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A year ago at this time, there was an air of defeatism for most of the teams headed to the ACC tournament with the league having endured an uncharacteristically down season and only one program harboring reasonable expectations of a deep run in the subsequent NCAA Tournament.

While there is once again a clear favorite this year, the conference has returned to its more typical number of squads that can expect to see their names on the Selection Sunday bracket. This will result in considerably more interest in the early rounds of the festivities in Charlotte, North Carolina, which hopefully will translate to a more exciting week as a whole.

No need for March Madness: 2026 Final Four has already been decided

ACC tournament schedule, bracket, scores

First round

Tuesday, March 10

• Game 1: No. 10 Stanford vs. No. 15 Pittsburgh, 2 p.m., ACCN
• Game 2: No. 11 SMU vs. No. 14 Syracuse, 4:30 p.m., ACCN
• Game 3: No. 12 Virginia Tech vs. No. 13 Wake Forest, 7 p.m., ACCN

Second round

Wednesday, March 11

• Game 4: No. 7 North Carolina State vs. Stanford-Pittsburgh winner, noon, ESPN/ESPN2
• Game 5: No. 6 Louisville vs. SMU-Syracuse winner, 2:30 p.m., ESPN/ESPNU
• Game 6: No. 8 Florida State vs. No. 9 California, 7 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU
• Game 7: No. 5 Clemson vs. Virginia Tech-Wake Forest winner, 9:30 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU

Quarterfinals

Thursday, March 12

• Game 8: No. 2 Virginia vs. Game 4 winner, noon, ESPN/ESPN2
• Game 9: No. 3 Miami (Fla.) vs. Game 5 winner, 2:30 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2
• Game 10: No. 1 Duke vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2
• Game 11: No. 4 North Carolina vs. Game 7 winner, 9:30 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2

Semifinals

Friday, March 13

• Game 12: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 7 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2
• Game 13: Game 10 winner vs. Game 11 winner, 9:30 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2

Championship game

Saturday, March 14

• Semifinal winners, 8:30 p.m., ESPN

How to watch ACC tournament

• TV: ESPN/ESPN2 | ESPNU | ACC Network
• Streaming: ESPN app | ESPN+ | Fubo (free trial)

The ACC tournament first round will be broadcast on the ACC Network. The succeeding rounds will be shown on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU. The championship game will be aired on ESPN. All games will be streamed on ESPN+.

ACC favorite

Top-seeded Duke, as was the case last season, is expected to carry the league banner well into March Madness. The Blue Devils, however, might not be at full strength entering this event with starters Patrick Ngongba and Caleb Foster on the bench in walking boots by the conclusion of their final regular-season win against archrival North Carolina. The Tar Heels will be shorthanded themselves with standout freshman Caleb Wilson sidelined for the remainder of the season. The good news for those two squads, as well as fellow double bye recipients Virginia and Miami, is they’ll have until Thursday’s quarterfinals.

ACC top players

Cameron Boozer, F, Duke – The Blue Devils’ latest freshman star has lived up to his lofty expectations. The team leader in points (22.7), rebounds (10.2) and assists (4.1) might actually be asked to do even more given the health concerns.

Thijs De Ridder, F, Virginia – The Belgian standout has been the cornerstone of first-year Cavaliers’ coach Ryan Odom’s retooled roster. UVa’s top scorer (15.9) and rebounder (6.3) connects at a 51.3% clip from the field with a nice touch around the rim.

Malik Reneau, F, Miami – The Miami native returned to his hometown after starting his collegiate career at Indiana. Putting up 19 points and 6.6 boards a game, he quickly became a key piece of the Hurricanes’ rapid resurgence under new coach Jai Lucas.

Henri Veesaar, C, North Carolina – The Estonia native and former Arizona transfer will have to shoulder even more of the load on both ends of the floor with Wilson sidelined. The seven-footer is averaging 16.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks for the Tar Heels.

Ryan Conwell, G, Louisville – With flashy freshman point guard Mikel Brown in and out of the lineup with recurring back issues, the Cardinals needed Conwell to provide another consistent scoring presence from the perimeter. He has delivered to the tune of 18.7 points a game and 102 made three-pointers.

