A Eurostep one-handed 59-footer off one leg to beat the buzzer?!

Yes, it was Nikola Jokić.

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀

March 29, 2025

East Roundup: Pistons snap streak vs. Cavs, Knicks top Bucks, Raptors win 3rd straight

Joker’s Wild: After his latest ‘he did what?!’ shot, we share 5 more must-see Jokić buckets

West Roundup: Clippers keep hold of the final top-6 spot after all 3 teams in the race win

Bulls On A Run: How Chicago’s hot streak came together ahead of tonight’s game vs. Mavs

Celtics Go For 8: The defending champs are peaking as the Playoffs near

BUT FIRST … ⏰

A seven-game Saturday awaits…

Saturday begins with Kings-Magic (5 ET, LP) in a game featuring two teams battling for Play-In position and ends with Celtics-Spurs (8 ET, NBA TV) as the defending champs look for a season-long 8th straight win.

1. PISTONS SNAP STREAK VS. CAVS, KNICKS TOP BUCKS, RAPTORS WIN AGAIN

Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images

The Detroit Pistons did something on Friday night that they had not done since Feb. 2022.

Beat the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Pistons snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Cavs despite missing leading scorer and playmaker, Cade Cunningham (calf).

Pistons 133, Cavs 122: The Pistons got a season-high 32 points from Tim Hardaway Jr. and withstood a 38-point game (22 in the 4th during a furious comeback) from Donovan Mitchell to win their 3rd straight. | Recap

• Triple Threat: Detroit got double-doubles from Dennis Schröder (17 pts, 10 ast), Jalen Duren (16 pts, 13 reb) and Ausar Thompson (18 pts, 10 reb) in the win
• Winning Season: With their 42nd win, the Pistons are guaranteed to have their 1st winning season (over .500) since 2015-16
• “Don’t Nobody Believe But Us!” – Go inside the Detroit locker room to see the Pistons celebrate the win
• Postseason Race (DET ↔️): The Pistons remain 5th in the East with the win, 1.5 games up on the 6th-place Bucks and 1.5 games back of the 4th-place Pacers
• Postseason Race (CLE ↔️): The Cavaliers remain 1st in the East with the loss, 4.5 games up on the 2nd-place Celtics

Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images

Knicks 116, Bucks 107: OG Anunoby (31) and Mikal Bridges (26) combined for 57 points to lead the Knicks to their 3rd win in the last four games. The Bucks dropped their 3rd straight game despite Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 30 points. | Recap

• Stepping Up: In 11 games since losing Jalen Brunson (ankle) on March 6, Anunoby (22.4 ppg) and Bridges (21.6 ppg) have increased their scoring by 5.9 ppg and 4.4 ppg, respectively
• Postseason Race (NYK ↔️): The Knicks remain 3rd in the East with the win, 3 games up on the 4th-place Pacers
• Postseason Race (MIL ↔️): The Bucks remain 6th in the East with the loss, 1.5 games back of the 5th-place Pistons

Mark Blinch/NBAE via Getty Images

Raptors 108, Hornets 97: Behind Jacob Poeltl’s double-double (24 pts, 12 reb) and a combined 37 points, 15 dimes and seven 3s from Immanuel Quickley and Scottie Barnes, the Raptors defeated Mark Williams (18 pts, 12 reb, 9-9 FG) and the Hornets for their 3rd straight win. | Recap

2. NUGGETS ROLL AS JOKER DAZZLES AGAIN

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It was another night at the office for Nikola Jokić:

• Filled The Box Score: 27 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals
• Thrilled The Ball Arena Fans: See the Euro one-handed 59-footer from above and this and-1 circus shot
• Making History: Joker became the fastest player to reach 16,000 points, 8,000 rebounds and 5,000 assists (739 games; 60 games faster than the previous leader, Larry Bird) – and only the 9th player to ever reach those totals in their career

Nuggets 129, Jazz 93: Jokić (27) and Michael Porter Jr. (20) led six Nuggets in double figures in a wire-to-wire win to sweep the season series with the Jazz and makeup ground in the race for 2nd in the West. | Recap

• Postseason Race (DEN ↔️): The Nuggets remain 3rd in the West with the win, 1.5 games back of the 2nd-place Rockets and 2.0 games up on the 4th-place Lakers and 5th-place Grizzlies
• Moving Up (x2): Russell Westbrook passed Oscar Robertson (9,887) for 8th all-time in assists and passed Kobe Bryant (1,944) for 16th all-time in steals

In honor of Joker’s latest “he just did what?!” moment, here are five more must-see Jokić buckets from this season. | Jokic’s Longest Shots

If Friday’s 59-footer wasn’t long enough, Jokić hit this one from 66 feet to beat the buzzer against the Kings on Jan. 23.

