A game-high 26 points to go with 27 candles.
Luka (Birthday) Magic helped the Lakers snap their skid.
Read on for everything to know about this stuffed Sunday of hoops.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
Mar. 1, 2026
ABC Doubleheader: Spurs surge into March, MSG; Ant wants the shot in Denver
Sunday Night Basketball: Will Sixers-Celtics rivalry deliver fourth straight thriller?
Saturday’s Standouts: Birthday boy Luka helps Lakers snap skid, Adebayo’s Heat handle Rockets
Roundup: Hornets stay hot, Raptors’ starters roll, Pels take two in Utah
J-Crossover’s Mailbag: Jamal Crawford answers NBA fan questions
BUT FIRST … ⏰
March starts with a monster 11-game slate…
A packed Sunday brings 11 games across 10 hours, beginning with ABC’s matinee doubleheader.
ABC Doubleheader: Wemby and Spurs start the day in New York against the Knicks (1 ET | Tap To Watch), followed by Ant and the Wolves visiting the Nuggets (3:30 ET | Tap To Watch).
Sunday Night Basketball: With the last three matchups each decided by a single basket, the Sixers and Celtics’ classic rivalry continues to thrill (8 ET on NBC & Peacock | Tap To Watch).
More Classics On Tuesday: NBC/Peacock throws it back to the 90s for Spurs at Sixers (8 ET), featuring notable NBA On NBC voices from the past: Bob Costas, Doug Collins, Mike Fratello and more.
1. ON ABC: SPURS SURGE INTO MARCH, MSG; ANT READY TO SHOOT IN DENVER
Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images
The hottest team in basketball tips off the day, and a new month, looking to extend that unbeaten February feeling.
Spurs at Knicks (1 ET): Winners of 11 straight for the first time in a decade, San Antonio starts ABC’s doubleheader in the second-toughest place to win in the East, New York’s Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks are 22-8 this season.
It’s Victor Wembanyama’s first game at The Garden since Christmas Day 2024, where he gifted a 1-of-1 statline.
- Christmas Callback: Wemby logged 42 points, 18 boards, 6 3s and 4 blocks, becoming the only player in NBA history with such minimums in a game
- The Knicks won that game, with 40 from Mikal Bridges. And while San Antonio has taken the last two regular-season games in the series, Vic is still looking for his first MSG win
- Growing Together: It’ll be a full team effort to get it, as San Antonio has leveled up offensively to lead the league with 124.8 ppg and 31.6 apg in February
- “After the All-Star break, we had the conversation with the team of just, every game from now on, it means something,” Julian Champagnie said. “We’re fighting for something. We’re building something.”
The Knicks spent February doubling down defensively, with last month’s 6th-best defensive rating (108.4) backing up offensive performances like Jalen Brunson’s 22-point 1st quarter Friday.
San Antonio will counter on the perimeter with Stephon Castle, who’s made things difficult for some of the best in the game.
Notable opponents’ shooting stats with Castle as the primary defender this season:
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 6-19
- Jalen Williams: 3-10
- Luka Dončić: 8-21
- Cade Cunningham: 3-13
- Devin Booker: 2-9
- Cooper Flagg: 5-12
Justin Tafoya/NBAE via Getty Images
Wolves at Nuggets (3:30 ET): Anthony Edwards and the Wolves pay a visit to Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets, a familiar foe they’re stalking in the West standings.
Sharing the same record of 37-23, Denver holds on to the 4-seed with its 3-0 advantage in the season series, which would become a first-round Playoff series if the season ended today.
And come clutch time in this fierce rivalry, The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski writes there’s no question (or debate) who’s getting the ball for Minnesota:
“In his sixth season in the league, [Ant] has shown a mastery of the moment that rivals anyone else in the NBA. He has a plan now, and there is no stopping him.
“‘Me and my coach got the best relationship ever,” Edwards said with a smile after scoring 31 points in a 94-88 victory. “He be right most of the time — 98 percent of the time. He told me to pass the ball tonight, and I should have passed it, but I shot the ball instead and it went in. The basketball gods were on my side.’” | Read More
- Franchise First? Ant (29.6 ppg) is right on the edge of Minnesota’s first 30.0+ ppg scorer in team history
- Speaking of Christmas: The Nuggets and Wolves last met on Christmas Day, where Joker (56 pts, 16 reb, 15 ast) logged the first-ever 55/15/15 game
2. SUNDAY NIGHT BASKETBALL: SIXERS-CELTICS RIVALRY COMING UP CLUTCH
David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images
The Sixers and Celtics are tuning up for their 475th all-time meeting tonight on NBC/Peacock’s Sunday Night Basketball (8 ET).
