Jaylen Brown scored 26 points, Jayson Tatum had 23 points and 13 rebounds and the Boston Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors 115-101 on Sunday. BOSTON (AP) Jaylen Brown scored 26 points, Jayson Tatum had 23 points and 13 rebounds and the Boston Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors 115-101 on Sunday. Neemias Queta had 18 points and seven rebounds, and Payton Pritchard scored 17 points for the Celtics, who won their third straight to move closer to clinching second place in the Eastern Conference. Ja’Kobe Walter led Toronto with 16 points, and Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett each had 15. Celtics center Nikola Vucevic returned after missing a month following surgery for a broken right ring finger. He looked a bit rusty, scoring just four points in 13 minutes with four rebounds. Coming off consecutive games of putting up at least 43 points in the opening quarter, the Celtics looked a bit sluggish and were cold from long range early, missing 13 of their initial 16 shots from 3-point range. The teams were tied at 26 after one. Fighting for a top-six spot in the Eastern Conference to avoid the play-in tournament, the Raptors were outscored 35-24 in the final quarter that was filled with their turnovers and breakdowns defensively. Walter even missed all three free throw attempts on one trip to the line. Boston led by just three points entering the final quarter before going on a game-breaking 16-6 spree that was started by a long 3-pointer from Pritchard 18 seconds into the period. The Raptors trailed by 10 with just under four minutes left before Boston scored 10 of the next 12 points. Brown had three baskets, including a pair a few seconds apart when he missed his free throw trying for a three-point play but grabbed the rebound and converted a layup. Toronto won its previous game against Memphis by 32 points. Up next Raptors: Host Miami on Tuesday. Celtics: Host Charlotte on Tuesday.
https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2026/04/05/tatum-and-brown-carry-celtics-to-115-101-win-over-raptors/
Category Archives: basketball
UConn buzzer beater turns near blowout into unforgettable March Madness wing
UConn downed Duke with a last-second 3-pointer to join Illinois, Arizona and Michigan in the Final Four. Tony Dokoupil has more.
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/uconn-buzzer-beater-turns-near-blowout-into-unforgettable-march-madness-wing/
UCLA maulers seem destined for national title after bashing Iowa for Big Ten crown
Above a muddled Southland college basketball landscape, a heartwarming, heartstopping story has arisen.
In a winter filled with the unhappy buzz of screaming coaches and quitting players, a beautiful noise has appeared. It comes from the most dominant college basketball team in Westwood in three decades. It is directed by the coaching curator of the memory of John Wooden. It is led by the most impressive UCLA post player since then-Lew Alcindor.
If they were men, they would have been in the national headlines for the last six months. But from those shadows they have emerged stronger, more connected, and loudly prepared to bring home a long-awaited national championship.
Listen up — that roar at your door is the UCLA women’s basketball team, bursting onto the national headlines Sunday after delivering the kind of Big Ten tournament title beating that sounds, well, fake.
They defeated ninth-ranked Iowa 96-45. They won the title game in arguably the country’s deepest conference by 51 points. Fifty-one points. Fifty-one points! Who wins a game of such import by 51 points? A team that should be the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament, that’s who.
Seriously, when officials reveal the women’s March Madness bracket next weekend, even though one-loss UCLA is ranked second behind defending champion and unbeaten Connecticut, the Bruins should be the top-line No. 1 team.
They have won 25 straight games, all but two by double digits, against a much tougher schedule than the one faced by UConn. Yes, the Bruins’ one loss is to Texas, but the Longhorns just won the SEC and are going to be another No. 1 seed.
And yes, the Bruins lost to UConn by 34 points in last season’s national semifinals, but the Huskies lost Paige Bueckers and the Bruins just got deeper and better and more committed.
By earning the No. 1 overall seed, the Bruins would have a smoother ride to the finals, where a UConn rematch for the national championship seems destined. The Bruins deserve it. The Bruins have earned it.
Were you watching the carnage at Indianapolis’ Gainsbridge Fieldhouse Sunday? If so, you probably turned the channel after 15 minutes. Maybe sooner.
“What they’ve done this year has been extremely impressive,” said Iowa coach Jan Jensen after the throttling. “I think you saw a lot of senior leadership on their end, a team that’s been on a mission since the Final Four last year.”
On Sunday, it was a mission of mauling.
The Hawkeyes took the lead with a quick three-pointer before the Bruins reeled off 13 straight points while holding Iowa to two total baskets in a first quarter that ended with the Bruins holding a 17-point lead.
For the next three quarters, the Bruins made the Hawkeyes look like a grade-school team, not a program that reached the national championship games twice in the last three years.
