Someone was legally required to win the alleged basketball game between the Dallas Mavericks (22-44) and the Memphis Grizzlies (23-42) at the FedEx Forum on Thursday. Simply by being able to field a team of greater than eight glorified G-Leaguers, the Mavericks were that team, earning a win if only by default, 120-112, in the Home of the Blues.

The Mavericks built a double-digit lead early, which is notable because they came into Thursday’s game having only built a double-digit lead in 22 games this year, the second-worst mark in the league. Dallas tried to give it all back with a lazy third quarter, but beat the Grizzlies for the first time this year in the fourth and final meeting between the two teams.

Khris Middleton was a man on fire in the fourth to bring home the win that snapped the Mavericks’ eight-game losing streak. More on that below, as we’ve got five stats that tell the tale of Thursday’s feel-good(?) win for the Mavs.

3-of-3: Khris Middleton first-quarter 3-point shooting

Khris Middleton came in off the bench with 6:48 left in the first and hit his first 3-pointer of the game from the left corner just two possessions later, extending the Mavs’ lead to 14-9. He stepped back along the left wing for his second of the game two minutes later as part of a little 9-0 Dallas run to make it 20-9. His third came in the final minute of the first quarter from nearly the same spot and put the Mavericks ahead 32-17.

Middleton went 3-of-3 from distance in the first quarter to lead the Mavericks with nine points at the end of one. Dallas led 34-22 with one quarter in the books. Max Christie was the only other Maverick to make a 3-pointer in the first.

Middleton finished with 35 points on 10-of-17 shooting and 8-of-10 shooting from 3-point range in the win at Memphis.

5:58: Grizzlies’ second-quarter stretch without a field goal

The Mavericks held Memphis without a field goal for 5:58 of the second quarter, starting at the 8:28 mark. Already up 10, a 12-2 Dallas run fed the advantage and pushed the lead to 57-37 on Naji Marshall’s driving score with 4:38 remaining in the first half.

At one point, the hapless Grizzlies’ offense missed nine straight field goal attempts in the second. Memphis responded with its first signs of life of the game, a 14-3 run to pull within 61-50 on Taylor Hendricks’ first make of the game, a 3-pointer from near the top of the key with 1:38 left in the half.

The Mavericks led 65-54 at the break.

4: Consecutive double-doubles for Daniel Gafford

Daniel Gafford feasted inside against the smaller Memphis front line, racing to 17 points and eight rebounds in the first half. He finished with 22 and 14 in the win. His free throw with just under nine minutes to play broke his previous season-high mark, which came just five days ago in the Mavericks’ 122-92 loss at the Toronto Raptors.

The win over the Grizzlies was Gafford’s fourth straight double-double, a good sign after injuries and the absence of a certain Slovenian superstar in the lineup have pushed his production into the commode this season. He grabbed his 10th rebound with 9:30 remaining in the third quarter and consistently showed more lift to his game, albeit against a diminutive set of bigs opposite him.

3:56: Mavericks’ scoreless stretch late in the third

Marvin Bagley III drove for a score with 3:58 remaining in the third to put Dallas ahead 84-74, and the Mavericks did not hit another shot from the field for the rest of the quarter. They wouldn’t have scored any points at all were it not for a bail-out foul with Middleton in the air attempting a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining.

Middleton made 2-of-3 at the line for the Mavs’ first points in nearly four minutes to give Dallas a slim 86-84 lead going into the fourth. Memphis outscored the Mavericks 30-21 in the frame, as Dallas went 1-of-8 from deep after halftime.

22: Middleton’s fourth-quarter scoring

Those two free throws were part of Middleton’s personal 11-0 run, as the trade deadline acquisition scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter. He nailed two more 3-pointers from the top of the key to extend the Mavs’ lead to 92-84 with 11:20 to play. Then, he was fouled on another 3-point attempt by Memphis rookie Javon Small the next time down.

His baseline jumper two possessions later gave him 13 straight points for the Mavericks and 24 for the game, singlehandedly pulling Dallas out of a tailspin in the process. His mid-range fadeaway with 8:15 left gave Middleton a new season-high 26 points, and he finished with 35.