And through all that history, the rivalry is thriving like no other this season, with the first three games all coming down to the final possession.
- Game 1, Oct. 22: On Opening Night, VJ Edgecombe (34 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast, 50.0 FG%) made a statement to the league in his debut, while Tyrese Maxey (6 ast, 54.2 FG%) dropped 40 to lead Philly to the 117-116 win
- Game 2, Oct. 31: Jaylen Brown nabbed 32 points on Halloween in Philly, and a strong defensive stand late preserved the C’s 109-108 win
- Game 3, Nov. 11: Maxey (21 pts), Justin Edwards (22 pts, 8-9 FG), and a Kelly Oubre Jr. bucket with 8.7 remaining helped the Sixers take a 2-1 series edge, 102-100
The regular season’s final entry in this series brings a showdown of top-5 scorers, with Jaylen Brown and Tyrese Maxey each scoring an identical 29.1 ppg.
- Back From Break: Maxey has been rolling since the All-Star Break, averaging 30.8 points and 7.4 assists in those last five games
- He’s been that good against Boston this season (29.0 ppg, 58.3 3P%), bolstering his assists to 9.7 over the three games and adding 5.0 boards
- JB Vs. PHI: Brown has hung with Maxey head-to-head (27.0 ppg, 5.0 reb, 5.0 ast), excelling in efficiency with 54.5/50.0 shooting splits
- Running Mate: With Joel Embiid (oblique) out for the next three games, Philly will continue to look to Edgecombe for a boost, who’s averaging 20.0 points over his last five games
Emilee Chinn/NBAE via Getty Images
Roundup: Other East contenders take the court tonight, as the Cavs look to continue their momentum visiting the Nets (3:30 ET) and the top-seeded Pistons hit the road against Magic (6 ET).
- Bucks at Bulls (3:30 ET)
- Grizzlies at Pacers (5 ET)
- Blazers at Hawks (6 ET)
- Thunder at Mavericks (8 ET)
- Pelicans at Clippers (9 ET)
- Kings at Lakers (9:30 ET)
3. SATURDAY STANDOUTS: LAKERS SNAP SKID ON LUKA’S BIRTHDAY, HEAT HOLD OFF ROCKETS
On his 27th birthday, Luka Dončić nearly matched his new age in points.
The best (and maybe only?) gift he got all day was an end to L.A.’s three-game skid.
Lakers 129, Warriors 101: Dončić (26 pts, 6 reb, 8 ast) led all scorers as the Lakers flew out to a 33-16 lead and never trailed after 2-0. Luka, LeBron (22 pts, 7 reb, 9 ast) and Austin Reaves (18 pts) combined for 66 points and 20 of L.A.’s 29 assists. | Recap
- “I think today was one of the best games we’ve played together,” Luka said of teaming with James and Reaves. “We’re sharing the ball — we’ve just got to continue like that.”
- Special Guest: LeBron poured in 20 of his 22 points in the 1st half, his second 20+ half this season, after his warmup partner, daughter Zhuri, got him game-ready
- Triples King: Sinking four 3s on the night, James joined Kobe as the only Lakers with 1,000+ made 3s. LeBron is the first player ever to hit 1K 3s for multiple franchises
- Birthday Wishes: A mic’d up Draymond Green wished Luka happy birthday and the Lakers sang to Dončić while unveiling his jersey cake
- Feeling At-Home: Gui Santos (14 pts) led the shorthanded Warriors on the day he signed a multi-year contract extension
- Adding Separation: Holding on to the final guaranteed Playoff spot in the West, L.A. moved to 1.5 games up on the 7th-place Suns, and 4.5 ahead of the Warriors
A guaranteed Playoff spot is what Bam Adebayo and the Heat want most right now.
To get there from 8th place, they’ll need more signature wins like the one they got Saturday.