No, Caitlin Clark isn’t walking through that door. Not that she would have helped much. These Bruins overwhelmed the Hawkeyes by displaying every necessary strength required to take the final step and finish the job next month in Scottsdale.
“I just want to say thank you to the incredible players that really fulfilled their mission and stayed committed to the hard character qualities that we knew we needed to make this kind of run,” said head coach Cori Close.
It helps that they have six veterans who will be taken in the next WNBA draft. It also helps that Close will be steering them into her 10th tournament in 15 coaching seasons — she’s been here enough to know all the madness moves.
In search of the school’s second women’s basketball national title and first in 48 years, they are doing everything right.
They play near-perfect team basketball. On Sunday, they set a Big Ten tournament record with 34 assists on 40 baskets, the highlight being an over-the-head backward pass from Angela Dugalic to Kiki Rice in the fourth quarter.
“This group has the potential to do whatever it wants,” said Rice.
They are deeper than any team in the country. They won by 51 points, and their unquestionably best player, Lauren Betts, took all of nine shots. Lauren was even outscored by her little sister Sienna, whom Lauren wildly cheered for while standing in front of the bench.
The tournament most outstanding player was not Lauren Betts, but Kiki Rice, who wasn’t the leading scorer but had eight assists and three steals—and didn’t crack a smile until she heard her teammates on the trophy stage chanting her name.
“She’s one of the most selfless people I’ve ever played with,” Lauren Betts said of Rice. “She really could not care less about all the attention. She just wants to win.”
In all, nine different players scored for UCLA, and when is the last time you’ve seen a scoresheet so full in a game of such magnitude?
Oh yeah, they can also shoot. All of them can shoot, as they made half of their 26 three-point attempts, led by Gianna Kneepkens’ four treys and team-high 19 points.
The Bruins could have used Kneepkens last season against UConn, but she was playing for Utah. She’s here now, and that could be the difference.
Compared to last spring’s surprise Final Four run, everything feels different. These Bruins know they belong on this big stage, know how to win here, and calmly and precisely play as if they know they can pull this off.
During Sunday’s postgame celebration, the three Bruins who briefly, but famously, joined the UCLA dance team during a recent men’s game repeated the dance on the Indianapolis court. They’re feeling it. Their fans are feeling it. Soon an entire city could be feeling it.
“I’m joyful,” said Close, “and the dance is just beginning.”
https://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla/story/2026-03-08/ucla-mauled-iowa-proved-bruins-can-win-national-title
Grade Syracuse basketball vs. Notre Dame, vote on player of game
Syracuse Basketball Team Grades After 86-72 Victory Over Notre Dame
Following Syracuse’s 86-72 win against Notre Dame on Saturday night in the JMA Wireless Dome, many are wondering: what grades would you give the team?
How would you evaluate the offense? And what marks would you assign to the defense? Finally, what’s your overall grade for the team’s performance?
If you’re having trouble viewing the stats on your mobile device, click here to access them.
Maine men’s basketball holds off Albany
Ace Flagg made a crucial foul shot with 1:55 remaining to give Maine the lead, and the Black Bears held on to beat Albany 52-49 in an America East men’s basketball game on Thursday in Orono.
Flagg, a Newport native, finished the game with 12 points, eight rebounds, and four assists for the Black Bears (4-17, 2-4 America East), helping Maine snap a two-game losing streak. He extended Maine’s lead to three points with 42 seconds left in the game.
Logan Carey then stepped up, sinking three foul shots to secure the victory. Carey and Mehki Gray led the team with 13 points each.
For Albany (7-13, 3-2), Abdoulaye Fall scored a team-high 14 points, while Isaac Abidde contributed 10 points in the effort.
https://www.centralmaine.com/2026/01/22/maine-mens-basketball-holds-off-albany/
Lineup changes, renewed defense help No. 22 Tar Heels cruise past Notre Dame
CHAPEL HILL — With all the noise surrounding the North Carolina basketball team this past week, it must have seemed like old times to head coach Hubert Davis.
A year ago, there were similar rumblings about whether Davis was the right fit to lead the illustrious program, but the Tar Heels went on a six-game winning streak near the end of the regular season to quiet the clamor.
Wednesday night, limping home after a two-loss West Coast trip and three defeats in four games, the 22nd-ranked Tar Heels faced a Notre Dame team enduring even greater struggles. The Fighting Irish were on a four-game losing streak, losers in five of their last six, and without their top scorer, Marcus Burton, who was injured after averaging 18.5 points through ten games.
Davis juggled his starting lineup for the third straight contest and the changes worked. Point guard Derek Dixon, starting his second consecutive game, opened the scoring with a 3-pointer from the right corner, and the Heels never trailed, coasting to a 91-69 victory.
