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The streak is over.

After five straight losses, the Suns took care of business against the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night, snapping the skid and picking up their 40th win of the season. It does not move the needle much in the standings, but it matters. Losing streaks wear on you, and getting one in the win column does something for the mindset of the group.

And they did it short-handed. Dillon Brooks, Mark Williams, Royce O’Neale, Grayson Allen, Haywood Highsmith, and Amir Coffey were all out, yet Phoenix still found a rhythm. The ball moved, the defense held, and for long stretches the game felt controlled. The Suns led by as many as 31 points and never really let Toronto find a way back into it.

Devin Booker led all scorers with 25 points, going 9-of-15 from the field and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc, adding six assists. The Suns also received 20 points from Jalen Green, 16 from Collin Gillespie, 14 from Jordan Goodwin, and 12 from Ryan Dunn. It was a quality team effort from Phoenix, one that saw them shoot 45% from three and take care of a Toronto team that came in competing for position in the Eastern Conference.

It was clean. It was needed. And for at least one night, it felt like things made sense again.

Game Flow

First Half

Phoenix opened the game with an 8-0 run, led by 5 points by Jalen Green. And it did not take long for the first controversial moment to show up. Out of a dead ball, the official handed Collin Gillespie the ball to inbound, possession already in motion, and somehow, Toronto was still granted a coach’s challenge. It felt eerily similar to what happened nine days ago in Toronto, when Devin Booker had the ball and the Raptors were still allowed to sneak in a late challenge.

Yes, the challenge was successful, but that is not the point. The point is the timing. Toronto continues to live right on the edge of when a challenge should be allowed, and somehow they keep getting the benefit of it. At some point, that line has to be enforced because right now it feels a little ridiculous.

3rd time this season the refs allowed the opposing team to call a challenge while our players are holding the ball pic.twitter.com/kT5IA8wl9C

— Cage (@ridiculouscage) March 23, 2026

A couple of possessions later, the Suns opted to challenge an out-of-bounds call. They did so prior to the Raptors having the ball in their hands, doing so legally and in accordance with the NBA rulebook. That being said, the officials opted to change the call to a foul and deem it an unsuccessful challenge. So up 16-6 with 6:12 in the first, the Suns were without a challenge.

The Suns’ rookies, who continue to see extended run with all the injuries, looked good early. Rasheer Fleming had an and one, and Khaman Maluach knocked down a three.

Khaman Maluach hits a three & Rasheer Fleming gets a steal into the and-1 in transition 👀

The rookies making plays early 🙌 pic.twitter.com/QLi71rUKQg

— PHNX Suns (@PHNX_Suns) March 23, 2026

For the second straight game, the Suns came out with a strong first quarter. They held Toronto to 20 points and limited them to 1-of-9 from beyond the arc, setting the tone defensively. On the other end, Collin Gillespie led the charge with nine points on 3-of-3 shooting from deep, while Devin Booker added eight. Rasheer Fleming chipped in six points off the bench, and Phoenix caught fire from three, going 8-of-12 as a team.

After one, the Suns held a 34–20 lead.

Phoenix opened the second quarter right where they left off, shooting the ball well, and Jalen Green was leading the charge. He started 4-of-4 from the field for 10 quick points, pushing the Suns’ lead to as much as 18.

Then came the response. Toronto ripped off a 12–0 run, cutting the lead down to six. During that stretch, Collin Gillespie picked up his third foul, which stung given he was the game’s leading scorer with 11 at the time. That forced him to the bench and disrupted some of the early rhythm.

Jordan Goodwin provided the answer the Suns needed. He knocked down a three while getting fouled, completing the four-point play and stopping the bleeding.

The highlight of the quarter came from Ryan Dunn, doing what he does best. After a missed Goodwin three, Dunn flew in for an electric putback dunk. Moments later, he generated a steal and took it the other way for another dunk, bringing energy on both ends of the floor.

You can never have too many Ryan Dunn putback slams pic.twitter.com/jUmGmzViz9

— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) March 23, 2026

The Suns responded well, putting up 32 points in the quarter while going 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. Ryan Dunn led all scorers in the period with seven points, Jordan Goodwin added six, and both Devin Booker and Khaman Maluach chipped in four.

Phoenix’s bench made a real impact, contributing 25 first-half points, and the team took care of the ball, committing only seven turnovers that led to eight points for Toronto. Scottie Barnes led the Raptors with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting, and Toronto as a whole shot 48.7% from the field. Brandon Ingram had just 2 points on 1-of—7 shooting.

Phoenix shot 54.5%, had five more shot attempts, and controlled the flow of the game. At the break, Phoenix held an 18-point lead, up 66–48.

Second Half

The third quarter opened with clear intent from the Suns. They came out with energy, putting together an 11–6 run, and once again, it was Jalen Green leading the scoring. He had four points early, although it took him five shots as he opened the half 1-of-5 from the field.

