Devin Booker drills the stepback middy for the win, making it four straight for the Suns.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
March 25, 2025
West Drama: Book for the win, AD returns, 3 teams separated by 0.5 games for 2 Play-In spots
White Hot: Coby’s 3rd straight 35+ gives Bulls 3rd straight win, Magic top Lakers as Dwight honored
Roundup: Pacers win 5th straight to extend lead for 4th in the East, Raptors & Pelicans win
TNT Doubleheader: Butler & red-hot Warriors in Miami, OKC goes for 60 wins in Sacramento
League Pass Preview: A 6-game slate filled with postseason implications
BUT FIRST … ⏰
The SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament tips off in exactly 3 weeks…
Tonight’s TNT doubleheader tips off in Miami as Jimmy Butler makes his first return to South Beach with the Warriors (7:30 ET). Then, the Thunder go for their 7th straight win – and look to become the first team to reach 60 wins – when they visit the Kings (10 ET).
1. WEST PLAY-IN RACE TIGHTENS: BOOKER CALLS GAME, DAVIS RETURNS, CELTICS DROP KINGS
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With the game tied at 106 with 5.7 seconds left, the Suns called on Devin Booker to bring them home.
Booker had been in this situation before. And for the 7th time in his career, he delivered a game-winning bucket in the final 5 seconds.
Catching the inbounds pass outside the 3-point line, Booker drove into the mid-range, got to his spot and executed a textbook stepback jumper from 19 feet that dropped with 1.7 to play.
Suns 108, Bucks 106: Reigning West Player of the Week Kevin Durant scored a game-high 38 points, while Booker finished with 19 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds to lead the Suns to their 4th straight win – their longest run since winning seven straight from Oct. 26-Nov. 8. | Recap
- Best Of Book: After Monday’s game-winner, look back at some of Booker’s most clutch buckets
- Poster Alert: One of Book’s dozen dimes found Ryan Dunn on a one-way ticket to the rim – even as Giannis Antetokounmpo tried to rotate over for the the block – for an and-1 jam
Anthony Davis was dominant in his Mavs debut on Feb. 8 – posting 26 points, 16 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks in 31 minutes before leaving late in the 3rd quarter with an adductor injury.
Davis would go on to miss 18 games over six weeks with the injury. During that time, the Mavs also lost Kyrie Irving (ACL), Daniel Gafford (sprained knee), Dante Exum (hand), O-Max Prosper (wrist) and were already without Dereck Lively II (ankle).
Decimated by injuries, the Mavs fell from 8th in the West (28-25) the day Davis went down to 11th (34-37) on Monday – the day Davis came back.
Mavs 120, Nets 101: In his first game in 44 days, Davis had 12 points, six boards and three assists in 27 minutes, while Dallas got a game-high 22 points from Naji Marshall and 16-point games from Spencer Dinwiddie and P.J. Washington to defeat the Nets. | Recap
- Closing Time: After going 1-9 through their first 10 games of March, the Mavs have won two straight to remain locked in the race for the West Play-In
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Celtics 113, Kings 95: Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 25 points before exiting the game with an ankle injury on a 4-point play late in the 3rd quarter as the Celtics won their 6th in a row and handed the Kings their 3rd straight loss. | Recap
- 3-Point Disparity: The Celtics outscored the Kings 57-24 from deep on Monday with Tatum and Pritchard each knocking down five 3s, while Derrick White and Baylor Scheierman added three apiece
- Boston Dozen: The Celtics are 11-1 in their last 12 games – tied with OKC for the top record in the NBA – and rank 3rd in offensive rating (122.6) and net rating (10.7) during that time
West Play-In Race Tightens: With wins by the Mavs and Suns and a loss by the Kings, the three teams battling for the final two spots in the West Play-In are now separated by just a half-game.
- Kings ↔️: Remain 9th with the loss to Boston, only 0.5 games up on the Suns and Mavs
- However, the Kings hold tiebreakers over both teams – winning the season series with Dallas (3-0) and leading the series with Phoenix (2-1, with the final matchup on the last day of the regular season)
- Suns ↔️: Remain 10th with the win over Milwaukee because they hold the tiebreaker over the Mavs (winning the season series 3-1)
- Mavs ↔️: Remain 11th with the win over Brooklyn, losing the tiebreaker to the Suns and 0.5 games back of the Kings
East Playoff Race Update
Celtics ↔️: Remain 2nd in the East with the win, 4.5 games back of the East-leading Cavs
Bucks ↔️: Remain 5th in the East with the loss, falling 2.0 games back of the 4th-place Pacers and only 0.5 games up on the 6th-place Pistons
2. WHITE HOT: COBY & BULLS KEEP ROLLING, MAGIC DUO SHINES
On Monday afternoon, Coby White joined Michael Jordan as the only players in Bulls history to win back-to-back Player of the Week honors.