Heat 115, Rockets 105: After trading early double-digit leads, Miami closed a back-and-forth 2nd half with a 9-2 run, with Adebayo (24 pts, 11 reb, 3 3s) leading the way and Pelle Larsson adding 10 of his 20 points in the 4th. | Recap
- Kevin Durant (32 pts, 5 reb, 8 ast) led the Rockets with his 432nd 30+ point game, passing Kobe for 5th-most all-time and putting him four away from passing Karl Malone
- Next Man Up: Tyler Herro (18 pts) made his first start since Jan. 15 (ribs) in place of Norman Powell (groin), and Reed Sheppard (14 pts, 5 ast) started in place of Jabai Smith Jr. (ankle)
- Aftermath: Houston holds on to 3rd place in the West with a half-game lead over Denver, while Miami sits in 8th in the East, 2 games out of a guaranteed Playoff spot
“We’re top-5 in offense, top-5 in defense, so we know where we belong, where we should be,” Andrew Wiggins (12 pts, 6 reb) said postgame.
“We gotta keep putting in the work and be consistent to get there.”
4. ROUNDUP: HORNETS STAY HOT, RAPTORS STARTERS ROLL, PELS TAKE TWO
Hornets 109, Blazers 92: Charlotte opened with a 25-12 run and Brandon Miller (26 pts, 8 reb) hit four of his six 3s in the 2nd quarter, as Buzz City never looked back, overcoming 46 combined points from Jrue Holiday (25 pts, 5 reb) and Jerami Grant (21 pts). | Recap
- Coby White (20 pts) made his home debut for Charlotte in his third game (calf) since arriving at the trade deadline and got a warm welcome from his college coach Roy Williams and his home state’s fans
- Second Surge? Maintaining Play-In position in 9th, Charlotte has now won four straight and is 14-3 since Jan. 22
Raptors 132, Wizards 125: All five Toronto starters scored at least 18 points, led by Immanuel Quickley (27 pts, 11 ast), who helped flip the lead for good during the Raps’ 11-2 3rd-quarter run to pull away from Will Riley (19 pts) and Washington. | Recap
- Toronto starters Quickley, Brandon Ingram (24 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast), RJ Barrett (21 pts, 5 reb), Scottie Barnes (18 pts), and Jakob Poeltl (18 pts, 10 reb, 3 stl) combined for 108 of 132 points
- Family Style: It’s the fourth time this season Toronto has had every starter score 15+ points — its most such games in a season since 2021-22 (6x)
- Elite Depth: The Raps are one of just two teams this season with four or more games where all five starters scored 15+ points, trailing only the Knicks (5x)
- In The Mix: Toronto holds steady to 5th place in the East, 1.5 games behind Cleveland, and 1.5 games up on Philly’s final guaranteed Playoff spot
Pelicans 115, Jazz 105: Saddiq Bey (24 pts, 5 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl) led New Orleans with rookie Jeremiah Fears (18 pts) grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds to secure his second double-double, as the Pels never trailed and swept the two-game series in Utah. | Recap
5. NBA MAILBAG: JAMAL CRAWFORD ANSWERS FAN QUESTIONS
20-year NBA veteran and NBC analyst Jamal Crawford answered over 20 fan-submitted questions on all things basketball ahead of his Sixers-Celtics assignment tonight:
Will the Celtics be the favorites to win the East if Jayson Tatum comes back? – from Sean in Boston, MA
“I think the Celtics, the way they’re playing, may be the favorites to win the East, whether he does or does not come back. I don’t think anybody predicted they would be number two in the East with Tatum sidelined. Jaylen Brown is a true MVP candidate…”
Did you expect Tyrese Maxey to develop like he has (currently 5th in scoring)? What can he do to take his game even higher? – from Marcel in Pittsburgh, PA
“I did not see him developing into a top‑5 scorer this soon. But I saw the talent, I saw the work ethic, and everybody said he was a great teammate who always works on his game. The next step for him, like all the greats, is to win…”
What’s been most impressive about Jaylen Brown’s season? – from Mike in Milford, MA
“His leadership. We always knew he could score and that he was a leader, but now you’re seeing those leadership qualities on the court, too. He’s setting guys up, telling them where to go (things he won’t get credit for) and helping the team succeed…” | Read More