PHILADELPHIA, PA - MARCH 25: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers dribbles the ball during the game against the Chicago Bulls on March 25, 2026 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
2025-26 Sixers Bell Ringer season standings:
Tyrese Maxey – 22 VJ Edgecombe – 12 Joel Embiid – 9 Paul George – 6 Justin Edwards – 4 Kelly Oubre Jr. – 4 Quentin Grimes – 3 Jared McCain :’( – 3 Dominick Barlow – 2 Andre Drummond – 2 MarJon Beauchamp – 2 Adem Bona – 1 Cam Payne – 1 Jabari Walker – 1 Trendon Watford – 1 15th roster spot – 1
As Daryl Morey suspected when he allocated over $400 million in new money combined to them in 2024, the Philadelphia 76ers are a much better basketball team when Joel Embiid and Paul George are on the court.
The veterans both returned against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night following long absences, Embiid due to an oblique injury and George due to a 25-game league suspension, and the pair certainly looked to have benefitted from the time off. The pair combined for 63 points in shorter stints than usual, as Philadelphia scored their most points in a game since this writer has been alive (and most since 1970), absolutely walloping the Bulls, 157-137. The goal to climb back out of the Play-In Tournament remains very much alive, still just a half game back of Atlanta for sixth place with nine games remaining.
Let’s pause and appreciate this win though and talk Bell Ringer.
Joel had missed 13 straight games, but this time avoided the usual “getting back into a rhythm” rust that accompanies a layoff. He came out scorching hot shooting the ball, draining his first five shots of the game and overall dropping 15 points in the opening six minutes. He would finish a highly efficient 12-of-17 from the field, including a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the arc. As expected, Embiid’s presence opened things up for his teammates, with him pinging the ball around the court. His most impressive assist was recognizing a double team in the post, and then pivoting to find VJ Edgecombe for a three on the opposite wing. Importantly in the long term, you could see Joel’s body felt good as he recovered quickly to block a shot in the lane from Guerschon Yabusele or threw down a tomahawk dunk over a rotating Matas Buzelis. Having this version of Joel going forward would throw the Sixers firmly back in the “who knows what might happen” postseason conversation.
Prior to the game, George talked about the silver lining of the suspension being that it allowed him to heal and feel 100 percent physically. He certainly looked 100 percent against Chicago, returning as a two-way force for the Sixers, getting a ton of deflections and making hustle plays like racing back in transition to block a Buzelis lay-in attempt. In the second half, PG found the range on the offensive end, recording 23 points after intermission, on 9-of-12 shooting (5-of-8 from behind the arc). It was a hot stretch reminiscent of his big shooting night against the Bucks back in January. It was exactly the version of George the Sixers have always needed, a connective piece to tie the roster together, while also capable of carrying the offense on occasion.
Paul George picks Matas Buzelis' pocket and converts the straight ahead triple on the other end pic.twitter.com/xGx4o6yCFM
VJ has been the primary guy in the spotlight in many instances while the Sixers were dealing with a boatload of absences, and while he wasn’t the main focus on Wednesday, he still stepped up with another strong performance. Edgecombe made use of a couple of open looks from Embiid, but also converted on some high degree-of-difficulty stepbacks and fadeaways. His 7-of-9 shooting night will get it done any time, but I was also thrilled to see his work as a distributor. Edgecombe’s increased on-ball reps lately were paying dividends. He made a couple excellent reads out of the pick-and-roll with Embiid, once finding Joel with a bounce pass through tight quarters in the lane for a bucket, and another time making the skip pass to the corner for a George three-pointer. He also slipped a beautiful pass through to a cutting Dominick Barlow for two points. It’s been really fun to watch the rookie’s game continue to evolve.
They got neither a home run nor anything from Aaron Judge, but still got plenty from a deep lineup to take down Giants ace Logan Webb and secure their fifth straight win on Opening Day.
In a span of 10 pitches in the top of the second inning, the Yankees went from having no one on to leading by five runs, an instant rally that, along with a strong outing from Max Fried, fueled a 7-0 win over the Giants at a packed and picturesque Oracle Park.
“Just trusting one another and keep the line moving,” said José Caballero, who drove in the first run of the night. “That’s the main idea, and we have a pretty good lineup that can do this very often.”
When the Yankees were charged with running it back this offseason, perhaps there should have been more emphasis on the “run” — as in returning the same lineup that led the majors in runs last year. They got a head start on defending that feat Wednesday night, even on a night when Judge — the only starter without a hit — went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts.
Max Fried throws a pitch during the seventh inning of the Yankees’ 7-0 Opening Day win over the Giants on March 25, 2026 at Oracle Park in San Francisco. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
“One through nine can beat you,” said Fried, who tossed 6 ¹/₃ shutout innings despite not having his best command. “We obviously have the best player in the world hitting for us, but we also have a lot of guys being able to support him. It’s a team game and we just want to go out there and do what we can to win every single game that we can.”
