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Nightly Pulse: NBA News & Highlights from April 2

Stay in the know on tonight's NBA action as we keep you updated with the latest news and happenings around the league.

NBA.com Staff

A marquee matchup headlined Wednesday’s slate as Cleveland took down the Knicks. Elsewhere around the league, Boston’s nine-game winning streak was snapped by Miami, Oklahoma City extended their ongoing win streak to 11:

Final Scores around the Association:

⭐⭐TOP PERFORMERS⭐⭐

  1. Anthony Davis: 34 points (14-23 FG), 15 rebounds, two assists, one steal, five blocks
  2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 33 points (10-26 FG), six rebounds, three assists, three steals, two blocks
  3. Russell Westbrook: 30 points (11-25 FG), 11 rebounds, six assists, three steals
  4. DeMar DeRozan: 29 points (10-23 FG), seven rebounds, eight assists, one block

Top Takeaways👉📝

  1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has now recorded 20+ points in 69 straight games, tying Michael Jordan (69 in 1990-91) for the 4th longest streak in a single-season in NBA history.
  2. Houston clinched a postseason berth Wednesday! The Rockets currently stand as one of five teams in the league with the top 10 rating in offensive and defensive efficiency, possessing the third-best defensive rating and ninth-best offense rating league-wide.
  3. Oklahoma City finishes the 2024-25 campaign with a 29-1 record versus Eastern Conference foes — setting an NBA record for best win rate versus the opposing conference. The Thunder surpass a three-way tie of 27-3 records, owned by the 2015-16 Warriors, 2006-07 Mavericks and 1999-2000 Lakers versus  Eastern Conference opponents.

SUPERSTAR ANTHONY DAVIS🌟🌟

35 points. 15 rebounds. Returned from the locker room after getting four stitches following an elbow to the eye socket. Dunks on everybody. Hits the game-winning shot. Anthony Davis is giving his all for Dallas. Mavericks 120, Atlanta 118.

Trae Young posted 25 points (8-20 FG) and 12 assists (versus five turnovers). Onyeka Okongwu joined him with a double-double by recording 20 points (7-15 FG) and 14 rebounds in a team-high 40 minutes of action.

KLAW hour. Clippers win💪💪

Kawhi Leonard (28 points, 11-18 FG) has now scored at least 20 points in 15 of his last 16 appearances. The 33-year-old is averaging 25.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals on 51.7/38.5/77.9 percent shooting over that span.

James Harden (21 points, 10 assists) and Ivica Zubac (17 points, 10 rebounds, six assists) deliver double-doubles to supplement Leonard.

Jose Alvarado (team-high 17 points, 10 assists) countered with a double-double of his own for the Pelicans, but New Orleans connecting on just 18.2% of 22 three-point attempts was ultimately insurmountable.

Thunderstorm late⛈️⛈️

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s historic scoring consistency continued Wednesday, finishing with a game-high 33 points (10-26 FG, 11-12 FT). Chet Holmgren co-starred by stuffing the stat sheet with 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals and six blocks. Jalen Williams popped for 23 points (9-17 FG).

After Detroit scored first, Oklahoma City lead for the entirety of Wednesday’s contest, although the Pistons cut the Thunder lead to four at multiple junctures of the fourth quarter.

Tim Hardaway continues his prolific bombing, finishing with a team-high 23 points (8-14 FG, 5-9 3PM) for Detroit. Cade Cunningham was unavailable for a fifth-consecutive contest due to a bruised left calf.

Shorthanded Nuggets fall to Spurs

San Antonio 113, Denver 106. No Nikola Jokić (ankle) and Jamal Murray (hamstring) proved too much for Denver to overcome as the Nuggets drop both halves of Tuesday and Wednesday’s back-to-back set.

With Murray still on the mend amid a two-game absence and Jokić beaten up/gassed after a 61-point triple-double Tuesday, Denver opted to rest its normal rotation of contributors. Jalen Pickett, Russell Westbrook, Hunter Tyson, Zeke Nnaji and DeAndre Jordan represented the Nuggets’ starting five.

Pickett, a second-year, big-body guard out of Penn State, summoned his inner Westbrook and Jokić with a 17-point, 11-rebound, 10-assists triple-double in 35 minutes action. Westbrook boomed to 30 points (11-25 FG), 11 rebounds and six assists.

