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DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 40 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds, Christian Braun added 21 points and the Denver Nuggets beat San Antonio 136-134 in overtime Saturday to snap the Spurs’ 11-game winning streak.

Cameron Johnson scored 17, Jamal Murray finished with 15 points and 10 assists and Aaron Gordon scored 15 for the Nuggets.

Gordon scored with 6.2 seconds left in regulation to tie the game, then forced Victor Wembanyama into a miss on the final shot of regulation.

Wembanyama finished with 34 points, 18 rebounds, seven assists and five blocked shots for the Spurs, who lost for only the third time in their last 30 games.

Stephon Castle scored 20 points for San Antonio, while Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie each scored 18 for the Spurs.

HEAT 152, WIZARDS 136

MIAMI (AP) — Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored 32 points before dashing out to fly to the NCAA women’s basketball title game, Kel’el Ware finished with 24 points, 19 rebounds and seven blocks, and Miami rolled past Washington.

Bam Adebayo — who scored 83 points in Miami’s last game with Washington — faced a triple-team on his first possession and scored 14 for Miami. Andrew Wiggins had 21 and Pelle Larsson scored 16 for the Heat. Adebayo also had nine rebounds and seven assists.

Miami reached 150 points for the third time in franchise history. It scored 153 against New Orleans last April 11 — and finished with 150 against the Wizards in Adebayo’s 83-point night on March 10.

Will Riley scored 31 for Washington, which has reached the 60-loss mark for the third straight season. Sharife Cooper scored 20 for the Wizards, who trailed by as many as 35 at one point.

PISTONS 116, 76ERS 93

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tobias Harris scored 19 points, and Daniss Jenkins added 16 points and 14 assists as Detroit beat Philadelphia to clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The last time the Pistons (56-21) were the top seed in the East was in 2006-07. They have already clinched the Central Division title for the first time since 2007-08.

Jalen Duren added 16 points and seven rebounds, and Ausar Thompson had 14 points for the Pistons, who have won 12 of their last 15 games.

Both Duren (illness) and Harris (left knee contusion) had been listed as questionable. The Pistons are 8-2 in the 10 games that Cade Cunningham has missed with a collapsed left lung.

Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with 23 points. Paul George scored 20 points, and VJ Edgecombe added 19. George has averaged 25.8 points in six games since returning from a 25-game suspension for violating the league’s drug policy.

Miles McBride is against the clock to get back to his best before the postseason starts. 

He’s played three games now after missing the previous 28 following surgery to repair a sports hernia. It’s imperative across these last four regular-season games that he gets back as close to how he was playing before the surgery. 

McBride was enjoying a career-year before being sidelined, averaging 12.9 points per game and shooting a stellar 42.0 percent from 3-point range.

He was the Knicks’ most — or joint-most, along with Mitchell Robinson — important contributor off the bench, and also represented one of the Knicks’ best point-of-attack defenders. He had the team’s best net rating at 10.3 points. 

His first two games back, though (losses against the Thunder and Rockets), he struggled with his shot — going a combined 1-for-12 from the field and 1-for-8 from deep.

Then he rested during a win over the Grizzlies, and in Friday’s rout of the Bulls, he took all 3-pointers and went 2-for-4, representing a step in the right direction. 

Having been out so long, what’s the toughest part of getting back up to speed? 

“Everything, honestly,” McBride said. “It’s a tough thing to be out so long, having a surgery in the middle of the season.”

There was also a brief concern of a setback — during that Thunder game, McBride played just 11 minutes before aggravating the injury while diving for a loose ball. He grabbed at his groin area, limped into the locker room and did not return. 

But the worst fears were avoided when he was able to return one game later against the Rockets. 

“It’s really just a part of the recovery process,” McBride said. “It’s just kind of like a tweak, and it’s a painful tweak. It’s not necessarily as bad, it’s just sometimes you can’t really do anything about it. 

“It’s like someone stabbing your groin, hip and ab at the same time. It’s not fun. But I’ll get back right.” 