Fried, who survived a rocky first inning, settled in once he was given a 5-0 lead to work with and cruised the rest of the way. The left-hander retired 18 of the final 20 batters he faced, getting better as the night progressed. He reprised his role as the Yankees ace while they await the return of Gerrit Cole.
The Yankees still have 161 games to go — and, they hope, October on top of that — to prove that doubling down on their roster was the right call after flaming out in the ALDS last year. But at least for Game 1, they used a familiar formula — a 10-hit attack and even stronger starting pitching — to get their season off on the right foot.
“We’ve got a lot to prove,” manager Aaron Boone said. “We’re confident. I know they’re confident in their ability to have good at-bats and put up runs, but we’re one game into this thing and we’ve still got a long way to go to prove that. I think we have a chance to do that.”
Webb retired the first four batters he faced before Giancarlo Stanton — who hit the ball hard all spring — got the Yankees in business with a one-out single in the second inning. Webb then hit Jazz Chisholm Jr. with a sinker before Caballero roped a double to left field, driving in Stanton.
José Caballero celebrates after he hits an RBI double during the second inning of the Yankees’ win over the Giants. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
Ryan McMahon, who went cold for most of the spring after narrowing his batting stance this offseason, came up next and delivered a two-strike, two-run single up the middle to make it 3-0.
Austin Wells, who went from leading off on Opening Day last year to hitting ninth Wednesday, swung at the first pitch he saw and hit a soft liner to left-center before Trent Grisham — who came into the season facing questions of whether he could repeat his breakout performance in 2025 — roped a triple to the gap for the 5-0 lead.
The Yankees later padded their lead in the fifth inning when they once again got aggressive on Webb. Cody Bellinger, Ben Rice and Stanton recorded three straight singles on Webb’s first four pitches of the frame to make it 6-0 before the Yankees pushed it to 7-0 on a throwing error.
The Yankees celebrate their Opening Day rout of the Giants. Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
Fried, meanwhile, made quick work of the Giants after a first inning in which he walked the first batter he faced on four pitches and left runners on the corners. The Giants mustered only two more base runners against Fried the rest of the night as his offense gave him room to breathe and go on the attack.
“It was kind of a little bit of everyone tonight, being able to have a hand in it,” Boone said. “A night where we didn’t hit the ball out of the ballpark, but just a lot of good, pressurized at-bats. Good night for us.”
The Yankees clobbered a perennial Cy Young candidate and Max Fried pitched like he’s hunting one of those trophies himself as New York opened the Major League Baseball season with a 7-0 victory over the Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco.
It was the Yanks' fifth consecutive victory in an opener.
Here are the takeaways...
- Fried threw 6.1 shutout innings, allowing only two hits. He struck out four and walked one, throwing 56 of his 83 pitches for strikes. He wobbled a tad in the first inning, walking Luis Arraez on four pitches leading off and then giving up a bloop single one out later. But Fried fanned Willy Adames and got Jung Hoo Lee on a grounder to end the threat. He wasn’t threatened, even mildly, again.
Fried was just the fourth Yankee starter on Opening Day to go six or more innings and allow two hits or fewer, according to Sarah Langs. The others were Mel Stottlemyre (1967), Ron Guidry (1980) and David Cone (1996). Fried was making his fourth career start in an opener, having done it three previous times for his old team, the Atlanta Braves. Fried’s start meant that a lefty had started the opener for the third straight season, the first time that’s happened in Yankee history. The other two were NestorCortes (2024) and Carlos Rodón (2025).
- The Yankees mauled Giants ace Logan Webb, who was making his fifth straight Opening Day start for San Francisco. They scored five times against Webb in the second inning and twice more in the fifth. Webb gave up seven runs (six earned) and nine hits in five frames, striking out seven and walking one. He had not given up as many as seven runs in a single start since July 10, 2024.
- With one out in the Yankee second, Giancarlo Stanton singled and then Jazz Chisholm was hit by a pitch. José Caballero followed with a liner to left that knocked in one run and went for a double. Facing an 0-2 count, Ryan McMahon, the next batter, swatted a slow grounder that passed through the middle and plated two more runs. TrentGrisham followed with a two-run triple on a one-hopper to the wall in center field. Grisham was the first Yankee with a triple on Opening Day since Johnny Damon in 2009, which turned out to be a good year for the franchise.
- In the fifth, Cody Bellinger, Ben Rice and Stanton ripped hard singles to start the inning. Stanton’s was clocked at 114 mph off the bat and drove in the sixth run of the game. The Yanks added another tally on a throwing error by shortstop Adames for a 7-0 lead.
- Baseball history was made in the top of the fourth inning when Caballero became the first player ever to challenge a ball-strike call under the new ABS system, which is starting this season. On the first pitch of the inning, Webb threw a sinker that veered up and in and was called a strike. Caballero tapped his helmet to challenge the call, but ABS upheld the strike call by plate umpire Bill Miller. The Yankees lost one of their challenges as a result, but it didn't cost them and ended up being the lone challenge in the game. Caballero eventually grounded out, but he’ll always have his spot as the first MLB player to challenge a ball-strike call.
