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With Jalen Brunson missing his first game in two months due to a neck issue Tuesday night, the Knicks knew they’d need someone to step up and carry their offense.

Fittingly, on the Mike and Ike sponsored t-shirt giveaway night at MSG, it was Josh Hart who delivered. 

“He must’ve ate some pregame,” Mike Brown joked. 

Whatever Hart did, it certainly worked, as he put together one of the most efficient scoring performances of his Knicks career in a commanding win over the Pacers. 

He had nine points in the first quarter, then added 10 more in the second to go into the halftime break with a game-high 19 points on a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point land. 

Hart wasted no time drilling his fifth three on the opening possession of the third.

His heroics only continued from there, as he knocked down bucket after bucket to stretch his total out over the 30-point mark for the first time this season. 

With the game out of reach, he wouldn’t record a bucket in the fourth, but still finished with a game-leading and new Knicks career-high 33 points. 

He missed just one of his 13 field goals and was a perfect 5-for-5 from behind the arc. 

“Mike and Ike night, I knew I had to turn up a little bit,” Hart said postgame. 

“It was fun just being aggressive,” he continued. “Today my PD guy was just telling me to be aggressive, so I just went out there and just played my game and was shooting my shots and I was comfortable with it.”

That aggressiveness is exactly what Brown wants to see from Hart moving forward.

“I just like the fact that he took the right shots, he didn’t hesitate,” the head coach said. “He was 5-for-5 from the three-point line and at least four of them were from the corner, and he’s been really, really good from the corner all year -- if he’s open, we don’t want him to hesitate.

“Usually, when he does hesitate, he takes a couple of dribbles to the basket and it messes up his rhythm and stuff like that. He puts in the work, so for him to let it fly like he did tonight and more of them going in, I was more excited about that than anything else.”

The Suns’ game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night carried real weight. This was one of those opportunities you circle, one where you can make up ground and shift the standings in your favor as you try to climb out of the Play-In.

And they let it slip.

Phoenix walked out of Minnesota with a 116-104 loss, and the story felt familiar. The Timberwolves brought physicality, defensive intensity, and rim protection, and it took the Suns out of what they wanted to do. For the third straight game, a quality defense made second-half adjustments that completely disrupted Phoenix’s offense. Once that happened, everything unraveled. The offense stalled, and the response on the other end did not hold. The paint opened, possessions became easier for Minnesota, and it turned into a layup line. That has been the pattern during this stretch. When the offense goes quiet, the defense does not stabilize things. The Suns scored just 18 points in the 4th.

Phoenix shot 38% from the field, and the inefficiency showed up everywhere.

Jordan Goodwin went 1-of-6. Collin Gillespie finished 4-of-13. And Jalen Green, whose last name happens to align with St. Patrick’s Day, had an ironic night, going 3-of-17 and scoring only nine points.

Now the Suns find themselves three games out of the sixth seed with 13 to go, and the margin for error continues to shrink.

Game Flow

First Half

Minnesota came out with a clear intention. Attack the interior, lean into their size, make Phoenix feel it early. No surprise there. But to the Suns’ credit, they had a counter ready. They went five out with Oso Ighodaro pulling Rudy Gobert away from the paint, and that changed the geometry of the floor immediately. The lane opened. The spacing felt clean. Suddenly, those driving angles were there, and Phoenix took advantage.

Phoenix opened the game 7-of-11 from the field, and every single make came with an assist attached to it. The ball was moving. The offense was breathing, and Collin Gillespie was at the center of it. Four assists on those seven made field goals, orchestrating, reading, making the right decision. He kept things connected, which is when this offense looks its best.

The first round of rotations brought a familiar name back into the mix. Ryan Dunn checked in, which stood out considering the past few games had leaned toward Rasheer Fleming or Haywood Highsmith in those minutes. This time, Jordan Ott gave the sophomore a longer look. Khaman Maluach was part of that initial rotation as well.

Devin Booker set the tone early in a way that felt both encouraging and familiar. He had a pair of and-1 opportunities, leaning into Minnesota’s physicality and turning it into an advantage. There was a stretch where he scored 9 consecutive points. It echoed what we saw in Boston, where he carried the load and kept Phoenix steady when things could have tilted.