The tone was set on the defensive end and on the glass. Phoenix forced two early turnovers and turned them into four points. They also grabbed five offensive rebounds in the first four minutes, leading to four second-chance points. That effort dictated the pace and kept them engaged.

The concern showed up in a familiar place. Toronto was getting whatever it wanted at the rim. Much like the previous matchup, the Raptors were living in the paint. Of their first 14 points in the second half, 10 came inside, a reminder of how easily they were able to attack the interior.

The Suns’ offense kept responding, and with just over three minutes left in the quarter, Phoenix had stretched the lead to 30.

Bookers shot looks so good in slow motion, even the net moving looks beautiful pic.twitter.com/T5leJIs9kR

— Cage (@ridiculouscage) March 23, 2026

It was a quality third from Phoenix. For the third time in the game, they cleared 30 points in a quarter as they scored 31 in the third. They held Toronto to 21. Devin Booker set the tone, going 5-of-8 from the field for 13 points, and Jalen Green added eight more. The three-point shooting continued to hurt the Raptors. They went 1-of-9 from deep, and Phoenix made them pay, taking a 97–69 lead into the fourth.

The fourth quarter opened with a moment I appreciated. Rasheer Fleming caught the ball in the left corner and let a three fly. It was not pretty, and it missed. The next possession, he found himself in the same exact spot. The ball hit his hands again, and this time he stepped into it with confidence and knocked it down clean. That is a good sign. For a young rookie, the ability to forget the previous possession and trust the next one matters. That kind of confidence, that willingness to shoot again, that is how growth happens.

The fourth quarter continued, and the Suns kept the pressure on. All gas, no brakes.

It almost felt like a response to what has hurt them recently. Those moments where they build a lead and then ease off, playing not to lose instead of playing to win. On Sunday night, there was none of that. The intensity stayed. The focus stayed.

With 4:44 left, Jordan Ott was able to empty the bench. That meant minutes for Koby Brea and CJ Huntley, and it was good to see. Those are the kind of moments young players need, getting run in a game where the Suns were in control, dictating the tone, and finishing strong. For once, they were the ones doing the slapping.

Up Next

The Suns remain at home and host the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night at 8:00pm. We’ll see you then Bright Side.

The Dallas Mavericks (23-48, 14-22 Home) took the Los Angeles Clippers to overtime on Saturday before falling 138-131 in a game that had no business being that close and (if you were watching) every reason to be exactly that close. These Mavericks don’t fold. They don’t mail it in. They play hard enough to make you forget, for stretches at a time, what the standings actually say. On Monday at 8:30 PM CT, they host the Golden State Warriors (33-38, 14-23 Away), who arrive at the AAC without Stephen Curry, without Jimmy Butler, and without much to offer beyond Draymond Green’s behavioral grab bag and Brandin Podziemski doing his best impression of a lead guard. Both teams have lost eight of their last ten. One of these losing streaks ends tonight. Let’s look at three things before the Mavericks take on a familiar yet barely recognizable foe.

The Mavericks are losing the right way

Somewhere between sixth and seventh in the Tankathon standings, Dallas sits with a 9.0% shot at the top pick in a loaded draft class—behind Indiana, Washington, Brooklyn, Sacramento, and Utah, all of whom have more losses and, in several cases, seemingly more organizational intent to keep accumulating them. The NBA made that point explicitly in February, when it fined the Jazz $500,000 and the Pacers $100,000 for what commissioner Adam Silver called “overt behavior that prioritizes draft position over winning.” Pulling healthy stars in fourth quarters of close games. Sitting rotation players against medical advice. The league had seen enough.

The Mavericks are not engaged in such overly obvious shenanigans. Jason Kidd is playing as close to a winning rotation on any given night as he has available. Veterans including Washington, Gafford, Marshall, and Thompson are playing to win every night because that’s who they are, not because the front office is choosing their level of competitive fire or minutes on the floor. PJ Washington is averaging 14.6 points and 6.9 rebounds since the start of March, and in the overtime loss to LA on Saturday put up 21 and nearly won it off an offensive rebound in the final seconds. Daniel Gafford came off the bench against Atlanta last Wednesday after a brief absence and went 9-for-10 from the field for 24 points in 22 minutes, which is the kind of performance that makes you wonder why his minutes are being managed at all. This is not Cooper Flagg and four guys standing around watching. There’s real pride in this building, and it shows up every night even when the results don’t.

That duality—proud of the fight, aware of the math—is what it means to watch this team right now. Dallas sits eight games back of Indiana and two behind Utah in the loss column. They probably aren’t moving up given how hard they are fighting but they aren’t engineered to move down either, and there’s something genuinely refreshing about that in a season where the race to the bottom has been uglier than usual.

