A 60-piece: Luka’s latest feat in a legendary scoring streak.
Game-winner, Playoff-clincher: Wemby’s shot sends San Antonio through the roof.
Read on for the full theatrics from two late-season cases in the Kia NBA MVP race, along with more bigtime history from King James.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
Five Unforgettable Minutes: Luka adds 60-piece to his hot streak, moments after Wemby seals Spurs’ playoff spot
East Race: The Beard’s big night, Hornets stay hot (& retire Dell Curry’s jersey), Pistons win without Cade
Rooks Cook: VJ Edgecombe and Ace Bailey go for 30+ point career-highs in wins, Pelicans sweep Clips
On NBA TV: Sixth-place Atlanta aims for 12th straight W, visits Houston
MVP Ladder: After Thursday’s shining moments, Luka launches into contention with Wemby
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Tonight On League Pass: Settle in for a six-game slate featuring the Hawks, shooting to extend their win streak to 12, visiting the Rockets (8 ET | Tap To Watch), and Joker’s Nuggets hosting the Raptors (9 ET | Tap To Watch).
Cunningham Out: The East-leading Pistons’ All-Star guard Cade Cunningham has been diagnosed with a collapsed lung and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
1. “M-V-P, M-V-P!”: LUKA LEVELS UP TO 60, WEMBY HITS GAME-WINNER
A 50+. Two 40s. Four 30s. Now 60.
And that’s all in the last two weeks.
Luka Dončić has been collecting milestone points totals across the spectrum of scoring.
Thursday night, he went next-level, again.
Lakers 134, Heat 126: Down early on the second night of a back-to-back, Luka (7 reb, 5 stl, 9 3s) erupted for 39 2nd-half points, including 20 in the 4th, sinking 60 with the game’s final free throw.
LeBron James backed him up with a triple-double (19 pts, season-high 15 reb, 10 ast) to help turn the tables on Bam Adebayo (28 pts, 10 reb) and Miami for L.A.’s eighth straight win. | Recap
Defying Father Time: LBJ’s 124th career triple-double came on the night he tied Robert Parish’s NBA record for most regular season games played (1,611)
Historic Spread: Luka is just the second player in NBA history to record a game with 60+ points, 5+ boards, 5+ steals and 5+ 3s, joining James Harden (61/15/5/5, 2019)
Kobe Connection: Dončić is the seventh Laker with a 60+ point game, and the first since Kobe Bryant’s 60 on April 13, 2016 – his final game
Along The Way: Splashing up to 232 triples for the season – 2nd-most in the league – Luka has set a new Lakers single-season high from long range
“I was tired. We struggled but we came back,” Dončić said postgame. “I know a lot of people didn’t get a lot of sleep yesterday… We fight til the end and win the game, it says a lot.”
“Got a back-to-back, I’m 41… I’ll take care of myself and hopefully be ready…”
That was LeBron’s message after Wednesday night’s win in Houston.
Come Thursday in Miami, he was better than ready.
Four At 40+: This was LeBron’s fourth triple-double since turning 40, joining Karl Malone (40 yr, 127 days) as the only players to log a triple-double past that age
“Without him, we don’t win,” Luka said of LeBron. “The way he’s playing, it’s incredible to see.”
Elite Teammates: Luka and LeBron are the first 60+ scorer and triple-double duo in a game since 1969, when another Lakers pair – Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor – accomplished the feat
The streaking 3rd-place Lakers bolster their advantage to 2 games over the 4th-place Wolves, and 3 games over the Rockets and Nuggets.
Moments before Luka hit 60 in Miami, Wemby sent Playoff-bound San Antonio into a frenzy.
Spurs 101, Suns 100: Victor Wembanyama (34 pts, 12 reb, 3 stl) hit the game-winning jumper with 1.1 remaining, capping a 5-0 run in the final minute that gave the Spurs their first lead of the 4th quarter and showered Wemby in “M-V-P!” chants.
Winners of 21 of their last 24 games, San Antonio clinched their first Playoff berth since 2018-19. | Recap
“Victor checks the clock, dribbles, fades, and sends the Spurs to the Playoffs, with 1.1 second remaining,” as called by Jacob Tobey on the Spurs broadcast
“I’m with my brothers right here, we just happy,” Wemby said in a hyped-up postgame huddle, before banging the drum for the Spurs faithful
“We hadn’t had a game like this in a while,” Vic said of the comeback. “Feels good to know we still got it.”