On Monday night, White took the first step toward a potential three-peat, dropping his third straight 35+ point performance to lead the Bulls to their third straight win.
Bulls 129, Nuggets 119: Behind White’s game-high 37 points, Josh Giddey’s near triple-double (26 pts, 7 reb, 9 ast) and a strong finish (34-24 4th quarter), the Bulls swept the season series with the Nuggets. | Recap
- Coby Cookin’: White (30.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.6 apg and 3.2 3pm over the past 10 games), is the 5th Bull to post three straight 35+ point games. The others? MJ, DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine & Bob Love
- Russ Rising: Westbrook (14 pts, 10 ast) passed Kevin Garnett (26,071) for 20th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list in the loss
- Postseason Race (CHI ↔️): The Bulls remain 9th in the East with the win, staying 2.0 games back of the 8th-place Magic and moving 1.5 games up on the 10th-place Heat
- Postseason Race (DEN ↔️): The Nuggets remain 3rd in the West with the loss, 1.5 games back of the 2nd-place Rockets and 1.0 games up on the 4th- and 5th-place Lakers and Grizzlies
Magic 118, Lakers 106: In a clash of duos, Orlando’s Franz Wagner (32 pts) and Paolo Banchero (30 pts) combined for 62 points to outduel the L.A. tandem of Luka Dončić (32 pts) and LeBron James (24 pts), who combined for 56 in the loss. | Recap
- Magical Pairing: Monday marked the 4th time Wagner and Banchero each scored 30+ in the same game. The only duo in franchise history with more? Penny Hardaway and Shaquille O’Neal, with 10 such games
- Luka 🤝 Laker Legends: Luka became the 6th player in franchise history with three straight games with at least 30 pts, 5 reb and 5 ast. The others? LeBron, Kobe, Magic, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor
- Dwight Howard Honored: Howard – a three-time Defensive Player of the Year with the Magic and an NBA champion with the Lakers – was inducted into the Orlando Magic Hall of Fame prior to the game
- Postseason Race (LAL ↔️): The Lakers remain 4th in the West with the loss, holding the tiebreaker with the 5th-place Grizzlies
- Postseason Race (ORL ↔️): The Magic remain 8th in the East with the win, moving within 1.5 games of the 7th-place Hawks
3. ROUNDUP: PACERS PUSH WIN STREAK TO FIVE, RAPTORS & PELICANS WIN
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Pacers 119, Timberwolves 103: Another double-double from Tyrese Haliburton (24 pts, 11 ast) and another 3-point flurry from Obi Toppin (20 pts, 6 3pm) carried the Pacers past Naz Reid (20 pts), Anthony Edwards (17 pts) and the Wolves for their 5th straight win. | Recap
- Turn It Up To 11: Haliburton extended his points-assists double-double streak to 11 straight games – making it the longest run in the NBA since Russell Westbrook in 2018-19
- Obi For 3: Toppin, who hit a season-high seven 3s against the Wolves last Monday, is shooting 58.6% (17-29) from beyond the arc over his past five games
- Postseason Race (IND ↔️): The Pacers remain 4th in the East with the win, moving 2.0 games up on the 5th-place Bucks
- Postseason Race (MIN ⬇️): The Wolves drop to 8th in the West with the loss, .001 in win percentage behind the 7th-place Clippers
Raptors 112, Wizards 104: The Raptors got 21 points apiece from Jakob Poeltl and Immanuel Quickley as well as a near triple-double from Scottie Barnes (13 pts, 10 reb, 8 ast) to defeat Jordan Poole (23 pts, 5 3pm) and the Wizards. | Recap
Pelicans 112, Sixers 99: Karlo Matković (19 pts, 8 reb) and Kelly Olynyk (14 pts, 11 reb, 7 ast) led five Pelicans in double figures to top the Sixers, who got 19 points apiece from Jared Butler and Justin Edwards. | Recap
4. TNT DOUBLEHEADER: BUTLER & RED-HOT WARRIORS GO TO MIAMI, OKC OUT FOR WIN NO. 60
Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images
With three weeks remaining in the regular season, the Warriors have emerged as one of the hottest teams down the stretch.
