young finished with 11 points and six assists. Vukcevic led all Wizards with a season-high 22 points.

ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — Fadima Tall scored 20 points and Olivia Hutcherson sparked a late surge to help No. 23 Princeton beat Harvard 63-53 on Saturday to win the Ivy League Tournament.

Top-seeded Princeton (26-3) avenged last season’s tournament semifinal loss Harvard. The Crimson beat Columbia 74-71 in last season's title game.

The Tigers have won six of the eight championships in the tournament’s history, and will make their fifth-straight NCAA Tournament trip and 13th appearance since 2010.

Harvard used a 20-8 run between the third and fourth quarters to knot it 51-all with 4:01 to play. But the Tigers answered with Hutcherson, who scored eight points in a 12-2 run to end it.

Tall shot 8 of 12 from the floor and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go with four steals and three assists. Ashley Chea added 13 points for the Tigers and Hutcherson finished with 12.

Karlee White scored 15 points and Olivia Jones added 13 for No. 3 seed Harvard (18-11).

Princeton shot 49% from the field compared to Harvard's 39%. The Tigers made 18 of 22 free-throws attempts while the Crimson hit 8 of 11.

Harvard beat Columbia 67-65 in overtime to reach the title game. Columbia beat Princeton in both regular-season matchups.

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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Kaemyn Bekemeier scored 16 points, Lainie Douglas had 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Missouri State shut down Louisiana Tech 43-38 in the championship game of the Conference USA Tournament on Saturday.

Sixth-seeded Missouri State (22-12) allowed just 12 points in the second half and won despite suffering through a nine-minute scoreless stretch in the fourth quarter.

Maiesha Washington’s layup with 9:25 remaining gave the Bears a 39-31 lead. It was their last made basket and they held on to the win despite missing their last nine shot attempts.

Each team managed two points in the first nine minutes of the fourth quarter, then a 3-pointer from Paris Bradley got the Lady Techsters within 39-36 with 33 seconds remaining.

Missouri State's Bekemeier and Maycee James made two free throws each sandwiched around a layup by LaTech's Averi Aaron to finish the scoring.

Bradley scored 14 points and Aaron 12 for top-seeded Louisiana Tech (26-6), which had won 19 straight. The Lady Techsters missed 15 of 16 shots during one stretch of the second half.

The Bears scored the first six points of the third quarter to take a 29-26 lead.

The score was 31-31 with three minutes left when Douglas and Kendal Brueggen scored on consecutive possessions for a 35-31 lead. Bekemeier finished the quarter with a jumper in the final minute for a 37-31 advantage.

Missouri State will be playing in the NCAA Tournament for the 18th time.

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HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Erin Condron scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and UC San Diego took control in the second and beat Hawaii 60-48 in the Big West Conference championship on Saturday.

Makayla Rose scored 17 points for the second-seeded Tritons (24-8), who clinched the Big West's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.

It’s the fifth conference title for the Tritons during their 14-year tenure under head coach Heidi Vanderveer.

Bailey Flavell scored 13 points for fourth-seeded Hawaii (22-11).

After losing its first three games in conference play, the Rainbow Wahine went on a tear and entered Saturday's game having won 16 of 17 games, including nine straight.

Down 28-20 at halftime, the Tritons outscored Hawaii 20-9 in the third and took a 40-37 lead with 16 seconds left in the quarter and led for the remainder. UC San Diego pulled away on 10-for-15 shooting in the fourth quarter.

Hawaii used a 7-0 run in the final 1:44 of the first quarter to go up 13-6 at the end of one. In the second, UC San Diego scored five straight to get within 17-16 before Hawaii closed the quarter outscoring the Tritons 11-4.

Hawaii led 26-16 with 2 1/2 minutes left before the break having shot 11 fewer attempts than the Tritons who were (19%) 6-of-32 shooting. But despite having outshot UC San Diego 43% to 23%., Hawaii led only 28-20.

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Patience is the word I have used most when talking about the Phoenix Suns this season. With an influx of youth, patience must exist if proper development is going to happen. That process takes time if the goal is to produce real results. Productive NBA players. Reliable rotation pieces. If everything breaks right, maybe even a star.

Every player walks a different road through development. There is no clean formula. It is difficult to quantify exactly what turns a young prospect into a successful NBA player. Part of it falls into the ‘nature versus nurture’ conversation. Some players arrive with so much talent that failure rarely enters the equation. Others need the right environment. They need time to learn habits, sharpen skills, and grow into winning basketball. Development does not travel in a straight line.

With all of that said, I find myself questioning my own patience lately. The season has reached a strange intersection where development and opportunity are crossing paths.

We are starting to see flashes from Rasheer Fleming. He is getting real minutes in the rotation, and he looks comfortable out there. Comfortable and productive. Those minutes have come at the expense of players like Ryan Dunn and Isaiah Livers during this stretch of the season, but so be it. He’s earned his minutes.

Over the past 10 games for the Phoenix Suns, who has the highest +/-? That's right. It's Rasheer Fleming at +53. pic.twitter.com/Ay9aTMcwiH

— John Voita, III (@DarthVoita) March 14, 2026

That is how this process works.

Coaches experiment with combinations. Players receive opportunities. The ones who produce tend to stay on the floor. Right now, Fleming is taking advantage of the time given to him. How much of this transfers to the long term remains to be seen. In the short term it has been a lot of fun to watch.

And then there is Khaman Maluach.

The tenth pick out of Duke brings something to the roster that nobody else truly possesses. Size. Real size. That is where my patience begins to wear a little thin.