Minnesota stayed within reach through effort plays. Long rebounds bounced their way, and they capitalized. Five offensive rebounds early turned into 11 second-chance points, which kept them afloat while Phoenix controlled much of the flow.

While last night it was Derrick White and Payton Pritchard catching fire from beyond the arc, this time it was Bones Hyland for Minnesota. He checked in midway through the quarter and immediately got going, finishing 4-of-5 from the field and 3-of-4 from deep for a quick 11 points.

Despite Phoenix scoring 39 points in the first quarter and shooting 46.2% from three, they only led by three at the end of the frame. Devin Booker led all scorers with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting, and Collin Gillespie added six assists as the Suns took a 39–36 lead into the second.

With Devin Booker on the bench to start the second, it was Jalen Green running the offense, and he was doing a good job. He hit a step-back three and delivered a smooth assist to Rasheer Fleming in the lane. But there is a reason we call him “Guacamole”. Because sometimes is browns fast, and it did for Green in the second. He went 1-of-8 in the quarter, including a missed wide-open layup at the end of the quarter.

With 9:24 left in the quarter, Naz Reid went down on a play where Jordan Goodwin grabbed a couple of offensive rebounds. Reid came down on Goodwin’s ankle and tweaked it. The Suns challenged the play, and for the 48th time this season, they were right as Goodwin was fouled. Insult to injury for Minnesota, although Reid would return in the third.

Rasheer Fleming continued to look good early, starting 3-of-5 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, with one of those attempts being a grenade passed to him with under a second on the shot clock.

As the second quarter went on, both teams traded blows. Five minutes in, the Suns were being outscored 15–14 by the Timberwolves. The Suns’ offense started to sputter, going 3-of-12 from the field, but it came at a time when Minnesota cooled off as well. Still, with 2:23 left in the second quarter, the 11-point lead Phoenix built early was gone as the Timberwolves tied the game.

The Suns shot 35.7% from the field in the quarter, and Jalen Green struggled, going 3-of-14 in the first half with eight points and four assists. Oso Ighodaro led the way efficiently with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go along with five rebounds, while Devin Booker added 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting.

Minnesota had three players in double figures, led by Bones Hyland with 15 off the bench, Julius Randle with 13, and Jaden McDaniels with 12. Entering halftime, the Suns trailed 64–63.

Second Half

Collin Gillespie has struggled offensively of late, and he had zero points in the first half. But he opened the second half with a pair of three-point makes. It was clear the Suns made a point to get him involved, as he had four of their first six shot attempts.

The Suns’ offense started to go cold again, as they put together another scoreless stretch. They missed eight consecutive shots midway through the third, and turnovers began to pile up. Credit Minnesota’s defense; they were dictating the pace and disrupting everything Phoenix tried to run. Despite all of that, with six minutes left in the quarter, the Suns only trailed by two.

Devin Booker was clearly frustrated with the physicality, which is not surprising against a team like Minnesota. They lean into that style and make you feel it on every possession. On one end, Booker thought he deserved an and one after getting bumped on a drive and finish at the rim. On the other, Bones Hyland attacked and got a foul call on a very similar play. Jordan Ott challenged it and lost, but the moment stood out.

The physicality was ramping up on both sides, and you could feel the temperature rising. Players were chirping, reactions were getting sharper, and the officials were right in the middle of it as the game started to take on that edge.

Ryan Dunn, who had logged consecutive DNPs, played quality minutes in the third. He had seven points and four rebounds in the quarter, along with an impressive block on Bones Hyland. For someone who has not seen the floor much lately, his number was called, and he delivered.

Devin Booker once again carried a heavy load, especially with Jalen Green struggling to find offense. Booker scored or assisted on 15 consecutive points in the third, keeping Phoenix afloat. Late in the quarter, with under 30 seconds left, he tried the Chris Paul slow roll move, letting the ball drift up the floor. Minnesota jumped it, forced the turnover, and Booker followed it with a frustration foul on Julius Randle.

