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With under a minute left in the third quarter, Terrence Shannon Jr. gathered the ball on the Wolves end of the floor and began a three-on-one fastbreak down 12 points.

With Julius Randle or the rim as his options, he dropped it off behind him to Bones Hyland, who had zero Detroit Pistons players within 15 feet of him on the right wing. Slowing down, he took a dribble, and hoisted an important three that would cut the lead to single digits.

Bonk.

Front rim.

For a Timberwolves team 30% from the field and 23% from three at the end of the third quarter, it was a perfect encapsulation of a game that went wayward offensively from the start.

For much of the game, the Wolves were actually getting pretty good looks from behind the arc. Wide open threes from the wing for Naz Reid, Bones Hyland, Donte DiVincenzo, and even Julius Randle. The problem is, they fell at such a measly rate that Detroit was able to turn them into points at a high rate.

The Pistons outscored the Wolves on 21-10 on the fastbreak, the main source of being able to build their lead in second half. The Wolves would also go on to shoot their worst field goal percentage of the season at 31%, just below their previous worst against Orlando (34%).

Despite the Wolves having just a five point halftime deficit, the unraveling came in the aforementioned latter half for Minnesota. The Pistons were able to dismantle the Wolves offense slowly by taking Julius Randle away as their playmaking hub. With a similar approach to Naz Reid as well, Detroit doubled the primary passers in the Wolves offense late with their back to the basket, and forced them to make quick decisions. Reid and Randle would combine for seven turnovers, and combine for 5-28 from the field.

No clearer realization than Saturday as to how bad the Wolves need their three rotation players injured back in the fold.

The good news? They might be getting them back shortly.

Cut off at the Top

Julius Randle couldn’t sit in his usual cadence of 4-8 dribbles with his back to the basket before making his finishing move to ultimately score.

By the time he was thinking about what he was going to do next and starting to feel comfortable a couple dribbles in, the Pistons would bring a hard double and rotate to his primary passing option. It ultimately would end up with Randle committing four turnovers, and decentralizing the Wolves primary playmaking hub that they needed to play through heading into the game.

“We didn’t play with very much pace [on offense],” coach Chris Finch said afterward. “Our offense fed their transition game more than anything else.”

It wasn’t just Randle that was getting sped up but the scrambling and crisp rotating that the Pistons were doing. Even without Cade Cunningham, they stayed true to their physical identity and and made the Wolves think faster than they wanted to.

Naz Reid was another example. Not only going 0-7 from three, he also committed three uncharacteristic turnovers, mostly coming from possessions with his back to the basket.

It feels often with Reid that the first few shots he takes often dictate what the rest of his game is going to be. Though he can come alive and go on a signature blowtorch scoring run, it often helps if he is able to find his place in the game early.

As Finch pointed out, Saturday was one where it went sour from the jump.

“He missed two wide open ones when he first got in the game, and the next couple shots were a little forced in the post…trying to plow through physicality,” he said. “He was praying for something to go his way.”

Praying for something to go your way could apply for many of the people who took the floor not named Rudy Gobert and Donte DiVincenzo.

But as I said above…trying to force the playmaking from a couple areas on the floor against an incredible defensive team like Detroit (second in the league in defensive rating (108.7)), it often won’t go your way. It just might help to get some of your reinforcements back.

Emptying the Notebook

1). Out of necessity, Terrence Shannon Jr. made the second start of his NBA career on Saturday. He tallied eight points, and was one of the bright transition spots for the Wolves. He also did a nice job causing chaos on the glass, not necessarily with high rebounding numbers, but jarring balls loose for other Wolves players to secure a second chance. He won’t be in the rotation when his team was at full strength, but I thought it was an encouraging stint for him after a discouraging beginning to the season.

2). The Julius Randle double team stuff is real. He loved to play at his own pace. When a double team speeds him up and forces him to make a quick decision, he needs someone else around him to move and make themselves open. He shoots 40% when he’s being guarded tightly, and there’s a reason the second most passes he makes to a person is Donte DiVincenzo; it’s because he moves a TON. It’ll be interesting to see how teams play randle moving forward. Anthony Edwards makes it so that they can’t really double him. When he’s off the floor? It seems as though it’s the right strategy.

