Soaring to seven straight.
With five days left in the regular season, the Rockets are red-hot – and just one game back of 3rd in the West.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
April 8, 2026
Coast 2 Coast Comebacks: C’s storm past Hornets, Rockets top Suns to extend streak
Postseason Push: Clips complete challenge, Thunder rumble, Wolves clinch, Raps & Warriors win
Roundup: Fears erupts for Pels’ rookie record, Bulls roll, Nets edge Bucks
Kia Rookie Ladder: Aschburner breaks down a race to the finish in his final Ladder of the season
ESPN Doubleheader: Elite East duos collide in potential Playoff preview, Spurs & Blazers meet again
BUT FIRST … ⏰
More postseason implications tonight…
Seven games tip off tonight, headlined by an ESPN doubleheader as the Hawks visit the Cavs (7 ET | Tap to Watch), before the Spurs host the Blazers (9:30 ET | Tap to Watch).
Postseason Countdown: The SoFi Play-In Tournament is just six days away. See the current Playoff Picture here.
Beyond The Take: Thunder All-Star Chet Holmgren breaks down what he sees in real time on the floor in the premiere of “Beyond the Take,” a new series available on the NBA App, NBA.com and NBA social channels.
1. C2C COMEBACKS: CELTICS SLOW HORNETS, ROCKETS STAY ROLLING
Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
Facing one of the league’s hottest forces since Jan. 1, the 2024 champs stayed poised and locked in on the defensive end.
Celtics 113, Hornets 102: Jaylen Brown (35 pts, 9 reb) and Jayson Tatum (23 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast) helped the C’s chase down the Hornets, overcoming 36 points from LaMelo Ball (5 reb, 6 ast, 6 3s) with a 58-41 2nd-half run. | Recap
- Big Starts: In a battle of top-4 offenses, Ball netted 13 points in the 1st quarter for an 11-point lead. Brown responded with 11 in the 2nd as Charlotte took a six-point lead at the break
- Turning Point: Payton Pritchard (12 pts) hit back-to-back 3s with under two minutes left in the 3rd, keying a 10-0 Boston closeout for a 3-point lead
- Celtics Clamps: From there, the C’s held the Hornets to 15 4th-quarter points with zero 3s, Charlotte’s lowest-scoring 4th since Dec. 20
- “This team kind of reminds me of us when we were younger,” Brown said postgame. “Young group, shoot the ball well, got a lot of different guys who can beat you and got a fearlessness.”
- East Impacts: Boston now holds a 3-game lead over New York for 2nd, while Charlotte drops to 9th, a half-game behind 7th-place Philly
- “They came out ready to play,” Brown said. “Today was like a Playoff atmosphere, and we found a way to win.”
In Kevin Durant’s first game back in Phoenix, his Rockets responded with their biggest rally of the season.
Rockets 119, Suns 105: Durant (24 pts, 5 3s) led seven Rockets with 12+ points, overcoming 31 from Devin Booker and a 21-point deficit for Houston’s seventh straight win – its longest streak of the season. | Recap
- Valley Heat: After the Suns jumped out to a 37-21 1st quarter lead, the Rockets started chipping away with 11 of KD’s 24 points coming in the 2nd
- Climbing Back: Down 3 at the half and leading briefly in the 3rd, Houston took the lead for good early in a 38-21 4th quarter, winning the final three periods 98-68
- “I love how we weathered the storm,” KD said. “I love how we stayed together and [were] able to take that first punch, take the lead and win by double digits.”
- Alpi & Amen: Alperen Sengun (12 pts, 14 reb, 6 ast) scored or assisted on four of Houston’s first five buckets in that 4th, followed by 12 of Amen Thompson’s 22 points (11 reb, 8 ast, 3 stl)
- Suns’ Spot: The loss locks Phoenix into the SoFi Play-In Tournament (seeding TBD), while 5th-place Houston pulls even with the 4th-place Lakers at 50-29
2. POSTSEASON PUSH: CLIPS & THUNDER STAY HOT, WOLVES CLINCH & MORE
Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images
After a 6-21 start, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue challenged his team to go 35-20 the rest of the way.
LA hit that mark last night – with room to spare.
Clippers 116, Mavericks 103: After dropping 51 and 45 over the weekend, Cooper Flagg led the Mavs with 25 points, 9 boards and 1 monster poster.