The next possession? Booker turned it over again, which led to a fast break layup for Minnesota.

So despite a solid individual quarter, where Booker had 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting, the team struggled as a whole. Phoenix shot 7-of-21 from the field, good for 33%, while Minnesota stayed hot at 10-of-23.

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Suns trailed 92–86.

This was starting to feel like one of those games where every Suns possession required real work to even get a shot up, while on the other end, it was a turnstile in the paint for Minnesota. Soon, the Suns were down 10.

The slide continued. Phoenix opened the quarter 0-of-5, while the Timberwolves came out 3-of-3, added and ones, and jumped out to a 7–0 run to start the fourth.

Once again, it was the paint where the opposition set up camp, started a fire, and got comfortable.

Minnesota opened the quarter 6-of-6 from the field, and every make came at the rim. They did not miss their first shot until the 6:32 mark, living in the paint and dictating everything on that end of the floor. Phoenix put together a 9–2 run late in the quarter, getting the deficit to within nine with 1:32 left in the game. But alas, it was too much to overcome.

Up Next

Phoenix gets one night of rest as they pack their bag and head to the final stop on their six-game road trip. That stop? San Antonio, Texas.

The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Milwaukee Bucks. Evan Mobley and James Harden tied to lead all scorers with 27 points. Mobley also contributed 15 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Milwaukee was without Giannis Antetokounmpo in this game. The Cavaliers saw the return of Sam Merrill and Jaylon Tyson, though Jarrett Allen and Craig Porter Jr. are still on the sidelines. Max Strus, who made his season debut on Sunday, played another 23 minutes tonight.

Cleveland opened the game strong, with big performances from James Harden and Evan Mobley in the opening quarter. Harden scored 14 points in the opening frame while Mobley immediately established himself as a mismatch punisher. This dual threat was firing on all cylinders and made you think this would be a quick game.

Sadly, the Cavs’ defense once again let them down.

Poor closeouts led to a three-point barrage from Milwaukee. The Bucks cut into Cleveland’s lead before they had any chance to truly build a cushion. In no time, the Cavs found themselves trailing going into halftime after allowing the Bucks to hit eight threes in the second quarter.

Defense has been a concern all season. The Cavaliers are struggling to dictate the terms of engagement, succumbing to the will of their opponent on most nights. Opposing teams have been launching three-pointers at far too high a rate. This is something that will need to be resolved before the playoffs begin.

The Cavs did just enough to squeak this one out in the fourth quarter. They can thank Sam Merrill, Keon Ellis and Strus for each hitting big shots down the stretch to keep them in front.

Tonight’s win gives the Cavs a 42-27 record. They have 13 games left before the postseason begins. The most important thing right now is getting healthy. But it would make us all feel better if they took some meaningful steps forward defensively along the way.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — LaMelo Ball had 30 points and 13 assists, and the Charlotte Hornets pulled away in a huge fourth quarter to beat the short-handed Miami Heat 136-106 on Tuesday night.

Coby White scored 24 points off the bench and rookie Kon Knueppel added 22 as Charlotte (35-34) won for the ninth time in 12 games. Brandon Miller scored 16 for the Hornets, who are 10th in the Eastern Conference.

Tyler Herro had 20 points and eight rebounds to lead the Heat (38-31), who dropped their second straight following a season-best seven-game winning streak. They played without star forward Bam Adebayo, who sat out with right calf tightness after being listed as questionable before the game.

Adebayo hadn't missed a game since Dec. 27. He scored 83 points last Tuesday in a 150-129 win over Washington, second-most in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in 1962.

Andrew Wiggins missed his sixth consecutive game with a toe injury, and Miami forward Nikola Jovic (back) did not play for the 12th game in a row. He was listed as probable before the game and was expected to return.

Miami remained seventh in the East, a half-game behind Orlando.

Miles Bridges had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets, back home from a 2-2 trip against Western Conference teams. After leading 96-88 through three quarters, they outscored Miami 40-18 in the fourth.

Moussa Diabate grabbed 13 boards to go with eight points and four assists.