- After Fried was done, Jake Bird delivered a spotless two-thirds of an inning, Brent Headrick threw a scoreless eighth and ex-Giant Camilo Doval tossed a shutout ninth.
- One blip on the night for the Yankees was Aaron Judge’s 0-for-5 night, which included four strikeouts. Judge fanned three times against Webb and once against KeatonWinn. Judge did not fan four times in a game during the entire 2025 season. He finally hit a fair ball in the ninth, grounding out to short.
Thursday is an off day as the rest of baseball gets underway. Right-hander Cam Schlittler gets the ball for Friday's 4:35 p.m. ET first pitch against left-hander Robbie Ray.
It could’ve happened, according to MLB’s all-time home run leader.
Bonds, as part of Netflix’s coverage of Yankees-Giants on Opening Day, revealed on the streamer’s broadcast that he nearly became a member of the Bronx Bombers during his first free agency in 1993.
Barry Bonds tells the story of how he nearly became a Yankees player.
“I gotta tell you a story because George [Steinbrenner] isn’t here anymore,” Bonds said. So I can tell the truth. I would’ve been a Yankee, and Steinbrenner got on the phone, and they called us and he told me, ‘Barry, we’re going to give you the money,’ highest-paid player at that time, ‘but you have to sign the contract by 2 o’clock this afternoon. I said, ‘Excuse, me?” and I hung the phone up.”
Bonds said his agent couldn’t believe what he said to Steinbrenner, and after going for a lunch, the Giants called him and the slugger decided to “go home,” where his dad, outfielder Bobby Bonds, started his own playing career.
“It’s the truth, that’s what I was told,” Bonds replied when play-by-play man Matt Vasgersian said the story would go viral on social media.
Barry Bonds prepares to bat in the fourth inning of a Giants game against the Braves on July 26, 2007 at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Getty Images
Bonds joined the Giants in 1993 and played the rest of his career in San Francisco, hitting 586 home runs, setting the single-season record with 73 in 2001.
Even without Bonds, the Yankees built an incredible core of players who won four World Series titles during the period from 1996 to 2000.
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner talks to the media during Game 4 of the World Series against the Braves on Oct. 27, 1999 at the Stadium in The Bronx. Sporting News via Getty Images
Bonds, while smashing records, only made the World Series once, losing to the Angels in a seven-game classic in 2002.
Had a 2 p.m. ultimatum never been on the table, could Bonds have done all that damage — and more — in The Bronx? One can only imagine.
CHICAGO (AP) — Theresa Schafzahl, Danielle Serdachny and Cayla Barnes each scored in the first period and the Seattle Torrent beat the New York Sirens 4-1 on Wednesday night in the Takeover Tour for their second win away from home this season.
Seattle (6-1-2-13) scored the game's first goal for just the sixth time this season — after entering tied with Vancouver for fewest in the PHWL.
Schafzahl scored her first goal since being traded to Seattle on a nice wraparound for a 1-0 lead and she assisted on two other goals. Serdachny made it 2-0 to reach four points (two goals, two assists) in her last six games.
Seattle went ahead 3-0 when Julia Gosling found a wide-open Cayla Barnes at the back door for an easy finish.
Alex Carpenter, who scored Seattle’s only goal over the previous two games, scored her ninth of the season midway through the third to regain a three-goal lead.
New York (8-0-3-11) has just four wins away from home this season, with two coming as the home team in the Takeover Tour.
Sarah Fillier scored her fifth goal of the season for New York and 17th of her career.
Up next
New York plays its fifth and final Takeover Tour game on Saturday against Montreal in Detroit.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid scored 35 points in his return to the lineup from injury, Paul George had 28 points in his first game since serving a 25-game suspension, and the Philadelphia 76ers rolled to a 157-137 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.
Josh Giddey scored 23 points to lead the Bulls.
Embiid missed 13 games with a strained right oblique but showed no signs of rust. The 2023 MVP made 6 of 9 shots in the first period, including all three of his 3-point tries. He had 23 points in the first half to help Philadelphia take a 71-52 halftime lead.
George was not as sharp early but settled in after halftime.
Playing for the first time since Jan. 29 due to a violation of the NBA’s drug policy, he missed 8 of 10 field goals in the opening half and had five points, but scored 23 points in the second half.
HAWKS 130, PISTONS 129, OT
DETROIT (AP) — CJ McCollum scored 27 points, making the tiebreaking three-point play in overtime, and Atlanta beat Detroit.
Jalen Johnson also had 27 points and came close to another triple-double, finishing with 12 assists and eight rebounds.
The surging Hawks improved to 15-2 since the All-Star break, best in the Eastern Conference, and snapped Detroit’s four-game winning streak.