“I thought about moving forward and not dwelling on California,” Davis said about his coaching approach in practice after the disappointing loss. “I didn’t want that to lead to the next game against Notre Dame. I wanted to be positive with these guys, give them confidence to go out there and play, and they were able to do that tonight.”
North Carolina is 12-0 at home this season, and the Tar Heels have won six in a row over Notre Dame. UNC is now 15-4 overall—a record most programs, not named North Carolina, would be happy with—and 3-3 in the ACC, while the Irish fall to 10-9 on the season, 1-5 ACC.
Notre Dame made two first-half runs at the Heels. Braeden Shrewsberry’s 3 cut the lead to one, but Luka Bogavac hit a 3-pointer from the left wing and Kyan Evans’s trey from the right corner gave UNC an 18-10 lead. When the Irish cut the margin to three, Carolina went on a 10-2 run and led 42-33 at the half.
After Henri Veesaar opened the second half with a hook shot and a 3-pointer, followed by another Dixon trey—extending the margin to 50-33 with less than two minutes gone in the half—the outcome was clear.
“At halftime, I said, ‘OK, let’s take another step, let’s get off to a good start, let’s raise our level even more,’” Davis said. “And we started off on an 8-0 run and we just continued it throughout the second half. That’s something that we hadn’t done in a while and I was very proud and very happy for them.”
Perhaps the loudest complaint after the loss to California was the perceived failure to get the ball to the Heels’ best player, Caleb Wilson—although the freshman took 12 shots, barely below his 12.3 shots per game average. Against Notre Dame, Wilson took only 11 shots but made eight, while converting 5 of 8 free throws to finish with 22 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
It was the 19th game in a row Wilson scored in double figures, just one off the UNC record to begin a career set by Rashad McCants. Veesaar scored 15 points and hauled in 12 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season, and Dixon finished with 11 points.
Eight different Tar Heels made 3-pointers in the game, tying the all-time UNC record.
Tar Heel fans also blamed Davis for North Carolina’s porous defense. In their three recent losses against SMU, Stanford, and Cal, opponents shot 54% from the field and 54.3% from the 3-point line. Against Notre Dame, the Heels mixed man-to-man defense with a 1-3-1 zone to limit the Irish to 36% shooting from the floor and 32% on 3-pointers—although Notre Dame did convert 6-of-12 treys in the first half.
“We talk about communication all the time, and the communication at times wasn’t there in the first half,” Davis said of his team’s 3-point defense. “We did a much better job of communicating in the second half.”
If there was a chink in the Heels’ armor, it was on the offensive boards where Notre Dame beat them 18-10, although UNC still held a 17-13 advantage in second-chance points. The Heels shot 50.8% from the field, 38.2% from 3-pointers, and enjoyed a 13-2 advantage in fast break points.
The win gives Davis and the Heels some breathing room, as the performance may quiet the discontent—at least a bit. But Carolina can hardly rest on its laurels as it faces 14th-ranked Virginia in Charlottesville next Saturday, and a loss—especially a bad loss—will put the spotlight back on its head coach.
“This is the first time with this group and we have 11 new players,” Davis said. “We’re learning, we’re growing, we’re getting better, and we’re looking forward to practice and preparation to play a really good Virginia team.”
https://www.wilsontimes.com/sports/lineup-changes-renewed-defense-help-no-22-tar-heels-cruise-past-notre-dame-0c03fff9
Smaller Jalen Brunson leading Knicks to NBA title is ‘tough’ task: NBA analysts
It’s the existential question that will hover over the Knicks until proven otherwise: Can a team win a championship with a small, less-athletic guard like the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson as their best player?
“Tough. It’s tough,” former NBA guard Tim Legler, now ESPN’s top NBA analyst, told The Post. “Even if you just took out the ‘not as athletic’ component, and you just said ‘at his size as your highest-volume shot-taker,’ just look historically how many teams have done that.”
Legler points to past examples to illustrate his point. “Let’s take a smaller guard that won a championship. Take an Isiah Thomas, for example; look at the balance on their scoring. You didn’t have the discrepancy that you have here where your leading scorer is seven points better than your next leading scorer. Then there’s another five-point drop before you get to your third leading scorer.”
“The teams that have done it and won it all with a guy that size as your top shotmaker have been more balanced teams. Chauncey Billups was a little bit bigger than that but still was a grounded player. He wasn’t a super athletic guy; strong base, all that kind of stuff. Look at the balance on that team.”