The cost of betting on aging stars

Stephen Curry is 37 years old and, when healthy this season, has been almost absurdly good—averaging 27.2 points, which only LeBron James has topped at that age in NBA history. The problem is the “when healthy” part. Curry has been out since January 30 with runner’s knee, and in his absence the Warriors have gone 6-13. With him, they won 59% of their games. Without him, 32%.

Golden State made a calculated bet last season when they acquired Jimmy Butler, deciding that Curry’s window—however narrow it was getting—was still worth pushing through. It was a reasonable bet. Butler tore his ACL in January. Curry went down two weeks later. Two pillars of the same window, lost in the same month.

The Mavericks learned a version of this lesson themselves. Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis were supposed to form the bridge between the Luka era and whatever came next. Irving is missing this entire season during his ACL recovery and Davis was traded to Washington in a reset button maneuver. When you pin your hopes on players past thirty, availability is a variable, not a constant. Golden State found that out. Dallas found it out. The difference is Dallas now has a teenager who plays like he’s been doing this for a decade, and Golden State has Draymond Green playing out the string of a dynasty that won its last ring four years ago.

Curry is trending toward a return as early as Wednesday’s home game against the Nets. Tonight in Dallas is likely one of his last absences. It’s still not going to save the Warriors’ season as I suspect they are out in the play-in or an early round exit if they advance to the playoffs.

Four years is forever

I just find it genuinely hard to believe that the 2022 Western Conference Finals happened four years ago. I can still see Dorian Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock ground down to a fine pumice like substance by the end of that series because Jason Kidd had no one else he trusted to defend opposing scorers. Brunson and Dinwiddie starting without Luka in Utah. Maxi Kleber hitting threes in the desert like he’d been saving them all season. That whole run felt like the sky opening up—like Dallas had finally turned a corner and the next decade was going to be something.

Four years later, here are the players from those two rosters still on their original teams who may see action in tonight’s contest: Draymond Green.Dwight Powell. That’s the list.

Klay Thompson—who scored 32 points and hit eight threes to close out these Mavericks in Game 5 of that series—is now in a Dallas uniform, averaging 11.8 points in year two of a three-year deal on a team that has pivoted decisively away from anything he signed up for. He came here for a fifth ring. Luka got traded six months later. His contract runs through next season at $16.7 million and he may well be dealt in the offseason when whoever takes over as GM starts building their own thing around Cooper Flagg. We might be watching the final chapters of Klay Thompson’s career, which is a strange thing to sit with.

Part of this is just this old writer getting…older. Time moves faster at 50 than it did at 40, and four years that should feel like four years somehow feels like eighteen months. But part of it is genuinely how completely these franchises have transformed. The Warriors went from dynasty to expensive construction project gasping for the stars to align for just one more run. The Mavericks went from Finals contender to full rebuild, skipping several steps along the way thanks to the decision maker at the time who has Voldemort levels of popularity in Dallas.

What hasn’t changed is that these two teams still show up and compete. That’s worth something, even in March, even with the standings looking the way they do.

Where to watch

The Mavericks and Warriors tip off at 8:30 PM CT from American Airlines Center on Monday. Watch on Peacock. Go Mavs.

Game Story

21 years.

Sunday evening, the Minnesota Timberwolves visited the Boston Celtics at TD Garden, a place where the Wolves hadn’t won since March 6, 2005. That’s not a typo. Kevin Garnett still played for Minnesota, where he scored a team-high 21 points in a narrow 99-97 victory (Ricky Davis missed a game-winning 3-point attempt at the buzzer).

And no, Bruce Lee was not alive during that victory either (RIP).

It’s no surprise to Wolves fans that Minnesota started off the game slow. Slow starts have become a part of their DNA. The Celtics have also been winners of their last five games, utilizing the momentum of Jayson Tatum’s return to catapult themselves into contention for the top Eastern Conference seed. So when Minnesota found themselves down 2 to 11 to start the game, it felt all too familiar.

During the NBA trade deadline and Giannis Antetokounmpo trade saga just over a month ago, a large part of the Wolves fan base pointed to three reasons for why “blowing it up” would’ve been the wrong decision. The marked improvement of Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid’s production, and to a much lesser extent, Julius Randle’s early season heater.

The first half was not a good one for that camp.

With all the offensive usage that needed to be soaked up sans Edwards, McDaniels was super cold early. Naz Reid, who had just missed the last two contests with a nagging shoulder injury he’s been nursing for some time, was also off target in his first half stint. In fact, it was only when those two went to the bench when Minnesota battled all the way back from a 15-point second quarter.

Oh, and don’t think I forgot about Julius Randle, who also missed seven of his first eight shots.