During Wednesday’s win over the Grizzlies, OG Anunoby briefly was in some discomfort with his wrist. On the bench, Jordan Clarkson pretended to sprinkle healing dust on Anunoby’s wrist.

Anunoby returned and finished with 25 points. 

“Jordan healed my wrist,” Anunoby said. “It was crazy. I’m very thankful.”

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tobias Harris scored 19 points, and Daniss Jenkins added 16 points and 14 assists as the Detroit Pistons beat the Philadelphia 76ers 116-93 Saturday night to clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The last time the Pistons (56-21) were the top seed in the East was in 2006-07. They have already clinched the Central Division title for the first time since 2007-08.

Jalen Duren added 16 points and seven rebounds, and Ausar Thompson had 14 points for the Pistons, who have won 12 of their last 15 games.

Both Duren (illness) and Harris (left knee contusion) had been listed as questionable. The Pistons are 8-2 in the 10 games that Cade Cunningham has missed with a collapsed left lung.

Tyrese Maxey led the 76ers with 23 points. Paul George scored 20 points, and VJ Edgecombe added 19. George has averaged 25.8 points in six games since returning from a 25-game suspension for violating the league’s drug policy.

The 76ers played without Joel Embiid, who was ruled out with right oblique injury maintenance/illness in the second half of a back-to-back. The Sixers had won eight of their last 11.

The teams went back and forth in the first half, the Pistons leading by 10 points after one quarter before the 76ers tied the game in the second. A 15-4 run to end the first half gave Detroit control, and the Pistons stretched their lead to 26 points in the second half.

Up next

Pistons: Visit Orlando on Monday.

76ers: Start a three-game trip in San Antonio on Monday.

___

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

The Washington Wizards had a strong defensive effort, holding Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo to 69 points fewer than he scored the last time these teams faced each other.

Editor’s Note:The Wizards allowed more than 150 points for a second straight game and the 15th time in franchise history.

Kevin’s Note: Hey, their defensive rating was six points per 100 possessions better than their last game — they’re IMPROVING!

Yeah, so it wasn’t a strong defensive effort. In fact, it was a downright lousy one, both in terms of mental and physical, and in terms of execution even when their was good effort. In fairness, I don’t know how anyone could be expected to give all-out effort when everyone knows the team really-really-really wants to lose.

In this one, the game was close through the first quarter before the Heat took control in the second period. The avalanche grew throughout the third quarter with Miami’s lead reaching as a high as 35. Bench clearing and classic slacking off contributed to a phony “comeback” in the fourth, which trimmed the final margin to a semi-respectable (looking) 16 points.

Some positives:

• Another impressive game from Will Riley, who scored 31 points on 12-17 shooting and had 5 steals. He even got a couple buckets using his elongated hesi-dribble. Seriously though, Riley scored in an array of ways, including crafty moves off the bounce to create space, finishing over size, attacking the paint, and hitting catch-and-shoot jumpers.
• Justin Champagnie had 12 points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes. He shot 4-9 from the field, which is kinda impressive considering three of those misses were blocks by Heat big Kel’el Ware.
• JuJu Reese grabbed nine rebounds in 11 minutes of action.
• Sharife Cooper had 20 points and 7 assists.