NCAA tournament bubble storylines for ACC

While a couple of the teams in action Tuesday are clinging to faint bubble hopes, the real drama will take place on day two. North Carolina State and Clemson are probably safe, but the seventh-seeded Wolfpack would be advised not to tempt the fates with an early loss. SMU has struggled down the stretch and needs a win or two to breathe easier. California and Virginia Tech look on the outside looking in. A run to the final might be needed to get an at-large spot.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ACC basketball tournament bracket, scores, schedule, TV channel

It looked like the Boston Celtics were primed for the first season of a soft rebuild this season, largely due to a bloated salary sheet and the devestating Achilles injury suffered by franchise star Jayson Tatum. The expectations were that the Celtics were going to be a good not great team this year with a chance to be a playoff team after thinning the roster a bit and while Tatum used the year to recover from his injury. Instead, they’ve been one of the best teams in the Association, falling just a game shy of the infamous Phil Jackson 40-20 Rule of Title Contention, and Tatum is back in the fold, looking more or less the same as ever in his first 2 games back, both wins. Tatum’s return could be the spark that sets the Celtics off running heading into the playoffs, as Boston currently sit just 2.5 games back of the Detroit Pistons

San Antonio meanwhile has continued their winning ways, going 3-0 so far on this 6-game homestand. Winners of 15 of their last 16, the Spurs are trying to build all the momentum they can with April fast approaching. San Antonio beat the East-leading Pistons rather handily last week to kick off the homestand and now will have an opportunity to take down the current #2 seed and spoiler for the Jayson Tatum return tour.

San Antonio Spurs (47-17) vs Boston Celtics (43-21)

March 10 2026 | 7:00 PM CT

Watch: NBC, FDSS | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)

Spurs Injuries: Harrison Barnes, ankle (OUT), Mason Plumlee, reconditioning (OUT), David Jones-Garcia, OUT

Celtics Injuries: Nikola Vucevic, finger (OUT),

What to watch for

• It’s pretty remarkable how good Tatum has looked in his two appearances so far. A little under 10 months since tearing his Achilles in the 2nd round against the Knicks last playoffs, he’s looked very close to the all around star that he was before the injury. Perhaps his game will fall off a bit as the games and minutes start to pile up, but if he can give the Celtics what he’s displayed so far, good luck betting against them in the playoffs. It’s no secret that an Achilles rupture has long been considered something of an athlete’s death warrant, but Tatum looks like he might be able to buck that trend.

• Having a healthy Tatum back in the lineup takes a lot of pressure off the rest of the Celtics, but no one is more relieved probably than Jaylen Brown. Brown has done more than just held down the fort all season long in Tatum’s absence. He’s having a career year, becoming inf the engine of the league’s 2nd best offense in the process. Coming into the season, the thought was that the only way Boston was going to compete for a playoff spot would be if Brown raised his level of play and he’s done just that. The former Finals MVP is averaging career-best numbers in points, field goal attempts, free throw attempts, rebounds, and assists.
• Boston has a top 5 offense and defense this season, an incredible feat considering what the pundits were saying at the outset. Joe Mazulla’s switch heavy scheme, elite rebounding and a glacier-like pace that’s the slowest in the league have gone a long way in helping the Celtics control games and strangle opposing offenses. They are thin in the middle, having lost the recently acquired Nikola Vucevic to a finger injury, but Neemias Queta has been the anchor of their defense all season long. A starter in all but 5 games this season, Queta has really blossomed in his 5th season into a dominant rim protecting big, capable of shutting down drives and bringing help at opportune times. Victor Wembanyama can essentially do whatever he wants on a basketball court, but Queta will provide a stiff test for San Antonio’s team offense as a whole.

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If you’d like to, you may follow along with the game on our Twitter profile (@poundingtherock) or visit our Game Thread!

New York Knicks (41-25, third in the Eastern Conference) vs. Utah Jazz (20-45, 14th in the Western Conference)

Salt Lake City; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Knicks take on the Utah Jazz in a non-conference matchup.