Up Next

The Wolves will have a travel day on Sunday and head down for a Monday evening clash with Cooper Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks. Over his last eight games, Flagg has averaged 23.8 points, 6.8 assists and 6 rebounds, making a late push for Rookie of the Year.

With the slew of injuries the Wolves have taken on, it would be fair to assume at least one of Ayo Dosunmu or Anthony Edwards will be back in the fold.

Tipoff is at 7:30 PM CST.

Highlights

Even if no one predicted this would be an important one when the schedule came out, that’s a great win for the 76ers.

Philadelphia snuck out with a 118-114 win over the Charlotte Hornets Saturday night.

They are 41-33 (Birds), still the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.

In his first game back in three weeks, Tyrese Maxey eased his way back into 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting along with eight assists.

Joel Embiid, off another big first quarter, finished with a game-high 29 points going 8-of-19 from the floor with six rebounds and two blocks, including a crucial denial with 7.4 seconds remaining. Paul George steadily put up 26 points, 12 rebounds and four steals shooting 9-of-19 from the field.

VJ Edgecombe sliding back into that fourth option role, finished with 13 points on 11 shots. Brandon Miller led the Hornets with 29 as well.

Remarkably, the Sixers were pretty much at full strength, only missing Johni Broome (meniscus tear). Charlotte was without Tidjan Salaun (calf strain).

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First Quarter

• Charlotte’s fast pace gave them an edge on the boards early, flying quicker to rebounds to give them two second possession opportunities. LaMelo Ball and Embiid both hit each other in the face inadvertently trying to secure rebounds. Ball definitely took a more direct hit. A challenge successfully took Embiid’s foul away but not before the big fella got T’d up for catching Ball with an elbow.
• It was slow going early for a Sixers offense that couldn’t buy a jumper. Embiid bullied his way past Ryan Kalkbrenner for a layup, but missed the short midrange working the two-man game with Maxey. He finally nailed one from three and another from the free throw line, but the guards playing off him missed the good looks they got.

• Coming off the bench in this one, Kelly Oubre Jr. made his first shot burying a corner three, but he was whistled for a travel on his next attempt. Embiid continued to be the offensive engine, putting up 14 in the first, though less efficient than Wednesday, doing so on nine shots. Charlotte got hotter as the quarter wore on. Miller led the way there especially after Cam Payne fouled him on a three-point attempt. Maxey had only attempted a transition layup, but got to the line with a second left in the quarter, making both to cut the Hornets’ lead to 11.

Second Quarter

• Maxey looked for his shot a bit more running a unit with Embiid on the bench, nailing a fadeaway from the block and a three from the wing. George also had a lot of responsibility. He poked free a steal, then hit a three and a layup on the other end. The Sixers’ defense still needed work though, with Grant Williams getting open in the corners and Miles Bridges doing so by the basket, the Hornets kept the Sixers at bay.
• Coby White also did quite a bit of damage making his first five shots of the night, but the Sixers were able put something together when Embiid checked back in. Edgecombe collapsed the defense to hit the center for a wide open three. On the next possession, Embiid took advantage of a 4-on-3, guiding Maxey to the corner for a three of his own. Another pull-up three from Maxey gave a good indication of how his pinky is feeling and prompted a Charlotte timeout.

• Somehow giving up multiple offensive rebounds on multiple possessions didn’t completely undo all of that good work they’d done. Ball got going off the dribble again, finding Kon Knueppel for an open three in the process. Strong takes to the basket from Maxey and George kept the Hornets lead at five at the break.

Third Quarter

• PG nailed another pull-up to start the second half, and while Dominick Barlow put back his second attempt, Charlotte was still conclusively winning the rebounding battle. The Sixers just hadn’t adjusted to how many Hornets would crash for the ball every time a shot went up. Two more threes from Miller prompted a quick timeout from Nick Nurse. They gave up four more second-chance points coming out of the timeout in what turned into an extended 17-2 run.
• Aside from Kalkbrenner blocking his poster attempt, Edgecombe had a fairly reserved first half — he only attempted four shots. He attacked more in the third, driving for a couple of baskets before knocking down a three that capped off an 8-0 Sixers run in response.
• The Sixers continued to claw back after a Charlotte timeout too. Embiid made a nice read to find Oubre wide open for a dunk. Maxey ran a nice fast break with Justin Edwards then hit a nice up-and-under layup. Again, it was an inability to get rebounds that halted their momentum. They gave up every kind of offensive rebound possible. They got outmuscled on free throws, they got drawn in on threes and watched long rebounds go over their heads, the whole nine yards. A split pair of free throws by Embiid kept the Sixers within five after three.