Scoring Duels: Collin Gillespie (24 pts, 6 3s) led Phoenix, with 22 more from Devin Booker, while De’Aaron Fox supported Wemby with 23 points and 7 boards
With four straight wins, San Antonio is back to a 3-game gap behind the league’s best record in OKC
Read on for more of Wemby and Luka’s emerging MVP battle with a first-look at Shaun Powell’s new Kia NBA MVP Ladder in Section 5.
2. EAST ENERGY: HORNETS RAISE W, HARDEN GOES OFF, PISTONS PROVE DEPTH
Tenth-place Charlotte capped off Dell Curry’s special night with its fourth W in five games.
Hornets 130, Magic 111: Brandon Miller (25 pts, 8 ast) and LaMelo Ball (20 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast) led the charge for Buzz City, who went ahead for good in the final ticks of the 1st quarter, and won the middle two frames 76-45, over Desmond Bane (24 pts, 7 reb) and Orlando. | Recap
White Ignites: Coby White (5 ast, 5 3s) netted a team-high 27 for the Hornets off the bench, his highest scoring night since joining the team Feb. 24
Threes In The 3rd: Nine of Charlotte’s 13 field goals in the 3rd quarter were 3s (22-46 3FG overall), including five by Miller for 15 of his 27 points
Kon Knueppel now has 242 triples this season, trailing only Jason Richardson (243, 2007-08) and Kemba Walker (260, 2018-19) for most in a Hornets’ season
At halftime, Hornets legend and broadcaster Dell Curry had his jersey retired in a ceremony that included his NBA sons, Steph and Seth.
“I can’t thank them enough for this,” Dell said. “I cannot explain how grateful, blessed, and fortunate I am to be here in this moment.”
“It’s always good to have Dell around, helping us,” Miller said postgame. “Having his two sons that just follow his lead, I think you couldn’t ask nothing better than that. Congrats to him and his family.”
With Donovan Mitchell out (eye), James Harden cooked for Cleveland like never before.
Cavaliers 115, Bulls 110: Harden (7 reb, 9 ast, 7 3s) went for 36 points, his highest output as a Cav, and Evan Mobley (26 pts, 14 reb) was dominant, as Cleveland survived a 28-point Chicago rally and a one-possession game late. | Recap
Swish & Dish: Harden’s 181st career regular-season game with 35+ points and 5+ assists ties Michael Jordan for 3rd-most all-time. Only Oscar Robertson (206) and LeBron have more (205)
Stacking 30s: Harden moved into sole possession of 12th place on the all-time 30+ point games list, passing Elgin Baylor (344)
Threading Needles: Josh Giddey had a career-high 19 assists, after a 1st half in which he dished the most in any half for the Bulls in the play-by-play era (12)
4th-place Cleveland now has a full 3-game lead over 5th-place Toronto, while pressuring the 2-seed Knicks, who have a 2-game edge
Beginning a pivotal stretch without All-Star guard Cade Cunningham (lung), Detroit’s second All-Star made sure there was no slow-down Thursday.
Pistons 117, Wizards 95: Jalen Duren (24 pts, 11 reb) led six double-digit scorers in a wire-to-wire win over Tristan Vukcevic (21 pts, 7-8 FG) and Washington to sweep the two-game series in DC. | Recap
Still Sharing: The Pistons dished 32 assists without team-leader Cunningham (9.9 ast), five over their season average (27.0)
Adding Padding: Detroit adds a half-game to its lead over the Celtics for a 4-game gap back to 2nd place
3. ROUNDUP: ROOKS COOK AS VJ & ACE SET CAREER-HIGHS, PELS SWEEP CLIPS
76ers 139, Kings 118: Philly got a pair of career-highs, with VJ Edgecombe’s (11 ast, 7 reb) 38 points and Justin Edwards’ 32 (with 7 3s) to top Maxime Raynaud (30 pts) and Sacramento for its fourth win in six tries. | Recap
VJ & AI: Edgecombe is the first rookie in 76ers history to log a 35/10/5 line and just the second Philly rookie ever, along with Allen Iverson, with 35+ points and 10+ assists
Keeping pace 2 games ahead of 10th-place Charlotte, Philly pulled even with 8th-place Miami. Their tie-breaker will be determined in their series finale March 30
Jazz 128, Bucks 96: Ace Bailey (9 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl, 7 3s) erupted for a career‑high 33 points, and Cody Williams scored 19 of his 23 points before halftime as Utah snapped a four-game skid. | Recap
Double 30 Club: Bailey’s second 30+ point game this season puts him with Cooper Flagg (7), Kon Knueppel (5), Derik Queen (2) and VJ Edgecombe (2) as the only rookies to reach the mark twice this season
Pelicans 105, Clippers 99: Trey Murphy III (27 pts, 5 reb, 5 3s) and Saddiq Bey (20 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast) teamed to outlast Derrick Jones Jr. (22 pts) and a Clippers team without Kawhi Leonard (ankle) and their deadline acquisitions, to sweep the two-game series. | Recap
4. ON NBA TV: HAWKS EYE 12TH STRAIGHT WIN, VISIT ROCKETS
In the annual NBA GM survey before 2025-26 began, NBA general managers seemed to agree on two things:
They came to the consensus that Atlanta made the best offseason moves. And for teams that would be most improved in 2025-26, they awarded Atlanta the 2nd-most votes.
