Back-to-backs in the NBA can be tricky.

With fatigue an even more significant factor than usual, it isn’t always clear the type of energy or focus a team will come with when playing on consecutive days. 

But the Lakers established early on in their 128-104 win over the Kings on Sunday night that they weren’t taking the league-worst Kings lightly.

Marcus Smart made one of his signature hustle plays early, diving for a loose ball multiple times on a possession that ended with an Austin Reaves alley-oop to LeBron James to loud cheers from the crowd at Crypto.com Arena to give the Lakers an early 10-2 lead.

“Smart’s defense just totally ignited us at different points in the game,” coach JJ Redick said. “He ended up with five steals, but he was diving on the floor for loose balls. He’s starting transition plays for us. He was another igniter for us.”

It wasn’t always smooth sailing.

And the Lakers weren’t always in control. 

But they once again took care of business a little over 24 hours after being the Warriors in San Francisco.

Luka Doncic led the way with 28 points, nine assists and five rebounds. LeBron James finished with 24 points and five assists. 

Deandre Ayton made all six of his field goal attempts finishing with 12 points.

Smart finished with five steals to go with nine points and three assists.

What it means

The Lakers bounced back from their three-game losing streak with back-to-back blowout victories after beating the short-handed Warriors by 28 on Saturday night. 

Yes, both were games the Lakers should’ve won. 

But in the tight race among Nos. 3-7 in the Western Conference standings, winning is all that matters at this point of the season.

The Lakers improved to 36-24, including 23-7 against teams below .500.

Turning point

When Doncic hit a fadeaway 3-point to put the Lakers up 89-65 late in the third quarter after losing control of the ball.

“It was on purpose,” Doncic quipped. “I tripped on purpose and it was, how do you say, the And-1 Mixtape, that’s what they said on the bench. So, I did it on purpose.”

pic.twitter.com/FFSimQpJaA

— Khobi Price (@khobi_price) March 2, 2026

The Kings were feisty in the second quarter, which they won 31-28, and to start the third.

But when Doncic knocked that shot down, it was clear Sunday night was going to go in the Lakers’ favor. 

MVP: Luka Doncic

When the Lakers needed a spark, their best player provided it. 

“Luka did great job of getting us going,” Redick said.

Doncic scored or assisted on 16 points for the Lakers during the 21-9 run they went on after the Kings cut their lead to 70-60. 

And Doncic was directly involved in the Lakers scoring on a few of those plays he didn’t score or record an assist, like when Marcus Smart made a corner 3-pointer that Austin Reaves assisted him on to put the Lakers up 74-60 after the Kings trapped Doncic in the pick and roll. 

Key stat of game: 18

That was the number of 3s the Lakers made, one night after making a season-high-tying 19 in the win over the Warriors.

Doncic led the team with four, while James, Smart and Luke Kennard each made three apiece.

Up next

The Lakers will face another one of the league’s worst teams on Tuesday when they host the Pelicans.

The Pelicans, who are 19-43 on the season, had their four-game winning streak ended by the Clippers on Sunday at Intuit Dome. 

The Houston Rockets head to the nation’s capital to take on the Washington Wizards tonight.

With Washington’s injury list (see below), Washington’s mascot G-Wiz might have to play some minutes for the home team. He’s still recovering from the cheap shot that Jaxson Hayes gave him earlier this season.

March is generally the month where there are a lot of wonky results. Good teams are trying to win games to better position themselves for the playoffs while bad teams are trying to tank and get the best possible odds for the lottery. But the players aren’t tanking, and there are always some wonky results in March. By April, even the tanking teams have given up the ghost and fill their teams with G-Leaguers and 10-day contracts.

The point is that the Rockets have the 17th-easiest schedule the rest of the way, which is the second-easiest among the teams pushing for the third seed in the Western Conference. This is one of Houston’s gimmes left on the schedule. They have to take care of business against the bottom of the league, or else it’ll throw Rockets fans into a panic once again.

Tip-off

6pm CT

How To Watch

Space City Home Network

Injury Report

Rockets

Steven Adams: OUT

Fred VanVleet: OUT

Jae’Sean Tate: OUT

Jabari Smith Jr.: OUT

Wizards

Alex Sarr: OUT

De’Angelo Russell: OUT

Trae Young: OUT

Anthony Davis: OUT

Cam Whitmore: OUT

Leaky Black: OUT

Kyshawn George: DTD

Anthony Gill: DTD

Tristan Vukcevic: DTD

The Line (as of this post)

Hou -16.5

Check here for updates

Looking ahead because we can

Thursday night at home against the Golden State Warriors

The Dallas Mavericks started the month of March hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder. Still without Cooper Flagg as they closed out their homestand, Dallas fell 100-87 to the league’s best team.