The Jazz have gone 12-21 at home. Utah gives up 124.9 points and has been outscored by 7.5 points per game.

The Knicks have gone 18-16 away from home. New York is third in the Eastern Conference with 46.2 rebounds per game led by Karl-Anthony Towns averaging 11.9.

The Jazz's 12.9 made 3-pointers per game this season are only 0.8 fewer made shots on average than the 13.7 per game the Knicks allow. The Jazz average 116.9 points per game, 8.0 fewer points than the 124.9 the Jazz give up to opponents.

The teams play for the second time this season. The Knicks won the last matchup 146-112 on Dec. 6. Jalen Brunson scored 33 points to help lead the Knicks to the win.

TOP PERFORMERS: Brice Sensabaugh is scoring 12.9 points per game and averaging 3.0 rebounds for the Jazz. Kyle Filipowski is averaging 15.1 points and 9.1 rebounds over the last 10 games.

Towns is averaging 20 points and 11.9 rebounds for the Knicks. Brunson is averaging 21.3 points and 8.4 assists over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Jazz: 2-8, averaging 112.8 points, 42.3 rebounds, 26.0 assists, 11.2 steals and 4.3 blocks per game while shooting 44.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 120.2 points per game.

Knicks: 6-4, averaging 111.6 points, 46.0 rebounds, 29.0 assists, 8.5 steals and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 48.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 103.8 points.

INJURIES: Jazz: Lauri Markkanen: out (ankle), Isaiah Collier: out (illness), Ace Bailey: out (illness), Walker Kessler: out for season (shoulder), Jusuf Nurkic: out for season (nose), Jaren Jackson Jr.: out for season (knee).

Knicks: Mitchell Robinson: out (injury management), Miles McBride: out (ankle).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

LOS ANGELES — Mohamed Diawara’s first NBA dunk was a poster. 

The Knicks rookie highlighted an otherwise dreary Knicks loss Monday with a dribble through the Clippers defense before a one-handed jam over fellow Frenchman Nic Batum. 

It occurred late in the third quarter and ignited a pro-Knicks crowd at the Intuit Dome, but the visitors couldn’t complete a comeback and fell amid a rash of turnovers, 126-118.

a BIG MOment pic.twitter.com/UlhAaYyOHQ

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 10, 2026

“I was just driving and dunked the ball and fortunately (Batum) was there,” Diawara, who grew up in France hearing much about Batum, told The Post. “But that was a good play. Funny to see that. My first dunk – my first poster – was against him.”

Diawara’s jam was part of an 11-3 run to end the third quarter. He finished with five points in 18 minutes with four rebounds and two assists. 

“(The dunk) felt good,” Diawara said. “It was about time. I was looking forward to doing it.”

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With Jose Alvarado struggling, coach Mike Brown briefly gave Tyler Kolek a meaningful cameo in the fourth quarter. 

Kolek has been basically out of the rotation since Alvarado was acquired in a trade. On Monday, Kolek went scoreless in just two minutes.

“I thought Jose was struggling a little bit. So I threw Tyler out there to see if we could get something from him, similar to me throwing Jordan Clarkson out there (in the previous game against the Lakers),” Brown said. “Tyler didn’t get a long time to play because we put Jalen out there to see if we could make a run. But I said this before, those guys have to keep themselves ready just in case their number is called. Because it can be called at any time.” 

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Brown knocked on wood while crediting the performance staff, including owner James Dolan’s son, Quentin, for keeping Mitchell Robinson healthy throughout this season. 

“Casey (Smith, the VP of Sports Medicine), Chico (Goenega, the head athletic trainer), those guys, and Quentin Dolan, those guys have done a nice job of coming up with a plan,” Brown said. “And the biggest thing is to get him in games this year and making sure he stays healthy. And so our whole medical staff, starting with those three guys down to everybody that’s in our medical department. They’ve done a great job of keeping him healthy and keeping him in the game and practicing and stuff like that. So I applaud them more than anybody else for what they put together and how they’re executing it.”

Quentin Dolan holds the title of Senior VP, Player Performance and Science Leader.