Thoughts & Observations

• On the first possession of the game, the Heat went to Bam Adebayo in the post and Washington triple-teamed him — something they didn’t do until the fourth quarter of that 83-point night Adebayo had a few weeks ago.
• A question I jotted several times throughout the watch was why the Wizards kept trying to attack Bam Adebayo and Davion Mitchell in iso situations. These are two of the NBA’s best defenders in those situations, and the Wizards players are not exactly accomplished one-on-one experts. I mean, Mitchell’s nickname is “Off-Night” for a reason. Pick your spots, guys.
• Check out the possession at 6:45 of the first quarter for a demonstration of Riley’s skill and craft. This was the play where he caught the ball in the corner against an aggressive ball-denial effort and went instantly into a spin into a dribble drive that got him a layup. I liked the decisiveness — just an instantaneous attack that left no time for a help defender to get there.
• I remain not a fan of Washington’s penchant for whoever brings the ball up the floor going straight into a jumper after zero passes and running no actions. In transition or a trailing situation, a catch-and-shoot three is a great shot. Maybe this gives me “Old Man Yells At Cloud” status, but in a halfcourt setting against a defense that’s back and matched up, I’d prefer they run something instead of launching immediately.
• Plays like the one at 4:43 of the second quarter are why I still have hope that Bilal Coulibaly can become something special in the relatively near future. On that play, he drove left on Adebayo and got to a soaring lefty finish. It was an impressive play.
• I very much liked the set piece Washington ran to start the second half. Anthony Gill set a pindown for Riley. Bub Carrington then made an “entry” pass to Gill, who followed Riley to the top — kind of a very high horns set — for a “get” action (Carrington followed his pass) dribble hand-off. Because Gill received the “entry” so high, Miami’s Mitchell had to go under the screen, and Carrington was left with a wide open three.

Four Factors

Below are the four factors that decide wins and losses in basketball — shooting (efg), rebounding (offensive rebounds), ball handling (turnovers), fouling (free throws made).

The four factors are measured by:

• eFG% (effective field goal percentage, which accounts for the three-point shot)
• OREB% (offensive rebound percentage)
• TOV% (turnover percentage — turnovers divided by possessions)
• FTM/FGA (free throws made divided by field goal attempts)

Stats & Metrics

PPA is my overall production metric, which credits players for things they do that help a team win (scoring, rebounding, playmaking, defending) and dings them for things that hurt (missed shots, turnovers, bad defense, fouls).

PPA is a per possession metric designed for larger data sets. In small sample sizes, the numbers can get weird. In PPA, 100 is average, higher is better and replacement level is 45. For a single game, replacement level isn’t much use, and I reiterate the caution about small samples sometimes producing weird results.

POSS is the number of possessions each player was on the floor in this game.

ORTG = offensive rating, which is points produced per individual possessions x 100. League average so far this season is listed in the Four Factors table above. Points produced is not the same as points scored. It includes the value of assists and offensive rebounds, as well as sharing credit when receiving an assist.

USG = offensive usage rate. Average is 20%. Median so far this season is 17.7%.

ORTG and USG are versions of stats created by former Wizards assistant coach Dean Oliver and modified by me. ORTG is an efficiency measure that accounts for the value of shooting, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers. USG includes shooting from the floor and free throw line, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers.

+PTS = “Plus Points” is a measure of the points gained or lost by each player based on their efficiency in this game compared to league average efficiency on the same number of possessions. A player with an offensive rating (points produced per possession x 100) of 100 who uses 20 possessions would produce 20 points. If the league average efficiency is 115, the league — on average — would produced 23.0 points in the same 20 possessions. So, the player in this hypothetical would have a +PTS score of -3.0.

Players are sorted by total production in the game.

Dan Hurley led UConn to its third Men's NCAA Tournament championship game appearance in the last four seasons after the Huskies' 71-62 Final Four win vs. Illinois on Saturday, April 4.

But before he could even get off the court at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday, the two-time national championship coach was booed by fans in the stands.

"Are they booing?" Hurley said halfway through a response to a question from CBS Sports sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson. "I don't know what they're booing."

"Are they booing? ... I don't know what they're booing." 😂

Dan Hurley speaks with @tracywolfson after the Huskies advance to a third National Championship Game in four seasons pic.twitter.com/9ZhMqjUhKm

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) April 5, 2026

REQUIRED READING: UConn vs Illinois final score, highlights: Huskies hold off Fighting Illini in Final Four

The boos, presumedly from Illinois' fans in the stadium, aren't the first directed at the Huskies coach. He's often greeted with similar gestures and jeers from opposing fan bases due to his animated and passionate behavior on the sidelines.

Indeed, cameras caught boos on the broadcast heading into the under-12 media timeout in the second half after Hurley showed his displeasure for an offensive foul against UConn forward Eric Reibe.