Ball, who also had six rebounds, reached 6,000 career points on a basket in the third quarter. He also scored 30 points last Wednesday in a 117-109 victory at Sacramento.

Norman Powell scored 17 points for Miami, which had won five consecutive meetings with the Hornets.

Up next

Heat: Host the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.

Hornets: Host the Orlando Magic on Thursday night.

___

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

They made you sweat a little bit for it, didn’t they?

The Phoenix Suns came into Target Center on the tail end of a back-to-back, playing in Boston and losing to the Celtics the night before. Making things more intriguing was was the Minnesota Timberwolves relation in the standings to Phoenix. Separated by just two games, a loss would creep the Wolves closer to play-in territory in the middle of a rocky stretch.

Even with Anthony Edwards out for the Wolves, his squad was still 3.5 point favorites.

One of the most durable players in the league, Edwards’ timetable was revealed Tuesday afternoon as a re-evaluation in 1-2 weeks. Without their heartbeat, a source of energy and production was going to need to reveal itself. Early on in the game, that source was non-existent.

Blitzing pick and rolls lazily and leaving the rolling big wide open, oftentimes reserve big Oso Ighodaro. Ighodaro is averging jsut under 5 points per game this season. He started out the game 5-6 from the field and paired it with 10 points. He wasn’t doing anything outside of the norm; simply setting screens and rolling hard.

More to Ighodaro’s big start was a Wolves team that seemed lost without their best player, standing in a circle pointing at each other in trying to figure out who would inevitably set the tone.

Answer? Bones Hyland.

Not only did Hyland get his jumper working early, he also did his part in instilling pace into the Wolves offense, making in synonymous with rhythm and allowing the Wolves to ease into the game offensively. Though the Suns held a near double-digit lead for much of the first half, the home team was able to pull it back down and strolled into halftime with a one point lead.

Notable adjustments were made on the hard roller Phoenix was sending to the basket. Rudy Gobert stayed down in coverage defensively, and it forced the Suns, specifically Jalen Green, to hoist shots. Green finished the game 3-17 from the field.

Pair an increase in defensive involvement from Minnesota with a Julius Randle second half surge and the drag race down the floor that Hyland and Ayo Dosunmu created, it was a night that came up aces for the Wolves after a less than ideal start.

Goosebumps Once Again

Anthony Edwards and Julius Randle had been going through another awkward stretch on the court.

Over their last six games together, they carry a -4.0 net rating. Uncharacteristic yes, but the product on the court was much worse than what the net rating simply gives you.

Prone to falling into your-turn, my-turn offense where one starts taking shots when they feel like the other isn’t passing as much, therefore taking flow out of the offense, was starting to rear its head.

It’s never ideal when your best player goes down and needs to miss time, but in this situation, it might be beneficial for Randle to take the reigns in order to get his confidence back for Edwards’ return and a playoff push. Heading into the Oklahoma City game, Randle had hit on just 27 percent of this threes since the new year. Over the last two games now, Randle is shooting 62 percent.

But according to Head Coach Chris Finch, it’s not the shot in which he’s seen the biggest sign of improvement for Randle over the last couple games.

“His decisiveness,” he said. “The ball is finding him earlier in the offense, and I think he’s also trusting the next play a little more too.”

Randle said after the game that not much changes with Edwards not in the lineup. It’s hard to imagine that being the case. Randle has played extremely free over the last two games, and a tough third quarter from Edwards in Oklahoma City took rhythm out of the offense when he had the hot hand.

“Regardless, I gotta be aggressive,” he said.

I don’t want to sound like this is at all a slight on Ant. But sometimes, when that production gets taken out of the lineup in a group of talented players, it can force new solutions to arise, and perhaps that production can be replaced in the aggregate by good ball movement and free flowing offense that Edwards can work to ingrate into upon his return.

Randle finished the night with 32 points, marking the first time this season he’s finished with back to back 30 point games.