When his seventh 3-pointer of the game fell despite a hand in his face from the left corner with two minutes to play, his 19 fourth-quarter points became the most of any Mavs player this year in the final frame. He hit his eighth the next time down for good measure to give him 22 in the fourth and 35 for the game. At 34 years of age, it was the highest scoring quarter of Middleton’s career. He hadn’t had a 30-point game in nearly three years.

He was, as they say, on one as Dallas went home with the 120-112 win.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stands alone.

The reigning NBA Most Valuable Player has surpassed Hall of Fame icon Wilt Chamberlain for consecutive games with at least 20 points scored, with 127. Gilgeous-Alexander set the mark Thursday, March 12 with a jumper from near the top of the key midway through the third quarter of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s game against the Boston Celtics, an eventual 104-102 Thunder victory.

Playing in front of his home crowd, the fans in attendance anticipated the record when Gilgeous-Alexander caught the ball before erupting in cheers when he swished it. The public address announcer at the Paycom Center announced the record, and a graphic on the Jumbotron commemorated the moment.

“None of the things I accomplish would matter if we weren’t winning,” Gilgeous-Alexander told reporters after the game. “I probably wouldn’t have the streak if we weren’t winning. I know that and I understand that. It’s why you play the game. I was crying when I was nine years old because I lost an (Ontario Basketball Association) championship. You don’t want to lose.

“The streak is the streak. The awards are the awards. But the thing I’m most proud of is winning.”

SGA HAS PASSED WILT FOR THE LONGEST 20+ POINT STREAK IN NBA HISTORY 🚨

Shai: 127
Wilt: 126 pic.twitter.com/Fftlo3ISrY

— NBA (@NBA) March 13, 2026

He finished the game with 35 points on an extremely efficient 13-of-18 shooting night, adding 9 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals.

Gilgeous-Alexander got off to a somewhat slow start early in the first quarter, though he did finish the period with 10 points after he attacked the rim and got to the line. He shot 2-of-3 from the field in the period, converting 5-of-6 free throws in the first. He added 7 points in the second period as Oklahoma City tried to cut Boston’s lead before the end of the first half.

Gilgeous-Alexander scored just 4 points in the third quarter, as the Celtics continued to blitz him with double-teams to try to force the ball out of his hands. His 8 assists through three quarters led all players.

He came alive in the fourth, adding 14 points in the period to close out what was a tightly-contested, back-and-forth game. Gilgeous-Alexander scored six of Oklahoma City's final eight points to help put Boston away.

“I’ve reflected on it,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said after the game. “You get lost in the season and you take for granted what you’re watching every night, but No. 1: he’s surgical at his craft — no one is more precise with their craft than he is. And No. 2: the whole life of the streak has not prevented us from having a ton of team success and hasn’t prevented his teammates from having success, either. …

“And then, great father, great husband, great teammate. Treats everybody in the building, from top to bottom, with dignity. So, obviously, he’s a great basketball player. But he’s the kind of person you couldn’t be happier for.”

CHICAGO (AP) — Donovan Dent had 12 points, 12 assists and a career-high 10 rebounds — the first triple-double in the history of the Big Ten Conference Tournament — to help sixth-seeded UCLA beat No. 14 seed Rutgers 72-59 on Thursday night in the third round.

Dent became the fifth player in program history to record a triple-double, joining Bill Walton, Toby Bailey, Jelani McCoy and Kyle Anderson.

UCLA (22-10) plays No. 11 and second-seeded Nebraska in the quarterfinals Friday.

Tyler Bilodeau led the Bruins with 21 points, Trent Perry scored 12 and Eric Dailey Jr. 10.

Dailey hit a jumper and then threw down a fast-break dunk before Bilodeau made a 3-pointer to spark a 14-2 run that made it 46-31 with 15:18 left in the game and UCLA led by at least nine the rest of the way.

Lino Mark led Rutgers (14-19) with 17 points, five rebounds and five assists. Tariq Francis, who set a the program record for points in a Big Ten Tournament game with 29 as the Scarlet Knights beat Minnesota 72-67 in the second round, finished with six points on 2-of-11 shooting against the Bruins.