Entering Saturday’s game against the Suns at Madison Square Garden, Brunson averaged more than six more shots per game than the next closest teammate, Karl-Anthony Towns. In contrast, during the Detroit Pistons’ championship seasons in 1988-89 and 1989-90, Isiah Thomas was around two more shots per game than any of his teammates. And on the 2003-04 Pistons championship team, Billups wasn’t even the leading scorer or shot-taker; it was Richard Hamilton.
The only recent example of a smaller guard winning a championship as the lead scorer is Stephen Curry. The reigning champion Thunder have a guard in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as their best player and top scorer, but he is much bigger at 6-foot-6 and much more athletic.
**CHECK OUT THE LATEST NBA STANDINGS AND KNICKS STATS**
Unlike the Knicks, Oklahoma City was also an elite defensive team, similar to those Pistons squads.
“It’s not as easy,” former longtime NBA coach Stan Van Gundy, now an “NBA on Prime Video” analyst, told The Post. “Small guards in today’s game are not easy because you can’t switch as much. Steph Curry has shown us that certainly you don’t have to be a big guard to play on a championship-level team. One of the things that Steph has done throughout the course of his career is he has really improved at the defensive end.”
Van Gundy adds, “It’s one of the things in my preparation [for Warriors games]. Teams try to go at him, but it’s not that easy anymore. He has great pride in what he does at the defensive end. Can you have somebody that size on a championship team be the best player? Yep, you can. Is it easy? No.”
Looking back over the past decade, the non-Warriors championship teams have been led by players like LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as their best player and top scorer.
The discourse became a national talking point when Becky Hammon, then an ESPN analyst, said two years ago that Brunson is too small to be a “1A dude” capable of leading a team to a championship. Allen Iverson and Steve Nash were examples she used as precedent.
Since then, the Knicks have added depth around Brunson with players like Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges, rather than using resources to land a superstar like Antetokounmpo that could potentially make Brunson more of a second option.
Legler sums it up: “It’s a smaller guy, highest usage rate, biggest shot taker, kind of know exactly what’s gonna happen late in games. Being honest? It’s not easy, it’s very rarely been done in the history of the league. That’s what they’re trying to pull off and it’s not an easy thing to do.”
The silver lining, according to Legler, is Brunson’s efficiency. “Most guys his size aren’t this efficient. Most guys his size that shoot that much do not shoot 48 percent from the field. They don’t shoot 40 percent from the 3-point line. Most of those guys, in that size range that take a lot of shots, are in the low 40s. They’re 34 percent from the three. That’s way more typical than what Brunson does.”
Brunson has defied expectations throughout his career. But the vast majority of recent NBA history remains a challenge to overcome.
https://nypost.com/2026/01/17/sports/smaller-jalen-brunson-leading-knicks-to-nba-title-is-tough-task-nba-analysts/
How De’Andre Hunter impressed Kenny Atkinson, Cavs teammates in season debut
Cleveland Cavaliers forward De’Andre Hunter made his 2025-26 season debut on Sunday night during the wine-and-gold’s home opener, and his presence was immediately felt by the team.
“Just his size,” Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson said after the 118-113 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. “You see our offense, I don’t know how many [offensive rebounds] he had, but we were just the more physical team. If he doesn’t play, do you win that game? That’s probably up in the air. He was huge, I thought.”
To answer Atkinson’s question, Hunter grabbed four boards, with only one coming on offense. However, those numbers don’t fully capture his true impact on the glass. Hunter was in the mix whenever a shot went up, putting a body on opponents or leaping to disrupt their rebound attempts. Cleveland is challenging him to elevate this aspect of his game even further this year.
Hunter contributed 16 points and dished out a couple of assists in his 27 minutes on the court. His off-the-dribble game was on display with a couple of mid-range pull-ups from the right elbow, and he also got closer to the basket. At a crucial moment to start the fourth quarter, he nailed a three-ball at the top of the perimeter off a pass from Donovan Mitchell.
“It was just efficient for him, and then, finding his spots,” Mitchell said. “Obviously, there were certain shots he turned down that we wish he didn’t. But the fact that he’s continued to be aggressive, getting on the offensive rebounds, being a pest defensively, being able to switch 1-5 at the end — that’s what he brings to us.”
“Just another option offensively,” added Evan Mobley. “Defensively, to have a big guy out there like that, especially against Giannis [Antetokounmpo] and the team that we played Sunday, him being out there is definitely a different look.”
Hunter was also unafraid to apply aggressive ball pressure, an area the Cavs are aiming to ramp up despite some early-season foul trouble.