Fourth Quarter

• Maxey posterized Miles Bridges and got the whole Sixers bench buzzing. A few moments later, Maxey gave the Sixers their first lead of the game with a nice layup off the glass and Oubre followed that up with an even more impressive poster on Moussa Diabate. The only thing not going the Sixers’ way during this stretch was George picking up his third, fourth and fifth fouls.

• An adjustment Nurse made to start the fourth was going to Andre Drummond over Adem Bona. Drummond only had two rebounds, one on each end, but they were not conceding second-chance opportunities possession after possession. Drummond also had a nice block during the run and a kickout for a Quentin Grimes three.
• Not many stoppages of play meant Embiid couldn’t check back into the game until there was 5:40 left, and by that time threes by Ball and Knueppel swung the lead back to Charlotte. Edgecombe took it back with a three coming out of a Sixers timeout, then they slowed their offense feeding Embiid. He went 1-of-2 before a Ball three tied the game again.
• A pair of free throws from Oubre was answered quickly by a deep three by Bridges. Both teams got a pair of stops before the Hornets answered another pair of free throws with another deep three, this time from Ball. Embiid quickly drew a foul on the other end. He only split the pair, but Williams couldn’t corral it and the Sixers kept possession. George somehow sprung free on the inbound and drilled a corner three.
• PG didn’t let up for a moment. He and Maxey were able to get their hands on a pass for a steal as the Hornets were trying to get up the court. Maxey was also able to get to the line, but he also split his pair, keeping the Sixers at a three-point lead. Ball’s long attempt rimmed out, but the Hornets got another chance when the ball went out of bounds. It got swung to Miller in the corner, and Embiid was able to get out and block it. With seven seconds remaining and four on the shot clock, the Hornets went to Ball, who pump faked George, but came up short on his final attempt, sealing the win for the Sixers.

The first ticket to the Final Four has been punched.

Behind 25 points from freshman superstar Keaton Wagler, No. 3 seed Illinois pulled away from No. 9 seed Iowa 71-59 on Saturday, March 28 in the Elite Eight of the 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament.

The victory clinched the Fighting Illini’s first Final Four appearance since 2005, when a Deron Williams-led team that won 37 of its first 38 games fell to North Carolina in the national championship game.

'Got to stay ready.' Real MVP of Elite 8 game after buzzer delay: Air horn

The Detroit Pistons might have had one of their worst offensive showings of the season against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday afternoon. Lucky for them, their elite defense showed up and allowed the Pistons to coast to a 109-87 win. It was the sixth time Detroit has held an opponent to 90 or fewer points this season. They are the only team in the league to hit that mark six times.

They also held the Timberwolves to just 31% shooting from the floor, the Pistons’ second-lowest mark of the season against any opponent.

Both teams were shorthanded, including their superstars. The Pistons played without Cade Cunningham and Isaiah Stewart. The Wolves played without Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, and Ayo Dosunmu. Both teams have been winning without their stars, however, because other players have been able to step up. That wasn’t the case for either team in what was mostly a defensive slugfest on Saturday.

Jalen Duren was limited to just 10 points and 13 rebounds in 29 minutes, attempting only seven shots. He had trouble dealing with Rudy Gobert’s length, and Minnesota, like most teams lately, has it in their game plan to limit passes to Duren in the post whenever possible. Daniss Jenkins, meanwhile, who has been on a bit of a hot streak since stepping into the starting lineup for Cunningham, was mostly awful against the Timberwolves.

Up until about the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter, when the game was pretty well decided, Jenkins was shooting 2-of-12 with as many assists as turnovers (three). He was sloppy with his handle, making ill-advised passes into non-existent windows, missing clear passing lanes, and giving up a lot of penetration on defense. In garbage time, he was able to hit four pretty easy looks, which allowed him to escape with a respectable 12 points on the night.

