The triple-bounce buzzer beater from Mr. Triple-Double.
Joker’s doing unprecedented things — even for him — to help Denver keep pace out West.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
March 28, 2026
Friday’s Best Finishes: Joker & Jamal rally Nuggets, Luka’s Lakers pull away late, Kawhi calls game
Wins Out West: Shai & OKC get back in win column, KD & Houston handle Grizz, Warriors gain on Blazers
Top 5 In The East: Peak Pritchard for C’s, Cavs combine for 149, Raptors return to 5th
Today On Prime: Wemby’s Spurs play Milwaukee matinée, eyeing 8th straight W
ABC Saturday: Without All-Star guards, Pistons and Wolves continue to test depth, head-to-head
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Six Saturday games staggered over 8 hours…
Today’s slate starts with a bang, as the Spurs visit the Bucks on Prime (3 ET | Tap To Watch) before the Pistons and Wolves meet on ABC (5:30 ET | Tap To Watch).
1. FRIDAY FINISHERS: NUGGETS RALLY, LAKERS LIFT OFF, CLIPS CLAW BACK
Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images
Four straight triple-doubles. Five straight wins.
That’s just what it takes to hold on to 4th place in a wild West race.
Nuggets 135, Jazz 129: Nikola Jokić (33 pts, 15 reb, 12 ast) collected his fourth straight triple-double, and Jamal Murray (31 pts, 14 ast, 5 3s) caught fire again, as Denver rallied late past seven Jazz double-digit scorers for a fifth consecutive win. | Recap
- Climb The Mountain: Utah’s 43-point 3rd quarter kept the Jazz in front throughout the 2nd half, by as many as 14, until Denver’s 19-6 burst tied the game with 2:20 left, on Cam Johnson’s (12 pts, 4 3s) corner triple
- “Big, big shots, game-changing shots… especially Cam in the corner,” Jokić said of the rally. “We found the energy… It was amazing.”
- Joker had one of those shots himself: A suspenseful 3rd-quarter buzzer-beater from the logo
- Colorado Closer: Denver extended that run to a 28-9 closeout, capped by Murray’s dagger triple with 17.9 remaining. Murray is averaging 31.6 ppg, 7.4 apg and 4.6 3pg in the win streak
- TD Efficiency: Joker’s monster triple-double came on 81.3 FG% (13-16) shooting, placing him with Wilt and Dave Cowens as the only players in NBA history with 30+/15+/10+ statlines and 80+ FG%
- Never Been Done: Jokic is averaging 25.3 ppg, 16.8 rpg and 15.5 apg during his 4-game triple-double streak, the highest averages in a 4-game span in NBA history
Denver keeps pace as the No. 4 seed, adding to its edge over Minnesota for a full-game gap back to 5th.
1.5 games ahead in 3rd, L.A. got the spark it needed to pull away from Brooklyn late.
Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
Lakers 116, Nets 99: Luka Dončić (8 reb, 5 3s, 3 stl) dropped 41 pointsand Austin Reaves (8 reb, 5 ast) scored 15 of his 26 in the 4th quarter, which L.A. won 31-15 to separate from Josh Minott (18 pts) and Brooklyn for its 13th win in March (13-2). | Recap
- Stacking Like Kobe: This was Luka’s 2nd consecutive 40-ball and fourth in his last six games. His 12 straight 30+ point games mark the longest such Lakers streak since Kobe (16 straight) in 2005-06
- “Just trying to get downhill, trying to touch the paint and make plays, and see what the defense (gives) me,” Dončić said of his recent approach
- Family Connection: LeBron James’ (14 pts, 6 reb, 8 ast) 2nd-quarter dish to Bronny for 3 was the NBA’s first-ever father-son assist
“Just being in the moment of us being on the floor once again… Definitely a cool moment, for us and also for our family,” LeBron said of the assist.
Clawing back since the opening frame, the Clippers turned to Kawhi in the clutch to continue their climb.
Clippers 114, Pacers 113: Kawhi Leonard (28 pts, 8 reb, 3 stl) drained the game-winning jumper with 0.4 remaining, giving LA its first lead since the opening 2:55 and completing a season-best 24-point comeback after Indy’s 42-point 1st quarter. | Recap
- “I just decided ‘I gotta put the ball up,’” said Leonard, who shot 52.6 FG% and logged 11 of his 28 points in the 4th. “Just having a mindset that the ball [is] gonna go in every time that I shoot it.”