Let’s get to the grades!

Brandon Williams: B

14 PTS / 3 REB / 3 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 24 MIN

Williams wasn’t exactly hot on 5-for-12 shooting, but did some nice things to drive and break down the defense a bit (though some of his misses were point blank). He put up a generally solid game against a very good team.

Max Christie: B

14 PTS / 7 REB / 0 AST / 2 STL / 0 BLK – 35 MIN

Christie quietly had himself a good night. He knocked in five of his 11 shots including going 4-for-8 from deep. He turned it over twice relative to zero assists, but did have two steals and did some of the little things you like to see. He didn’t get to the line at all, and it would be nice to see him driving a bit more to earn those free throws. He has been at his best this season when not exclusively camping out on the perimeter.

Caleb Martin: B+

18 PTS / 3 REB / 0 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 31 MIN

Martin was Dallas’ shining star, which should tell you all you need to know. That’s not intended to be a dig, as he did have himself a nice game, however Martin as your leading scorer is indicative of an odd night indeed. He was 6-for-11including a hot 3-for-5 from downtown. Oddly, his 3-for-6 on free throws were the worst aspect of his shooting.

Khris Middleton: D

4 PTS / 2 REB / 3 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 25 MIN

Middleton is significantly better than what he showed tonight. This is a “toss it away and start fresh” type of game. He was 2-for-10 shooting overall including 0-for-3 from deep and somehow committed five fouls.

Daniel Gafford: C

8 PTS / 7 REB / 2 AST / 1 STL / 0 BLK – 22 MIN

It’s coming to a point where maybe I have to accept what was heretofore unacceptable to me – that Gafford is not a natural rebounder. However, in exactly six more minutes, Gafford pulled in five fewer rebounds than Moussa Cisse, his backup. Shooting only 3-for-9 from the floor didn’t help things. Gafford is too big and too athletic to not be doing more with the opportunities he has.

Klay Thompson: N/A

7 PTS / 0 REB / 1 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 15 MIN

Thompson doesn’t qualify for a grade in only 15 minutes of play, though his shooting was likely trending toward lower marks as he was 3-for-8 from the floor and 1-for-5 from deep. The real story for Thompson tonight was an adductor contusion that caused him to check out and not return. Time will tell how long he will remain sidelined.

Moussa Cisse: B

0 PTS / 12 REB / 0 AST / 0 STL / 0 BLK – 21 MIN

Cisse was a rebound machine, grabbing nine in his first nine minutes of play and ending with 12 total. In one of the most bizarre stat lines you will ever see, Cisse did one thing spectacularly well, while doing nothing else. He turned it over twice while committing a single foul and was impossibly only one of two players with a plus/minus in the black, joining Ryan Nembhard with a plus-1.

Final Thoughts

The Mavs faired much better than could reasonably have been expected against OKC, but that was largely because the Thunder played with their food rather than stepping on the gas. At any moment, the Mavs could have, and did, roll out a lineup nearly exclusively of two-way or former two-way players against the team with the best record in the league. As always, Dallas played hard, but it was ultimately for naught against a much healthier and much more seasoned and experienced defending-champion team.

I invite you to follow me @_80MPH on X, and check back often at Mavs Moneyball for all the latest on the Dallas Mavericks.

For the second time in as many nights, the Lakers blew out a Pacific Division foe. LA surged out to a big lead in the first quarter, withstood a small comeback attempt in the third and then cruised to a 128-104 win over the Kings.

Much like Saturday’s win in Golden State, LA fell behind briefly at the very start, took the lead and then never came close to trailing again. After opening up a double-digit lead just past the midway point of the first, the margin never dipped into single digits again.

The Lakers shot 50% from the field and 46.2% from three while assisting on 34 of their 47 field goals.

The game started with the midrange master DeMar DeRozan converting on a jumper. However, those were the only points the Kings could muster, as the Lakers were on a roll, scoring 10 in a row. Austin Reaves connected with LeBron James for an explosive alley-oop that started with excellent defense from Marcus Smart.