With his physicality and versatility, Hunter looks to be a pivotal piece for Cleveland as they continue their campaign this season.
https://clutchpoints.com/nba/cleveland-cavaliers/cavs-news-deandre-hunter-impresses-kenny-atkinson-teammates-season-debut
Tyrese Haliburton Wows Coach Rick Carleslie With Surprise Dunk as Pacers Star Mirrors Jayson Tatum’s Achilles Rehab Flex
Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton is set to miss the entire 2025-26 NBA season due to a serious injury.
Haliburton is currently recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, which will sideline him for the duration of the upcoming season.
This news is a significant setback for the Pacers as they look ahead to the challenges of the next NBA campaign. Fans and teammates alike will be eagerly awaiting his return to the court.
https://www.sportskeeda.com/basketball/news-tyrese-haliburton-wows-coach-rick-carleslie-with-surprise-dunk-pacers-star-mirrors-jayson-tatum-s-achilles-rehab-flex
Lakers Coach Gives Key Austin Reaves Injury Update
Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves is dealing with ankle discomfort but is expected to play Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, coach JJ Redick told reporters after Thursday’s practice.
“I know Austin and I expect him to play,” Redick said, per Lakers insider Jovan Buha. Reaves was a modified participant in the Lakers’ practice after he shone in their season-opening 119-109 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
The Lakers guard put up 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting, along with nine assists and five rebounds, showing his growing confidence and importance to the team’s offense. Despite the ankle discomfort, Reaves has a knack for playing through pain.
In one of their preseason matches against the Warriors, Reaves survived an injury scare after he collided with Golden State guard Brandin Podziemski.
“[Reaves] got kneed in the posterior anterior calf or somewhere around there,” Redick said at the time. “I think he just took a knee to his lower leg muscle. I think he’s fine.”
In the season opener, the Lakers — behind Luka Dončić and Reaves — were competitive despite missing LeBron James, who is still recovering from sciatica, until the third quarter.
### Reaves Addresses Lakers’ Ongoing Third-Quarter Struggles
Even after his strong performance, Reaves expressed frustration with a familiar issue: the Lakers’ inability to maintain intensity after halftime.
“We’ve just been bad in the third quarter,” Reaves said after the loss. “Last couple of years for sure, but I think ever since I’ve been here, we’ve had a problem with the third quarter. So, we’ve got to figure out a way to come out with a little more energy.”
Redick addressed the same concern postgame, challenging his players to take responsibility. Reaves agreed.
“That’s on us players, not the coaches,” Reaves said. “They come in here and give us the answers to the test, and we just didn’t come out and execute. We have to be better.”
The Lakers will have a chance to respond Friday in a playoff rematch against the Timberwolves — the team that eliminated them in five games in last season’s first round.
### Contract Year Adds High Stakes to Reaves’ Season
Reaves, 27, entered the season with more than just on-court motivation. He’s playing the final guaranteed year of his four-year, $54 million contract, which includes a $14.8 million player option for next season — one he is widely expected to decline.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst recently reported there is “a 0.0% chance” Reaves signs an extension and a “99.9% chance” he opts out of his deal next summer.
“Reaves has one of the best value contracts in the NBA,” Windhorst wrote, explaining that current extension rules cap his raise at 140% of his existing salary, or roughly $89 million over four years — far below his expected market value.
The Lakers have full Bird rights on Reaves, meaning they can offer him any salary up to the max to retain him, but competition is looming.
### Reaves Drawing Interest From Multiple Teams
According to The Athletic’s Dan Woike on The Zach Lowe Show podcast, Reaves is already drawing interest from rival teams preparing “lucrative offers” potentially exceeding $40 million per year.
According to ESPN front office insider Bobby Marks, there will be about 10 teams projected to have significant cap space next summer.
“If he has a good year, he could be a fringe All-Star candidate for sure,” Lowe said. “And honestly, the max is not out of the question.”
Woike added that with the expected cap spike, Reaves’ maximum salary offer from another team could start around $42 million per year.
“It’s him and Trae Young — those are the free agents everyone’s watching,” Woike said.
### Rising Star With Higher Stakes Ahead
Reaves’ rise from undrafted rookie to potential nine-figure free agent has made him one of the NBA’s most intriguing stories entering the 2025 season.
His mix of shooting, playmaking, and poise has made him a cornerstone of Redick’s new system and a priority for the Lakers to keep long-term.
For now, Reaves’ focus remains on the floor. Despite the ankle discomfort, he’s expected to suit up Friday, continuing to prove his value on both ends.
If his early-season form continues, Reaves won’t just be one of the Lakers’ most important players — he could be one of the NBA’s most expensive free agents by next summer.
https://heavy.com/sports/nba/los-angeles-lakers/reaves-injury-update-2/