- Klaw Time: Kawhi earned his 12th career game-winner with less than 10 seconds remaining — most in the NBA since he entered the league in 2011-12
- Fifty 20s: Kawhi eclipsed the 20-point mark for the 50th consecutive game, the longest streak for a player age 30 or older in NBA history
- Scoring Stars: Darius Garland’s (5 ast, 6 3s) 30-ball led LA, while Bennedict Mathurin (17 pts, 7 reb) was big off the bench. Aaron Nesmith (26 pts) paced Indy
- The win ensures 8th-place LA stays ahead of 9th-place Portland, with a 1.5-game advantage
2. WEST WINNERS: OKC RECOVERS, ROCKETS ROLL, DUBS GAIN ON BLAZERS
A 2nd-half storm brought the Thunder out in full force Friday.
Thunder 131, Bulls 113: Down 5 at the break after Chicago’s 67-point 1st half, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander keyed a 22-0 run over the 3rd and 4th quarters, with 14 of his 25 points in the 3rd, as OKC took control for its 13th win in 14 games. | Recap
- Tipping Point: Cason Wallace scored 11 of his 21 points in the 2nd half, where the Thunder turned the tables on Collin Sexton (22 pts) and the Bulls, 69-46
- OKC bounces back from its Wednesday loss at Boston, its first since Feb. 25, to add to the 2.5-game gap separating 2nd-place San Antonio
Houston’s offense aligned around another noteworthy KD performance.
Rockets 119, Grizzlies 109: Kevin Durant (25 pts, 6 reb, 10 ast) fueled Houston’s offense, with big support from Jabari Smith Jr. (21 pts, 16 reb) and four other double-digit scorers to overcome a career-high 31 pts from Olivier-Maxence Prosper. | Recap
- KD’s Company: Durant becomes the first Rockets player age 37 or over to record 25+/5+/10+ in a game, and just the sixth in NBA history, joining LeBron, Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, Jason Kidd and Steve Nash
- 6th-place Houston moves within a game of Minnesota for the 5th seed
Soobum Im+Eakin Howard/NBAE via Getty Images
The gap between the West’s final two Play-In spots is shrinking.
Mavericks 100, Blazers 93: Dallas got 50 points from the duo of Cooper Flagg (24 pts, 4 stl) and Marvin Bagley III (26 pts, 9 reb) to snap its 5-game skid, overpowering Jrue Holiday (23 pts), Deni Avdija (20 pts, 9 reb, 6 ast) and 9th-place Portland. | Recap
Warriors 131, Wizards 126: Kristaps Porziņģis (28 pts, 8 reb, 5 3s), Gui Santos (27 pts) and Brandin Podziemski (22 pts, 10 reb, 7 ast) combined for 77 to help wrestle the lead back from Washington with a 39-point 4th quarter for the Dubs’ 3rd straight win.
10th-place Golden State is now pressuring Portland from the final Play-In position, just a half-game back. | Recap
3. EAST’S TOP 5: CELTICS SHINE, CAVS COOK, RAPTORS RETAKE 5TH
Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
Celtics 109, Hawks 102: Without Jaylen Brown (calf), Payton Pritchard (7 reb, 6 3s) took over for 36 points, and Jayson Tatum threw in a season-high 26, as Boston overcame Atlanta’s 25-7 start to hand the Hawks just their second loss since Feb. 22. | Recap
- Offensive Key: The Celtics are now 11-0 in Pritchard’s career when he scores at least 30 points, with six such wins coming this season alone
- Defensive Key: Boston held Atlanta to 102 points, its 2nd-lowest output in the last 16 games. The Hawks entered with the league’s highest-scoring offense (124.1 ppg) over the last 15 contests (14-1)
- Hawks’ Heroes: Atlanta’s 20+ point trio of Jalen Johnson (29 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast), CJ McCollum (21 pts) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (20 pts, 5 ast, 2 stl) combined for 70
- Boston picks up a half-game to lead 3rd-place New York by 1.5 games
Cavaliers 149, Heat 128: Seven Cavaliers scored in double figures for a season-high 149 points, picking up Donovan Mitchell on a tough shooting night (1-10 FG), as Max Strus (29 pts, 8 3s) piled up 22 with six 3s in an 80-point 1st half to split a two-game series with the Heat. | Recap
- Swords Out: Cleveland burst out on a 15-2 run and never slowed down in the high-scoring win, welcoming Jarrett Allen (18 pts, 10 reb) back after missing 10 games
- Bam Adebayo (14 pts, 16 reb) and the Heat drop a half-game back into 10th place, while the 4th-place Cavs pull within 2 games of the 3-seed Knicks
Kevin Sousa/NBAE via Getty Images
Raptors 119, Pelicans 106: Scottie Barnes (23 pts, 6 reb, 12 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk) stuffed the stat sheet and four other Raptors added 18 points apiece, as Toronto never trailed after the first possession to handle Zion Williamson and New Orleans. | Recap
- Toronto overtakes Atlanta for 5th place by a half-game, sending the Hawks back to the final Playoff spot with just a half-game separating Philly in Play-In position
4. ON PRIME: SPURS TRY TO EXTEND STREAK, KEEP CLIMBING AS TEAM
Ronald Cortes/NBAE via Getty Images
On Friday, Victor Wembanyama made a jump in Shaun Powell’s rankings for the Kia MVP Ladder, overtaking Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the top spot on Powell’s list.
