For the second straight Monday, the NBA’s longest win streak changed hands – with OKC back on top.
Keep reading to catch up, and head to sections 4 & 5 for what to know in the regular season’s last 3+ weeks.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
March 24, 2025
Just Call Jamal: In showdown of No. 2 vs No. 3 in the West, Murray comes up clutch for Nuggets
Roundup: OKC wins battle of five-game win streaks, Cavs back to winning ways & more
Reads Of The Week: Some of our favorites from around the NBA last week
What’s Trending, West: Streaks, strength of schedule and four teams in a race for the 2nd seed
What’s Trending, East: Celtics carve into Cavs’ lead, cardiac Pacers leading charge for 4th seed
BUT FIRST … ⏰
What’s coming this week?
Scores & Schedule
On NBA TV Tonight: The Lakers and Magic meet at 7 ET, followed by Bucks-Suns (10 ET) — with all four teams battling for postseason position.
Wolves-Pacers (7 ET) headlines 6 more games on League Pass, as two of the hottest teams in the NBA meet.
Looking Ahead…
- Tues. on TNT: Jimmy Butler III’s return to Miami highlights Warriors-Heat (7:30 ET), then the Thunder look to be first to 60 wins when they take on Kings (10 ET)
- Wed. on ESPN: Lakers-Pacers (7:30 ET) matches up two squads currently in 4th place, and Celtics-Suns sees two streaking, high-scoring teams collide (10 ET)
Plus… a monster week of games on League Pass & NBA TV, including Clippers-Knicks & Bucks-Nuggets Wednesday, Grizzlies-Thunder & Lakers-Bulls Thursday, Cavs-Pistons Friday & much more.
1. JUST CALL JAMAL: MURRAY LEADS NUGGETS PAST ROCKETS
The Question: Coming off two straight losses, how would the Nuggets beat a Rockets team riding a 9-game win streak – all without all-world center Nikola Jokić in the lineup?
The answer, as it has been so often with Denver’s back against the wall, was Jamal Murray.
Nuggets 116, Rockets 111: In a battle of the 2nd and 3rd teams in the West, the Nuggets got an electrifying – and necessary – 39 points from their star guard to move a game behind Houston for second place. | Recap | Murray Goes Off
- The Difference: Tied after the first quarter & tied at the half, the ledger leaned toward Denver in the second half after a 39-22 third quarter – including 17 from Murray
- Late Rally: Houston won the 4th, 32-20, and cut the lead to three with 21 seconds left, but Christian Braun sealed it for Denver with two late FT’s
- The Spark Plug: The Nuggets are 16-3 in Murray’s career when he drops 35+, and 3-0 this season
- H Town’s Finest: Jalen Green scored 30, and Alperen Sengun added a triple-double
Eye On Postseason: After starting the week tied with Houston, Denver had fallen two games back. With the win, Houston stays in second, but Denver moves within a game – and a full game up on the Lakers.
2. ROUNDUP: OKC HOLDS OFF LA, CAVS BACK TO WINNING WAYS; CELTICS, PISTONS, HAWKS, HEAT GET BIG W’S
SGA
Soobum Im/NBAE via Getty Images
Both came in red-hot.
The seventh-place Clippers had won five straight and eight of nine, closing in on a top-6 Playoff spot.
The West-leading Thunder had also won five straight – and 12 of 13.
Thunder 103, Clippers 101: NBA leading scorer and Kia MVP Ladder leader Shai Gilgeous-Alexander put up a game-high 26 and Alex Caruso hit a go-ahead 3 with 1:54 left to send OKC past LA in a defensive battle, featuring comebacks from both squads. | Recap
- Four Lead Changes: Four of the game’s eight lead changes happened in the 4th Q
- Send In The Klaw: Kawhi Leonard (team-high 25 pts & 10 reb) put LA up 93-92 with 5:49 left off a dish from James Harden (17 pts, 8 ast), then broke a 97-97 tie with a pull-up at 2:19
- Caruso Time: After going just 1-of-6 from 3, Caruso hit a trey from the corner that bounced off the rim & in with less than 2:00 left
- Finding A Way: Playing without Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, OKC locked down late, allowing just two Clippers points in the final 2:00 and keeping Harden & Leonard from a good look in the closing seconds
Making History: Harden passed Moses Malone into 11th on the all-time scoring list. Meanwhile, SGA’s 64th straight game of 20+ points ties Kevin Durant for the 4th-longest in a single season – and the longest since 2015-16.