Jalen Duren had 26 points and 14 rebounds for the Pistons, who lost for the first time since All-Star Cade Cunningham sustained a collapsed left lung. Tobias Harris scored 22 points and Daniss Jenkins had 19 points and 10 assists for the East leaders.
LAKERS 137, PACERS 130
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 43 points to lead Los Angeles to a victory over Indiana.
With Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark snapping pictures on the sideline as a credentialed photographer, Doncic sank 15 of 30 shots and hit 9 of 10 free throws. Austin Reaves scored 25 points, LeBron James scored 23 and Jaxson Hayes had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Los Angeles.
The Lakers have won 10 of 11, with Doncic scoring at least 30 points in each. Los Angeles, which sits third in the Western Conference, lost Monday night at Detroit, ending a nine-game winning streak.
Pascal Siakam scored 20 points and Jay Huff had 18 for the Pacers. T.J. McConnell came off the bench to score 17 and Andrew Nembhard had a career-high 19 assists along with 14 points.
CELTICS 119, THUNDER 109
BOSTON, (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 14 of his 31 points a pivotal third quarter and Boston rallied to beat Oklahoma City, snapping the defending champions’ 12-game win streak.
Jayson Tatum recovered from back-to-back rocky performances to add 19 points and 12 rebounds while also contributing seven assists as Boston earned a split in the two regular-season matchups between the past two NBA champs.
Brown added eight rebounds and eight assists, and his big quarter helped the Celtics take an 88-83 lead into the fourth. Boston’s edge grew as high as 14 in the final period.
OKC got within 115-109 with 1:30 remaining, but a layup by Brown, and two free throws by Derrick White helped Boston close it out.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 33 points and eight assists. But Oklahoma City was outscored by the Celtics 19-2 in second-chance points and shot just 12 of 37 from the 3-point line.
HEAT 120, CAVALIERS 103
CLEVELAND (AP) — Norman Powell scored 19 points, Tyler Herro added 18 and Miami got contributions from everyone while stopping a five-game losing skid with a win over Cleveland.
As healthy as they’ve been all season, the Heat squandered a 17-point lead in the third quarter before recovering in the fourth. Miami led by nine with five minutes left before Bam Adebayo converted a three-point play and Kel’el Ware scored on a layup in an 11-second span.
Adebayo finished with 17 points, Ware had 13 points and 11 rebounds and the Heat had eight players score in double figures. The Heat will stay in Cleveland and play the Cavaliers again on Friday.
Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points before fouling out in the final minutes for the Cavs, whose winning streak ended at four. James Harden and Sam Merrill scored 18 apiece.
SPURS 123, GRIZZLIES 98
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Victor Wembanyama had 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks as San Antonio built an early lead and coasted to a victory over Memphis.
Devin Vassell matched Wembanyama’s 19 points, while Stephon Castle and Keldon Johnson finished with 15 points each, as seven Spurs finished in double figures.
With its seventh straight victory, San Antonio moved within two games of Oklahoma City for the top spot in the Western Conference as the Boston Celtics stopped the Thunder’s 12-game winning streak with a 119-109 victory on Wednesday night.
GG Jackson led Memphis with 20 points. Olivier-Maxence Prosper finished with 17 and DeJon Jarreau added 15 as the Grizzlies lost their fourth in a row.
TORONTO (AP) — Dakota Joshua had a goal and an assist, Joseph Woll made 40 saves and added an assist, and the Toronto Maple Leafs topped the Rangers 4-3 on Wednesday night, eliminating New York from playoff contention.
Jake McCabe, Nick Robertson and John Tavares had the other goals for Toronto and Matias Maccelli added two assists. Woll picked up the second assist on Joshua’s goal for his first NHL point.
Mika Zibanejad scored two goals and Alexis Lafreniere had a goal and two assists for the Rangers, while Igor Shesterkin stopped 14 shots. Adam Fox chipped in two assists.
New York, which will finish below the postseason cutline for a second straight season, sits second-to-last in the overall standings. Toronto ranks 21st and is on the way to missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
BRUINS 4, SABRES 3, OT
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Paval Zacha scored 38 seconds into overtime, David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists and Boston rallied for a win over Atlantic Division-leading Buffalo.
Casey Mittelstadt scored with six minutes remaining to tie the game, and Viktor Arvidsson also scored. Boston bounced back from a 4-2 loss to Toronto a night earlier, and moved into a tie in points with Montreal for third in the Atlantic Division standings — and three points ahead of eighth-place Ottawa.
Joonas Korpisalo finished with 22 saves.
Jason Zucker scored twice and Zach Benson also scored for Buffalo, which is 12-1-2 in its past 15. The Sabres still earned a point to tie Carolina atop the Eastern Conference and move within 10 points of clinching their first playoff berth in 15 years.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 27 saves.
The Bruins won after both teams squandered one-goal leads in the third period.
The Yankees defeated the San Francisco Giants 7-0 on Wednesday night but, despite the team's success, Aaron Judge struggled to produce at the plate.
