Playoff ticket punched.
Jalen Duren and the Pistons are the East’s first team to clinch.
As far as tonight goes … two of the game’s greats are staring down history, with LeBron James & Kevin Durant both closing in on major milestones.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
March 21, 2026
East Elites: Celtics, Knicks overcome tough road battles to keep up with Pistons’ winning ways
West Winners: Rockets end Hawks’ run, Nuggets rally, Blazers beat Wolves to jam up Playoff race
On NBA TV: What will Luka do next? LeBron eyes games-played record as Lakers go for 9th straight W
League Pass Spotlight: 25 points away from MJ, KD’s all-time scoring climb continues vs. Heat
J-Crossover’s Mailbag: Jamal Crawford answers NBA fan questions, including how to score on Wemby
BUT FIRST … ⏰
A busy Saturday night of hoops…
Saturday’s 10-game slate features an NBA TV doubleheader, with Luka Dončić leading the Lakers into Orlando (7 ET | Tap To Watch), and the Suns hosting the Bucks (10 ET | Tap To Watch).
1. EAST ELITES: PISTONS KEEP PEDAL DOWN, CELTICS & KNICKS SURVIVE
Two seasons ago, they finished last in the East.
This year, the Pistons are the first team in the Conference to make the Playoffs.
Pistons 115, Warriors 101: Jalen Duren (23 pts, 6 reb) led all scorers and Daniss Jenkins filled in with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists as Detroit pulled away from Brandin Podziemski (15 pts) and Golden State in the 2nd half to win its sixth of the last seven games. | Recap
- Strong 70: Detroit’s 51-19 mark is the franchise’s 4th-best 70-game start, behind two championship seasons (1988-89, 1989-90) and 2005-06’s East finalists
- Beyond Scoring: The Pistons lead the league in steals (10.5) and blocks (6.3) per game, racking up the most swipes (737) and swats (442) through 70 games by any team since 1982-83
- Answering Adversity: Detroit is now 2-0 in All-Star Cade Cunningham’s absence (lung), maintaining a 4-game lead over 2nd-place Boston
“We’re not done. But from where we started til now, I’m proud of everyone that’s been a part of it,” Duren said postgame.
- “The guys who were here my first two years (31-133), that went through what we went through, and to be here now… I’m just proud of how we keep fighting through adversity,” Duren said
- “The spirit that they play with every night is just different here,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “I’ve got a ton of respect and admiration for the guys… They’ve been a joy to coach.”
Joe Murphy+Pamela Smith/NBAE via Getty Images
To keep up with East-leading Detroit, the Celtics and Knicks had to survive late scares on the road.
Celtics 117, Grizzlies 112: Jaylen Brown’s 30-ball led the way, and Luka Garza netted 11 of his season-high 22 points in the 4th quarter, where Boston used a 21-5 run to rally from down-7 and win a fourth straight, despite Memphis’ seven double-digit scorers. | Recap
- Thirty 30s: This was Jaylen Brown’s 32nd 30+ point game of the season. He sits with Luka, Shai, Ant and Donovan Mitchell as this season’s only five players with 30 or more 30+ point games
Knicks 93, Nets 92: New York recovered from a season-low 14-point 1st quarter, and survived the rallying Nets at the buzzer for a fifth consecutive win and 14th straight over Brooklyn. Karl-Anthony Towns led the way with 26 points and 15 rebounds. | Recap
- Couple Of Closers: Towns and Jalen Brunson (17 pts, 5 reb, 8 ast) recorded New York’s last 9 points in the final 3:13 to eek out the win
3rd-place New York keeps pace 1.5 games behind 2-seed Boston, with a 2.5-game cushion ahead of the Cavs in 4th.
2. WEST WINNERS: ROCKETS HALT HAWKS, NUGGETS RALLY, BLAZERS EDGE WOLVES
After back-to-back home losses, and facing a Hawks team rolling with 11 straight wins, KD rallied the Rockets.