The Bruins beat Rutgers 98-66 at home Feb. 3.

Up next

UCLA: Plays Nebraska, which the Bruins beat 72-52 on March 3, on Friday.

Rutgers: Season complete.

___

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The Dallas Mavericks beat the Memphis Grizzlies 120-112 Thursday night in Memphis, snapping the Mavericks eight-game losing streak.

Khris Middleton had a career night, with 35 points off the bench, 22 of those coming in the fourth quarter. It was the highest scoring quarter of Middleton’s career and nearly a Mavericks team record for points in a quarter, which Dirk Nowitzki holds with 29.

It was a very wild game, which is part for the course for this Mavericks team. Memphis was extremely interested in losing this game by any means necessary, dressing only eight players and their starting lineup featuring mostly G-League-tier players. GG Jackson, Jaylen Wells, and Olivier-Maxence Prosper were the only credible NBA players that played for the Grizzlies tonight, and Hendricks inexplicably came off the bench and only played 24 minutes, despite scoring 17 points. Memphis wanted to lose this game.

The Mavericks, to their credit (or discredit, depending on what side of the tanking coin you fall on), did what they always do: play hard as hell. Dallas opened up a double-digit lead in the first quarter, before extending it to 20 before halftime.

Turnovers and sloppy play doomed the Mavericks in the third, where Memphis actually tied the game late in the quarter before the Mavericks got some late free throws to take a lead into the fourth.

From there it was the Middleton show, and Dallas comfortably one what was once a nail-bitter. Here’s what we noticed.

Khris Middleton was insane

The numbers don’t do Middleton’s night justice, although the numbers themselves are great: 35 points on 10-of-17 shooting, and 8-of-10 from three. Middleton didn’t rack up a lot of assists, but that’s because he was letting it rip as soon as he had the ball, and you can’t blame him.

Middleton scored 16 of the Mavericks first 20 points of the fourth quarter. He started with catch-and-shoot threes, then worked the mid-range with some post-ups, and by then it was over: he started raining down heat-check threes and desperation, bail-out long twos at the end of the shot clock. The Grizzlies did nothing to disrupt his rhythm and once Middleton was locked in, the game felt done and dusted.

There will be a segment of the Mavericks fan base dismayed that a 34-year-old veteran that doesn’t figure into the Mavericks long-term plans costing the team a crucial tank loss, but who cares. Yes, it would be cooler if the Mavericks won games behind their youth, especially Cooper Flagg, but Dallas lost eight in a row before this. Middleton can have a career-game, as a treat.

Paint points, again

Dallas is a top-five team in scoring in the paint, and they did it again against Memphis. The Mavericks went 24-of-34 in the restricted area and 8-of-15 in the “floater range” (in the paint, outside the restricted area.

Daniel Gafford was the biggest reason, with a monster 22-point, 14-rebound effort. Gafford had six offensive rebounds, and the Mavericks as a team had a ridiculous 21 offensive rebounds. All those second opportunities led to some easy putbacks and paint finishes. Dallas’ size was a clear advantage all game.

Cooper Flagg is still rusty

Cooper Flagg hasn’t really had a good game yet since coming back from his foot injury that sidelined him for three weeks. He struggled again tonight with 13 points on 16 shots.

His jumper is kind of broken again. Flagg was a decent 6-of-11 in the paint, but missed every single jumper he took, going 0-for-5 on jumpers. He just doesn’t look the same before the injury and surely part of that is timing, conditioning, and natural rust from such a long layoff.

There’s nothing too much to fret here, Flagg is the future and is allowed to have a bad week of games. But it is a bummer when he was skyrocketing upward right before his injury. It feels like Flagg got knocked back into November 2025, and it’s like his development just hit rewind. That’s not the real story, and Flagg will be fine. These games have just been a bummer for him.

We’ve finally hit the home stretch. Brooklyn Nets games are feeling more and more like exhibitions. Players that are merely passing through see big minutes, only to be remembered by the most die-hard fans.

