SGA doing SGA things to lead the Thunder to 60 wins — tied for the franchise’s most wins in the OKC era.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
March 26, 2025
First To 60: Thunder tie 2012-13 OKC team with 60 wins, Cavs win 2nd straight to reach 58
Heat Hold Off Dubs: Miami wins in Jimmy’s return, Paolo stays hot, NY’s triple-double duo
Tuesday Roundup: Rockets get 10th win in 11 games, Grizzlies end skid, Pistons roll
Tonight On ESPN: Pacers, Suns hitting their stride in regular season’s closing weeks
League Pass: 2 games featuring teams battling for home-court in the First Round
BUT FIRST … ⏰
A six-game Wednesday awaits…
Tonight’s ESPN doubleheader begins with the Pacers seeking their 6th straight win when they host Luka, LeBron and the Lakers (7:30 ET). Then, the Suns look to stay hot, win their 5th straight and take over 9th in the West when they host the Celtics (10 ET).
1. THUNDER FIRST TO 60 WINS, CAVS GET BACK ON TRACK
Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images
The Thunder entered Tuesday’s game in Sacramento – their 72nd game of the season – with a chance to join the list of the fastest teams to ever reach 60 wins in an NBA season:
- 66 games: 2015-16 Warriors
- 67 games: 1995-96 Bulls*
- 69 games: 1996-97 Bulls*
- 71 games: 2006-07 Mavericks, 1970-71 Bucks*, 1966-67 Sixers*, 2015-16 Spurs
- 72 games: 1982-83 Sixers*, 1999-00 Lakers*, 1971-72 Lakers*
Eyes On The Prize: Seven of the 10 teams to reach 60 wins in 72 games won the NBA title that year (see * above).
Thunder 121, Kings 105: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (32 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast) posted his league-leading 45th 30+ point game of the season, while Chet Holmgren added a double-double (18 pts, 10 reb), to lead the Thunder to their 7th straight win and No. 60 on the season, the first team in 2024-25. | Recap
- OKC Best: The Thunder’s 60 wins match the OKC-era record for most in a season set by the 2012-13 team and trails the franchise record (64 by the 1995-96 Sonics) by four with 10 games to play
- SGA Passes KD: With his 65th consecutive game with 20+ points, Shai passed Kevin Durant for the longest such single-season streak in franchise history
- Elite Company: The only other players in NBA history to reach 65 straight 20+ point games in a season? Michael Jordan (69 in 1991-92), Oscar Robertson (76 in 1963-64) and Wilt Chamberlain (80 in 1961-62 & 1963-64)
- Keegan Heats Up: Murray sank a game-high nine 3s – including five in the 3rd quarter as the Kings outscored the Thunder 39-25 to get back into the game before OKC closed the door in the 4th
- Postseason Race (SAC ↔️): Remain 9th in the West with the loss, holding the tiebreaker over the 10th-place Suns, 0.5 games up on 11th-place Mavs
The Cavs have bounced back from their first four-game losing streak of the season by winning consecutive games to pull within two victories of reaching the 60-win milestone for the 3rd time in franchise history.
Cavaliers 122, Blazers 111: Darius Garland – who had been held under 20 points for four straight games – broke out for 27 points to lead the Cavs to their 58th win of the season despite missing Donovan Mitchell. | Recap
- Standouts: Ty Jerome (25 pts, 4 3pm) and Evan Mobley (21 pts, 12 reb, 4 blk) combined for 46 in the win, while Donovan Clingan, Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe scored 18 apiece for the Blazers
- Tough Road: After winning four straight to keep their Play-In hopes alive, the Blazers have dropped back-to-back games to the top two teams in the East – Boston on Sunday and Cleveland on Tuesday – to sit 3.5 games back of 10th
- Postseason Race (CLE ↔️): Remain 1st in the East with the win, moving 5.0 games up on 2nd-place Celtics
2. HEAT COOL WARRIORS IN BUTLER’S RETURN, PAOLO STAYS HOT, NY’S TRIPLE-DOUBLE DUO
Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images
Heat 112, Warriors 86: Bam Adebayo and the Heat shot the lights out – 55.8% (43-77) from the field and 68.0% (17-25) from 3 – to defeat the Warriors in Jimmy Butler’s first game back in South Beach since the trade deadline. | Recap
- Miami Trio: Adebayo (27 pts, 8 reb) and Tyler Herro (20 pts, 7 ast) combined for 47 points for Miami, while Kel’el Ware had 14 points, 10 boards and this must-see circus shot