But Dallas had no answer for Kawhi Leonard, who drilled six 3s en route to 34 points in three quarters, as LA rolled to its seventh win in nine games, moving to 41-38. | Recap
- Uncharted Turnaround: The Clippers are the first team in NBA history to finish .500 or better after a 6-21 start
- “To have the mindset to go through tough times and dig your way out – I give a lot of credit to our players and our coaching staff,” said Lue postgame. “They really hung in there.”
- Sustained Standard: It’s LA’s 15th consecutive season at .500 or better – the longest active streak in the NBA and the longest since the Spurs’ run of 22 straight seasons from 1997-98 to 2018-19
- Klaw Catalyst: To get there, Leonard has boosted the Clips with a career-high 28.1 ppg in Year 14
- How Rare Is Kawhi’s Leap? No player has ever set a new career-high in scoring after their 13th season
- Still Climbing: Darius Garland added 22 points in the win, as LA moves just two games back of Phoenix for 7th
Thunder 123, Lakers 87: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped 28 points and 8 assists in 28 minutes of action in OKC’s wire-to-wire win over a Lakers team without LeBron James (foot), Luka Dončić (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique). | Recap
- West Race: OKC now holds a 3-game lead over San Antonio for 1st, while Los Angeles (4th) is 1 GB of 3rd-place Denver
And now, the West’s 6th and final Playoff guaranteed berth is booked.
Wolves 124, Pacers 104: Led by Ayo Dosunmu (24 pts, 3 stl), Minnesota never trailed after a 35-point 1st quarter to snap a three-game skid. Bones Hyland (7 ast) and Julius Randle (4 ast) added 19 points apiece with Anthony Edwards (knee) sidelined. | Recap
- 🔒 Wolves Clinch: With the win and Phoenix’s loss, Minnesota secured a top-6 seed in the West
- Final Stretch Spark: Dosunmu is averaging 18.7 ppg as a starter in nine games for the Wolves, as he eyes a return to the Playoffs with his new team
Raptors 121, Heat 95: Scottie Barnes (25 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast) and Brandon Ingram (23 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl) shined on both ends as Toronto raced past Andrew Wiggins (24 pts, 5 reb) and Miami for a second straight win. | Recap
- Miami Play-In Bound: The loss locks the Heat into the SoFi Play-In Tournament, while the Raptors hold a one-game lead for 6th in the East
After sharing the floor for the first time as NBA teammates on Sunday, the Curry brothers closed out a key Warriors win on Tuesday.
Warriors 110, Kings 105: Down 3 with 2:53 left, Steph Curry (17 pts, 5 reb, 4 3s) and Brandin Podziemski (20 pts, 4 3s) sparked a 9-1 closing run for Golden State with back-to-back 3s, before Seth Curry (12 pts) sealed it at the line, edging Sacramento to end a four-game skid. | Recap
- Play-In Push: The Warriors (10th) are now 3 GB of the 9th-place Blazers, who visit the Spurs tonight on ESPN (9:30 ET)
3. ROUNDUP: FEARS CATCHES FIRE, BULLS & NETS DUB
It’s been a season full of rookie records (see Section 4), and last night, Jeremiah Fears added another to the list.
Pelicans 156, Jazz 137: Fears went off for a career-high 40 points – the most ever by a Pelicans rookie – as NOLA set a new single-game franchise scoring record, outpacing Bez Mbeng (26 pts, 5 stl) and the Jazz to halt an eight-game slide. | Recap
- Special Company: Fears added 5 boards and 6 dimes, becoming just the fifth teenager to post at least 40/5/5 in a game, joining Cooper Flagg, Anthony Edwards, Kevin Durant and LeBron James
- NOLA Eruption: Jordan Poole tallied 34 points on seven 3s, as the Pels dropped 95 in the 2nd half – the 3rd-highest scoring half in the play-by-play era
Bulls 129, Wizards 98: Rob Dillingham (26 pts, 5 3s) and Patrick Williams (20 pts, 7 reb, 6 ast) helped Chicago jump out to a 38-18 1st-quarter lead, and the Bulls never looked back, beating the Wiz to snap a seven-game skid. | Recap
Nets 96, Bucks 90: After trailing by as many as 16, AJ Green (20 pts, 6 reb) sparked a 15-5 Bucks run to cut the deficit to 1 with 2:28 left, but Brooklyn closed on an 8-3 burst to slam the door, with rookie Ben Saraf (19 pts, 5 reb) hitting the game-clinching free throws. | Recap
4. KIA ROOKIE LADDER FIRST LOOK: A RACE TO REMEMBER
A season full of firsts. Milestones stacking up. And a rookie race that delivered through April.