On Thursday afternoon, the Nets shut down Day’Ron Sharpe for the season. Sharpe, with a torn ligament in his thumb, joined #8 overall pick Egor Dëmin as the first Nets to skip ahead to the offseason. They may not be the last.

On Thursday night, the Nets faced the Atlanta Hawks, who won the previous matchup in Barclays Center on February 22. The Hawks had not lost a game since, beating up on a bunch of bad and/or injured teams for seven in a row. With Michael Porter Jr., Ziaire Williams, and Nolan Traore also missing action, the Hawks had a golden opportunity to make it eight.

The Nets played their part early on, starting three rookies next to Nic Claxton and Noah Clowney, who largely struggled…

Ben Saraf scored ten points for the second consecutive game, the first time in his career he’s done so, shooting 4-of-7 with four assists and five turnovers. Drake Powell and Danny Wolf combined to shoot 6-of-20 with five turnovers, occasionally dribbling into traffic without a plan, overwhelmed by Atlanta’s gaggle of feisty defenders. Much to Jordi Fernández’s dismay, the Nets turned it over 20 times.

So, a blowout with no bright spots, eh? Not quite. A second unit seemingly designed to maximize the tank…

…actually outperformed the starters. Fernández even expanded the rotation to 11 players, as E.J. Liddell earned 12 second-half minutes. That means all three two-way players touched the court — not to mention Josh Minott, who has spent some time with Long Island lately — and they all held their own.

Tyson Etienne fouled out but hit two 3-pointers, and his lineup kept the game close in the first half. Same for Chaney Johnson, who played hard and finished with a 3/3/3 statline. Liddell scored four points with six boards, but may have had the sequence of the night for Brooklyn…

Alas, it was Josh Minott who turned in the night’s most important performance. If the rest of his season is an audition — as Brooklyn has a team-option on his contract for next year — he certainly aced Thursday night. The 3-and-D wing was everywhere, doing more than just sitting in the corner and talking on defense.

Minott posted a ravishing 24/3/1/3/3 line, the 24 points a new career-high. He shot 4-of-7 from deep and took ten free-throws while bringing the athleticism and physicality that Brooklyn has long missed from their wings…

Fernández made sure to point out that he thought Chaney Johnson was “awesome” defensively, before praising Minott: “It was great. He was aggressive, I mean, you see the line … a little bit more rebounding, maybe, because that’s where we struggle and he provides size.”

Thanks to a cold shooting night from Atlanta and the energy of the Brooklyn bench, the grabbed a lead in the fourth quarter. Somehow. Sure, they got killed on the glass (22-4 in second-chance points) and in the turnover department again, but they fought, and Atlanta seemed stunned.

Then it was tanking time. Claxton and Clowney did not return in the fourth quarter. Nor did Terance Mann. Nope; the most experience Net on the court for winning (losing) time was Minott, and even then, he was subbed out for a couple minutes midway through the quarter. The magic finally ran out. Atlanta used an 11-0 run to seal the deal, quickly shaking off the embarrassment of a potential nail-biting end to a contest against benchwarmers and two-way players.

The Nets, meanwhile, did what they’ve long been reluctant to do and got shameless with it. Noah Clowney and Nic Claxton (combined 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting) weren’t lighting the world on fire, but relegating them to cheerleader-status in the closing minutes certainly didn’t help Brooklyn’s chances of winning.

Jalen Johnson went right at his overmatched competition to score nine of his 21 points in the final frame while CJ McCollum played a supporting role, and the Hawks handled business. So did the Nets, for that matter.

Said Fernández: “I thought everybody played the right way, even though I put them in different spots … We had a group that was very physical right there, [Atlanta] got a little stagnant because we switched a little bit. So I thought that all that was very positive.”

It was. The Nets really went for the tank, and it worked. It wasn’t even that much of an eyesore Though Drake Powell shot just 4-of-13, it marked the first time he’s taken more than ten shots in a game, while Minott gave fans real hope that he indeed may be a steal. Will this behavior continue for the final 16 games? I can’t wait to find out.