"I get much more of a bad reaction from people, I think, on social media than when I meet regular people," Hurley said Friday, April 3 at the Final Four. "Because anytime I meet regular people, they look at me and they start laughing or they start smiling. Or (say), 'You're the guy from the video. You look a little crazy, but I think you're a good egg.'"

Here's what Hurley said of the boos he received:

"It's not who I really am, you know, as a human being. There's people that write articles about me. Some of you may be standing here. I know that there was someone in there that just wrote one about me, that they rarely come to my games. They never spend time around our program," Hurley said. "They have no idea. They take viral clips of things they see at a game, and then they attack me, either personally or my coaching style. And I think it's a joke. I think that's lazy media. They don't know who I am."

Saturday's win moved Hurley to 5-0 in the Final Four with the Huskies and 18-3 overall in the Men's NCAA Tournament.

Now Hurley will look to add his name to more March Madness records with another title on Monday, April 6.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dan Hurley greeted with boos after UConn Final Four win over Illinois

It’s always easier to predict a split back-to-back than actually go through it.

The Sixers fell 116-93 to the Detroit Pistons Saturday night, completing the season series sweep.

They are now 43-35 and will drop back a half game behind the Toronto Raptors for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Tyrese Maxey steadily put up 23 points and two assists going 8-of-17 from the field. Paul George opened the game on fire, going for 20 points and five rebounds on 7-of-14 shooting.

VJ Edgecombe fought his way to 19 points shooting 7-of-18 from the field along with six rebounds. Tobias Harris led the Pistons with 19.

Joel Embiid (oblique injury management) and Johni Broome (meniscus tear) were out for Philadelphia while the Pistons were missing Cade Cunningham (lung) and Isaiah Stewart (calf strain).

Here are some thoughts at the buzzer.

First Quarter

• A much different offensive start than the night before, but again it was George leading the way with his aggression. He got to the basket and drew a foul to get the Sixers their first points of the night before hitting three jumpers. Detroit made their first eight shots of the game. Harris was drawing boos on every touch. He got on the board at the line as well before cutting for a dunk and knocking down a jumper.

• Even when the Pistons finally missed a shot, they were able to tip back the offensive rebound. It was at the 6:03 mark of the quarter that the Sixers got their first proper stop of the game. The decision to start Andre Drummond hadn’t paid off defensively, but at least he had a couple offensive rebounds and a putback early himself. Per Cleaning the Glass, the Pistons took 57% of their shots at the rim — the league average is just 31.4%.
• Some calls were definitely debatable, but the Sixers didn’t do a great job of defending without fouling. They put the Pistons on the line 12 times in the quarter. Maxey, for example, hitting the forearm of Daniss Jenkins shooting a three was one the Sixers really couldn’t afford. Even with Maxey putting up 14 points in the first, the Sixers trailed by 10.

Second Quarter

• It took a couple of possessions, but the Sixers finally got their hands in some passing lanes and were able to get stops. Detroit wasn’t just walking into wide open baskets. George was able to deflect and steal a pass, leading to an Adem Bona basket that capped off a 7-0 Sixers’ run.
• Another big reason for the run was George continued to be a microwave scorer. Edgecombe had some aggressive drives for the first time all night, but George’s inability to miss a jumper was the Sixers’ engine. He got his 18 in the first half having only missed one shot.

• Unfortunately the Sixers’ bench took a hit as they were fighting back in this game. Cam Payne pulled something in his leg trying to chase down a loose ball. He immediately subbed out and was ruled out later in the night with a hamstring strain.
• Playing most of the first quarter meant the Sixers had to play most of the closing stretch without George. The drop off was again more noticeable on the defensive end. The Pistons were able to create some space. Old friend Bball Paul took Drummond off the dribble before Duncan Robinson made his first two threes of the night, helping the Pistons push their lead back up to 11.

Third Quarter

• The Sixers continued to have solid offense coming out of the half. Edgecombe set up Drummond wide open in the dunker spot and Maxey got himself a couple of baskets. Detroit’s size continued to overwhelm them on the other end though. Once Ausar Thomspon got open on a roll the Sixers couldn’t do anything to stop his lobs. Thompson to this point was also leading the Pistons in offensive rebounding as they were pulling down half of their misses.