Emptying the Notebook

1). Jaden McDaniels activity on offense while Edwards is out is a non-negotiable. He was an efficient 6-12 from the field for 16 points, but I would have loved to see him a little more active. Granted, he had his hands full guarding Devin Booker (to which he got called for a couple really tough fouls), but this stretch of games is one where i’d like to see Jaden start demanding the ball. The ball being in his hands is one of the best forms of offense this team can put together.

2). This game showed the problem the NBA has on its hands from a game flow standpoint. It was after 9:00 (CST) and the game still had time left in the third quarter. Due to flagrant reviews, coach challenges, and regular timeouts, there were several times in which eye-rolling pauses were taken to make everything was set up perfectly on the floor. Look, I appreciate the effort that the NBA has put in in making sure the determinations on the floor are correct. However, it’s getting to a point where it’s taking pace out of the game, which is one of the best parts about the game itself. I hope there are tweaks that can be made in the next couple offseasons (think the Sky Judge the NFL has, or a shot clock getting put on how long a game stoppage takes for a challenge. Just a couple thoughts.

Up Next

The Wolves will bring in an easier challenge for a back-to-back on Wednesday night against the tanking Utah Jazz. The Jazz will be without Lauri Markkanen, and are literally trying to lose. It would be very hard to blow that one, let alone at home.

Tipoff at Target Center will be at 7:00 PM CST.

Highlights

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham left the March 17 game against the Washington Wizards after just 5 minutes due to back spasms.

Cunningham was seemingly hurt while playing defense on Wizards guard Tre Johnson early in the first quarter.

Johnson lost the ball and Cunningham went to dive for the loose ball. Johnson went to regain his dribble and landed on top of Cunningham, who was descending to the hardwood.

Cunningham was slow to get off the floor but was eventually lifted up with the help of teammates Jalen Duren, Tobias Harris and Duncan Robinson.

According to Shams Charania, the NBA will hold a Board of Governors meeting to vote on adding two expansion teams in Seattle and Las Vegas.

Shams mentions that “A growing number of owners are believed to support expansion because of the long-term revenue growth for the league from the Las Vegas and Seattle markets.” That revenue growth could be great but it’s not just that, NBA owners would also receive somewhere around $300M each as part of the expansion fee. I know I can be a little radical at times, but something tells me that’s part of the reason owners are booking their private jet as fast as they can to sign warming up to the idea.

Aside from Ryan Smith getting more money than one can count, how does this affect the Jazz? Well, it does give Smith some money to offset a Jazz cap situation that could get really expensive, really soon. That’s a possibily but that’s Smith’s choice. As far as the team itself, it likely means an expansion draft.

Tim Bontemps at ESPN did a great writeup on what an expansion draft would look like:

During the 2004 expansion that brought in the Charlotte Bobcats (now Hornets), existing NBA teams were allowed to protect up to eight players under contract for the next season from being selected.

Past expansion draft rules required that a team had to leave at least one player unprotected, even if the team had fewer than eight players under contract heading into the offseason. Those with options to become a free agent count toward that total, and, if selected, the player’s former team would receive a trade exception in the amount of that player’s 2028-29 salary.

Teams were also allowed to protect players who could become restricted free agents, but past expansion draft rules did not transfer RFA status to the expansion team. The drafting team would be at risk of losing a player for nothing. (However, the player would not be allowed to re-sign with his original team.)

In past expansion drafts, teams were allowed to select only one player from each existing NBA franchise.

There were no two-way players in 2004, so the league will need to determine if they can be protected in a future expansion draft. Every two-way player whose contract is up normally becomes a restricted free agent.

One thing to point out is that the NBA and NBPA would be operating under the current collective bargaining agreement, which runs through the 2029-30 season. There is a provision however that allows either side the option to terminate the CBA on June 30, 2029, if there is notice given on or before Oct. 15, 2028.

So, according to this, Utah would have to make at least one player under contract available for draft. If we use next season as an example (26-27) here is a list of players under contract (I’m assuming the Jazz will sign Walker Kessler, and they should keep their new draft pick):

Jaren Jackson Jr.