It was the aggressive point-of-attack pressure defense and quick offensive decision-making of Bones Hyland and Ayo Dosunmu that spearheaded a 33-21 second quarter. We even got a destructively productive three-minute stint by Jaylen Clark, who defended Jaylen Brown successfully in isolation and rebounded the ball well all game! Right as the first half buzzer sounded, Hyland capped off a team-best 14-point half with a patented step-back triple and celly to boot.

It felt unsustainable for Minnesota to continue their scorching hot second quarter performance where they went 50% from the field and 62.5% from beyond the arc. It also seemed improbable that Tatum, who had been averaging nearly 20 points per game this season, would remain scoreless in the second half.

It felt unsustainable because it was.

Tatum opened up the third quarter on a personal mission, scoring 10 points in a matter of minutes to help engineer an 11-0 Boston run right out of the gates. Meanwhile, the Wolves compounded that by missing their first five shots of the half, erasing all the hard work they did in the previous quarter. But once again, it was the Dosunmu who came to the rescue with some nasty driving layups, as well as playmaking for others, which resuscitated Minnesota.

The previously frigid McDaniels came to the party at a time of a need. A pair of easy shots close the rim broke the seal for him to uncork 12 points in a three minute span. Hyland, the first half hero, continued his tirade in the fourth quarter, terrorizing Celtics rookie, Hugo González, taunting him along the way. Hyland joined the NBC Peacock broadcast crew after the game to share that March is always an emotional month for him, as this was the month where he lost his grandmother and baby brother in a terrible fire tragedy.

A year after a tragic fire, high-major recruit Nah’Shon Hyland has his groove back

He certainly made them proud tonight.

This all bought just enough time for the previously struggling Naz Reid to enter the picture in the only way he knows how: An offensive showcase that was a delight to all the senses.

A personal 8-0 run by Reid suddenly pushed the Wolves ahead by as much as 12 with just six minutes remaining in the game. There was just but a faint heartbeat from Boston at this point. However, the Wolves had nearly blown a similar lead in more chaotic fashion when the two teams faced off in November.

Oh, don’t think I forgot about Randle.

Despite an otherwise disappointing overall effort from him all game, he did assist Reid on two of his makes before scoring five of his own points in a row to help keep the Celtics at bay. It was poetic that the man who started it all, Ayo Dosunmu, would slam the door shut with his amazing play on both ends of the court. Another beautiful driving layup dagger, standing up Brown to force a miss, then a vicious block on Ron Harper Jr.

The Wolves victory keeps them in an essential three-way tie with the Rockets and Nuggets for the fourth through sixth seeds in the Western Conference, and four games above the seventh play-in tournament.

It only seemed fitting that on the same day that the Wolves debuted an exclusive Michael Grady interview with Kevin Garnett, Minnesota would end their drought in Boston. Not only is Garnett going to have his jersey retired for both franchises, but think about KG’s black tree jersey. What number is on the back of his jersey?

The number of years it’s been since the Timberwolves won at TD Garden.

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Box Score

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Comment of the Night

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Up Next

One of the two most important games of the season comes up for the Wolves. They return home to host the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, March 25, at 8:30 PM CT. Houston is tied with the Wolves in the standings and currently hold a 1-0 season series lead on them with two games remaining. This is particularly imperative to Minnesota because they’ve already lost tiebreakers to the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets, meaning this could be the only series they can still snag.

This game will be broadcast on ESPN and FanDuel Sports Network.

Highlights

The Field of 68 is down to the Sweet 16.

Stealing a line from Kenny Smith: The first weekend of March Madness you make your name. The second weekend you make your fame.

The Sweet 16 starts Thursday in San Jose with Purdue vs. Texas and ends late Friday night with Tennessee vs. Iowa State in Chicago.

March Madness scores, highlights: Who is headed to Sweet 16?

Here's a look at the full schedule with TV listings for the 2026 Sweet 16:

Sweet 16 schedule, game times: Updated March Madness bracket

THURSDAY, MARCH 26

• 7:10 p.m.: No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 11 Texas (West), CBS
• 7:30 p.m.: No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 9 Iowa (South), TBS/truTV
• 9:45 p.m.: No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 4 Arkansas (West), CBS
• 10:05 p.m.: No. 2 Houston vs. No. 3 Illinois (South), TBS/truTV

FRIDAY, MARCH 27

• 7:10 p.m.: No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 St. John's (East), CBS
• 7:35 p.m.: Texas Tech/Alabama winner vs. No. 1 Michigan (Midwest), TBS/truTV
• 9:45 p.m.: UCLA/UConn winner vs. No. 3 Michigan State (East), CBS
• 10:10 p.m.: No. 2 Iowa State vs. No. 6 Tennessee (Midwest), TBS/truTV

Where is Sweet 16, Elite 8? 2026 Sweet 16 locations, venues 

• SOUTH: Houston; Toyota Center
• WEST: San Jose, Calif.; SAP Center
• MIDWEST: Chicago; United Center
• EAST: Washington, D.C.; Capital One Arena

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sweet 16 schedule, tip times, TV channel, March Madness bracket update

DENVER (AP) — Nikola Jokic recorded his 35th triple-double of the season and both he and Jamal Murray scored 22 points Sunday when the Denver Nuggets celebrated the return of Peyton Watson by cooling off the Portland Trail Blazers 128-112.