Rockets 117, Hawks 95: Durant (25 pts, 6 ast) and Jabari Smith Jr. (23 pts, 9 reb) led Houston’s offense, with Alperen Sengun (15 pts, 10 ast, 9 reb) adding a near triple-double to end Nickeil Alexander-Walker (21 pts) and Atlanta’s longest win streak since 2014-15. | Recap
- Closing In: With 25 on Friday, KD (25.7 ppg) is now 26 points away from passing Michael Jordan for 5th place on the all-time scoring list
- Quick Fix: Jalen Johnson (14 pts) scored 7 quick points in the first 6 minutes, but Houston locked in and never trailed after the 4:52 mark of the 1st quarter
Blazers 108, Wolves 104: Portland freed up Jerami Grant (26 pts) for the game-winning corner triple with 21.3 remaining to earn a third straight win despite seven Wolves scoring in double figures. | Recap
- 20+ Point Trio: Deni Avdija (25 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast) and Donovan Clingan (21 pts, 12 reb) joined Grant, with Clingan logging a 17/11 1st-half double-double
- Portland jumps the LA Clippers by a half-game for 8th place in the West
Houston, Denver and Minnesota are all now 2.5 games behind the 3rd-place Lakers, with the Rockets taking 4th by .003 percentage points, and the Nuggets holding the tie-breaker over the Wolves.
3. ON NBA TV: LUKA, LAKERS LOOK TO STAY HOT AS LEBRON EYES RECORD
Kenneth Richmond/NBAE via Getty Images
Tonight in Orlando, it’s Luka Magic vs. the Magic.
And it’s King James facing down history — again.
LeBron James is set to become the all-time leader in regular season games played, while Luka Dončić takes his historic scoring sorcery to Orlando, with the Lakers looking to keep their hold on the 3-seed (7 ET, NBA TV).
Thursday in South Florida, when Bron tied Robert Parish in GP (1,611), Dončić also matched the 2nd-highest scoring output of his career: 60 points.
It’s the latest in an 8-win string of brilliance, for players and team, that’s rallying L.A. around their MVP candidate.
“You see everybody celebrating on the bench, it shows that we care a lot about each other,” Dončić said. “Just makes my heart happy… That is the best feeling.”
“I got little goosebumps, so it was pretty special,” Luka said. “Especially [an] away game in Miami, you hear the whole crowd chanting ‘M-V-P.’ It was what, I think, every player wants to hear.”
Dončić has numbers to back up the chants beyond his 60-piece. Having totaled 327 points, 71 rebounds and 59 assists over these 8 wins, he’s averaging 40.9 ppg, 8.9 rpg and 7.4 apg, and approaching stats of some of the game’s great performances.
- Elite Group: Luka is just the fifth player in NBA history to average 40+ over an 8-game win streak, joining James Harden (2019-20), Michael Jordan (2x), Elgin Baylor (1961-62) and Wilt Chamberlain (3x)
- His totals (327/71/59) place him with Elgin Baylor (367/181/62 – 1961) as the only two players in NBA history to reach such numbers in an 8-game span
- Only Steph Curry and James Harden – the top-2 3-point shooters in league history – have collected as many 3s during an 8-game win streak as Luka’s 49
- Scoring aside, his 71 rebounds and 59 assists make him the third Laker this century with such totals in an 8-win streak, joining LeBron James (2019) and Lamar Odom (2006)
Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
From Luka’s 50 and 60-pieces, to LeBron’s strong play, and bench celebrations, the Lakers are clicking at the right time.
“I think there’s just a high level of belief right now and they all want to play,” L.A. coach JJ Redick said, addressing the challenge of the team’s Houston-to-Miami back-to-back this week.
“That’s just leadership right there,“ Redick said of L.A.’s minutes leaders, including 41-year-old James, playing Thursday after getting to their Miami hotel after 5 a.m.
- Unstoppable: LeBron tied Robert Parish’s all-time record for regular-season games played that night (1,611) with his 2nd triple-double of the season (19/15/10)
- “He’s a psycho,” Redick said of James. “In the same way Luka willed it for us [Thursday], LeBron willed it for us.”