Robinson, who has been injury prone throughout his career and underwent multiple surgeries on his ankle, again sat Monday versus the Clippers in the second game of a back-to-back. Robinson hasn’t played both games of a back-to-back all season. 

The Utah Jazz beat the Golden State Warriors in a game they really needed to lose 119-116. The first thing that needs to be said here is that the Golden State Warriors are pathetic from top to bottom. It starts with Steve Kerr, who decided to whine after the game was over about the number of games played.

Steve Kerr:

"We need to play fewer games. We need to take 10 games off the schedule. The modern game with the pace and the space I think it would be a more competitive and healthier league if we played fewer games" pic.twitter.com/xfzHjfdtug

— Oh No He Didn't (@ohnohedidnt24) March 10, 2026

Does the league need to lower the number of games? Yeah, probably. Would that change Steve Kerr from being one of the most overrated coaches of all time? No.

The Jazz, who are giving half effort to try to lose these games, rested Keyonte George in the fourth quarter, and the Warriors couldn’t figure out how to pull off a win. They weren’t helped by the highly overrated guard, Brandin Podziemski, who went 0/4 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter and cost his team the game.

Draymond Green, guided by Steve Kerr, was also horrendous tonight, going 2/7 from the field and 1/5 from three. Green had 11 assists because he’s terrified of shooting the ball and played hot potato all night. It’s a reminder that Kerr and Draymond have led the Warriors to multiple top lottery picks whenever they’re without Steph Curry.

For Utah, it’s a win that might help team morale, but it now puts their pick in real danger. Utah is playing Sacramento and Washington soon and if they don’t lock into this tank 100% they’re in real danger of losing their pick. Right now, they’re just one game up on Dallas, who have lost seven games in a row. Utah should “take note” of the effort and commitment other teams are putting into these losses. Doing this halfway against bad teams (like the Warriors) and bad coaches (like Steve Kerr) is playing with fire, and the Jazz got burned again this season. It’s not a catastrophic loss, but Utah has now forced its own hand in future games to rest all its high-level players.

LOS ANGELES — A day earlier, coach Mike Brown made an impassioned plea to his players to take care of the ball.

As he put it, control the controllables. 

They didn’t listen. 

The Knicks committed 20 turnovers in a second straight slopfest in L.A., this time falling to the Clippers on Monday night, 126-118, at the Intuit Dome. The defeat felt sealed, appropriately, with consecutive Knicks turnovers in the final 3:05 – one by Jalen Brunson, the other by Landry Shamet. 

But New York still held hope until Shamet and OG Anunoby missed contested 3-pointers in the final 25 seconds. Then it left Southern California with back-to-back clunkers. 

“Biggest difference in the basketball game,” Brown said, “was our turnovers. …I liked our fight. I liked the way we played in the second half for the most part. We’ve just got to find a way to take care of the basketball.” 

The Knicks (41-25), who allowed 24 points off those turnovers, wasted a rare high-scoring performance from Karl-Anthony Towns, who dropped 33 points on 12-for-16 shooting. It was the first time he scored 30-plus points since, amazingly, December. 

But the Knicks couldn’t overcome those turnovers. Anunoby was the sloppiest with four of them. Brunson, Towns and Josh Hart all had three. 

On Sunday in an ugly loss to the Lakers, the Knicks committed 18 turnovers, which prompted Brown to list that as a main issue alongside fouling too much and rebounding. 

His team was certainly better at rebounding on Monday. They were slightly better at avoiding stupid fouls. They were worse at turnovers. 

“I think a lot of them, we were getting downhill and trying to make plays. But we got to be better playing off two feet obviously, playing more controlled,” Brunson said. “But (the Clippers) got a lot of guys on their team who are steal guys, who are long wingspans, play passing lanes. That’s what they do. We played to their strengths.

Mikal Bridges, who went scoreless in Sunday’s loss to the Lakers, didn’t hit a shot until midway through the second quarter against the Clippers. He finished with seven points in 26 minutes and was benched for crunch time. His backup at the two-guard, Landry Shamet, endured a brickfest while missing his first eight 3-pointers. Still, Shamet closed over Bridges and finished with nine points on 3 of 12 shooting, with all his attempts from beyond the arc. 