Judge struck out in his first four at-bats at Oracle Park. It's just the 15th time in his career that he’s had four strikeouts in a game. He did that five times total during his MVP season in 2024. He didn't have a single four-strikeout game in his 2025 MVP season.
Logan Webb was responsible for striking out Judge in the first, second and fourth innings. Keaton Winn caught Judge looking, striking him out in the sixth.
Judge was retired again in the ninth, though he managed to not strike out in his final at-bat, grounding out to third. He finished the night 0-for-5 with four strikeouts, two of them looking.
TORONTO (AP) — Dakota Joshua had a goal and an assist, Joseph Woll made 40 saves and added an assist, and the Toronto Maple Leafs topped the Rangers 4-3 on Wednesday night, eliminating New York from playoff contention.
Jake McCabe, Nick Robertson and John Tavares had the other goals for Toronto and Matias Maccelli added two assists. Woll picked up the second assist on Joshua’s goal for his first NHL point.
Mika Zibanejad scored two goals and Alexis Lafreniere had a goal and two assists for the Rangers, while Igor Shesterkin stopped 14 shots. Adam Fox chipped in two assists.
New York, which will finish below the postseason cutline for a second straight season, sits second-to-last in the overall standings. Toronto ranks 21st and is on the way to missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Tavares scored his 26th goal of the season at 11:57 of the third period to make it 4-2 when he ripped a shot past Shesterkin after Toronto had built a 3-0 lead in the second.
New York’s Adam Sykora made his NHL debut after being called up from the Hartford Wolf Pack. The 21-year-old winger, selected 63rd overall at the 2022 draft, had 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points across 62 games in the AHL this season.
Toronto’s William Nylander is one point away from passing his father, Michael, for family bragging rights. The winger has 679 points in 741 regular-season games. The elder Nylander registered 679 points in 920 contests.
New York, which tied a dubious franchise record with just 10 shots in Monday’s 2-1 home loss to the Ottawa Senators, directed 14 attempts on target in Wednesday’s opening period. The visitors had 17 more shots on Woll in the second.
Up next
Rangers: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night.
Maple Leafs: Visit the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
Mar 25, 2026; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) dunks as Memphis Grizzlies forward Tyler Burton (5) defends during the first quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Another inferior, short-handed opponent, another Spurs blowout victory. It seems San Antonio is done taking lesser teams lightly as they continued their trend of blowing everyone out, both good and bad. This time, the Memphis Grizzlies were the victim. While the Spurs admittedly got complacent and took the second quarter off after a 38-19 start, they came back out with renewed focus to put the game away for good in the third, which was one massive highlight reel of dunks and threes, for the 123-98 win.
Victor Wembanyama led seven Spurs in double figures with 19 points, 15 rebounds, 7 blocks, 3 assists and 3 steals. (The odds of a triple-double and/or 5×5 game would have been pretty decent had he be needed in the fourth quarter.) GG Jackson led the severely short-handed Grizzles with 20 points and 7 rebounds.
Observations
Spurs play-by-play announcer Jacob Tobey revealed on X earlier today that at least for this year, the local broadcasters will not be doing the first round of the playoffs (or any postseason at all). I’m guessing this is a result of the NBA having contracts with so many different streaming services now (which has drawn criticism for the impact on everyday viewers), but I for one will miss them. As a League Pass user, I’ve had to put up with listening to a lot of national announcers (or the other team’s announcers, in Prime’s case) who don’t know what they’re talking about. I know Jacob and Sean Elliott get their share of flack, but they’re better for the Spurs viewing experience than the other options at least 90% of the time.
As the regular season winds down and the rest-a-thon continues, it was De’Aaron Fox and Luke Kornet’s turn to nurse their boo-boos (lower back and right knee, respectively). It hardly mattered in the first quarter. The Spurs hit 10-13 to start the game, including 8 makes in a row and went on a 17-0 run. It was a dunk and three-fest against the hapless Grizzlies, whose best available player was rookie Cedric Coward. (Oh, and Taj Gibson! Who knew he was still around?) Overall, the Spurs shot 15-24 to lead 38-19 after 12 minutes. For a while, it was looking like it would be worse, with Memphis stuck at 9 points nine minutes in, but they hit a few threes to make it look less terrible.
After all that beautiful ball movement in the first quarter, the Spurs’ offense fell off a cliff as they only scored 5 points across the first six minutes and 19 overall in the second, but the Grizzlies only managed to put a six-point dent in the lead because of the Spurs’ defense, especially Wemby with swatting everything Memphis put up. But, the Spurs got the message at halftime and returned to wheeling, dealing, dunking and scoring, outscoring the Grizzlies 41-20 on a Wemby buzzer-beater three to get up 98-64 and put the game away
This whole game was about posterizations. Just off the top of my head, I remember massive dunks from Wemby, Stephon Castle, Julian Champagnie, Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson and Carter Bryant. I’ll let Highlights take care of showing them all off tomorrow, but goodness, I’m not sure I’ve seen so many dunks from different players in one game before.