It’s not the first time Jenkins has had a stinker like that; he’s a second-year player, after all, but it might be the first time the Pistons have won a Daniss no-show in a while. They did it because so many other role players did just enough on offense — Detroit had seven players in double-figures, with Tobias Harris’ 18 leading the way — and because Detroit’s elite defense made everything difficult for an underpowered Minnesota attack.

To shout out just a couple specific guys — every Ron Holland three is a blessing, and we got two of them tonight to go with his stellar defense. Also, Kevin Huerter is looking more and more like a rotation mainstay, but I don’t know how it will happen when both Cunningham and Stewart return. Huerter had 11 points and made several smart reads as a cutter and a ball handler. He’s reminding me more and more of the rotation impact Dennis Schröder had on Detroit last year. A steadying presence who isn’t giving away anything on either side of the floor, and someone you trust to make the right decision if he has the ball in his hands.

Wolves’ role players not named Donte DiVincenzo couldn’t get anything going against Detroit’s stifling defense. Julius Randle, Naz Reid, Bones Hyland, and Mike Conley combined to shoot 8-for-38 from the floor. That’s 21% from the field. Only DiVencenzo was able to ride some hot 3-point streak shooting into a respectable night. He scored a game-high 22 and hit five threes. But he had 14 attempts, and was just 7-of-18 from the floor overall.

Even as Detroit was trying to give the game away with its patented rash of mind-boggling turnovers, Minnesota could do nothing with them. Detroit committed 19 turnovers on the night, and Minnesota was only able to turn those 19 extra possessions into seven points.

Unsurprisingly, Ausar Thompson and Holland get the lion’s share of the credit with their ability to hound players on the perimeter. Thompson had four steals and Holland two, as just one way to quantify their impact. But, really, it was a team effort. Caris LeVert had a couple of big blocks inside, Huerter continues to move and switch very well on defense, and Harris and Paul Reed were locked in and giving Detroit everything they had.

Detroit is now one win away from clinching the Central Division title, improved Detroit’s NBA Draft position courtesy of a pending swap with the Timberwolves, and they now sit 4.5 games up on the Boston Celtics for the first seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Knicks are finding important leadership voices beyond their main stars. 

Fans mostly see one side of Mitchell Robinson: a silly, goofy personality who doesn’t take himself too seriously. Recently, however, Robinson has been one of the most vocal players calling out a few worrying Knicks trends and emphasizing the need to fix them ahead of the postseason. 

“The guys are starting to trust me a lot more,” Robinson said after practice Saturday. “They’re putting trust in me, so I’m telling them what I see and things that I think we can get better at. Being more vocal, it’s coming naturally. The guys mentioned a few times, I’m the anchor of the defense. They trust me on the defensive end. That helps a lot.” 

After the Knicks barely escaped with a one-point win over the tanking Nets last week, Robinson said, “Our approach got to be better. We can’t just look at their record and say, ‘we’ll whoop their ass.’ We just got to be better altogether. Until we figure that part out, then it’s going to be a long roller coaster.” 

After the Knicks lost to the Hornets on Thursday, Robinson commented on an Instagram video of himself, saying, “don’t even matter unless we change our approach we ain’t doing s–t special keep that bulls–t up myself included [sic].” 

The video showed Robinson mentoring second-year center Ariel Hukporti, giving him advice on how to tailor his rebounding strategy based on who was taking a shot. 

It’s part of personal growth for Robinson, the longest-tenured Knick. During his first few years in the league, he was not nearly as comfortable with the media. Now, he’s consistently letting his thoughts — and concerns — be heard. 

Two things he’s repeatedly harped on are the Knicks’ approach and connectivity. 

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“We’re gonna do some talking and get better connected and stuff like that,” Robinson said. “That’s basically what we have to do, at this point right now. 

“In the playoffs, you’re playing the same team, potentially, seven times. The more we’re connected, the better off we’ll be. You’ve seen what we did last year, and we’re trying to go farther.” 

There is value in having veterans beyond Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns provide different voices and perspectives in the locker room. Robinson is not the only one. 

Coach Mike Brown identified Jordan Clarkson, who has been playing himself back into the rotation lately, as another important leader. 

