The bank was open – and Cade Cunningham cashed in.
The All-Star guard’s game-winning 3 with 0.6 seconds left was the latest stamp on his breakout season.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
March 20, 2025
Clutch 3s Seal DET, IND Ws: Cade Cunningham & Andrew Nembhard delivered when it mattered most
Wild West: Rockets win 8 straight, Thunder clinch division, Lakers & Nuggets swap spots in top 4
West Play-In: Kings hand Cavs 3rd straight loss, Wolves fall to 7th, Suns leap Mavs for 10th
Roundup: Mamu makes history in under 20 minutes, Blazers stay hot, Jazz end skid
Thursday Preview: Inside Coby White’s rise ahead of tonight’s Bulls-Kings post-trade reunion game
BUT FIRST … ⏰
A five-game Thursday is here…
An NBA TV doubleheader highlights a five-game Thursday slate. Do the Pacers have a third straight thriller up their sleeves when they host the Nets (7 ET)? Then, the Kings host the Bulls in a reunion game for Zach LaVine, Kevin Huerter and DeMar DeRozan (10 ET).
1. PISTONS, PACERS WIN ON CLUTCH 3s BY CADE, NEMBHARD
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In 94 clutch minutes entering Wednesday, Cade Cunningham — whose star turn has Detroit heading to the postseason for the first time since 2019 — was 1-of-10 from 3-point range.
In the final minute on Wednesday night in Miami, he was 2-2 on clutch 3s, including the game-winner.
Pistons 116, Heat 113: Cunningham’s first clutch 3 put Detroit up 2 with 56 seconds to play. After a pair of Tyler Herro free throws tied it again with 5 seconds left, the Pistons called on their All-Star again.
And he delivered, banking in a 3 from the top of the key over Bam Adebayo with 0.6 left to seal Detroit’s 39th win of the season. | Recap
- MotorCade: Cunningham had his 9th triple-double of the season (25 pts, 12 reb, 11 ast) to lead five Pistons in double figure in the win
- “It’s what you always dream of as a kid,” said Cade. “On the driveway, countdown in your head.”
- Postseason Race (DET ↔️): The Pistons remain 6th in the East with the win, pulling into a virtual tie (.002 win percentage) with the 5th-place Bucks, both 1.0 games back of the 4th-place Pacers
- Postseason Race (MIA ↔️): The Heat remain 10th in the East with their 9th straight loss, as the 9th-place Bulls hold the tiebreaker
Justin Casterline/Getty Images
The Pacers are 7-5 on the season in games decided by four points or less. Three of those seven wins have come in the last eight days, including Wednesday’s last-minute comeback win over Dallas.
Pacers 135, Mavs 131: Trailing 128-121 with 67 seconds left, the Pacers closed the game on a 14-3 run, with Andrew Nembhard hitting the go-ahead 3 with 14.7 seconds left on a wild sequence. | Recap
- How It Happened: A perfectly-executed baseline trap on the inbounds pass, a steal by Pascal Siakam, a falling behind-his-head pass from Bennedict Mathurin, and a quick dish to an open Nembhard for the clutch 3
- Indy Duo: Siakam (29 pts, 5 ast) and Nembhard (22 pts, 8 ast) combined for 51 points as the Pacers won without Tyrese Haliburton
- Postseason Race (IND ↔️): The Pacers remain 4th in the East with the win, 1.0 games up on the 5th- and 6th-place Bucks and Pistons
- Postseason Race (DAL ⬇️): The Mavs drop to 11th in the West with the loss, as the 10th-place Suns hold the tiebreaker
2. WILD WEST: THUNDER & ROCKETS HOLD AT 1 & 2, LAKERS & NUGGETS SWAP 3 & 4
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With two games separating four teams from 2nd to 5th place in the West, the standings can shake up on a nightly basis.
Wednesday saw the Rockets extend their win streak and their hold on 2nd place behind OKC.
Rockets 116, Magic 108: Houston trailed by eight in the 2nd quarter before closing the 1st half on a 20-8 run, capped off by a Fred VanVleet buzzer-beating 3 from 33 feet away. The Rockets never trailed again as they pushed their win streak to eight straight. | Recap
- Cleared For Launch: Jalen Green (26 pts) and Alperen Sengun (22 pts, 12 reb) combined for 48 points to lead the way for Houston, while VanVleet added 19 points and two more 3s to overcome a 31-point effort from Paolo Banchero
- Postseason Race (HOU ↔️): The Rockets remain 2nd in the West with the win, 1.0 games up on the 3rd- and 4th-place Nuggets and Lakers
- Postseason Race (ORL ↔️): The Magic remain 8th in the East with the loss, 1.5 games back of the 7th-place Hawks and 2.5 games up on the 9th- and 10th-place Bulls and Heat
Luka splashing this pregame shot was a precursor of what was to come – a 21-point 1st quarter and a wire-to-wire win in Los Angeles.