I know the Spurs’ peak didn’t exactly combine with the Ja Morant-era Grizzlies’ peak, but whether it was Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, Morant or Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis has found a way to be a thorn in their side for the last 15 years. Even last year, when they were also the most injured team in the league and often JJJ (who is now with Utah) plus a G-League group, they found ways to make the Spurs work for the win. As a result, watching this kind of onslaught against this team in that arena feels kind of surreal.
Despite having a harder remaining schedule, I don’t foresee the Thunder losing two more games than the Spurs with nine remaining to allow them to tie things up and take the top seed, but they had to lose someday for there to be a chance, and they finally did tonight in Boston. (Reverse jinx activated.) You don’t have to give up standings watching just yet. Also, one more Spurs win or Lakers loss will clinch the second seed for the Spurs, since they also hold the tiebreaker in that series.
TORONTO — The Rangers had given up on their playoff aspirations months ago, but this loss made it official.
A 4-3 defeat to the Maple Leafs on Wednesday night at Scotiabank Arena officially eliminated the Rangers from playoff contention with 10 games left in the 2025-26 campaign, putting a fork in an already dead season.
The Blueshirts are just the second club to be eliminated this early in the season, joining the last-place Canucks.
“I don’t think anybody thought we’d be where we are right now, eliminated with this many games left,” captain J.T. Miller said after the loss. “But that’s not where my mind is right now. It sucks. Obviously, that’s the worst. You don’t want that. Right now, we’re just worried about playing good hockey games to end the season and feeling good going into the summer, feeling good about our game at least. Try to move in the right direction.
“Obviously, we failed in reaching our goal this year. That being said, right now, we just worry about playing a good game against Toronto, and I thought we played a good game. Gave ourselves a chance to win.”
The Rangers were able to surpass their shot total from Monday’s loss (10) in the first period alone, but they still went into the first intermission trailing 2-0.
After Jake McCabe buried a long rebound to open the scoring, Max Domi attacked the reunited Will Borgen-Braden Schneider pairing later in the period. Closing in on the Rangers duo, Domi dished to Nicholas Robertson, who had a clear shooting lane to beat Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin and double Toronto’s lead.
John Tavares, who scored the game-winning goal in the third period, skates for the puck during the first period of the Rangers’ 4-3 loss to the Maple Leafs on March 25, 2026 in Toronto. John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
It was the eighth time Borgen and Schneider skated together this season. For the first five times, Schneider was on his off side on the left. On the past three occasions, however, Borgen was on the left. Coach Mike Sullivan had previously said a “big part” of what kept Vincent Iorio out of the lineup was the two right-handed defensemen’s lack of comfort with the switch. Out of “necessity,” with Urho Vaakanainen unavailable due to injury, Sullivan put the two together Wednesday.
The pairing was shaky through the first 20 minutes, so Sullivan put them both on their preferred side to start the second period. Iorio skated with Borgen, and Schneider lined up next to Matthew Robertson for the remainder of the game.
“We had a discussion in between periods as a coaching staff, and we thought it would be better if we split it up with Robbie and Vince,” Sullivan said. “We mixed it up there. There were times where Borgy and Schneids played together. There were times that they didn’t. And we have our reasons in why we did it.”
MIka Zibanejad scores in the second period for the first of his two goals in the Rangers’ loss to the Maple Leafs. John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Ranked sixth in the NHL this month, the Rangers power play kept them competitive in this game with two goals on four attempts.
Alexis Lafrenière was at the heart of each play, scoring one and directly setting up the other, as his impressive stretch continued. With three points on the night, Lafrenière reached the 50-point plateau for just the second time in his six-year NHL career.
Mika Zibanejad scored twice, which pushed the Swedish center into fourth on the Rangers’ all-time goals list.
Goalie Igor Shesterkin stopped 14 of the 18 shots he faced in his 16th loss of the season. Despite sitting out the past three games with an upper-body injury, Jonathan Quick continues to practice with the Rangers. Sullivan said Quick is “not there yet,” but the Rangers “think he’s getting closer.”
Noah Laba, who missed his fourth straight game with a lower-body injury, participated in morning skate in a red red noncontact jersey.
TORONTO (AP) — Dakota Joshua had a goal and an assist, Joseph Woll made 40 saves and added an assist, and the Toronto Maple Leafs topped the Rangers 4-3 on Wednesday night, eliminating New York from playoff contention.
Jake McCabe, Nick Robertson and John Tavares had the other goals for Toronto and Matias Maccelli added two assists. Woll picked up the second assist on Joshua’s goal for his first NHL point.
Mika Zibanejad scored two goals and Alexis Lafreniere had a goal and two assists for the Rangers, while Igor Shesterkin stopped 14 shots. Adam Fox chipped in two assists.
New York, which will finish below the postseason cutline for a second straight season, sits second-to-last in the overall standings. Toronto ranks 21st and is on the way to missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Tavares scored his 26th goal of the season at 11:57 of the third period to make it 4-2 when he ripped a shot past Shesterkin after Toronto had built a 3-0 lead in the second.