I am not pounding the table, saying Khaman Maluach needs 30 minutes a night. I understand the reality of the situation. A 19-year-old big man in the NBA has a lot to process, especially at that position. Opposing teams will test that quickly. You saw a glimpse of that in the game against the Milwaukee Bucks. Maluach came into the game and found himself matched up with Myles Turner. Turner stepped out behind the three-point line and began launching from deep. Suddenly, the advantage Maluach brings around the rim was pulled away from the paint.

That is the challenge modern big men face. Stretch centers change the geometry of the floor. They force defenders to step out into space, which removes the rim protection that makes players like Maluach valuable. It is something he will see many times throughout his career.

It is also where the development opportunity lives. Learning the footwork. Understanding the angles. Figuring out how to contest on the perimeter without giving up the drive behind you. Those are lessons that only come with time and repetition.

But then there is the other side of the coin.

Against the Toronto Raptors, Jordan Ott went small in the fourth quarter. Too small, as it turned out. Because once the Suns removed size from the floor, the paint opened like a freeway at midnight. Toronto attacked it without hesitation. The Raptors scored 36 points in the quarter, 20 of those coming in the paint, and suddenly a comfortable lead turned into a slow bleed.

That is where the value of Khaman Maluach enters the conversation.

Toronto is not a dangerous three-point shooting team. They rank 25th in the NBA from beyond the arc. The math tells you where the risk lives. If you are protecting a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter, the equation says pack the paint, live with the outside shots, and trust the percentages to do their thing. Let them launch. Let them hope. Let them live in that uncomfortable space where the jumper has to bail them out.

Instead, once the Suns rolled out the small lineup, the Raptors smelled blood and went hunting at the rim.

That is where someone like Maluach could have mattered, even for a short stretch. Five minutes of size. Five minutes of length standing between the Raptors and the basket. Sometimes the presence alone changes decisions. Drivers hesitate. Lanes close. The geometry of the floor shifts.

And the numbers quietly back that up. Over the past 10 games, Maluach owns a 109.3 defensive rating. His net rating sits at +5.3, which ranks fifth best on the team during that span.

Now look, I know what this is. This is the classic “disease of the what if” game. Fans play it after losses. Writers play it after losses. You replay possessions in your mind, move one chess piece to a different square, and suddenly the ending looks different. I have done it plenty of times, and I’m doing it right now.

You can come up with ten different paths where the Suns walk out of Toronto with a win. Different rotations. Different lineups. Different adjustments. But in the end, the scoreboard does not care about the alternate timelines. The Suns lost the game.

But in the same breath, it reinforces a feeling that has been growing for me lately. At some point during this final stretch, the Suns should take the training wheels off Khaman Maluach.

Why? Because Mark Williams is still out. Because the reality of the standings is starting to settle in. I do not know if the sixth seed is truly attainable. The schedule tightens for Phoenix, and every night the teams above them keep rotating wins and losses like they are stuck in the same traffic loop. The Suns cannot gain ground. They are essentially locked into the Play-In unless something truly strange happens over the final weeks.

And that creates a rare window.

You are playing meaningful basketball. The games matter. The standings matter. The pressure exists. At the same time, you have an opportunity to develop your young center in real NBA situations. To give Maluach real run. Let him feel the pressure. Let him play fourth-quarter minutes that actually matter. Put those possessions on film. Study them later. Break them down over the summer. That is where growth happens. Not in empty minutes during a 20-point blowout, but in the moments when the building gets loud, and every possession feels heavy.

Look at what he has done recently.

Over the past 10 games, Maluach is averaging 12.7 minutes per night. In that time, he is producing 4.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks while shooting 63.6% from the field. If you per-36 that out, it’s 13.0 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks. That alone is solid for a young center learning the speed of the league.

But the impact goes a little deeper than the box score.

Across those 10 games, he has logged 127 total minutes and sits at +20, which is tied for fourth best on the team during that span. In the fourth quarter minutes he has played, 26 total minutes, the Suns are a +6. Those are small samples, sure. Nobody is pretending otherwise.

But they are also signals. Signals that the size, the length, and the presence he brings can matter in real basketball situations. And if this team is already preparing itself mentally for a Play-In path, there is real value in seeing what your young 7’1” center looks like when the lights are bright and the stakes feel real.

So yes, patience still matters. Maluach is a young player, and confidence is a fragile thing, especially for a 19-year-old big man learning the pace and complexity of the NBA game. You do not want to throw him into situations that bury him mentally. At the same time, iron sharpens iron. There comes a point where development requires friction, requires pressure, requires real minutes that matter.

Maybe I am a little impatient, but I am ready to see the training wheels come off Khaman Maluach. Who knows what it could unlock?

There are lineup combinations sitting there waiting to be explored. One that continues to intrigue me is pairing Oso Ighodaro with Maluach. Oso does not space the floor, that much is known. Maluach, however, might eventually be able to. The shot is still very much a work in progress. He is 2-of-11 from deep this season, good for 18.2%, which is not scaring anybody right now. But repetition becomes retention, and repetition only happens when opportunity exists.

The Ighodaro/Maluach pairing has logged five total minutes together this season. Five. In that tiny window, the lineup is a +1, which does not tell you much statistically, but it is enough to make you curious about what it could look like with a real run.

My guess is the Suns stick to the plan. They will continue to manage Maluach carefully and limit his exposure as the season closes. That approach has been consistent all year.

Maybe it is the recent success of Rasheer Fleming that has me itching to see more from last year’s lottery pick. When you see a young player grab opportunity and run with it, the natural instinct is to wonder what the other young pieces might look like with the same runway.

Yet I arrive at the same destination I have returned to all season. Patience. That has been the theme of the year in Phoenix, and it is probably how this story continues to unfold. Still, I will admit it. I am ready to see more.