- One Away: With one more win, the Thunder would reach 60 on the season, which would tie the OKC-era record
- Postseason Impact: The loss dropped LA a half-game behind Minnesota for 7th, and a full game behind Golden State for 6th
Cavs 120, Jazz 91: Coming off four straight losses for the first time this year, the Cavs fell behind the Jazz 43-42 late in the second quarter … but used a dominating, 69-46, second half performance to right the ship.
Jarrett Allen dropped 18 and Donovan Mitchell had 16 in a game that saw six Cavs score in double-figures, and win the turnover battle 18-6. | Recap
Celtics 129, Blazers 116: Boston got 30-9-9 from Jayson Tatum and an 8-for-10 night from deep from Sam Hauser to pick up its fifth straight win and end Portland’s four-game win streak. | Recap
Pistons 136, Pelicans 130: With no Cade Cunningham, Ron Holland II scored 14 of his season-high 26 points in the 4th, bringing Detroit (3 wins in 4 games) within a game of Milwaukee for 5th in the East. | Recap
- 3J: CJ McCollum, who had 40 for NOLA, passed Jason Kidd (1,988) for 18th on the all-time 3PM list
Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images
Hawks 132, Sixers 119: Trae Young had 28 points and 12 assists, and Dyson Daniels’ 202nd steal made him the 1st player with 200+ in a season since Chris Paul in 2008-09, as Atlanta stayed one game up on the Magic in 7th. | Recap
- Feeling 22: Daniels, at 22 years and 6 days, becomes the second-youngest player in history to record 200+ steals in a season. The youngest? Magic Johnson in 1981-82 (21 years, 240 days)
Heat 122, Hornets 105: Andrew Wiggins put up 42, the second-highest-scoring game of his career, while Tyler Herro added 29 of his own to snap 10th-place Miami’s 10-game losing streak. | Recap
Spurs 123, Raptors 89: Devin Vassell had 25 and Julian Champagnie had 20 as the Spurs out-shot the Raptors by nearly 10 percentage points (47.7 vs. 38.0). | Recap
3. THIS WEEK’S READS
David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images
What were a few of the Starting 5 squad’s top reads from around the NBA world last week?
4. WHAT’S TRENDING OUT WEST: TANGLE AT THE TOP
How the week started. How it ended.
Coffee Still Kicking In? Here’s Your TLDR: The Thunder clinched the West’s No. 1 seed last week. The 2nd-place Rockets lead 4 teams – ahead of the Nuggets, Lakers and Grizzlies – separated by 2.5 games.
The Warriors hold the final guaranteed Playoff spot, but the Clippers and Wolves are close and charging hard. For Play-In, Sacramento & Phoenix lead, with Dallas, Portland and San Antonio in striking distance.
Strengths Of Schedule: Among the teams currently in postseason position, including the Phoenix-Dallas tie for 10th, what do the remaining schedules look like?
- Highest Opponent Win %: Suns (.617), Lakers (.568), Kings (.546), Clippers (.535), Grizzlies (.533), Rockets (.532)
- Lowest Opponent Win %: Timberwolves (.461), Mavericks (.488), Warriors (.504), Thunder (.508), Nuggets (.528)
OKC In Front: The West’s No. 1 seed for the second straight season is one of two teams to be top-five in both OffRtg (4th) and DefRtg (1st), joining Boston.
- The Thunder, who could reach 70 wins by winning out, are on pace to set the +/- record with 12.9 – passing the 1971-72 Lakers (12.3)
- All-Time? If OKC can get to 65 wins, they’ll break the franchise record of 64 set by the 1995-96 Seattle SuperSonics
Four For 2: The race for second has just 2.5 games between 2nd-place Houston and 5th-place Memphis, with Denver and the Lakers in between.
- Rockets Soaring: During its win streak, Houston was 7th in OffRtg and 2nd in DefRtg, with seven players averaging 15+ PPG – led by Jalen Green and do-it-all rising star Amen Thompson
- The Joker Returns? Jokić, who’s one triple-double from 30 for the year – would join Russell Westbrook, Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to do it – is expected to come back during Denver’s five-game homestand
- The King Is Back: The Lakers have gone 4-6 over their last 10, but just got LeBron James back after missing seven games. Meanwhile, Luka Dončić has put up 31 ppg in that stretch
- Can Grizz Battle Back? Memphis has lost three straight, but still seek to become the first team to go from lowest PPG (105.8 in ’23-’24) to highest the following season (122.1, 2nd)
How the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament & Playoffs would look if the season ended today.
Guaranteed… But Not Yet: The 6th-place Warriors have climbed to the last guaranteed Playoff spot, up from 10th before acquiring Jimmy Butler III at the Trade Deadline. But to keep it (or jump up), they’ll have work to do.