New York's Adam Sykora made his NHL debut after being called up from the Hartford Wolf Pack. The 21-year-old winger, selected 63rd overall at the 2022 draft, had 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points across 62 games in the AHL this season.
Toronto's William Nylander is one point away from passing his father, Michael, for family bragging rights. The winger has 679 points in 741 regular-season games. The elder Nylander registered 679 points in 920 contests.
New York, which tied a dubious franchise record with just 10 shots in Monday’s 2-1 home loss to the Ottawa Senators, directed 14 attempts on target in Wednesday’s opening period. The visitors had 17 more shots on Woll in the second.
Up next
Rangers: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday night.
Maple Leafs: Visit the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.
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BOSTON, MA - MARCH 25: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics is guarded by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander #2 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the game on March 25, 2026 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
The Boston Celtics returned to TD Garden on Wednesday night for what felt like more than just another regular season game. With the Oklahoma City Thunder riding a 12-game win streak and holding the top spot in the Western Conference, this had all the makings of a measuring stick matchup, the kind that quietly starts to feel a little like June if you let your mind wander.
Boston, meanwhile, entered the night looking to respond after a recent loss and continue finding its rhythm with a full rotation available. Against one of the league’s most complete teams on both ends of the floor, this was a good opportunity to see how their version of basketball holds up when the margin for error gets tight.
Thunder punch first, but Celtics answer
The Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t take long to seize control.
Behind early threes from Luguentz Dort and the steady pace of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC jumped out in front and immediately put Boston on its heels. Gilgeous-Alexander never looked rushed, picking his spots and operating comfortably as the Celtics largely let him work one-on-one to start.
On the other end, the Celtics couldn’t buy a basket. Sam Hauser got the looks you want, but missed them all, as Boston opened the game cold and out of sync. The Thunder’s defense didn’t help matters, constantly poking at dribbles and disrupting passing lanes, turning a few sloppy possessions into easy points the other way.
There were a few brief flashes. Jayson Tatum broke the drought in transition, Payton Pritchard knocked down a three off the bench, and Luka Garza brought some needed energy with an and-one late in the quarter. But nothing stuck, and Oklahoma City stayed in control throughout, closing the first on an 11–3 run to take a 31–20 lead into the second.
The Celtics looked like a completely different team to open the second quarter — and it started with Jayson Tatum.
After Boston opened the game just 3-for-12 on two-point attempts and shot under 30% through the first nine minutes, Tatum steadied everything. A quick three to start the quarter cut into the deficit, and from there, he began to dictate the pace of the game, both as a scorer and a facilitator. He attacked Holmgren off the dribble, found Queta for easy looks inside, and started reading the Thunder’s defensive pressure instead of reacting to it.
Gradually, Boston started to take control.
Their defense tightened up, clearly the result of intentional adjustments made by Joe Mazzulla. After allowing Oklahoma City to operate comfortably in the first quarter, the Celtics began forcing turnovers, getting back in transition, and making the Thunder work deeper into the shot clock. The energy shifted from scattered to controlled, and TD Garden responded accordingly.
Tatum was at the center of all of it.
During one stretch midway through the quarter, he scored or assisted on eight points in just over a minute, turning a double-digit deficit into a one-possession game. Jaylen Brown followed with a three off a Tatum drive-and-kick, and suddenly the Celtics had real momentum, forcing Mark Daigneault to call back-to-back timeouts.
An 8–0 run capped by a Payton Pritchard three gave the Celtics their first lead of the game, a moment that felt unlikely given how the night started. But just as quickly as the Garden erupted, Oklahoma City answered. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander returned and immediately settled things for the Thunder, getting to his spots with ease before Cason Wallace knocked down a three to erase the lead.
The final minute swung things back slightly in Oklahoma City’s favor.
A tough offensive foul on Tatum, a failed challenge on a goaltending call, and a last-second tip-in from Dort gave the Thunder a 53–49 lead heading into halftime. Still, after falling behind by as many as 13 and looking completely out of rhythm early, the Celtics had done enough to keep the game within reach — and more importantly, had started to look like themselves again.
Boston keeps it up in the third
Oklahoma City opened the second half looking ready to create separation, which has been their pattern all season. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander picked up right where he left off, scoring with ease and stretching the Thunder lead early, including a stretch where he hit seven of his first eight shots and knocked down three triples.
But this time, the Celtics didn’t let it get away.
Jaylen Brown set the tone with aggressive drives, getting downhill and forcing the issue after a quiet first half. Jayson Tatum continued to command attention as well, drawing multiple defenders and creating space for others, even as Oklahoma City stayed locked in on him defensively.
Boston started to find its rhythm through physicality and effort plays. Neemias Queta provided a spark inside, finishing through contact and delivering one of the loudest moments of the night with a powerful dunk over Chet Holmgren that brought TD Garden to life. Sam Hauser added a much-needed three after a prolonged cold stretch, helping stabilize the offense.