Pulling up for 3 from just inside halfcourt to beat the halftime buzzer in Atlanta on Dec. 8.

Hitting the fadeaway while tiptoeing the sideline and baseline for the ultimate corner 3 against the Blazers on Feb. 10.

Splitting the double-team for the and-1 off the glass for three of his career-high 56 points against the Wizards on Dec. 7.

Hitting the spinning fadeaway over two defenders against the Knicks on Nov. 25.

3. CLIPPERS, WARRIORS, WOLVES GET WINS IN BATTLE FOR FINAL PLAYOFF SPOT

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

Friday night started and ended with three teams – the 6th-place Clippers, 7th-place Warriors and 8th-place Timberwolves – separated by just a half-game in the race for the final top-6 Playoff spot in the West.

Clippers 132, Nets 100: Kawhi Leonard wreaked havoc on both ends of the court – posting 31 points, six boards, five 3s, four steals and two blocks – to lead the Clippers to their 10th win in their last 12 games and maintain their hold on the final top-6 Playoff spot in the West. | Recap

• Vintage Kawhi: Leonard had 25 points and three steals in the 1st half – numbers he had not put up in a single half since Nov. 2019
• Team Effort: In addition to Kawhi’s 3rd 30+ point game of the season, the Clippers got a combined 38 points from Ivica Zubac (21 pts, 12 reb) and James Harden (17 pts, 6 ast)
• Lockdown Defense: LA held an opponent to 100 points or less for the 18th time this season, the 3rd most times in the league behind OKC and Orlando
• Postseason Race (LAC ↔️): The Clippers remain 6th in the West with the win, holding the head-to-head tiebreaker (3-0) over the 7th-place Warriors, both 0.5 games up on the 8th-place Wolves

Layne Murdoch Jr./NBAE via Getty Images

Warriors 111, Pelicans 95: Golden State went 0-2 without Steph Curry as he recovered from a pelvic contusion. Steph returned and stuffed the stat sheet (23 pts, 4 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl, 5 3pm) on Friday to help the Warriors avoid a three-game skid. | Recap

• The Jimmy Factor: The Warriors improved to 17-4 with Jimmy Butler III (18 pts, 10 reb, 4 ast on Friday) in the lineup
• Postseason Race (GSW ↔️): The Warriors remain 7th in the West with the win, losing the tiebreaker to the 6th-place Clippers, both 0.5 games up on the 8th-place Wolves

Wolves 124, Suns 109: The Wolves improved to 8-1 on the season when Julius Randle scores 25+ points as Randle (25) and Anthony Edwards (20) combined for 45 to lead the Wolves past Kevin Durant (23 pts), Collin Gillespie (career-highs 22 pts, 10 ast) and the Suns. | Recap

• Another Sweep: Make it three straight sweeps between these teams. After the Suns swept last year’s regular-season series (3-0), the Wolves responded by sweeping the Suns in the First Round of the 2024 Playoffs (4-0) and this year’s regular-season series (4-0)
• Postseason Race (MIN ↔️): The Wolves remain 8th in the West with the win, 0.5 games back of the 7th-place Warriors and 6th-place Clippers
• Postseason Race (PHX ↔️): The Suns remain 11th in the West with the loss, 1 game back of the 10th-place Mavs and 1.5 games back of the 9th-place Kings
• Postseason Race (LAL & MEM ☑️): Following Friday’s games, the Lakers and Grizzlies each clinched a postseason berth, meaning they can finish no lower than the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament

4. LEAGUE PASS SPOTLIGHT: BULLS ON A RUN

Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images

The Bulls have become an entirely different animal. They hadn’t won four games in a row all season entering March, but amid nine victories in their last 11 contests, have hit that streak twice over.