Despite their efforts, San Antonio had a wire-to-wire advantage, with the exception of a two-minute span early in the fourth quarter. Seven players for San Antonio scored at least 13 points, with Harrison Barnes (20 points, eight rebounds) leading the way. Rookie Stephon Castle (15 points, 15 rebounds, nine assists) continues to be one of the most intriguing young athletes in the league. His inefficiency (6-18 FG) was mitigated by his hustle Wednesday. His facilitation is a notable storyline as well, posting just one turnover while co-orchestrating the offense with Chris Paul (17 points, eight assists)

Rockets win, clinch playoff spot🚀🚀

The Rockets make the playoff for the first time in 5 years. Dillon Brooks gets a $1 million bonus for helping them do so. Jalen Green leads the way with 22 points while Reed Shepherd pops for 15 points of his own as the Houston community rejoices following a resounding 143-105 victory over Utah.

Houston dominated on the glass, owning a 63-39 advantage in the rebounding battle versus the Jazz. Jabari Smith and Alperen Şengün tied with a game-high 14 rebounds.

Isaiah Collier put forth one of the most notable performances of his rookie season with 22 points (7-11 FG, 6-8 FT), five rebounds, 10 assists and zero turnovers. The 20-year-old has been plagued by turnovers consistently throughout his first campaign, but Wednesday’s outing is likely symbolic of things to come for the young guard as he continues learning.

Collier’s 14.9% turnover rate on possessions featuring pick-and-roll ranks last out of 48 qualifiers league-wide.

Miami over Boston: Rivalry renewed🍿🍿

While Miami and Boston’s recent playoff rivalry has been Damned now that some faces have changed places, it was Miami who got the last laugh over the Celtics with a 124-103 victory to snap Boston’s nine-game winning streak Wednesday night.

The Heat win they’re sixth-straight game propelled by a smooth performance from Tyler Herro (25 points, nine assists, one turnover).

Boston’s starting five of Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, Jayson Tatum and Luke Kornet combined to hit just 29.6% of 27 threes.

Cleveland composed🧘🧘

Donovan Mitchell (27 points, six rebounds, five assists) outdid Karl Anthony-Towns (25 points, 13 rebounds, seven turnovers) as Cleveland notched a furious 124-105 victory over New York despite trailing for nearly the entirety of the first half.

A 38-23 edge in bench points helped fuel the Cavaliers victory. A blistering 66.7 FG% on twos was similarly potent.

OG Anunoby (23 points, six rebounds, six assists) stayed hot. Mikal Bridges (eight points, 3-6 FG) was eerily quiet across 36 minutes of action.

Rock n roll. Pacers win.

In flashy fashion, Tyrese Haliburton (22 points, 10 assists) guides Indiana to a 119-105 victory over Charlotte. Aaron Nesmith (16 points) was the second-leading scorer while four other Pacers’ joined this duo with double-digit scoring.

Mark Williams (16 points, 12 rebounds) had a double-double for the Hornets. He also posted four turnovers. Indiana dominated in the turnover battle, posting an 18-6 margin in a near-spotless display. The Pacers posting a 49.5/40.9/70.0% shooting slash fueled Wednesday’s win as well.

BOUNCE LOB SLAM 💃🏻🕺🏽 💃🏻🕺🏽 💃🏻🕺🏽

Tyrese Haliburton with a sweet and rare dish served up for Obi Toppin.

Haliburton got it going with the cookies on the other end. Defense to offense🔑🔑🔑

Pritchard pedigree🍀🍀🍀

238 made threes off the bench this season🤯🤯🤯

And counting.

Pritchard’s record-breaking three-point shooting is a pretty good feather in his cap for Sixth Man of the Year candidacy.

Global Game🏀🏀🔥🔥

From Australia to Indianapolis! Veteran Pacer fans pull up from across the globe.

Fittingly, rookie Australian Johnny Furphy has been recalled from the G League after helping Indiana’s affiliate win their first round playoff matchup over Greensboro on Tuesday.

Key Storylines for the Night 🍿🍿

  1. OG Anunoby is cooking, averaging 29.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.2 steals while connecting on 56.4 percent of 18.8 shots across his last five games. His booming performances have been a huge boost for the Knicks, who will play their 14th consecutive game without Jalen Brunson (ankle) on Wednesday.
  2. Anthony Davis (adductor) will officially
  3. suit up for a fourth consecutive contest. He’s on a mission to reset Dallas’ momentum heading into a likely Play-In Tournament appearance.
  4. Denver will look to bounce back after Tuesday’s heartbreaking 140-139 double-overtime loss Minnesota. They’ll have to do so without Nikola Jokić (ankle), who posted 61 points (18-29 FG, 19-24 FT), 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the aforementioned thriller.

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