“You can have leadership in a lot of different ways,” Brown said Saturday. “As of late, the reality of it is, a guy like Jordan Clarkson is starting to separate himself and showing that he’s one of the leaders of the team. Just because you start, just because you score a ton or shoot a ton, or you’re one of the best defenders, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re a leader. Because one of the things is, leaders aren’t afraid to tell the truth. They do what they say. Being a leader means you gotta be on point all the time. You can’t be worried about whether your teammate likes you at the time because you’re saying something that’s truthful or you’re holding people accountable or not. 

“So when you look at a guy like Jordan, who’s been through a lot, who’s still stayed ready, even when he was out, for him and listening to him speak up in front of the group now, that’s starting to show real leadership. Other guys have spoken up, other guys are trying to do it, and Mitch is one of them.” 

Brunson is the formally recognized captain. Hart is the biggest talker. Towns, given his stature, is expected to be influential with his voice. 

But Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby are not particularly vocal. This leaves a bit of a void behind the aforementioned trio — one that Robinson and Clarkson can fill.

ATLANTA (AP) — Hubert Kós broke his own NCAA record while defending his title in the 200-yard backstroke to help the Texas men win a second straight national championship in swimming and diving on Saturday.

Kós won with a time of 1 minute, 34.13 seconds as the Longhorns piled up 445.5 points. He set an NCAA record of 1:34.21 in winning the event last season. Kós also broke the NCAA record in the 100 backstroke earlier this meet. Florida junior Jonny Marshall finished second and Virginia sophomore David King took third.

Runner-up Florida had 416 points. Indiana (351), Arizona State (328) and Tennessee (272) rounded out the top five.

Virginia freshman Maximus Williamson began the day by winning the 200 IM in 1:38.48. Indiana senior Owen McDonald was second, followed by Texas senior Baylor Nelson.

Florida senior Josh Liendo clocked a 39.91 to win the 100 freestyle. LSU junior Jere Hribar was second, followed by Tennessee senior Gui Caribe.

Arizona State junior Ilya Kharun won the 200 butterfly in 1:37.66, a half-second in front of Michigan senior Tyler Ray. Virginia freshman Thomas Heilman placed third.

Kharun, Adam Chaney, Remi Fabiani and anchor Jonny Kulow won the men’s 400 free relay with a NCAA record time of 2:42.15. N.C. State placed second and Florida was third. The Sun Devils won five of the seven relay races.

Texas A&M freshman Emilio Trevino won the title in platform diving with 465.40 points. Purdue sophomore Tyler Wills (451.15) and Florida sophomore Jesus Gonzalez (427.25) followed.

Coach Bob Bowman has led Texas to back-to-back championships. He guided Arizona State to the championship in 2024 before taking the Longhorns job.

Hall-of-Fame coach Eddie Reese led Texas to 15 championships during his 46-year run from 1978-2024.

___

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

HOUSTON – After a buzzer malfunction at Toyota Center caused an 11-minute delay during the first half of Saturday’s Elite Eight game between Iowa and Illinois, officials sitting courtside resorted to an old-fashioned solution.

Kevin Johnson sat at the scorer’s table armed with two blue-and-white air horns, which he used to signal timeouts, substitutions and the end of each half.

Johnson, who has worked for the Houston Rockets as a game clock operator for 25 years, said the game operations crew always keeps air horns and stopwatches available in the arena just in case. On Saturday, as the delay dragged on, Johnson had a feeling they would be needed. He relayed a message into his headset and an employee scurried through the back hallways of Toyota Center to fetch the two emergency horns.

“They tried to go up and they were going to cut (the scoreboard) off. I said, ‘OK in the meantime, just get the air horns out here in case there’s a problem,’” Johnson said. “They were going to try and switch them back but the horn is tied to the whole thing. When they turned the screens back on, the horn is not going to stay cut off.”

Johnson was working the NCAA regional games in Houston along with the rest of the Rockets’ regular scorer’s table crew. He and shot clock operator Larry Stick, another longtime member of the Rockets’ staff, said a similar malfunction happened once before at a Rockets game many years ago – but they emphasized that incidents like that are rare in NBA arenas.

However, Johnson and Stick said it’s not unusual for scorekeepers and clock operators who work high school games to use manual air horns.