Tonight, they’ll host the Mavericks (8 ET), while sitting 9th in the East but only two games shy of the 7th-place Hawks.

• Brick-By-Brick: The Bulls’ turnaround begins with a vastly different lineup than they had last season. Alex Caruso and DeMar DeRozan – Chicago stalwarts in 2023-24 – were traded away last summer, setting the change in motion
• New Kids On The Block: Josh Giddey entered the fold via the Caruso trade, and the team selected Matas Buzelis with the No. 11 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Both have been starters since February
• Falling: At the trade deadline, the Bulls parted ways with their longest-tenured player, two-time All-Star Zach LaVine, despite his team-high 24.0 ppg. Chicago went 3-9 in its first month following the Feb. 3 trade, including a season-long six-game skid

Times have changed. Across the last 11 games, Chicago leads the league with 122.2 ppg and ranks 4th with 29.5 apg during that span.

• The Catalyst? Coby White. The 6th-year guard is assembling the best basketball month of his career, pitching in 29.5 ppg on 49.6 FG%. That ranks 5th among players with 10+ games played in March – even besting Anthony Edwards and Giannis Antetokounmpo
• Robin To Batman: Giddey has thrived alongside White, and made strides of his own on both ends. He’s submitted 10.0 rpg and 9.5 apg this month along with 22.5 ppg. Giddey is the only player in the NBA averaging at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists in March

And it was Giddey who provided punctuation. His game-winning, halfcourt buzzer-beater Thursday secured a 4th victory by six points or fewer for Chicago during its current run.

Giddey: “We’ve shown over the last month to six weeks that we can beat anybody. The way we play the game, I think it wears people down.”

5. TONIGHT ON NBA TV: BOSTON SEEKS SEASON-LONG 8-GAME WIN STREAK

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Don’t look now, but the defending champs appear to be peaking just in time for another Playoff run.

The Celtics enter tonight’s game with the Spurs (8 ET, NBA TV) seeking a season-best 8th straight win and the team’s 3rd consecutive season with at least 55 wins.

As Boston seeks to become the NBA’s first repeat champ since the 2017-18 Warriors, they have somewhat flown under the radar for much of the season.

• Hiding In Plain Sight: The Celtics have held 2nd place in the East for the past 150 days – since the Cavs took sole possession of 1st place on Oct. 30
• Cavs & Thunder: The two conference leaders have commanded the spotlight in their chase for 60+ wins
• The MVP Race: While Jayson Tatum has been a top-5 fixture of the Kia MVP Ladder, the conversation has centered around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokić
• The Trade Deadline: Numerous deals and one blockbuster trade shook up the NBA landscape and again, drove the conversation away from Boston

With the spotlight pointed elsewhere, the Celtics are playing their best ball of the season with the Playoffs tipping off in exactly three weeks.

• Last 26 Games: At 22-4, the Celtics have the best record in the East and 2nd-best record in the NBA since Jan. 28, ranking in the top five in both offensive and defensive efficiency
• Best Road Team: Boston has the top road record for the season at 30-7 (.811) and has been even better since Jan. 28 – going 13-1 (.929) entering tonight’s game in San Antonio
• Defense Travels: The key to Boston’s road dominance? The Celtics rank 2nd in defensive rating on the road (108.4) compared to 12th at home (112.1)
• Knocking Down 3s: Boston’s 13-11 stretch in the middle of the season saw the Celtics shoot just 35.5% from deep (20th in the NBA). Since then, they have shot 38.3% on 3s (3rd in NBA)

Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images

Three games on League Pass round out Saturday’s seven-game slate.

• Kings at Magic (5 ET): Paolo Banchero looks to join Tracy McGrady as the only Magic players with six straight 30+ point games while the Kings try to hold their position in the West Play-In
• Lakers at Grizzlies (8 ET): The Lakers and Grizzlies are both 44-29 with the winner claiming 4th in the West. How will Memphis fare in interim coach Tuomas Iisalo’s debut? Can L.A. avoid a third consecutive buzzer-beating finish?
• Pacers at Thunder (8 ET): Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers will look to follow up their historic offensive performance from Thursday as they visit OKC and the Thunder’s elite defense.