Brunson, meanwhile, arrived in a deep shooting slump and quickly righted the ship Monday. He then scored 13 in the first quarter with three assists and two rebounds.

“He’s human and he’s going to have some nights (when he struggles to shoot),” Brown said. “His track record shows that he can go get it done. It’s not anything I’m concerned about or I’m looking at. And like I said, when he does have nights like that, how else can you impact the game, and he’s shown that he can do that.”

Brunson was cooking in the first quarter. Then Towns took over the offense.

The center feasted on the slower Brook Lopez, who had difficulty defending Towns last season with the Bucks, as well. 

Towns finished the first half with 21 points – including 17 in the second quarter – but New York’s 3-point defense underwhelmed, its turnovers were abundant, and the Knicks went into the break with a nine-point deficit.

The good news for Knicks fans is the schedule eases up considerably. They next face terrible teams in six of the next seven games, including Wednesday at Utah and Friday at Indiana. 

It’s a chance to regroup after turnover-fests in La La land.

“Treat the ball better,” Towns said. “The turnovers obviously put us in a bad spot. We didn’t stop the bleeding in the second and fourth quarters. And even though we made three more shots than them, they made four more 3s. That’s a recipe right there for disaster.”

Auditions for next year’s roster continued in earnest Monday night when the shorthanded Utah Jazz took on the equally decimated Golden State Warriors at the Delta Center. News surfaced earlier that day that the Jazz released guard Vince Williams Jr, adding more incentive for players like Elijah Harkless, Blake Hinson, Oscar Tshiebwe and Cody Williams to make a statement that they belong on the team. Who stepped up and made the most of their minutes in a nail biting 119-116 victory over the Warriors? Let’s take a look.

Keyonte George – B

Keyonte was aggressive early, especially from the mid-range, scoring eight points in the first quarter. His three- pointer was off tonight, only managing 1-5, and there were a couple of instances in the second half when he drove to the basket only to be stifled by the defense. He didn’t really get into a rhythm, his minutes restricted as he shared point guard duties with Elijah Harkless.

Cody Williams – B+

Cody matched his career high 7 assists and was decisive in moving to the basket. He uncorked his patented hammer dunk in the 4th quarter after a delicious feed from John Konchar. His three-point accuracy continues to be problematic, going 0-4 tonight.

John Konchar – B

John does a lot of the dirty work that isn’t always reflected on the stat sheet, such as contesting the three-point attempt that would have tied the score at the end of the game. His three-pointer is still hit and miss (mostly miss), but he made up for his lack of scoring with 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.

Kyle Filipowski – A

Kyle was terrific tonight, recording a double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds. He was perfect from the free throw line and also had 5 assists and 2 steals. His impact on the game goes beyond the numbers. He seemed to be in the right spot at the right time, competed fiercely and showed a range of shot making ability.

Brice Sensabaugh – A

Brice showed himself to be more than just a sharpshooter, finding ways to contribute even when his shot wasn’t falling early in the game. He delivered a beautiful bullet pass to Cody Williams in the first quarter and ended up with three assists. He also added 2 blocks. He helped fuel a Jazz run in the 3rd quarter by twice using his physicality to create a three point opportunity the hard way. Brice earned every one of his team high twenty-one points.

Elijah Harkless – A-

Elijah showed off his speed and tenacity, especially in the first half. He went on a run where he either scored or assisted on 21 of 24 points, helping the Jazz take a lead into half-time. I think his ability to drive to the basket in traffic caught the Warriors’ defense off guard. He ended up with a career high in points for the Jazz (16). The defense adjusted in the second half, which made it more difficult for him to have the same impact.

Kevin Love – A

In limited minutes, the old man of the team gave a valuable boost to the Jazz, making all 3 of his three pointers, including an amazing four point play in the 3rd Quarter. Add 8 rebounds, an assist and a block and you have another example of Kevin’s great contribution to the team this season.

Oscar Tshiebwe – B

Oscar showed some of his scoring ability tonight, especially in the 4th Quarter when he had a quick 6 points. He was active around the basket, grabbing 8 rebounds and a steal. As an undersized big, his challenge is protecting the rim and affecting shots on the defensive end.