The 2025-26 rookie class has produced from the jump – from VJ Edgecombe’s debut outburst, to Kon Knueppel shattering a slew of 3-point records, to Cooper Flagg’s historic scoring weekend just days ago.
With no shortage of standout cases, the race for the top spot on Steve Aschburner’s Kia Rookie Ladder has stayed tight from start to finish.
In his final Ladder of the season, Aschburner gives his take on a race that may not have a clear-cut answer:
There is no institutional heft to this. The Ladder committee has one member [Aschburner], who is just one of the 100 media voters invited by the NBA to cast ballots for each of its annual awards and honors…
… More than most seasons, a Kia ROY tie might feel appropriate for this year’s top two contenders… | Read More
Tonight on League Pass, one of Aschburner’s top contenders takes the floor, as Flagg leads Dallas into Phoenix (10 ET).
5. ON ESPN: ELITE EAST DUOS COLLIDE, SURGING SPURS HOST BLAZERS
Kevin C. Cox + Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images
Nineteen seeds to lock in.
Five more nights.
As the runway to a finalized postseason field gets shorter and shorter, ESPN’s Wednesday doubleheader features four postseason squads and a potential First Round matchup.
Hawks at Cavaliers (7 ET): 4th-place Cleveland remains just one game behind the Knicks, but if the season ended today, the Cavs would host the 5th-place Hawks in a battle of assembled duos driving strong stretch runs:
- Pairing Up: The Cavs made a win-now deadline deal to pair superstars Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, while Atlanta’s offseason addition of Nickeil Alexander-Walker has synced with Jalen Johnson’s rise
- NAW & JJ: Atlanta has the No. 2 threat it’s been looking for in Alexander-Walker lately, as he and Johnson have fueled an 18-3 run, during which the offense ranks top-4 with 122.6 ppg
- Scoring Support: Alexander-Walker (23.2 pts) has led the team in scoring during the run while Johnson continues orchestrating at a premier level (21.1 pts, 9 reb, 7.4 ast)
- Rare Level Up: NAW is the first player to increase his scoring by 10+ ppg from one season to the next since teammate CJ McCollum did from 2014-15 (6.8 ppg) to 2015-16 (20.8 ppg)
- On Monday, NAW set the Hawks’ single-season record for made 3s (244). He’s averaging a career-high 3.2 3s per game this season at a 39.9% clip
Jeff Haynes + Mike Lawrence/NBAE via Getty Images
Cleveland’s superstar pairing has paid immediate dividends, powering the Cavs to a fourth straight Playoff berth, as they now seek a fourth straight win.
- Offensive Complements: Cleveland is 15-6 when Harden and Mitchell play together, averaging 120.3 ppg in that span, which would be good for 3rd-best in the NBA this season
- Spring Mainstays: Harden is one of four players ever to make the Playoffs in each of his first 17 seasons, while Mitchell has made the Playoffs all nine years of his career
Rocky Widner + Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images
Blazers at Spurs (9:30 ET): After reaching 60 wins, San Antonio still has the West’s No. 1 seed in sight (2.5 GB of OKC), but could be without Victor Wembanyama (ribs) tonight.
- Without Wemby: San Antonio’s depth has delivered in Wemby’s absence this season, going 11-5, with De’Aaron Fox (24.6 pts, 6.3 ast) and Stephon Castle (19.6 pts, 6.9 ast) leading the offense to 121.4 ppg in those outings
- Spurs Slayers: Portland won its last matchup with San Antonio on Jan. 3, also without Wemby, behind Deni Avdija’s 24/10/10
- Both Bolstered Since: A month later, San Antonio started its current 28-3 surge, rising to the league’s 3rd-highest scoring offense (119.7 ppg)
- Strength vs. Strength: Portland, in a 7-3 stretch, counters with the 2nd-best defense (107.9 DefRtg) since March 1
League Pass Roundup: Nikola Jokić and the surging Nuggets go for a 10th straight win, hosting the Grizzlies (9 ET).
- Wolves at Magic (7 ET)
- Bucks at Pistons (7 ET)
- Thunder at Clippers (10 ET)