Nique Clifford and Russell Westbrook scored layups to stop some of the bleeding for Sacramento. Clifford was leading the Kings with six points. Everyone in the starting five, except for Smart, scored some points for LA. 

Luka Dončić made his first triple of the night, which helped extend the Lakers’ lead to 14 with 3:05 left in the first. He then knocked down another one soon after. LA ended the quarter on a 13-4 scoring run for an 18-point lead. 

Luke Kennard opened the second period with a 3-pointer. Malik Monk scored a quick four in a row for the Kings. Sacramento ramped up its defense, forcing Los Angeles into sloppy play. 

Smart and Luka both drained triples to restore the order. Maxi Kleber got in on the scoring as well with an emphatic dunk off an assist from Luka, which had Los Angeles’ bench losing their minds. 

Things got a little spicy with Monk picking up a technical foul after a confrontation with Kleber. Deandre Ayton was a perfect 5-5 from the field for 10 points. Ayton, Reaves and Luka were all double figures for the Lakers. 

Los Angeles pushed its lead to as much as 22, but 12 points from Westbrook, combined with LA’s offense cooling to 40% in the quarter, helped the Kings cut the deficit to 15 by halftime.

The second half started with Clifford scoring on a triple. Ayton responded on the other end with a hook shot. Sacramento was off to a hot start in the quarter, shooting 66% from the field. Clifford and Westbrook combined for seven of the nine Kings’ points. 

At the 9:06 mark, the purple and gold were nursing a 10-point lead. 

Reaves connected with LeBron for a much-needed dunk to stop some of Sacramento’s momentum. That kickstarted a 10-2 scoring run, with Luka scoring five in a row, extending the Lakers’ lead to 19.

Luka really started cooking again with two triples, one of which was swished after he slipped and nearly lost the ball.

Clifford was still cooking for the Kings, and he was their leading scorer with 22 points. At the end of the third quarter, the Lakers were up by 20. 

Sacramento turned the ball over to open the fourth, leading to LeBron being fouled and converting on a pair of free throws. Smart knocked down his third 3-pointer of the game.

Kleber added more to his stellar night off the bench with another thunderous dunk. After two 3-pointers from LeBron, he was subbed out, and Los Angeles’ bench closed out another blowout victory, which included a huge dunk from Adou Thiero.

Key Player Stats

Luka finished with 28 points, five rebounds and nine assists. Reaves scored 12 points with five assists and two blocks. LeBron notched 24 points with five assists and two steals. Ayton ended with 12 points on 6-6 shooting.

Kennard had 11 points, shooting 60% from three. In his first game back from an illness, Rui Hachimura finished with eight points and two rebounds. 

Smart tallied nine points with three rebounds and five steals. Kleber ended with six points and six rebounds. 

The Lakers’ next matchup will be against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday at 7:30 PM PT.

You can follow Karin on Twitter at @KarinAbcarians.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 23 points and the Los Angeles Clippers beat the New Orleans Pelicans 137-117 on Sunday night to end a three-game losing streak.

Tenth in the Western Conference, the Clippers improved to 28-31. The Pelicans are 13th in the West at 19-43.

New Orleans star Zion Williamson sat out after injuring his right ankle at Utah on Saturday night. He had played a career-high 35 straight games.

Los Angeles never trailed. It led 43-32 after a quarter and had a 76-70 advantage at the half. It was 107-94 after three, and the Clippers stretched the margin to 26 in the fourth.

Jordan Miller added 19 points for Los Angeles. Derrick Jones Jr. had 17, Brook Lopez 16 and John Collins 15.

While Leonard went 1 of 7 from 3-point range, the Clippers were 17 of 36 overall. Lopez was 4 for 6, and Jones and Kobe Sanders were each 3 for 4.

Jeremiah Fears led New Orleans with 28 points, hitting 5 of 6 3-pointers. Derik Queen scored 19 points, Dejounte Murray had 17, and Trey Murphy III added 16 after missing five games because of a right shoulder injury.

Up next

Pelicans: At Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

Clippers: At Golden State on Monday night.

___

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Anders Dreyer and Marcus Ingvartsen both had a goal and an assist, and rookie teenager Duran Ferree earned his second clean sheet in his second start when San Diego FC finished off a 2-0 victory over St. Louis City on Sunday night.