Jokic had 22 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists. Cam Johnson added 19 points as the Nuggets stopped Portland’s three-game winning streak, all on the road.

Deni Avdija led the Trail Blazers with 23 points and Donovan Clingan added 18 for Portland, which never led in the last of a five-game trip.

Watson, who hadn’t played since Feb. 4 due to a hamstring injury, scored 14 points in just under 20 minutes. He was one of seven Nuggets to score in double figures.

KINGS 126, NETS 122

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Malik Monk scored 10 of his 32 points in the final five minutes, Devin Carter made a pair of clutch free throws with 6.6 seconds remaining and Sacramento held off Brooklyn.

Monk made seven 3-pointers and went 9 for 9 from the line to help the Kings (19-53) end a two-game skid.

Carter had 16 points and five rebounds, but it was his two free throws in the final seconds that were crucial.

The Nets (17-54) had one final possession, but Nolan Traore stepped out of bounds and turned the ball over. The play was reviewed and upheld.

Kings rookie Maxime Raynaud had his 16th double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Precious Achiuwa added 14 points and 15 rebounds and DeMar DeRozan finished with 10 points and eight assists.

Ben Saraf scored 22 points for the Nets, who have lost seven straight. Ziaire Williams had 18 points and Traore finished with 17.

KNICKS 145, WIZARDS 113

NEW YORK (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had 26 points and 16 rebounds, Jalen Brunson scored 23 points and New York beat Washington Wizards for their sixth straight victory.

Josh Hart made all three 3-point shots and added 16 points as New York handed Washington its 16th straight loss. Mikal Bridges had 14 points and six assists, while Mitchell Robinson came off the bench to make all five shots and finish with 10 points and 10 rebounds in 17 minutes.

The Knicks rang up 77 points in the second half against one of the NBA’s worst teams and shot 58.5% from the floor and 53% from 3-point range. They also made 18 of 19 free throws (94.7%).

Tyler Kolek played about 5 1/2 minutes in the blowout and went 4 for 4, including 3 for 3 behind the arc, and scored 11 points after pouring in 42 while playing for the Knicks’ NBA G League team earlier in the day.

Jaden Hardy made seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points for the Wizards. Anthony Gill had 18.

TIMBERWOLVES 102, CELTICS 92

BONSTON (AP) — Bones Hyland scored 23 points, Jaden McDaniels had 19 and Minnesota beat the Celtics to snap an 18-game losing streak in Boston.

Ayo Dosunmu added 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists for Minnesota, and Rudy Gobert had 14 rebounds and nine points. The Timberwolves’ last win in Boston came in 2005.

Jaylen Brown led Boston with 29 points, Jayson Tatum overcame a slow start to score 16 points and add 11 rebounds. Derrick White had 15 points. The loss snapped the Celtics’ four-game winning streak and left them just a half-game ahead of the New York Knicks in second place in the Eastern Conference.

Timberwolves All-Star guard Anthony Edwards was sidelined for his fourth straight game because of right knee inflammation. Forward Naz Reid returned after a two-game absence with a sprained right ankle and was ineffective until scoring in eight of his 11 points during Minnesota’s game-breaking 16-0 run midway into the final quarter.

I know, I know, you’ve been glued to college basketball for the past four days — I get it. March Madness is possibly the greatest annual event in all of basketball. The buzzer-beaters, the upsets, and the endless stream of pure hooping goodness are all intoxicating. I won’t deny this. Nor will I plead with you to tear your eyes away from the pinnacle of college basketball.

But with the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament coming to a close, the Utah Jazz are here to satisfy the vacuum left in the days leading to the Sweet 16. With AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson having played their final minutes of college hoops, a thirst for professional basketball may dry out the back of your throat.

At home in the Delta Center, NBA basketball flows like water.

One look at the Utah Jazz’s injury report leading up to their March 23 meeting with the Toronto Raptors, and my jawbone loses all structure, dropping to the floor as the list of injured Jazzmen spans for miles. Out for this matchup are Isaiah Collier and Keyonte George (hamstring twins!), Blake Hinson on two-way assignment to the G-League, and the obvious remainder of Jaren Jackson Jr, Walker Kessler, Lauri Markkanen, and Jusuf Nurkic.