Blake Hinson – C+

Blake is continuing to find his way in the NBA and was at times a little over aggressive on defense, leading to foul trouble. His three-point shot was off early in the game, but he did make two threes late in the 4th Quarter to help the Jazz maintain their lead.

A loss to the actively tanking Utah Jazz is bad news for the Golden State Warriors for several reasons.

The first reason is obvious: the Jazz have been intentionally trying to lose in an effort to land a high lottery pick, in an upcoming draft class that stands to be packed with blue-chip prospects. The Warriors, however, did a better job of playing losing basketball themselves, in a game that saw them attempt an astounding 52 threes while making only 16 of them (30.8 percent).

The second reason: the Los Angeles Clippers’ win over the New York Knicks tonight has resulted in a 32-32 deadlock in the Western Conference standings with the Warriors. However, by virtue of having the tiebreaker, the Clippers have climbed up to the eighth in the standings while the Warriors drop to ninth and into the lower bracket of the play-in tournament.

The Warriors have now dropped to the No. 9 seed with the Clippers' win over the Knicks

Both the Warriors and Clippers are 32-32, but the Clippers currently own the tiebreaker

Final game of the regular season: Warriors vs. Clippers in LA

— Dalton Johnson (@DaltonJ_Johnson) March 10, 2026

There’s no question that the Warriors are locked into the play-in tournament no matter how well they perform the rest of the regular season; it simply becomes a matter of whether they’ll be in the upper bracket, where one win gets them an outright playoff berth while giving them two chances to do so; or if they fall to the lower bracket and will have to win two-straight games in order to make it to the playoffs.

Without the services of Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler III, the Warriors’ margin for error is significantly slim. In a winnable game against a bottom-dwelling team looking to obtain a high draft pick, losing will come back to bite them.

Then again, perhaps the season was already virtually lost when Butler went down with and ACL injury and Curry’s prolonged absence due to runner’s knee.

Still smarting from the previous day’s drubbing by the Lakers, the Knicks (41*-25) bounced over to the Intuit Dome to challenge the LA Clippers (32-32). Redemption was not in the cards, however. The visitors spent most of the night digging out of holes they had dug themselves. 20 turnovers, cold shooting, and long Clippers runs kept New York chasing almost all night. With another All-Star performance by Kawhi Leonard (29 PTS, 8 AST, 7 RBS, 2 STL) and strong support from Darius Garland (23 PTS, 7 AST, 2 STL), the Clips had little trouble securing their 126-118 victory.

Quoth Allzingers, “Effort was good all game, execution was not.” They sure seemed to be trying out there, but bad pass after bad pass killed them. And it didn’t help to get only four first-half points from everyone not named Towns, Brunson, or Anunoby.

The Knicks opened the game with more turnovers than your neighborhood bakery. The Clippers drilled three straight triples for a 9–0 lead, while missed shots and three giveaways in three minutes only deepened New York’s hole. Leonard was a menace on both ends of the floor through the period, logging seven points and a steal.

Jalen Brunson (28 PTS, 8 ASTS) took charge, scoring most of the points on a 10-3 run. For a while, he and Karl-Anthony Towns (35 PTS, 12 RBS, 7 AST) provided almost all of New York’s offense, with the wings bricking their first five attempts. When OG Anunoby (22 PTS, 2 STL) finally hit from deep, midway through the frame, Ty Lue needed a timeout. Whatever he said seemed to work, because after OG added a game-tying free throw, the Clippers rattled off seven unanswered points.

Pass, Pass, Pass, bucket pic.twitter.com/vjYLsHulxV

— KnicksNation (@KnicksNation) March 10, 2026

A neck sprain made Landry Shamet (9 PTS, 3-12 3PT) questionable for yesterday’s game, and he missed all three of his field goal attempts in tonight’s first quarter. We assume that neck pain can throw a shooter off. Meanwhile, after scoring as many points as you did against the Lakers, Mikal Bridges’ slump carried on as he misfired on two more shots. He’d finish with seven points, seven boards, and two steals on 3-of-8 shooting in 26 minutes.