Dreyer used assists from Ingvartsen and Onni Valakari to send a shot past Roman Bürki and give San Diego (2-0-0) a lead in the 3rd minute.

San Diego, which finished first during the Western Conference regular season as an expansion team last year, took a two-goal lead in the 54th minute when Ingvartsen got an assist from Dreyer and scored.

Dreyer had 19 goals and 19 assists last season. He had two assists in San Diego's 5-0 romp over visiting CF Montreal to begin this season. Ingvartsen already has two assists after collecting one in eight appearances last season. Valakari totaled four goals and 11 assists during San Diego's first year.

The 19-year-old Ferree needed to make just one save to complete the shutout for San Diego after a two-save effort in the opener.

Bürki turned away four shots for St. Louis City (0-1-1). Bürki had two saves and Ferree wasn't tested in the first half.

St. Louis City was coming off a 1-1 draw with Charlotte FC on a goal by Marcel Hartel. San Diego took care of Hartel, who entered with five goals in his previous six matches dating to last season.

St. Louis City won the Western Conference regular season as an expansion team in 2023.

Up next

St. Louis City: Hosts Seattle Sounders on Saturday.

San Diego: At Sporting Kansas City on Saturday.

___

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

The Dallas Mavericks (21-39) dropped their third straight game and their 13th in the last 15, 100-87, to the Oklahoma City Thunder (47-15) on Sunday at American Airlines Center.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did what Shai Gilgeous-Alexander does, scoring a game-high 30 points in 33 minutes on 12-of-20 shooting for the Thunder, while Caleb Martin led the Mavs, because, hell, someone had to score points in this one, with 18.

Those two were freebies, because we’ve got five piping hot stats coming out of the oven for you, from the latest loss Dallas threw on the pile on Sunday.

32-16: Thunder’s close to the first quarter

After the Mavericks played pretend at existing in the same league as the Thunder for the game’s first four minutes, Oklahoma City blew the doors open on the game with a 12-0 run that took just 2:09 of game time to execute. Dallas head coach Jason Kidd called a timeout to stop the bloodletting, but the wheels had already come off. The Thunder outscored the Mavericks 32-16 over the last 9:56 of the first quarter to take a 36-25 lead after one, leaving Dallas in a position where they were trying for the rest of the game to claw back to within contention.

Chet Holmgren led all scorers with 10 points in the first quarter, including a dunk on a nifty drive-and-dish from Isaiah Hartenstein to cap Oklahoma City’s early 12-0 run. No Dallas Mavericks scored more than four points in the opener. Dallas turned the ball over six times in the quarter, leading to eight Thunder points. Oklahoma City came into the game first in the NBA in points scored off opponents’ turnovers, at more than 23 points per contest.

9: Moussa Cisse rebounds in his first 6:55 on the floor

Here’s one from the statistical oddities file. No doubt aided by the fact that Dallas started the game shooting 13-of-36 from the floor, Moussa Cisse gobbled up nine rebounds in his first 6:55 of playing time on Sunday. Three of those nine boards came on the offensive glass.

Cisse finished the game with 12 rebounds in 21 minutes, while going 0-of-1 from the floor in the loss. He averaged 12.9 rebounds per game in the eight games he played with the Texas Legends in the NBA D-League this year, and came into Sunday’s game averaging 4.6 boards in just under 12 minutes per appearance in NBA action.

4: Thunder first-half 3-pointers

And here’s one from the moral victory file. The Mavericks somehow managed to outscore the Thunder 24-22 in the second quarter to go into halftime down just 58-49. Oklahoma City was in the freezer from 3-point range in the aberration of a first-half, shooting just 4-of-18 (22.2%) from beyond the arc.

Was this outcome attributable to the Mavs’ furious brand of defense along the perimeter to start the game? Some questions are better left unanswered, but we believe you know the answer. Dallas did sit back in a zone look for much of the first half to help keep Oklahoma City’s iso-heavy offense at bay. It also kept the Thunder from living at the free-throw line against an outmanned Dallas bunch. The Thunder shot just seven free throws in the first half.