From there, the game settled into a possession-by-possession fight.
Boston leaned into its depth, with Baylor Scheierman providing an unexpected boost off the bench. He knocked down a pair of confident threes and held his own defensively, even forcing a turnover from Gilgeous-Alexander during a key stretch. Payton Pritchard followed with a deep three and a late floater, as the Celtics began to generate more consistent offense against a Thunder defense that had controlled the early stages of the game.
At the same time, the Celtics made subtle defensive adjustments. Gilgeous-Alexander still found his spots, finishing the third quarter with 26 points, but Boston began to make him work harder for them and limited easy paint touches around him.
The result was a steady shift in momentum.
After trailing for most of the night, the Celtics finally took control late in the quarter behind Brown’s continued pressure at the rim and timely shot-making from the supporting cast. Boston closed the third on a strong run, outscoring Oklahoma City 39–30 in the period to take an 88–83 lead into the fourth.
Boston carried its second-half momentum into the fourth and quickly created breathing room.
Neemias Queta made an immediate impact, extending possessions on the glass and helping push the lead to its largest of the night early in the quarter. The ball movement followed. Queta found Sam Hauser in the corner for a wide-open three, and this time the shot dropped, stretching the lead as the Celtics began to settle into a rhythm offensively.
From there, Boston leaned heavily into the Jayson Tatum–center pick-and-roll.
Whether it was Queta or Luka Garza screening, the action consistently produced good looks. Tatum controlled the tempo, drew contact, and knocked down three free throws after getting Alex Caruso in the air. A few possessions later, he hit Garza on the roll for an easy finish, continuing to exploit Oklahoma City’s coverage.
The energy plays kept coming.
Baylor Scheierman delivered one of the biggest moments of the night with a putback dunk off a Tatum miss, crashing in from the corner and finishing above the rim as the crowd erupted. Not long after, he knocked down a step-back three from a similar spot, showing confidence and giving Boston a jolt on both ends.
Jaylen Brown built on that momentum with consistent pressure at the rim. He attacked closeouts, got to the line, and converted an and-one after getting Shai Gilgeous-Alexander off his feet, drawing loud MVP chants as the Celtics extended their advantage.
Even as Gilgeous-Alexander continued to produce offensively, Boston maintained control.
The Celtics forced misses, limited second chances, and got timely shot-making from Payton Pritchard, whose three pushed the lead to 14 midway through the quarter. At that point, Boston had found a steady rhythm on both ends, with its offense generating clean looks and its defense doing enough to keep Oklahoma City from stringing together stops.
The Thunder made one final push.
A quick run trimmed the lead back into single digits, fueled by perimeter shot-making and trips to the free-throw line, as Oklahoma City continued to benefit from a favorable whistle throughout the night. But Boston responded with composure, continuing to attack the paint and get to the line, with Brown staying aggressive as the game moved inside the final few minutes.
Boston closed it out, 119–109, for what stands as its biggest win of the season.
The Celtics had dropped five of their last six coming in, including three straight against Oklahoma City, adding weight to a matchup that already carried plenty of it. Against one of the league’s hottest teams, they responded to a loss against Minnesota with their most complete performance in weeks, overcoming a slow start and taking control in the second half.
They’ll look to carry that momentum into Friday night, when they host the Atlanta Hawks at TD Garden at 7:30pm ET.
DETROIT (AP) — CJ McCollum scored 27 points, making the tiebreaking three-point play in overtime, and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Detroit Pistons 130-129 on Wednesday night.
Jalen Johnson also had 27 points and came close to another triple-double, finishing with 12 assists and eight rebounds.
The surging Hawks improved to 15-2 since the All-Star break, best in the Eastern Conference, and snapped Detroit's four-game winning streak.
Jalen Duren had 26 points and 14 rebounds for the Pistons, who lost for the first time since All-Star Cade Cunningham sustained a collapsed left lung. Tobias Harris scored 22 points and Daniss Jenkins had 19 points and 10 assists for the East leaders.
Atlanta had a 21-point lead in the first half that Detroit wiped away quickly in the third quarter. McCollum scored the Hawks' final 11 points of regulation, including a three-point play that gave them a 121-116 lead with 44 seconds remaining. But Detroit rallied again and he missed a jumper that would have won it on the final possession.
He got another chance in OT and his three-point play made it 126-123. The Pistons had a chance to win it, but Harris missed a jumper and Duren was short on a follow shot.
The Hawks scored 11 straight points to extend a six-point lead to 56-39 midway through the second quarter, then had an 11-2 spurt just before the half to make it 73-52. The Pistons then scored the first 16 points of the third quarter, trimming Atlanta's 73-55 halftime advantage to 73-71.
Atlanta avoided a four-game sweep in the season series. The Pistons had a season-high 142 points in December in the last meeting, but the Hawks are the hottest team in the East now while surging into sixth place entering play Wednesday.