The @utahjazz injury report:

OUT – Isaiah Collier (hamstring)

OUT – Keyonte George (hamstring)

OUT – Blake Hinson (Two-Way)

OUT – Jaren Jackson Jr. (knee)

OUT – Walker Kessler (shoulder)

OUT – Lauri Markkanen (hip)

OUT – Jusuf Nurkic (nose)

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) March 22, 2026

So now the challenge becomes uncovering who will play for the banged-up Jazz as the Raptors hope to defend their fifth-place position in the Eastern Conference on a trip to Salt Lake City. Utah, valiantly clinging to the second-worst record in the West, will be hosting a youth showcase on the floor of the Delta Center.

Keep an eye on Utah’s rookie, Ace Bailey, who recently posted a career-high 33-point performance and has violently caught flame among his fellow rookie classmates. The jumper is clicking. His defense is artful. The three-pointers are plentiful. Ace Bailey isn’t campaigning for rookie of the year, but is it too late to consider a spot in the All-Rookie First Team? He’s hitting over 40% on very high volume in the month of March.

Ace Bailey’s rookie ranks since February 26th:

1st – PPG
1st – 3PM
1st – 3PA
2nd – BPG
3rd – FGA
5th – SPG
9th – RPG

Making a late push for All-Rookie 1st Team?

— Art Cummings (@ArtTakesNote) March 22, 2026

With apologies to Andersson Garcia supporters, Utah opted not to offer the G-League star a second 10-day contract in favor of Kennedy Chandler, who likewise wears 0 with the Jazz, and enjoyed an excellent maiden appearance with the Jazz. 19 points, 4 assists, and a steal is a great stat line to catch the attention of talent evaluators at the front office level and easy chair level alike. But a very inefficient 33% field goal rate gives the former Tennessee Volunteer a clear opportunity for improvement against Toronto.

On the topic of the Raptors, the visitors from the North are much-improved from a season ago. After finishing 30-52 in 2024-25, Toronto is 39-30. Despite strong seasons from Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett (no relation), Scotty Barnes, and Immanuel Quickly, Toronto represents the “best of the rest” designation beneath the Finals contenders of Detroit, Boston, New York, and Cleveland.

These prehistoric beasts intend to collect their 40th win without much discussion on Monday, which would push their record 10 games above .500, and draw one step closer to clinching a spot in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. A great turnaround for a team that whiffed on the Play-In just a year earlier.

Toronto, largely healthy, enters the Delta Center against the youngsters of Utah, largely unhealthy. The Jazz are 2.5 games above Sacramento in the tank race dumpster dive.

How to watch Utah Jazz vs Toronto Raptors:

Date: Monday, March 23, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM MT
Location: Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Channel: Jazz+, KJZZ
Odds: TOR -12.5

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Calvin Barrett is a writer, editor, and prolific Mario Kart racer located in Tokyo, Japan. He has covered the NBA and College Sports since 2024.

The Boston Celtics hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves Sunday night in a nationally televised match up. Minnesota had not won a game in Boston for 25 years, and they obliterated the Celtics in the fourth quarter. Boston missed 12 straight shots to start the fourth quarter as they recorded their 24th loss on the season, 102-92. Jaylen Brown had 29 points to lead the C’s, Jayson Tatum was scoreless in the first half but finished the game with 16 points, Derrick White chipped in 15 points.

Boston started the game with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Sam Hauser, and Neemias Queta. The Timberwolves started Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle, Ayo Dosunmu, Donte DiVincenzo, and Jayden McDaniels. Anthony Edwards was unavailable for the visitors following a MRI on his right knee due to inflammation.

Derrick slipped into the lane to score the game’s first points as he got off a quick shot over Rudy Gobert. Jaylen Brown drove and scored over McDaniels. JB got a steal and passed full court to Hasuer for an easy layup to go up 6-2 early. Minny started off shooting just 1-6 to start the game. JB was on fire to start with, back-to-back buckets as Boston went up 11-2.

Jayden McDaniels finally stuck the Wolves’ second bucket with a line drive two-pointer. The visitors scored a pair of quick baskets to close the Celtics’ lead back to 11-8. Scheierman and Pritchard were the first C’s off the bench for Boston as White and Hauser took an early seat. Queta was blocked by Gobert but got the ball back and muscled it home over Randle in the key for his score of the game.

After his fantastic game in Memphis, Luka Garza got the nod as the first big man off the bench with Queta taking a seat. Brown drove with an up-and-under and was looking for his eleventh point in the quarter, but Gobert blocked him for his third of the night as the last line of defense for Minny.

In a low-scoring first quarter, both teams were struggling to shoot; Minnesota was just 26 percent from the field, Boston a fraction better at 38%. Jaylen Brown scored 11 of the team’s 23 points as Boston took a 9-point lead after one quarter, 23-14.

Brown and Tatum started the second quarter on the bench as Derrick White returned to the court. He wasted no time, hitting a triple followed up by a Baylor Scheierman corner trey to start the third as Boston went on a 10-0 run. The bench mob was proving to be effective for Boston as the home team went up, 31-20.