New York’s seven first-quarter turnovers tied a season high and directly led to 11 Clippers points. By the end of the period, the Knicks trailed 28–24, with Brunson pouring in 13 of their points.

Early in the second quarter, Anunoby scored back-to-back at the rim and gave his team their first lead. It wouldn’t last. The home team went on a 10-1 run that featured scores by Bennedict Mathurin (28 PTS, 7 RBS), Brook Lopez (16 PTS), and Garland. Then, on a missed driving layup, Towns jammed his knee and favored it through the rest of the quarter. Given that KAT was one of only three Knicks producing anything on offense, this was an especially worrisome development.

OG with the steal and the slam at the other end! pic.twitter.com/C4oQFKH6Er

— Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) March 10, 2026

After missing nine shots over five and a half quarters, Bridges finally canned a nine-foot jumper. Every time the Knicks put together a few points, L.A. swatted them back. Leonard steadily poured in the points. With a minute and a half left, The Claw scored eight points to give his team an 11-point lead. By intermission, his club was up 64-55.

Through the half, Los Angeles shot 53% overall and 45% from three (9-for-20), while New York went 46% and 29%. The Knicks dominated the boards (25-16), but their 10 turnovers turned into 18 Clippers points. Towns had 21 points, Brunson had 19, and Anunoby had 11. The other seven Knicks combined for four points. For the home team, Leonard had 21 points.

HELLO!!!

KAWHI LEONARD IS ON ONE!!! HE'S GOT 21 AT HALF!!! pic.twitter.com/oO4Adaa8vG

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) March 10, 2026

Third quarter: more turnovers, more misses. The visitors continued to spin their wheels in the mud while the Clippers steadily stretched their lead. Mathurin turned up the heat, scoring 12 points in the quarter, with cuts, transition finishes, and second-chance points.

Down by 15 midway through the frame, the Knicks tried to punch back. Josh Hart buried a three from the wing, and Landry Shamet later added another—his first after eight tries. Off the bench, rookie Mohamed Diawara provided a short jolt of energy with a driving dunk and a late three, and Jalen Brunson found his rhythm in the final minutes with a string of floaters and pull-ups. Still, the Clippers never lost control and took an 88-81 lead into the final frame.

MOHAMED DIAWARA POSTER GIVES THE KNICKS SOME LIFE

(🎥 @IQfor3) pic.twitter.com/xguHi48Cb7

— The Strickland (@TheStrickland) March 10, 2026

In the fourth, New York managed to cut the deficit to six, thanks to a three-pointer from Bridges and more free throws by Towns. Their inability to get stops offset any hint of momentum, though, with Garland, Mathurin, and Leonard continuing to score. Coach Mike Brown subbed in Tyler Kolek to rest Brunson, perhaps looking for more offense than the zero that Jose Alvarado had given in his eight minutes. Kolek survived for two minutes before getting the hook.

Midway through the frame, KAT scored on a layup and then blocked Mathurin, which led to a Shamet trey that cut the differential to seven. Of note: Bridges was subbed out at 6:51 and did not return in the game.

On an 11-3 run, capped by an Anunoby longball, the score was 109-104 with just under four minutes remaining. But Brook Lopez swished from 26 feet at the other end. Following that were turnovers by Brunson and Shamet, and it seemed like the Knicks were deadset on gifting this one to the Angelenos. Josh Hart cut the deficit to six with a layup at the two-minute mark, but Derrick Jones, Jr., responded with an effortless triple, then Leonard made some free throws to restore an 11-point lead.

In the last minute, OG dunked, Shamet swished, and Garland missed a free throw. The glimmer of hope was faint, but detectable. After Brunson hit a jumper with 37 seconds left, and the score was 121-116, New York fouled Garland, who made 1-of-2. Out of a timeout, our heroes missed three tries at the rim before fouling Mathurin with 20 seconds left. The glimmer was gone. The game was over.

Up Next

In the fourth game of the five-game road trip, New York travels to Utah to play the Jazz on Wednesday. Safe travels, Knickerbockers.

Box Score

* Should be one more, shouldn’t it?