4:50: Mavericks’ third-quarter scoreless stretch

The Mavericks suffered through nine straight offensive possessions that yielded (checks notes) zero points in one stretch of the third quarter. Brandon Williams blew through the Oklahoma City defense with 9:25 left in the third to cut the Thunder lead to 64-55, and Dallas didn’t score again until Max Christie’s 3-pointer along the right wing with 4:40 left in the frame. Christie stole a bad pass from Gilgeous-Alexander, then got the ball back in rhythm from Ryan Nembhard to stop the bleeding, as the Thunder lead swelled back to 16, 71-55, before Christie’s timely 3-ball.

59: Consecutive away games of 20 or more points for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

And why not one from the file of stats we didn’t know anyone was keeping? With the first of two free throws with 1:50 remaining in the third quarter, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander eclipsed the 20-point plateau in his 59 consecutive road game, passing the great Wilt Chamberlain for most away games in a row scoring 20 or more. He now needs three more consecutive 20-point games to tie and four more to break Chamberlain’s record for consecutive games (home or away) with 20 or more.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 25 at the end of the third quarter against the Mavs and ended the night with a game-high 30 on 12-of-20 shooting. The Mavs trailed 83-69 after three quarters and didn’t seem all that worried about chipping away at the Thunder lead in the foregone conclusion of the fourth quarter.

2025-26 Sixers Bell Ringer season standings:
Tyrese Maxey – 22
Joel Embiid – 9
VJ Edgecombe – 8
Paul George – 6
Kelly Oubre Jr. – 3
Dominick Barlow – 2
Andre Drummond – 2
Jared McCain :’( – 2
MarJon Beauchamp – 1
Adem Bona – 1
Justin Edwards – 1
Quentin Grimes – 1
Trendon Watford – 1
15th roster spot – 1

The Philadelphia 76ers fell 114-98 to the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on Sunday night. It was the fourth and final meeting between the teams this regular season — they split the series 2-2.

Joel Embiid was out for this contest (as he will be for the Sixers’ next two as well) after being diagnosed with a right oblique strain. Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe tried to pick up the slack, scoring 33 and 23 points respectively, but it simply wasn’t enough to keep up with the Celtics.

This was one of those quintessentially annoying Sixers’ losses. They made more of a game out of it than maybe was expected going into this contest and they did some things great against a really tough opponent… but at the same time, they were so horrendous in other areas, like poor rebounding and making Neemias Queta look like prime Dwight Howard all evening. Always a mixed bag with this Philadelphia squad.

Next up on the schedule for the Sixers is a back-to-back starting on Tuesday night hosting the San Antonio Spurs and then hosting the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. The team has already announced that Embiid will be out for both contests before being re-evaluated.

Until then, let’s get to the Bell Ringer.

VJ Edgecombe: 23 points (5 three-pointers), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block

VJ Edgecombe was the only one keeping the Sixers alive as the Celtics started to pull away in the later half of the second period. Especially with Maxey icy cold at the time, Edgecombe was the only reason the Sixers still had a chance in this one as we entered the second half, where he kept delivering. The rookie was just consistently good tonight, from efficient shooting and smart playmaking to some aggression on the boards with a side of some good defense.

The Sixers asked a lot of Edgecombe tonight with some of the lineups they had him out there with, and just frankly how much they needed him throughout overall, and he delivered. Tonight was another example of the rookie playing beyond his years and seemingly thriving even more when the pressure is on.

Edgecombe ended this one with 23 points (including five triples) with five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

Oh, and stay to the end of this video for what might be the best effort play of the season from him.

What a rookie.

Tyrese Maxey: 33 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks

It was a tale of two halves for Tyrese Maxey tonight. The first half was one Maxey will quickly want to forget.

Fortunately, he seemed to do just that. After an inefficient first half from Maxey, the third period brought a much more familiar version of the All-Star guard, with Maxey putting up 13 points in the penultimate frame (and tacking on seven more in the fourth) after putting up 13 in the entire first half.

Obviously it would be great to never have a bad start or a bad half, but it’s great to see how Maxey can recover even after a cold streak of shooting. After going just 4-for-18 from the floor in the first 24 minutes, Maxey turned things around a bit to shoot 8-for-16 in the second half. He not only started making more shots but just seemed to be a lot smarter about which shots he was taking as the game progressed. Even if the game situation felt like it demanded more urgency than the first half, he seemed to settle in and not worry about forcing things that simply weren’t there. The opportunities that were there — whether it be to launch from long range, drive straight through the Celtics defense, or to dime up a teammate — he took advantage of.

Maxey finished Sunday night with a game-high 33 points with three rebounds, six assists, one steal and two blocks.