• The game started to get out of hand for the Sixers when their offense went cold. They went scoreless for over four minutes. George was finally unable to make every jumper while the Pistons defense keyed in on Maxey. Nick Nurse angrily called a timeout as the Pistons took their largest lead of the game at 19.
• The Sixers started to string stops together coming out of that timeout, but not before a trip to the line for Jalen Duren and a three from Harris. Maxey and Edgecombe continued to attack but the Sixers’ offense was extremely top heavy in this one. The only baskets in the third not scored by those two or George was the dump off to Drummond and a putback by Bona. After eating into the lead a bit, a jumper by Ron Holland kept the Pistons up by 14.

Fourth Quarter

• With Kelly Oubre Jr. back in the starting lineup and Payne going down with an injury, the only hope for bench scoring was Quentin Grimes, who unfortunately, didn’t have it. Not only was he scoreless, but his turnover directly led to the Pistons first basket of the fourth after they had been kept off the board for a couple of minutes. 
• The Sixers used their last gasp of this game to try a small lineup with Dominick Barlow as the five so that they could switch everything. They blew a switch on the first inbound coming out of the timeout, immediately giving up a wide open layup. Less than two minutes later and the white flag was raised. This wasn’t an easy game to stomach, but one more affordable to drop after their win over the Timberwolves.

Illinois men's basketball entered the 2026 Final Four with the most statistically decorated offense in the country, an explosive and dynamic group that regularly blitzed past opponents.

In the national semifinals, though, the Fighting Illini ran into a team that's quickly starting to become their kryptonite.

In a 71-62 loss to UConn at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, coach Brad Underwood's team shot just 33.9% from the field and 23.1% from 3-point range, making only six of its 26 shots from beyond the arc.

REQUIRED READING: UConn beats Illinois in Final Four, will play for third national title in 4 years

The fact that the underwhelming performance came against Dan Hurley and the Huskies shouldn't come as a surprise.

The 62 points were the Illini's third-fewest in a game the past three seasons, according to research from ESPN. The only games ahead of it on that list both came against UConn, as well — a 52-point effort in a blowout loss in the Elite Eight in 2024 and 61 points in a Nov. 28 loss to the Huskies in Madison Square Garden earlier in the 2025-26 season.

WILD stat from ESPN Research ..

Illinois' fewest points in a game over the last three seasons:

52 points: 2024 Elite Eight vs. UConn
61 points: Nov. 28, 2025 vs. UConn
62 points: 2026 Final Four vs. UConn

— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) April 5, 2026

Even after April 4's disappointing outing, Illinois is still No. 2 in Division I in adjusted offensive efficiency, according to KenPom.

Much of the Illini's production came from two players — freshman superstar Keaton Wagler and big man Tomislav Ivisic, who had 20 and 16 points, respectively. Outside of that duo, Illinois made just eight of its 29 field-goal attempts (27.6%).

With the win, UConn advanced to the national championship game, where it will play on Monday, April 6 against either Michigan or Arizona.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: UConn has held Illinois to its three lowest point totals of the past three seasons

The final road game of the season wasn’t supposed to end like this. For three quarters, the San Antonio Spurs looked like a team that had already figured it out: poised, confident, and in control inside a hostile Ball Arena against a championship contender, the Denver Nuggets.

They ran. They shared the ball. They scored 43 points in the opening quarter like it was nothing more than a rhythm exercise. Every possession felt intentional. Every shot felt like it belonged. And at the center of it all was Victor Wembanyama, gliding across the floor, protecting the rim, stretching the defense, doing everything at once; the kind of performance that makes you forget how young he really is.

Even when foul trouble saw him go to the bench, the Spurs didn’t flinch. They have built something that went beyond one player. The lead held. The energy stayed. The belief never dipped.