Hauser blocked a three-point attempt, and Derrick White slipped into the key to score his seventh point of the night. Jayson Tatum was struggling with the shot early, the All-Star scoreless to start, missing on his four shot attempts.

Luka Garza was whistled for an offensive foul on a blown screen, Gobert dunked it home as Minny came racing back into the contest, down just 3 points, 33-30. Dosunmu’s wing triple laced the net and tied scores at 33 all. Boston was stuck in mud int he second quarter after taking an early eleven point lead.

Derrick White was super open in the key with 4 and half minutes to go in the half, he scored on a back cut and dunk. Boston was not taking care of the ball in the half, and Minny had ratcheted up the defensive pressure in the second quarter, the C’s with 10 uncharacteristic first half turnovers.

JB was the C’s best player in the first half, he drove and spun home a circus shot reverse lay in and drew a foul. Brown would have 17 points in the first half on 6-13 from the field, Boston down 44-47 as Bones Hyland nailed a triple at the buzzer to end the half.

Jayson Tatum scored his first points of the game to start the 3rd quarter with a drive and layup over Rudy Gobert. JT followed that up with a step-back triple over Randle as he was finally starting to find a groove. Tatum stole the ball at half court for another layup; he had 7 quick points in the first 2 minutes of the third.

Tatum stepped into a second triple of the game as he shot over the taller Gobert, who was caught flat-footed. Brown hit a pair of free throws, and Pritchard rattled home a corner three in front of the C’s bench as Boston took a 63-54 lead.

Tatum had 13 points and counting in the third with five and a half minutes to go. Minny was running the floor and not going away, outscoring Boston in a third-quarter run, with the C’s up by just 3 points, 69-66. Pritchard hit a corner triple, and Brown flashed through the key for a two-handed dunk as Boston regained a scoring buffer.

With Rudy Gobert on the bench taking a breather late in the third, the smaller Wolves were running and gunning, Hyland and McDaniels providing the scoring punch for the visitors. After three it was a tight contest, Boston up by just one point, 77-76.

Both teams traded buckets to start the fourth quarter. It was Bones Hyland who was the story for Minny as he put the visitors on his shoulders to take a seven point lead, 88-81. Joe Mazzulla had to call a timeout as the Wolves went on a 10-0 run to silence the TD Garden. Naz Reid hit consecutive baskets as the Wolves had 16 straight points, 81-94.

Boston would need to dig out of a big hole with 5 minutes to go and after missing 12 straight shot attempts. Jayson Tatum broke the streak as he scored a layup and was fouled, Minny up by 10 points. The sixth placed Minnesota Timberwolves continued to pile up the points and close things out strong on the road. Joe Mazzulla emptied the bench to end it, with Shulga, Bassey and Harper Jr., getting late minutes.

Tonight’s game marks the first of three home games, Boston next host the Oklahoma Thunder on Wednesday.

For the second time in only a handful of hours, the 2026 NCAA Tournament had a game decided with a go-ahead bucket in the final five seconds.

And this time, it knocked out the reigning national champion and one of the four No. 1 seeds.

An Alvaro Folgueiras 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining lifted No. 9 seed Iowa to a 73-72 upset victory over Florida on Sunday, March 22.

REQUIRED READING: Florida basketball stunned by Iowa in March Madness Round 2 upset

The win pushed the Hawkeyes into their first Sweet 16 since 1999, where first-year coach Ben McCollum's team will face Big Ten rival Nebraska in a matchup that, unlike the schools' football games, will feature no punting. It marked the ninth time since 1979 that a No. 9 seed has defeated a No. 1 seed.

The thrilling conclusion to the win and the ramifications of the upset unsurprisingly drew a spirited reaction among fans and media members.

Here’s a sampling of what was being said on social media after the game:

Social media reacts to Iowa's upset of Florida

Looking at my bracket right now 😑 https://t.co/dpJAey2mhkpic.twitter.com/qcK0JDHDhe

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 23, 2026

This is the Sweet 16 matchup that the Midwest prayed for

Nebraska vs Iowa

Nationally, I don’t think people understand how great this is

This is war

— Will Compton (@_willcompton) March 23, 2026

This is March!

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 23, 2026

UPSET OF THE TOURNAMENT.

OH MY GOODNESS.

IOWA STUNS THE FLORIDA GATORS IN TAMPA.

THIS! IS! MARCH!

— Jake Marsh (@JakeMarsh18) March 23, 2026

Ben McCollum was coaching Northwest Missouri State two years ago in the D-2 tourney.

Last year he took Drake to the NCAA tourney.

This year he's taking Iowa to the Sweet 16.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 23, 2026

Ben McCollum is a WIZARD. That Iowa roster has NO business beating that Florida team.