Dominick Barlow: 14 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals

Dominick Barlow might not have contributed the amount that Maxey or Edgecombe did, but he chipped in here and there with some good stints when it was needed.

His biggest offensive contribution came from seven points in the third period that he absolutely battled for, whether it meant coming up with a defensive play and taking it coast-to-coast or drawing contact on the offensive end to get to the line.

Barlow was the Sixers’ third-highest scorer tonight with 14 points on 4-for-7 field goal shooting and 6-for-8 from the charity stripe. Especially on a night where the bench is almost completely unproductive offensively, it’s huge to have that sort of contribution from Barlow. Not only that, but Barlow was one of the few Sixers fighting for rebounds, and he even put up some solid defense on some of the best players the Celtics squad has to offer, including Jaylen Brown.

He finished the game with 14 points, eight rebounds (two offensive), one assist and three steals.

And yet, he didn’t play a single second in the fourth period. Don’t ask me why.

The Dallas Mavericks fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder, 100–87, in a game where shot-making and efficiency ultimately separated the two teams. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the way for OKC with 30 points on 12-for-20 shooting, while Chet Holmgren added 19 points and nine rebounds as the Thunder shot 44.6 percent from the field and controlled the glass with 55 total rebounds. For Dallas, Caleb Martin paced the team with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, Max Christie chipped in 14 on 4-of-8 from three, and Brandon Williams added 14, but the Mavericks shot just 38.8 percent overall and 29 percent from deep. Despite competitive stretches and balanced contributions, Dallas never found the sustained offensive rhythm needed to overcome Oklahoma City’s efficiency and steady late-game execution.

The Mavericks opened with real juice. Daniel Gafford finished an early lob, and Caleb Martin drilled a three as Dallas jumped in front. Brandon Williams was the engine behind it all, tallying two assists and two points while directly contributing to the first seven points of the night. For a brief stretch, the ball was popping, and the energy felt intentional. But that early rhythm did not last. Shai Gilgeous Alexander settled in and began knocking down tough fadeaways and pull-ups, flipping the momentum possession by possession. Once Oklahoma City had the lead back, Chet Holmgren took his turn dictating terms, scoring inside, cleaning the glass, and using his length to disrupt Dallas drives. The Thunder’s pressure and shot-making pushed the margin to double digits as the Mavericks’ offense started to stall. Turnovers, rushed jumpers, and empty possessions piled up for both teams, though Oklahoma City capitalized more consistently on the chaos. Holmgren’s inside presence and SGA’s shot creation were the defining forces, while Dallas struggled to string together stops. By the time the buzzer sounded, the Thunder had stretched the lead to eleven, turning what started as a promising few minutes for the Mavericks into another uphill climb.

The second quarter followed the same script, with Oklahoma City calmly maintaining control while Dallas struggled to create sustained offense. The Thunder shot 47.2 percent in the half compared to Dallas’ 37.5 percent, and every time the Mavericks trimmed the margin with a Max Christie three or a Dwight Powell finish inside, the Thunder responded immediately. Shai Gilgeous Alexander dictated the tempo, going 6 of 10 from the field in the half, including a late running pull-up three, while Chet Holmgren added 4 of 8 shooting and six rebounds, anchoring both ends of the floor. Dallas could not string together stops or efficient possessions long enough to flip momentum, and by halftime the Thunder had built a 58–47 lead that felt even larger than the number.

The third quarter felt like Dallas threatening without ever truly seizing control. After Dwight Gafford’s free throws cut it to 58–53, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander answered immediately with consecutive pull-up jumpers to reestablish Oklahoma City’s cushion. Caleb Martin provided a spark with a three and a driving floater, while Powell chipped in with a hook and an alley oop off a Middleton assist to trim the deficit momentarily. But each time the Mavericks inched closer, Chet Holmgren countered with a tip layup, a dunk, and later a trail three, and Shai continued to manufacture offense from the midrange and the line. Dallas created a few extra possessions with steals from Christie and Gafford, yet untimely turnovers from Nembhard, Williams, and Middleton prevented any sustained run. By the end of the period, the Thunder had calmly absorbed every punch and carried an 83–69 lead into the fourth, keeping Dallas at arm’s length despite brief surges.