- Familiar Faces: Butler finished with 11 points and six rebounds against his former squad, while Andrew Wiggins did it all (10 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl, 3 blk) in his first game against the Warriors
- Postseason Race (GSW ↔️): Remain 6th in the West with the loss, up 0.5 games on the 7th-place Clippers and 2.5 games back of the 5th-place Lakers
- Postseason Race (MIA ↔️): Remain 10th in the East with the win, 1.0 games back of the 9th-place Bulls
Kent Smith/NBAE via Getty Images
Magic 111, Hornets 104: Paolo Banchero (32 pts, 7 reb, 6 ast) scored 30+ for the 4th straight game (and six of his last seven) to lead the Magic to their third straight win. Franz Wagner (26) and Anthony Black (20) combined to add 46 for the Magic. | Recap
- Paolo 🤝 Dwight: Banchero is the 1st Magic player since Dwight Howard to score 30+ points in four straight games
- Postseason Race (ORL ↔️): Remain 8th in the East with the win, 0.5 games back of the 7th-place Hawks
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
Knicks 128, Mavs 113: OG Anunoby scored 35 points while Karl-Anthony Towns (26 pts, 12 reb, 11 ast) and Josh Hart (16 pts, 12 reb, 11) became the first Knicks teammates to post triple-doubles in the same game as the Knicks won their second straight. | Recap
- At The Top: Hart now has the most triple-doubles (9) in a single season in Knicks franchise history, passing Walt Frazier
- Postseason Race (NYK ↔️): Remain 3rd in the East with the win, moving 3.0 games up on 4th-place Pacers
- Postseason Race (DAL ↔️): Remain 11th in the West with the loss, 0.5 games back of both the 10th-place Suns and 9th-place Kings
3. ROUNDUP: ROCKETS KEEP RISING, GRIZZLIES END SKID, PISTONS ROLL
Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty Images
Rockets 121, Hawks 114: Powered by Jalen Green’s 32 points and 11 boards, the Rockets held off the Hawks to secure their 10th win in the last 11 games. Atlanta used a 20-4 run to open the 4th quarter to make it a four-point game before Houston closed the door. | Recap
- Young Buckets: Green became the youngest player (23 years, 44 days) in Rockets history to score 6,000 points with the franchise
- Double Trae: Young (19 pts, 10 ast) notched his 43rd points-assists double-double for the most such games in a season in franchise history, topping the mark of 42 held by himself (2021-22) and Mookie Blaylock (1993-94)
- Postseason Race (HOU ↔️): Remain 2nd in the West with the win, moving 2.0 games up on 3rd-place Nuggets
- Postseason Race (ATL ↔️): Remain 7th in the East with the loss, 0.5 games up on the 8th-place Magic
Jamie Sabau/NBAE via Getty Images
Grizzlies 140, Jazz 103: Desmond Bane’s 21 points led a balanced Memphis offense – seven more players in double figures, 10 players with 8+ points – as the Grizzlies dominated the 2nd half (76-38) to end a three-game skid. | Recap
- Rookie Dimes: With four assists in the loss, Isaiah Collier joined John Stockton as the only Jazz rookies to total 400+ assists
- Postseason Race (MEM ⬆️): Climb to 4th in the West with the win, 0.5 games back of the 3rd-place Nuggets and 0.5 games up on the 5th-place Lakers
Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images
Pistons 122, Spurs 96: Marcus Sasser came off the bench to score a career-best 27 points (9-12 FG, 5-7 3P) and lead six Pistons in double figures to get past Devin Vassell (26 pts) and the Spurs, guaranteeing Detroit’s first .500+ finish since 2018-19. | Recap
- Postseason Race (DET ↔️): Remain 6th in the East with the win, moving into a virtual tie with Bucks, down by .001 in win percentage
4. ESPN DOUBLEHEADER: PACERS, SUNS HITTING THEIR STRIDE
Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images
Five consecutive wins constitute a new gear at the right time of year for Indiana, which concludes a five-game homestand against Los Angeles tonight (7:30 ET).
The Pacers, though, are eyeing a greater prize, now sitting 3.0 games behind the Knicks for 3rd in the East – a position New York has held exclusively since Dec. 15.
LeBron James and Luka Dončić stand in the way, as the Lakers look to bounce back after going 3-7 in their last 10 games and reclaim a top-four spot in the West.