- Buckets’ Big Impact: Golden State’s gone 16-4 with Butler in town
- Wolves On The Run: At 8-2 in their last 10, the Timberwolves sit just half a game ahead of the Clippers as well as owning the head-to-head tiebreaker
- Ant-Man Carrying Load: Anthony Edwards’ career year has seen him put up 27.5 ppg (4th in NBA), with the 2nd-most treys (278), as he looks to become the 1st Minnesota player with 300 in a season
- X-Factor: Minnesota’s won 9 of 11 since Julius Randle returned from injury. Overall, the Wolves are 14-2 in his last 16 games, with Randle putting up 18.2 ppg on 50.2% shooting
SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament Race: The Kings hold 9th right now, but a two-way tie for 10th between Phoenix and Dallas and a streaking Blazers team has upped the stakes in the battle for the final spots.
- SacTown’s Star Trio: With Domantas Sabonis questionable to return, the Kings could get an extra boost for DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine to help keep home-court advantage in the single-elimination Play-In game
- Rising Suns: Including a statement win over the Cavs last week, driven by a 42-point performance from Kevin Durant, 10th-place Phoenix has now won three in a row
- Keeping It Close: Can Dallas make a late run, with Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II working back into action? Can Deni Avdija and Portland, winners of 4 of 5, stay hot?
5. WHAT’S TRENDING IN EAST: SETTING THE PACE
Your Monday TLDR, East Edition: The Cavs stopped their 4-game losing streak, but saw an 8-game lead over Boston for first turn to 5 after this week, with 11 to play.
After the Knicks in third, a climbing Indy leads 3 teams separated by 2 games in the last 3 Playoff spots, ahead of Milwaukee and Detroit. Currently in the Play-In, the 7th-place Hawks are on fire, as are the 9th-place Bulls, with Orlando and Miami in 8th and 10th, respectively.
Strengths Of Schedule: Among the 10 teams in postseason position out East, what do the roads ahead look like?
- Highest Opponent Win %: Pistons (.556), Knicks (.547), Pacers (.509), Cavs (.502), Magic (.487)
- Lowest Opponent Win %: Heat (.418), Celtics (.432), Hawks (.444), Bucks (.470), Bulls (.486)
Tighter At The Top: This time last week, the Cavs had just taken their first loss in 17 games. But a 1-4 stretch over their last five, combined with five straight dubs for Boston, has the defending champs creeping closer – albeit still 5 out of first.
- Back To It: Cleveland’s win Sunday showed the league’s top offense clicking again, with the Cavs 1st in PPG (122.3), 2nd in FG% (49.2%) and 1st in 3P% (38.4%)
- JT & The Joker: The Celtics’ Jayson Tatum stands with Nikola Jokić as the only players to lead their teams in PTS, REB & AST this year
- Three Party: Boston’s on pace this season to set the NBA record in 3PM (17.8)
Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images
Setting The Pace… The Hard Way: Pacers fans, we hope Sunday was a nice breath. But after last week’s gut-wrenching wins, 4th-place Indy heads into a new week still in position for home court in the First Round. With two teams breathing down its neck.
- Clutch Gene: The Pacers’ four straight wins have all come down to clutch time, with Indy putting up 23.3 pts on scalding 59/57 shooting splits during that streak
- Bucks Not Giving Ground: Milwaukee (a game behind right now) has been within a game or less of Indy since Feb. 11, regardless of seeding
- Greek Freak Feasting: Giannis Antetokounmpo’s on pace for his second consecutive season of 30+ ppg on 60%+ from the field, after becoming the first to do it last year
- What A Week: In the same week that saw the 6th-place Pistons claim their first postseason berth since 2019, breakout-star Cade Cunningham (26.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 8.8 apg over his last five) hit his first game-winner on Wednesday, banking it in vs. Miami
Hotlanta: Winners of 7 of their last 9, seventh-place Atlanta opens the week 4.5 back of Detroit – but up two on the 8th-place Magic … and four on the suddenly surging Bulls.
- Trae Of Light: NBA assist leader Trae Young just passed John Stockton in 20+ PT, 10+ AST games – 8th-most all-time
- Hanging Tough: Despite an injury-riddled year, Orlando heads into the last three weeks in 8th, led by Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and a defense ranked 2nd in DefRtg this season
- Charging Bulls: 9th-place Chicago’s won seven of its last nine: Coby White’s 29.9 ppg on 50.8% shooting since then makes him one of four players with those minimums. SGA, Ja Morant and Joker are the other three