The fourth quarter never swung back in Dallas’ favor, as a Holmgren dunk and an Isaiah Joe flurry pushed the lead to 93–71 early. Brandon Williams knocked down a couple midrange pull-ups, and Caleb Martin added a fadeaway and free throws to trim it briefly. Still, Shai Gilgeous Alexander answered every push with steady pull-ups and late free throws, finishing with 30 points on 12 of 20 shooting. Dallas shot just 38.8 percent overall and 29 percent from three, compared to Oklahoma City’s balanced 44.6 percent night with 22 assists. Despite 18 from Martin plus 14 apiece from Christie and Williams, the Thunder controlled the final minutes and closed it out 100–87.

The Mavericks need a guard

Since the All-Star break, the Mavericks’ guard play has felt like a nightly coin flip, and more often than not, it lands on mediocrity. One game, you get a burst of shot-making from Brandon Williams or a hot stretch from Max Christie, the next night, it completely evaporates. The scoring swings are dramatic, but what has been far more consistent is the shaky decision-making. The assist totals rarely justify the number of on-ball reps these guards are getting, and the assist-to-turnover ratio has been maddeningly flat. Empty dribbles into late clock jumpers, telegraphed entry passes, loose handle turnovers that ignite transition the other way. It is not just that they are inconsistent scorers. It is that the playmaking foundation underneath the scoring has not been sturdy enough to raise the offense’s floor. When the shots are not falling, there is no orchestration to fall back on.

That becomes even more of an issue when you zoom out and think about Cooper Flagg. Flagg is at his best attacking tilted defenses, cutting off advantage, and making quick reads against rotating coverage. He should not have to manufacture every advantage himself at 19. Dallas desperately needs a guard who can consistently bend the defense, protect the ball, and create efficient looks for others before thinking about their own shot. The current guard rotation too often results in inefficient scoring nights, paired with turnover totals that wipe out any positive momentum. If the Mavericks are serious about building around Flagg, the offseason priority is clear: find a steady primary ball handler who can shoot enough to space the floor and pass well enough to keep the ball moving. The inconsistency and mediocre decision-making since the break have exposed the gap, and it is one they cannot ignore if they want Flagg’s development to accelerate rather than stall.

Turn your attention to the NCAA

At this point in the season, the Mavericks have drifted into a version of themselves that is honestly difficult to sit through. The defensive intensity is inconsistent at best and nonexistent at worst. Possessions bleed into one another with little resistance at the point of attack, late rotations on the back line, and minimal physicality on the glass. There is no wave of energy guys flying around for chase down blocks or weak side rim contests, no explosive athlete igniting the building with a transition dunk, no creative wrinkles from the coaching staff to manufacture easy points when the offense stalls. It often feels like five players taking turns trying to survive a possession rather than impose themselves on it. When a team lacks defensive edge, vertical pop, and schematic creativity all at once, the product flattens out. You are left with slow half-court sets, late clock jumpers, and long stretches where nothing feels dynamic. For a fan base that just lived through high-level shot-making and playoff intensity, this version feels lifeless.

The silver lining, and honestly, the smart pivot for any Mavs fan right now, is to start flipping on college basketball. Today is March 1, which means March Madness is right around the corner, and this freshman class is loaded with intrigue. Darryn Peterson’s scoring versatility, AJ Dybantsa’s two-way upside, Cam Boozer’s polish and strength, Caleb Wilson’s athletic pop, Kingston Flemings’ craft, Mikel Brown Jr.’s size and athleticism, Darius Acuff’s shot creation, and Keaton Wagler’s skill set all make for compelling watches. These are not just names to bookmark. They are real potential difference makers in a draft that could shape the next four years of the franchise. If Dallas is leaning into lottery positioning, then scouting becomes part of the fandom. Watching how these freshmen handle pressure, space the floor, defend in big moments, and create advantages will matter. In a season where the NBA product feels stale, college basketball might be the most exciting part of being a Mavericks fan right now.

The Boston Celtics hosted the 76ers Sunday night in their final clash of the regular season. Boston’s first game of March resulted in their 40th win of the season, 114-98. Neemias Queta had a monster outing for the home team, with a 27-point, 17-rebound double-double performance. Jaylen Brown had 27 points, Derrick White chipped in 21 points, 8 assists as the C’s weathered the 76ers numerous runs all night.