They’ve gone 8-2 in their last 10 games and have locked in defensively since acquiring Jimmy Butler III at the trade deadline – rising from 10th in defensive rating (112.2) to 2nd (108.6) since his arrival on Feb. 8.
Tonight, with Butler returning to the city where he spent five-and-a-half seasons and won two East Finals, the 6th-place Warriors will look to strengthen their Playoff positioning as they face the Heat (7:30 ET).
- Butler III and Andrew Wiggins are set to face their former teams for the first time since February’s blockbuster deal
- The Jimmy Effect: The Warriors have gone 16-3 with Butler in the lineup and have relied on him with Stephen Curry out due to injury
- Speaking Of Curry: The four-time NBA champ rejoined the team in Miami and practiced for the first time after missing Saturday’s game due to a pelvic contusion
Meanwhile, the Heat snapped a 10-game losing streak on Sunday, fueled by a season-high 42 points from Wiggins.
- Despite the streak, Miami remains in position to qualify for the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament, sitting 5.5 games up of the 11th-place Raptors
Thunder at Kings (10 ET): OKC is aiming for its seventh straight win and eyeing to become the first team this season to reach 60 wins.
- Not Since KD & Russ: 60 wins would tie an OKC-era record for wins in a season dating back to 2012-13
More Than A Scoring Star: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32.8 points and dishing out 6.3 assists per game for the Thunder, but he’s also been exceptional defensively.
- In Good Company: SGA is on pace to join Michael Jordan (3x), LeBron James and Dwyane Wade as the only players to average 30+ points, 1.5+ steals and 1+ blocks over a season (since 73-74)
- His 105.2 defensive rating ranks 6th in the NBA – minimum 20 minutes and 20 games played
- Opponents are shooting 2.7% worse when guarded by SGA – 11th best among all guards who have faced at least 500 shot attempts this season
- SGA is one of three players averaging 1+ block and 1.5+ steals (Draymond Green, Scottie Barnes)
5. TONIGHT ON LEAGUE PASS: PLAYOFF PICTURE CONTINUES TO DEVELOP
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Crucial postseason leverage is at stake for multiple teams during tonight’s League Pass slate.
Hawks at Rockets (8 ET): Houston’s nine-game winning streak peaked with Sunday’s loss to Denver, but the group still climbed from 5th to 2nd in the West during that run.
Meanwhile, Atlanta has won seven of its last nine games en route to topping the East Play-In field.
- Crash The Boards: Alperen Sengun has hit double-digit rebounds in 14 of his last 18 games – his best stretch all season – while the Rockets are rebounding at a league-best 55.9% across the last 10
- Go For Launch: No team has more players averaging 12+ ppg than Houston, which boasts seven. The East-leading Cavs are the only other team with more than five such players (min. 45 games played)
- NBA’s Most Wanted: Driving the Hawks’ defense as he has all season, Dyson Daniels cracked 200 steals on Sunday to become just the third player since the turn of the century, and first since Chris Paul in 2008-09, to hit that mark
Magic at Hornets (7 ET): Paolo Banchero – and his 30+ points in five of Orlando’s last six outings – will lead the group into Charlotte, sitting just 1.5 games shy of Atlanta. The Magic are in search of their first three-game win streak since winning six straight from Nov. 21-Dec. 1.
Spurs at Pistons (7 ET): A career-best campaign continues for Cade Cunningham (25.7 ppg, 9.2 apg) as Detroit’s remarkable rebound from last season’s 14-68 finish now has the Pistons sitting a half-game back of Milwaukee for a top-five seed.
Mavs at Knicks (7:30 ET): Anthony Davis returned on Monday – posting 12 points and six boards in 27 minutes following an 18-game absence in Dallas’ win. His availability for tonight – on the 2nd night of a back-to-back – will be decided closer to tip-off.
Grizzlies at Jazz (9 ET): Every win counts for Memphis amid a tight race in the West – seeds two through five are separated by just 2.5 games. The squad can finish 4-0 against Utah in 2024-25 with a win tonight.
Cavaliers at Trail Blazers (10 ET): The Celtics narrowed the gap during the Cavaliers’ four-game losing streak last week, but Cleveland still boasts a 4.5-game advantage with 11 contests remaining. For Portland, can the upstart Blazers cut into a 3-game deficit behind Phoenix for 10th?