- Deep In Their Bag: Seven players are averaging double-digit points across Indy’s past five contests, led by Tyrese Haliburton (20 in two games), Bennedict Mathurin (19.4) and Pascal Siakam (18.8)
- Man On Fire: Serious success for Haliburton predates the streak, as he’s now tallied 11 points-assists double-doubles in a row – the first to do so since Russell Westbrook in 2019
- The Cardiac Crew: Five of the Pacers’ last six games have been decided by seven points or fewer, including a pair of overtime triumphs against the Timberwolves and Nets. The Pacers lead the league in clutch points during that span (18.6 ppg)
Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
The Suns have gained momentum as well – victors of four in a row for the first time since winning seven straight from Oct. 26-Nov. 8 – and are set to host the Celtics tonight (10 ET) as they seek to climb in the Play-In field.
- Dangerous Duo: Phoenix is the only team boasting a pair of top-10 scorers in Kevin Durant (26.8, 6th) and Devin Booker (25.7, 10th). Both are averaging even more during the four-game stretch with 30 and 26 ppg, respectively
- Lights Out: On the season, the Suns rank 13th in points per game, but have jumped to 6th across the last four outings by way of a third-best 31.5 assists per game
- KD On The Streak: “We’re standing on our identity of playing hard and playing for each other.”
- Big Night for Book: On March 24, 2017 – nearly eight years ago to this day – Booker became the then-6th player in NBA history to drop 70 points, and it was against the Celtic
Boston, which is an East-best 21-4 over its past 25 games, seeks its 7th straight win tonight to keep pressure on the East-leading Cavs, whom the Celtics trail by five games with 10 contests to play.
- Tatum Doubtful: Jayson Tatum – who suffered a sprained ankle against the Kings on Monday – is listed as doubtful for tonight. Boston is 5-1 without Tatum this season
5. LEAGUE PASS SPOTLIGHT: TEAMS SEEKING HOME-COURT ADVANTAGE
How important is home-court advantage in the First Round of the Playoffs?
- Since the 16-team Playoff format was introduced in 1983-84, the top four seeds have combined to win 77.4% of First Round series (254-74)
- Over the past four seasons – following the 2020 Playoffs played at a neutral site – the top four seeds have combined to win 78.1% of First Round series (25-7)
Two of tonight’s four matchups on League Pass feature teams fighting for their First Round Playoff position.
Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images
(5) Bucks at (3) Nuggets (9 ET): Both teams are 4-6 over their last 10 while dealing with injuries to key players – Denver’s Nikola Jokić has missed the last five games, while Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard was ruled out indefinitely on Tuesday with deep vein thrombosis in his calf.
- Denver: The Nuggets are 2.0 games back of the 2nd-place Rockets, and are trying to hold off both the 4th-place Grizzlies (0.5 back) and 5th-place Lakers (1.0 back) down the stretch
- Milwaukee: The Bucks are 2.0 games back of the 4th-place Pacers, but do hold the head-to-head tiebreaker if they can catch Indy
- Player To Watch (Bucks): Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the NBA in points in the paint (19.7 ppg) and could exploit a Denver defense that has allowed the 4th-most paint points (56.0 ppg) over the last five games without Jokić
- Players To Watch (Nuggets): Aaron Gordon and DeAndre Jordan have picked up their presence down low with Jokić sidelined, owning a 10.2 NetRtg on the floor together over the past five games
Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)
(7) Clippers at (3) Knicks (7:30 ET)
- New York: The Knicks have held 3rd place in the East for three months, but their lead is down to 3.0 games over the streaking Pacers. New York (4-6 in its last 10 games) holds the head-to-head tiebreaker should Indy make up that deficit
- LA: After seeing their five-game win streak end on Monday, the Clippers still find themselves just a half-game back of Golden State for the final guaranteed Playoff berth. In LA’s favor? The Clips hold the head-to-head tiebreaker
- Player To Watch (Knicks): Mikal Bridges has elevated his offense since the Knicks lost Jalen Brunson to injury on Mar. 6 – averaging 21.7 ppg on 57.4/40.5 shooting splits over the past nine games, compared to 17.2 ppg on 48.8/35.0 splits over the first 62 games
- Player To Watch (Clippers): Madison Square Garden is the first stop on a four-game road trip for the Clippers. In 14 career games at MSG, James Harden is 10-4 with averages of 27.6 ppg and 7.9 apg
Two more games round out a four-game slate on League Pass: Wizards at Sixers (7 ET) and Raptors at Nets (7:30 ET).