Lauri Markkanen

Keyonte George

Ace Bailey

Walker Kessler

New Draft Pick

John Konchar

Cody Williams

Brice Sensabaugh

Svi Mykhailiuk (Non-Guarantee)

Kyle Filipowski (Non-Guarantee)

Isaiah Collier

With this list of players, Utah would have to choose one player to make available to draft. My guess is that the Jazz will guarantee Filipowski and Svi, at the very least, to make sure they have a wide array of choices for who they make available. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone like Blake Hinson gets a contract just for this type of situation.

That said, it does bring up an interesting question: who would you be willing to give up from this list for the draft?

John Konchar

Cody Williams

Brice Sensabaugh

Svi Mykhailiuk

Kyle Filipowski

Isaiah Collier

This makes for an interesting wrinkle to upcoming offseasons when looking at different signings. I’m sure the Jazz are already thinking about this and will likely make signings to ensure they keep the players they want on the roster going forward. There may be a signing made for the sole purpose of being made available for drafting. For some teams, this may become a situation where maybe they hope a player gets picked. Maybe there’s a team with an albatross contract that they’d love to offload. Personally, I’m excited to see how this works out.

One thing to also consider is whether it makes things awkward if the Jazz make a player available, but he’s not drafted? I could see that being a difficult wrinkle as well. It may mean nothing, but it certainly will make that specific player more willing to move on in the future.

The Knicks didn’t need Jalen Brunson. They had his podcast partner.

Josh Hart dropped 33 points — his most since joining the team three years ago — as the Brunson-less Knicks went on a scoring binge Tuesday to beat the Pacers 136-110 at the Garden.

Hart, who played just 26 minutes and sat the entire fourth quarter because it was a blowout, was nearly perfect while hitting all five of his 3s and shooting 12-for-13 overall.

Hart fell 11 points shy of his career high of 44, set in 2022 with the Trail Blazers. His previous best with the Knicks was 31.

“I just like the fact he took the right shots,” coach Mike Brown said. “He didn’t hesitate. …

“Just tried to give him confidence, let it fly, let it fly. And live with the results.”

Tuesday’s resounding victory — a fourth straight win for the Knicks (45-25) — was their first game in over two months without Brunson, who sat with a neck strain. The All-Star watched in street clothes as the offense took off without him.

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Jose Alvarado, making his first start with the franchise because of Brunson’s absence, rose to the occasion with 16 points and 10 assists. He entered the evening on a nine-game skid without hitting a 3-pointer, missing all 11 of his attempts during that stretch.

Then Alvarado hit three treys before halftime against the Pacers, finishing 4-for-7 from deep.

“It was a weight off my shoulders,” Alvarado said. “I wasn’t really focused on [my shooting slump], but obviously it was in the back of my mind, something that’s not who I am. I just trust the work.”

The Knicks scored 72 points in the first half, including 19 from Hart and 18 from OG Anunoby.

The lone inefficient shooter was again Mikal Bridges, whose night started inauspiciously — he twisted his ankle while badly missing a layup — and who had just four points at the break on 2-for-7 shooting.

Bridges finished with 10 points on 4-for-12 shooting.

It continued a slump for Bridges, whose confidence has looked shaken since the All-Star break.

But that didn’t matter Tuesday. The rest of the Knicks caught fire.

“It was special,” said Karl-Anthony Towns, who had 22 points to go with 11 rebounds. “It’s a game obviously we’re missing JB. We all understood the importance of picking up the slack, and I thought all of us in this locker room, particularly Josh, did a great job of playing team basketball. It was great for all of us — obviously one person’s not gonna replace Jalen, but we all can collectively come together and try to play better basketball for each other with his absence.”

The Pacers (15-54) long ago committed to tanking and own the worst record in the league. They lost Tyrese Haliburton for the season, and their second-best player, Pascal Siakam, was out Tuesday because of a knee problem.

Still, Indiana has played harder against the Knicks this season, which is probably related to a rivalry built on consecutive head-to-head playoff series.

On Tuesday, the Pacers led by six early but were quickly overwhelmed by New York’s hot shooting.

Especially Hart’s. The turning point was a 15-2 run to end the half.

The Knicks never looked back.