Final Score: Atlanta Hawks 108, Brooklyn Nets 97

Milestone Watch

• For Minott, three steals tied a season-high, accomplished with both Boston and Brooklyn. His 24 points, four triples, and eight free-throws are all career-highs.

Tankathon Standings

The Nets, sadly, did not gain any ground in the tank-off. The Washington Wizards took the Orlando Magic to overtime but did not pull off the upset on Thursday night, while the Indiana Pacers lost regular style. The Sacramento Kings were off. Here’s the standings, courtesy of Tankathon…

Next Up

Brooklyn wraps up their brief two-game road trip by visiting the Philadelphia 76ers. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET.

• Boxscore: Atlanta Hawks 108, Brooklyn Nets 97 – NBA
• Game Highlights: Atlanta Hawks 108, Brooklyn Nets 97 (Video) – NBA
• Frank breaks down Josh Minott’s career night (Video) – Nancy Newman & Frank Isola – YES Network
• Jordi Fernandez PostGame Interview (Video) – YES Network
• Jalen Johnson scores 21 as Hawks beat Nets 108-97 for 8th straight win – Maura Carey – AP
• Day’Ron Sharpe is done for season, short-handed Nets fall to Hawks – C.J. Holmes – New York Daily News
• Nets’ Josh Minott drops career-high 24 points in 108-97 loss at Hawks – Sharif Phillips-Keaton – USA TODAY
• Nets’ Day’Ron Sharpe ruled out for season due to ligament tear in thumb – Erik Slater – Clutch Points

The Milwaukee Bucks battled, but were unable to extinguish the Miami Heat, losing 112-105 as the Heat won their seventh straight game. Despite not having Tyler Herro, the Heat pulled through because of Pelle Larson, who had a career-high 28 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 31 points were not enough.

NBA.com Box Score

Game Recap

A new starting lineup was rolled out for Milwaukee: Kevin Porter Jr. returned and started in place of Ryan Rollins. The Bucks began the game sluggishly on offense, unable to get any easy looks near the rim. Miami slowly extended its lead as the quarter progressed, while Milwaukee continued to struggle to generate any good offense, dribbling the ball excessively, which resulted in turnovers. Bobby Portis did his bit to come in and provide something on that end, but the Heat had an answer at every turn. Milwaukee trailed 31-21 after the first quarter

The second quarter was much better for Milwaukee, as they found their rhythm on both ends (the Heat went four minutes without a field goal). Bobby Portis hit some jumpers, and Taurean Prince scored his first points since returning from neck surgery. Giannis found a breakthrough too, throwing down some dunks and asserting his will. The Bucks’ three-ball was falling (primarily from Rollins and Turner), which helped them come back to tie the game at 51. However, Miami would end the final two minutes on an 8-0 run, taking a 59-51 lead into halftime.

Milwaukee continued its trend of starting the third quarter flat-footed as Miami scored a quick five points. The Bucks didn’t score a field goal for the first four and a half minutes—and 7 minutes of game time between the second and third quarters—before Giannis finally broke the drought. Milwaukee’s bench reduced the deficit somewhat, going on an 11-2 run in a three-minute stretch, but the Bucks still ended the third quarter trailing 85-77.

The bench (plus Giannis) continued to slowly chip away at the Heat’s lead to open the fourth. After not scoring for the first three quarters, Kyle Kuzma scored five straight points to get the visitors within just two points halfway through the fourth as the Bucks went on a 10-2 run, forcing a Miami timeout halfway through the frame. Milwaukee kept it close throughout the fourth quarter—getting back to that two-point margin later after a Jericho Sims and-one—but the Heat kept getting to the charity stripe and extending the lead. Still, the Bucks had a shot with less than a minute remaining to tie the game with a three; the problem was… it was Giannis who shot it (with heaps of time left on the shot clock, I might add). The Heat got the rebound, came down, and kicked it out to Pelle Larsson, who made his three. Game over.

Stat That Stood Out

The only reason the Bucks were even in this game was because of their bench. Milwaukee’s bench scored 56 points—led by Bobby Portis with 19—and outscored all the non-Giannis starters combined.