But it happened.

March happened. Again.

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 23, 2026

pic.twitter.com/u6MFbkQ2ad

— No Context College Basketball (@ContextFreeCBB) March 23, 2026

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How social media reacted to Iowa upset of Florida in march Madness

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Rebecca Leslie scored on a power play 12 seconds into overtime to give the Ottawa Charge a 2-1 victory over the Montreal Victoire on Sunday night.

Part of the PWHL's Takeover Tour, the game attracted a capacity crowd of 15,321 fans to Canada Life Centre.

Leslie scored with Montreal’s Abby Roque serving a penalty for slashing late in the third period.

Gabbie Hughes opened the scoring for Ottawa at 5:37 of the second. Nicole Gosling tied it with 8:40 left in the period.

Gwyneth Philips made 20 saves for Ottawa (5-7-1-9). Ann-Renee Desbiens stopped 26 shots for Montreal (10-4-2-5).

Up next

Victoire: At Minnesota on Wednesday night.

Charge: At Seattle on Sunday.

___

AP women’s hockey: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-hockey

The Knicks took it to the Washington Wizards on Sunday night with a dominating 145-113 win at MSG for the team's sixth consecutive victory.

Here are the takeaways...

-- New York was off and running from the opening tip in this one, scoring on the first possession of the game and never looking back. They scored 32 points in the first quarter led by Jalen Brunson's 12 and led for the entirety of the frame. The Wizards got close a few times and even tied it for a brief moment in the second quarter, but the Knicks followed that up with an 18-4 run that crushed any chance of a Washington win.

-- By halftime, New York led by 16 points and was firing on all cylinders. Karl-Anthony Towns finished with a game-high 26 points and was a monster on the glass with 16 rebounds. Josh Hart filled the stat sheet with 16 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals and Mikal Bridges had a game-high plus-minus rating of plus-28 in his 30 minutes of action.

-- After scoring 68 points in the first half, the Knicks were even better in the second half and put up a ridiculous 77 points. They shot 58.5 percent from the field and 53.1 percent from deep. 

-- With the help of Towns as well as Mitchell Robinson, New York also dominated the interior. The Knicks outrebounded the Wizards, 48-28, and put up 64 points in the paint compared to Washington's 38. Robinson joined KAT with a double-double of his own off the bench in just 17 minutes and New York emptied its bench to give some of its reserves extended minutes.

-- With the game already in the bag, Tyler Kolek still got the Garden on its feet at the end of the game by going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and scoring 11 points in five minutes. Jeremy Sochan was also able to make a difference in his time on the court, grabbing six rebounds in eight minutes.

-- For the Wizards, who have now lost 16 in a row, their leading scorer was Jaden Hardy who had 25 points.

Game MVP: Josh Hart

The do-it-all guard once again did it all with his 16/6/4 stat line on an efficient 5-for-9 from the floor (3-for-3 from three) in 28 minutes.

What's next

The Knicks have a day off before getting right back to it with a game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.

When the NBA conducts its annual draft lottery in May, the Knicks will get screwed out of a top-10 for the second time in three years. In 2024 Dallas pissed away a postseason shot to avoid sending the Knicks a lottery pick that year; the basketball gods have since exacted vengeance upon the Mavs. Washington was making some noise earlier this season for the first time in years. If their first-round pick isn’t top-8, it goes to the Knicks. So the Wizards became the first team ever to acquire two All-Stars midseason with zero intention of playing either, and have, according to plan, resumed normal service. That is to say, sucking.

The gods may punish their shenanigans someday. Tonight behind 60/53/95 shooting, the Knicks punished the Beltway bozos 145-113. Not a one of the 14 ’bockers to suit up saw so many as 30 minutes of run. If Tom Thibodeau were the coach the five starters would still be playing five minutes after the final buzzer. New York led wire-to-wire and by as many as 33 in as stress-free an NBA game as you’ll find. Washington was without Alex Sarr, the suspended Justin Champagnie and promising rookie Tre Johnson, though that’s hardly a hardship when you’re selling losing as the roots of winning.

The Knicks outscored the Wizards 64-38 in the paint, by 26 on 2s and nine at the foul line. Second-chance points? 26-11 to the home team. Karl-Anthony Towns put up the quickest 26 and 16 a human being can. Though if you’ve been paying attention, KAT was apt to pad his stats.

One of the fun things about being a sports fan is how often the story you expect to see unfold deviates entirely from the script. Even more fun is when your team is way better than the other one and they really should kick some ass, then they go out and do. We watched the Knicks be the Wizards for a long, long time. Much nicer look on other teams.

Russell Richardson will have your recap. The Knicks are really good. The Wizards? They’re losing, they’re tanking and they ain’t cutting their fans no discount, a joke of a franchise taking the Joker’s words to heart: if you’re good at something, never do it for free.