Lakers 120, Nuggets 108: The Lakers improved to 2-0 against Denver with Luka Dončić (31 pts, 8 reb, 7 ast) in the lineup as the teams split their season series 2-2. Austin Reaves added 22 for L.A. while Aaron Gordon had 26 to lead the Nuggets, who fell to 3-5 without Nikola Jokić. | Recap
Postseason Race (LAL ⬆️, DEN ⬇️): The Lakers leap the Nuggets to take over 3rd in the West by .003 in win percentage, with both teams 1.0 games back of the 2nd-place Rockets and 1.0 games up on the 5th-place Grizzlies
Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images
Thunder 133, Sixers 100: With leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and four more main rotation players out, Aaron Wiggins (26 pts) and Jaylin Williams (19 pts, 17 reb, 11 ast) led seven OKC players in double figures in a wire-to-wire win to clinch the Northwest Division. | Recap
- 57 Wins: The Thunder matched last season’s win total with 13 games left to play. They need four more wins to top the OKC-era record of 60 wins (2012-13) and eight more to top the franchise record of 64 wins (1995-96 Sonics)
- Postseason Race (OKC ↔️): The Thunder remain 1st in the West with their fourth straight win, 12.5 games up on the 2nd-place Rockets. With the Cavs loss, the Thunder also take over the top record in the league (57-12)
3. KINGS DEAL CAVS 3RD STRAIGHT LOSS, WOLVES FALL & SUNS RISE INTO PLAY-IN
Kings 123, Cavs 119: Down nine at the half, the Kings turned the game around with a 43-32 3rd quarter and held off the Cavs behind a combined 49 points from DeMar DeRozan (27) and Malik Monk (22). | Recap
- Get Up, Rook! Devin Carter scored 16 points off the Kings bench in the win, including a must-see poster dunk on the fast break that registered the 6th-highest Dunk Score of the season
- A Different Streak: The Cavs own three of the four 10+ game win streaks of the season, but have dropped three straight for only the 2nd time despite a combined 57 points from Evan Mobley (31 pts, 10 reb) and Donovan Mitchell (26)
- Postseason Race (SAC ↔️): The Kings remain 9th in the West with the win, 3.5 games back of the 7th- and 8th-place Clippers and Wolves, 3.0 games up on the 10th- and 11th place Suns and Mavs
- Postseason Race (CLE ↔️): The Cavs remain 1st in the East with the loss, still 6.0 games up on the 2nd-place Celtics
Chris Coduto/Getty Images
Suns 127, Bulls 121: Devin Booker scored 33 of his 41 points in the 2nd half, Kevin Durant added 26 points and eight dimes to help the Suns hold off the Bulls – who got 24 points apiece from Coby White and Nikola Vučević – and climb into the Play-In. | Recap
- Postseason Race (PHX ⬆️): The Suns rise to 10th in the West with the win, holding the tiebreaker with Dallas (also 33-37), with both teams 3.0 games back of the 9th-place Kings
- Postseason Race (CHI ↔️): The Bulls remain 9th in the East with the loss, holding the tiebreaker over the 10th-place Heat (also 29-40), with both teams 2.5 games back of the 8th-place Magic
Pelicans 119, Wolves 115: In a duel of highlight makers, Zion Williamson (29 pts, 8 ast) and Anthony Edwards (29 pts, 4 3pm) played to a draw, but CJ McCollum (who passed Dirk for 19th all-time in 3s made) led five more Pelicans in double figures to help NOLA snap a three-game skid. | Recap
- Postseason Race (MIN ⬇️, LAC ⬆️): The Wolves drop to 8th in the West with the loss, .002 in win percentage behind the now 7th-place Clippers, with both teams 1.0 games back of the 6th-place Warriors
4. ROUNDUP: MAMU MAKES HISTORY, BLAZERS STAY HOT, JAZZ END SKID
Spurs 120, Knicks 105: Sandro Mamukelashvili scored the most points by a player with under 20 minutes played in a game in NBA history on Wednesday, dropping a career-high 34 points (13-of-14 FG, 7-7 3P) in just 19:26 off the bench. | Recap | Flavor Flav Loves Mamu’s Performance | Mamu On Friendship With Flav
- Elite Company: Mamukelashvili became the 4th player in NBA history to score 30+ points in fewer than 20 minutes played. The others? Jaylen Brown (33), Kevin Love (32) and Kevin Durant (30)