Coming out of the All-Star break, the Hawks are showing why.
Because the Hawks just keep winning. Now with 11 in a row under their belts, they visit the Rockets (8 ET, NBA TV) looking to soar even higher.
High Hopes: After back-to-back Play-In finishes, the Hawks — who hadn’t won a Playoff series since 2020-21 — were picked by GMs to finish 4th in the East
Delayed Takeoff: Still, Atlanta entered the All-Star Break with a 26-30 record and in 9th place. It sat outside the Playoff picture, needing a boost to get ahead of Play-In territory
So before the trade deadline, the Hawks made some changes. Not only did they swap Kristaps Porziņģis for Jonathan Kuminga, but they also traded away franchise cornerstone Trae Young.
Screeching Turnaround: They’ve now moved into 6th place and a Playoff spot, thanks to 12 victories in their last 13 games
Flashes To Fire: Jalen Johnson, who was on a career-best pace last season before shoulder surgery, is averaging 22.9 ppg, 10.5 rpg and 8.1 apg in 2026
“We’re resilient,” Johnson said. “We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs. The team has looked different at times. But at the end of the day, we remain together.”
Houston, meanwhile, has back-to-back losses to shake. Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun and Co. have fallen to 5th place in the West, but trail the 4th-place Timberwolves by one game.
Approaching His Airness: Durant (32,242 points) needs 51 points to pass Michael Jordan for 5th on the league’s all-time scoring list
His Next Obstacle? Atlanta’s defense, which since the Feb. 22 beginning of its winning streak, ranks 1st in the Association with a 104.2 defensive rating
5. MVP LADDER: LUKA’S HEROICS LAUNCH HIM INTO 2ND, AHEAD OF WEMBY
Last week, it was Wemby cracking the upper echelon of Shaun Powell’s Kia MVP Ladder, slotting in between reigning winner SGA and his most valuable rival, Nikola Jokić.
Seven days of scoring supremacy later, Luka Dončić has shot past Joker and Wemby, into 2nd position.
And just last night, mere minutes separated Luka and Wemby’s most compelling MVP cases yet – advantage, Dončić:
There was pressure on his shoulders and sweat on his brow Thursday, with 15 seconds left and his team comfortably up nine points. Pressure? How is that possible, you ask?
Luka Dončić was at the free-throw line and needed to make one of two for 60 points against Miami. After he missed the first shot, the Los Angeles Lakers bench stood collectively and somewhat alarmingly, while a few feet away, LeBron James laughed nervously and yelled encouragement.
Dončić smiled.
Of course, Dončić made the second shot to secure the 60-piece. Was there any doubt? He’s having that type of season, and more impressively, delivered that type of 48-hour stretch.
“His case: These last two scorching weeks by Dončić can compare with the best two weeks this season of anyone on the list.
And his might be better if you apply the context — against quality teams (Knicks, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Heat, Rockets twice) and as the Lakers attempt to lock in a top-four seed and home court advantage for the playoffs.
In that span he has a 60-pointer, a 50-pointer, a 41-pointer, 31- and 30-point triple-doubles and big shots to help the Lakers win 11 of their last 12 games.” | Read More
Catch other MVP candidates in action tonight, with 4th-ranked Jokić and the Nuggets hosting the Raptors (9 ET), and 6th-ranked Jaylen Brown and the Celtics visiting the Grizzlies (8 ET).
Roundup: Seeking their fifth straight win, the Knicks visit the Nets (7:30 ET) in this season’s finale of the Battle of the Boroughs. Elsewhere, the TWolves host the Blazers (8 ET), and the Warriors visit the Pistons (7:30 ET).
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