But across the floor stood Nikola Jokić, and he doesn’t let games drift away. It didn’t happen all at once and there wasn’t a single moment where everything broke. Instead, it crept in little by little. A bucket here. A stop there. A possession that didn’t quite go San Antonio’s way. Jokić, patient as ever, began pulling the strings: a pass to the corner, a soft touch in the paint, a rhythm that slowly tilted the floor back toward Denver.

By the fourth quarter, what once felt comfortable began to feel fragile. The Spurs still led. They still had control, technically, but the air had changed. Midway through the fourth, San Antonio was up seven. Close enough to feel the finish line, far enough to still need execution. That’s when the game tightened its grip.

“It was an extremely competitive game that felt there were a lot of high stakes,” Spurs Head Coach Mitch Johnson said. “It was fun game to be a part of and there so many good things that we did and so many things that we can take away to be better at.”

Jamal Murray found space. Aaron Gordon attacked the rim. And Jokić, always Jokić, kept the pressure constant, never rushed, never forced, just inevitable. The lead vanished piece by piece each time the Nuggets had the ball, the Spurs unable to get the stop they needed.

Then came the moment.

De’Aaron Fox fouled Cam Johnson on the three point line. The ball went in and Denver converted the four-point play. And just like that, everything the Spurs had built was hanging by a thread. Still, they had one last chance to hold on, but confusion on the next play saw Aaron Gordon get a wide open dunk to tie the game at 124 and force overtime.

In overtime, things felt different. The Spurs fought. They always do. A three-pointer from Julian Champagnie briefly pushed them ahead again, a flicker of the control they once had. But every answer required perfection now.

And Denver didn’t miss.

Jokić delivered the final blows the way he always does: steady, precise, unavoidable. A bucket in the closing seconds sealed it, a quiet exclamation point on a 40-point masterpiece.

“My conclusion of this game is that it was good for us,” Wembanyama said. “It’s a real test against a team that’s actually playing for something right now. It had some playoff vibes.”

It was just a two-point loss. But it felt heavier than that. Wembanyama had been brilliant with 34 points, 18 rebounds, a presence that shaped the entire night. The Spurs had done so much right. For long stretches, they had been the better team. And still, they walked off without it. Because against a team like Denver, being better for most of the night isn’t enough.

You have to be better at the end.

And for one more game — one final road lesson before the postseason — the Spurs learned exactly how thin that line really is.

“There is no better outcome from this game than to learn,” Wembanyama added. “It is a very good experience.”

Game Notes

• For those clamoring about the Spurs not having playoff experience, this game was as close to the playoffs as they are going to get. And this just proves they are ready. Yes, they have things to work on, but they are ready.
• De’Aaron Fox had 14 points, but was 0-for-6 from three-point range. A 33% shooter from beyond the arc this season, he shot two consecutive air balls that fueled Denver’s growing momentum. In the postseason, I hope to see Fox pulling up from midrange or driving to the rim more.
• Dylan Harper had 12 points off the bench, shooting 71% in 20 minutes. Now, he won’t always shoot the ball that well, but if this is the version of Harper we’re going to get come playoff time — watch out.
• Stephon Castle had 20 points and was aggressive all night long against Denver’s interior defense. So great to see as the playoffs are just two weeks away.

The Los Angeles Lakers produced a strong effort following the NBA All-Star Game to reach the third seed in the Western Conference standings.

The Lakers were looking like a true playoff contender, having won 13 of their last 15 games. The only two losses during that stretch came against the Detroit Pistons and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Both teams are the No. 1 seeds in their respective conferences.

While LeBron James began to settle in as the No. 3 option behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, it could be up to the 22-time All-Star to serve as the leading man for Los Angeles during the first round of the playoffs.

Coach JJ Redick felt confident throughout the season that his team would all come together at the right time for a strong finish.

The Lakers’ roster dealt with various injuries early in the season, making it hard to put out a lineup featuring its top three stars.

The four-time NBA MVP did not play until mid-November, leaving the guards to lead the way early.

Reaves and James are already ineligible for awards, and Doncic will have to appeal for an Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge if he doesn’t play in one of the final five games of the season.