- Postseason Race (NYK ↔️): The Knicks remain 3rd in the East with the loss, with their lead of the 4th-place Pacers cut to 4.0 games
Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images
Blazers 115, Grizzlies 99: The Blazers are coming. Deni Avdija stuffed the stat sheet (31 pts, 16 reb, 8 ast, 5 3pm, 2 blk) while Anfernee Simons added 22 points to lead the Blazers past Desmond Bane (20 pts) and the Grizzlies for their 3rd straight win. | Recap
- Postseason Race (POR ↔️): The Blazers remain 12th in the West with the win, 2.0 games back of the 10th- and 11th-place Suns and Mavericks for the final Play-In spot
- Postseason Race (MEM ↔️): The Grizzlies remain 5th in the West with the loss, 1.0 games back of the 3rd- and 4th-place Lakers and Nuggets
Jazz 128, Wizards 112: Kyle Filipowski (21 pts, 4 3pm) and Keyonte George (20 pts, 4 ast) led six Jazz players with 14+ points as Utah overcame a combined 46 points and eight 3s from Colby Jones and Alex Sarr to snap a 10-game losing streak. | Recap
5. ON NBA TV: COBY WHITE, BULLS VISIT FORMER TEAMMATES
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On Monday, Coby White earned his first Eastern Conference Player of the Week honor after leading the Bulls to a 2-1 week while averaging 27.7 points, 7.7 boards and 4.0 assists.
On Thursday (10 ET, NBA TV), White leads the Bulls into Sacramento to face a pair of former teammates:
- Zach LaVine, who earned his first career Player of the Week honor on March 3, just one month into his run with the Kings
- DeMar DeRozan, who was the last Bull before White to be named Player of the Week, which he earned four times in his three-season run in Chicago
White was recognized for his efforts from Week 21 (March 10-16), but he’s been rolling for the entire month.
- Top 10: White ranks 10th in the NBA in scoring in March at 27.7 ppg, which is on track to be the highest average over a calendar month in his six-year career
- Usage Up: White has emerged as a primary scorer for the Bulls following the LaVine trade. After his usage ranged between 21.6-23.3% over the season’s first five months, it is up to 28.9% in March
- Driving Force: White ranks 3rd in points off drives (13.1) this month, while shooting the 2nd highest percentage (63.8%) among 41 players with 5+ FGA on drives and 5+ games played
Rocky Widner & Kate Frese & Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images
Both teams enter the matchup in 9th place in their respective conferences as they look to improve their standing in the Play-In.
- Bulls Rising: Chicago has won five of its last seven games to pull within 2.5 games of the 8th-place Magic
- Kings Battling: Sacramento is coming off back-to-back wins over Memphis and Cleveland, the latter coming without Domantas Sabonis, who is out for at least 10 days (ankle). The Kings are 4-6 without Sabonis this season
- Former Bulls: LaVine (who missed Wednesday’s game for personal reasons) has averaged 22.7 pts on 52.7/44.1 shooting splits in 18 games in Sacramento, while DeRozan needs 17 points to become the 27th player to reach 25,000 career points
- Former King: Kevin Huerter, who made 390 3s in 2.5 seasons with the Kings – including one that blew the roof off Golden 1 Center – makes his first return to Sacramento
Rocky Widner & Kate Frese & Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images
Four more games round out Thursday night, including Nets-Pacers on NBA TV and a trio of games on League Pass.
- Nets-Pacers (7 ET, NBA TV): The Pacers look to strengthen their hold on 4th in the East as they go for their 40th win of the season
- Knicks-Hornets (7 ET, LP): The Knicks close out a stretch of seven road games in an eight-game span tonight in Charlotte
- Raptors-Warriors (10 ET, LP): The Warriors look to stay hot with Jimmy Butler and maintain their hold on a top-6 spot in the West
- Bucks-Lakers (10:30 ET, LP): The Bucks look to avoid a three-game skid, while the Lakers go for their 4th straight win to inch closer to the 2nd-place Rockets