The Celtics came into the game off the back of a big 37-point win over the Nets on Friday night. Baylor Scheierman started the game with a heavily bandaged fractured thumb alongside White, Queta, Brown, and Sam Hauser. Philly started the game with VJ Edgecombe, Tyrese Maxey, Kelly Oubre Jr., Andre Drummond, and Dominick Barlow.

The Sixers hit their first 3 shots of the game as they shot out to a quick 8-2 lead. Hauser nailed a triple in rhythm to cut it back to three points. Boston squared the score at 10 apiece, led by Queta, who was active early in the contest with 5 early points.

Brown threw down a big two-handed dunk, which woke the crowd up at the six-and-a-half-minute mark. Hugo Gonzalez, Payton Pritchard, and Nikola Vucevic were the first three Celts off the bench for Boston after the first TV timeout. Vucevic drilled his first corner three of the game, but Philly had the early eight-point lead, 23-15, as they shot 60% from downtown to start the game. Maxey paced the visitors with 8 points in the first 8 minutes.

Jordan Walsh came into the game in the stopper role and was immediately given the defensive assignment on Maxey. Boston was just 5-21 from the field to start the first quarter as the 76ers got the lead out into double figures. Walsh rattled home a triple after Queta grabbed his fifth offensive board against the smaller Philly frontcourt.

White scored in the paint to cut Philly’s lead to just 2 points. Adem Bona fouled Brown on a layup attempt with a chance to tie the game with 27 seconds to go in the quarter. Boston went on a late 7-0 run to make it a 2-point game heading into the 2nd quarter, 26-28.

Hauser hit his second three of the game to start the second quarter; White hit a pair of free throws as Boston took their first lead of the game after playing from behind throughout the first quarter, 32-30. Queta continued to pound the offensive glass, the big fella going on his own 8-0 run as he had 16 points and 10 boards with seven minutes to go in the second quarter.

Derrick White drained his first three of the night, he deftly re positioned his feet on the perimeter to rise for the shot over Oubre Jr., who was caught flat-footed. Brown threw an insanely quick one-handed pass to Hugo, who caught the ball and scored off the backboard in one motion with no dribble. Boston’s second-quarter surge saw them take a 10-point lead as they outscored Philly 25-13 with 2 minutes and change in the first half.

skipped a cross-court pass to White, who drained a wide-open three as Boston went up 54-45. Drummond got whistled for a technical after throwing up a gun-shooting motion. Queta led the Cs in scoring at the halftime break with 16 points; Brown had 15 points and White 12 points. Scheierman laced the corner triple at the buzzer and threw up his fractured thumb 👍 to end the half, 62-50.

“Let’s go, Celtics” chants rained down at the Garden to start the 3rd quarter. Edgecombe converted a three-pointer and was fouled by White, hitting the extra point. Philly went on an 8-0 run to cut Boston’s lead back to 10 points.

The Cs had three straight trips down the court which resulted in three-pointers. Firstly, Scheierman drained a triple in front of Nick Nurse and the Sixers bench, Vooch hit a straight on triple and White rattled one home as Boston went up by 15 points, 80-65.

Philly immediately cut the lead back to 8 points as Edgecombe hit a fourth three of the night followed by a Maxey transition layup. Walsh drained a three-pointer with time expiring in the third, Maxey matched him with a three of his own, his 26th point, the road team back in the game down 6 points, Boston up 89-83.

Just as Philly mounted another comeback to start the fourth quarter, the Celtics steadied, Vucevic hitting a trailing three as Boston kept the lead at 10 points with 8 minutes to go. Philly’s backcourt pairing of Edgecombe and Maxey provided a decent one-two scoring punch as they hung around.

JB laced a second triple for his 27th point of the night, Boston holding the 76ers at arms length with 5 minutes remaining. Oubre Jr. hit Queta from behind and got whistled for flagrant foul, as the 76ers were running out of time for a comeback win. Pritchard was having an absolute shocker in this one — he was scoreless through 4 quarters and dribbled the ball of his leg.

Edgecombe and Maxey led the Sixers back into the game late, Boston’s lead whittled down to 6 points with just 3 minutes of play to go, the momentum swinging back to the road team. Queta hustled in the paint to retrieve a loss ball and scored over a pair of Philly players. Queta finished the game strong having a career night in scoring 27 points, 17 rebounds as the Celtics prevailed at home and move to 40-20 on the season.

Boston next face the Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow night on the road at 7:30 pm EST.