- By comparison, Parish, at age 43, logged 2 points and 3 rebounds in 6 minutes in his 1,611th game when he set the record in 1997
- “He’s also competing against Father Time — and he’s giving Father Time hell,” James’ former coach Erik Spoelstra said Thursday of The King’s season
L.A. enters with a 2.5-game cushion on Houston in the West, while 6th-place Orlando clings to the East’s final Playoff spot by a half-game amid a 3-loss slide.
4. ON LEAGUE PASS: KD 26 AWAY FROM PASSING MJ AS ROCKETS HOST HEAT
Logan Riely/NBAE via Getty Images
With one current OG primed to break the all-time games played record today, another could make his own mark in the history books.
Kevin Durant needs 26 points Saturday to pass Michael Jordan for 5th place on the all-time scoring list, as the Rockets host the Heat (8 ET, League Pass).
NBA.com’s Shaun Powell has tracked KD’s career scoring ascent this season:
“How many players get the chance to top Michael Jordan in anything basketball-related, from championships to MVPs to even shoe sales?
… ‘It’s pretty cool to be in the same category as some of the greats that ever played the game,” Durant said. “They’ve added so much to the game that have inspired me to stick around this long.’
… It’s a perfect basketball storm that created Durant into a force; he’s among the handful of elites who can score a variety of ways — at the rim, mid-range, 3-pointers, off the dribble, catch and shoot…
This diversity gives him something in common with virtually everyone else among the top 10 scorers, some of whom are recognized as all-time greats. When the defense took something away from those players, they chose another method, which was either just as successful or close enough.
That explains the Kevin Durant experience.” | Read More
Roundup: The Thunder tip off Saturday’s action, now working on the league’s longest-active win streak, visiting the Wizards in search of an 11th straight W (5 ET). The day ends in the desert, with Devin Booker and the Suns hosting the Bucks on NBA TV (10 ET).
- Grizzlies at Hornets (7 ET)
- Cavaliers at Pelicans (7 ET)
- Warriors at Hawks (8 ET)
- Pacers at Spurs (8 ET)
- Clippers at Mavericks (8:30 ET)
- Sixers at Jazz (9:30 ET)
5. NBA MAILBAG: JAMAL CRAWFORD ANSWERS MORE FAN QUESTIONS
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
20-year NBA veteran and NBC analyst Jamal Crawford answered another batch of over 20 fan-submitted questions on LeBron, the Celtics, and how he’d score on Wemby…
I’m a big fan of LeBron James. Can you tell me what it was like playing against one of the GOATs in his prime? – from Hminga in Mizoram, India
“Man, it was unbelievable. I remember one time, I think it was his third year, he stole the ball from me at The Garden and I thought it was a guard with how fast he was. I looked up and it was him. I don’t think he dribbled more than once or twice, and he seemed to dunk it from the free throw line.
So it was incredible to witness his game, his smarts, and the greatness he was chasing from day one. Day 0, really. He was just different. But what was most impressive was his mind from the start. He thought like a Hall of Fame-level player, even as a rookie.”
What makes Derrick White so unique? Trying to understand after Kenny Atkinson called him a Top 5 player in the league. – from Dominic in Cleveland, OH
“Most players play their style and have a specialty. You know what they bring to the team, whether it be shooting or defending or whatever. Derrick White is almost like a transformer. He can adjust to any situation you put him in. That’s rare in basketball, and it’s what makes him special.”
If you had to score on Wemby, what’s your go-to move? – from Lachlan in Hamilton, Ontario
“If he switched onto me, I would back up first because I want to get as much space as possible. Then I’m going to do a couple of dribble moves to see which one he goes for.
But the unique thing about him is, even if he kind of goes for it and you lose him, he can recover really fast. And even if he doesn’t block your shot, he’ll make you adjust it.
So I would do some dribble moves, make him dance a little bit, and then pull from deep. Like really, really, really deep.” | Read More
Catch Crawford this weekend on NBC/Peacock’s Sunday Night Basketball, as Celtics host the Wolves (8 ET).
