Anthony Davis delivered in crunch time to banner a thrilling Dallas Mavericks escape against the Atlanta Hawks.
Make it 11 straight wins for the Oklahoma City Thunder on the same night the Houston Rockets clinched a playoff berth, and Anthony Davis came through late for the Dallas Mavericks. | Photos: Rockets, Thunder, NBA
A stacked nine-game NBA Thursday saw the Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat extend their winning streaks, the Houston Rockets secure a playoff seat, and more key movements in the wild, wild, West.
THUNDER DOMINATION CONTINUES; ROCKETS CLINCH PLAYOFF SPOT
- OKC Thunder (64-12) def. Detroit Pistons (42-34), 119-103: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder stormed away late to record their 50th win of 10 points or more this season, matching the 1971-72 LA Lakers for the most in a single season in league history. It also marked OKC's 11th straight win as they tied the all-time franchise wins with 64.
[ALSO READ: White-hot Thunder deny pesky Pistons to match all-time franchise win record at 64]
- Houston Rockets (50-27) def. Utah Jazz (16-61), 143-105: Alperen Sengun produced a near triple-double stat line of 15-14-9 as the Rockets punched a playoff ticket thanks to a 38-point crushing of the Jazz.
- Playoff Lift Off: Houston qualified for the postseason for the first time since 2020, and reached the 50-win plateau for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
- Miami Heat (35-41) def. Boston Celtics (56-20), 124-103: Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo combined for 46 points to lift the streaking Heat to a sixth straight victory and their first regular season win in Boston in three years.
[ALSO READ: Surging Heat put clamps on champion Celtics, snap Boston’s nine-game winning run]
- Indiana Pacers (45-31) def. Charlotte Hornets (19-57), 119-105: Tyrese Haliburton weaved his game-long brilliance with a 22 points, 10 assists, and 0 turnovers — passing Chris Paul for the most career games with 20+ points, 10+ assists, and 0 turnover with 14 in a strong win against the Hornets.
- Washington Wizards (17-59) def. Sacramento Kings (36-40), 116-111: Jordan Poole detonated for 23 points as the Wizards snapped a three-game skid at the expense of the struggling Kings.
DAVIS HEROICS RESCUE MAVS; CLIPPERS, LAKERS, TWOLVES MAKE MOVES
- Dallas Mavericks (38-39) def. Atlanta Hawks (36-40), 120-118: Anthony Davis delivered in clutch by hitting the game-winning floater with 3.4 seconds left, sending the Mavericks to a cardiac victory over the Hawks.
- A.D-omination: Davis overcame an eye injury to explode for 34 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks, and two threes in 30 minutes — becoming the first player in Mavs history to record such statline in a single game.
- LA Clippers (44-32) def. New Orleans Pelicans (21-55), 114-98: Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and the Clippers took care of business against the Pelicans to rise to seventh spot in the West via their ninth win in the last 11 games.
- Making Moves: Besides the Clippers, the Timberwolves also made strides and occupied the West no. 6 from the Grizzlies — who slid down to eight place.
- San Antonio Spurs (32-44) def. Denver Nuggets (47-30), 113-106: Stephon Castle flirted with a triple-double of 15 points, 15 rebounds, and nine assists in a skid-ending Spurs road dub over the Nuggets side missing superstars Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
- Up and Down: With a second-straight Nuggets loss, the Los Angeles Lakers (46-29) regained the West third seed from Denver. In another crucial showdown tomorrow, LA faces the fifth-ranked Golden State Warriors with playoff seeding implications at stake.
- Cleveland Cavaliers (61-15) def. New York Knicks (48-28), 124-105: The East no. 1 Cavaliers overturned a 15-point deficit to flip the script against the Knicks, tying the second most regular season wins in franchise history with 61.