Now, 2.5 games back of OKC for first in the West, Wemby’s Spurs are eyeing a leap of their own.
But to do so, NBA.com’s Jeff Zillgitt writes, it’ll take a more than just Wemby — it’ll take the culmination of team approach that’s been rising all year:
“San Antonio, a playoff team for the first time since 2019, ranks third defensively, fourth offensively and second in net rating. The Spurs are close to locking up the No. 2 seed in the West and are not letting Oklahoma City ease its way to the No. 1 seed.
“We’ve had a positive year to this point, but we have not played enough games together to really know what to expect any night,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said.
“We’re putting our energy into some good places, but we have to continue to focus on ourselves. … There’s so much improvement to be had.”
… The implication is clear, and it’s a worrisome prospect for other teams: The Spurs are back and plan on sticking at or near the top for a while with the roster they have built centered around the 7-foot-4 Wembanyama and his supernatural skillset.
Whether the Spurs – who were 34-48 last season and without Wembanyama after the All-Star Game due to a blood clot in his right shoulder – are ahead of schedule or right on time makes no difference. You get there when you get there, and the Spurs have arrived.
In his third season, Wembanyama is a Kia MVP candidate and headed for what could be the first of multiple Kia Defensive Player of the Year awards.” | Read More
The Spurs start today’s action at 3 ET on Prime, looking to extend the league’s longest-active win streak to eight games against the Bucks.
5. ABC SATURDAY: PISTONS, WOLVES’ CHALLENGING PATHS CROSS ON BIG STAGE
David Berding/NBAE via Getty Images
Resiliency.
You want your team to have it come Playoff push time.
As long as the adversity that builds it doesn’t break your season.
Both Detroit and Minnesota are navigating key stretches without their All-NBA guards, Cade Cunningham (lung) and Anthony Edwards (knee).
Pistons at Wolves (5:30 ET, ABC): Two postseason locks looking to take next-steps enter this crucial interconference matchup on 4-1 streaks in the absence of their leading scorers. Whose depth will continue to pass the pressure test?
- Duren Endures: All-Star Jalen Duren has stepped up for the Pistons, averaging 24.6 ppg and 10.4 reb in the five games without Cade, while captaining a defense that’s regularly ranked 2nd (109.0 DefRtg) all season
- Career Stretch: Duren poured in a career-high 36 points the night Cade got hurt, extending his hot streak to the franchise’s first six-game span averaging 26.0+/10.0+ since Blake Griffin in 2018
- “What are you without confidence?” Duren said of Detroit’s March mindset. “Just seeing how we’re unique as a team and how we beat teams and how we’ve gotten to where we are now.”
- “It’s our responsibility to keep pushing forward,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said of the East-leading Pistons’ 4-game lead over Boston
“You’re not going to be able to replace what [Cade] does individually. But collectively… we can get the job done. And we’ve proven that all year.”
Minnesota enters having pulled off the improbable: a 13-point OT comeback Wednesday, the largest of the play-by-play era (1997-98).
- “They fought through a ton of adversity.” coach Chris Finch said of his squad who scored 15-straight OT points after Houston’s late 26-2 run
- “We’ve got real competitors in here, guys who want the challenge… It brings the best out of us,” said Julius Randle, who’s shined during Ant’s absence (21.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4.8 apg)
- “We want to win a championship, so we know there’s going to be adversity,” Rudy Gobert said of the 5th-place Wolves, who are a game up on Houston and a game behind Denver
To round out Saturday hoops on League Pass, Joel Embiid and Paul George look for an encore as the Sixers visit the rolling Hornets (6 ET), the Hawks host the Kings (7:30 ET), and the Grizzlies welcome the Bulls (8 ET). NBA TV ends the day with Devin Booker and the Suns against the Jazz (10 ET).
