Nothing but respect after another epic duel between two icons.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
April 4, 2025
Warriors Top Lakers: Golden State stays hot, gets key win in West Playoff race
Must-See Performances: Giannis with the 1st-ever 30-15-20 game, Ja wins it in Miami
Thursday Roundup: Wolves win 4th straight, Paolo stays hot, Blazers keep battling
Tonight On NBA TV: Curry vs. Jokic in clash of record-setters, Celtics host Suns
Tonight On League Pass: No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle in the West leads an 8-game slate
BUT FIRST … ⏰
Last night’s scores & what to watch today…
Tonight’s NBA TV doubleheader opens with the Celtics going for their 10th win in the last 11 games when they host the Suns (7:30 ET). Then, the Nuggets seek their 10th straight win over the Warriors in a clash of top 5 teams in the West (10 ET).
No 1. vs. No 2: The West-leading Thunder visit the Rockets in a matchup of the top 2 teams in the West, tonight on League Pass (8 ET).
Today’s Reads: The Athletic on ‘Uncle Jeff’ Green sharing his wisdom with young Rockets … Andscape on the BAL honoring Dikembe Mutombo throughout the 2025 season … Yahoo! Sports on Donovan Mitchell doing more for the Cavs by doing less
1. CURRY, WARRIORS HOLD OFF LAKERS FOR KEY WIN IN WEST RACE
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Two teams that made bold moves at the trade deadline – L.A. acquiring Luka Dončić and Golden State adding Jimmy Butler III – met for the first time with their new-look squads on Thursday in Los Angeles.
The Lakers and Warriors entered the game ranked 3rd and 5th in the West, respectively, in the middle of a six-team cluster separated by 2.5 games from 3rd to 8th place.
In a race this close, a single win or loss can shake up the standings, which added to the stakes of this star-studded matchup. With a Playoff-like atmosphere inside Crypto.com Arena, the Warriors made a statement.
Michael Owens/Getty Images
Warriors 123, Lakers 116: In another epic duel between Steph Curry (game-high 37 pts, 6 ast, 4 3pm) and LeBron James (33 pts, 9 ast, 5 3pm), it was Curry’s Warriors that held on for the win in the 56th head-to-head matchup between the greats. | Recap
- Young Dubs Step Up: Brandin Podziemski (28 pts, 8 reb, 6 ast) splashed a career-best eight 3s – his 6th coming from near halfcourt to beat the halftime buzzer – while Jonathan Kuminga added 18 points and nine boards in the win
- Lakers Rally Falls Short: Los Angeles trailed by 14 with six minutes to play and cut the lead to five with 4:37 left, but the Warriors continued to find an answer to quell the comeback
- ‘GOOD!’ ‘GOOD!’ ‘GOOD!’ ‘WOW!’ Check out this must-see sequence as the Lakers and Warriors traded four straight 3s down the stretch, leaving TNT’s Kevin Harlan searching for words
- Reaves Heats Up: Austin Reaves scored 31 points with a career-best nine 3s, joining LeBron, Kobe, Dalton Knecht and D’Angelo Russell as the only Lakers to hit nine 3s in a game
- Curry’s Last 2 Games: Steph followed his 52-point game on Tuesday with 37 on Thursday, giving him 89 points over his last two games. It’s the 10th time he’s had 89+ points in a two-game span – only the 2nd in the past three seasons
- Warriors Stay Sizzling: Golden State won its 4th straight and improved to 20-5 since Butler’s debut (3rd in NBA since Feb. 8) and 19-2 when Steph and Jimmy play together
- Postseason Race (GSW ↔️): The Warriors remain 5th in the West with the win, 0.5 games up on the 6th-place Grizzlies and 7th-place Wolves, 1 game back of the 4th-place Lakers
- Postseason Race (LAL ⬇️): The Lakers drop to 4th in the West with the loss, 0.5 games back of the 3rd-place Nuggets and 1 game up on the 5th-place Warriors
2. GIANNIS MAKES HISTORY, JA DELIVERS AT THE BUZZER
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Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn’t going to let Steph Curry and Nikola Jokić be the only former MVPs to make history this week.
Two nights after the Chef cooked up a one-of-a-kind stat line (52 pts, 10 reb, 8 ast, 5 stl, 12 3pm) and the Joker went wild with the highest scoring triple-double ever (61 pts, 10 reb, 10 ast), the Greek Freak posted the NBA’s first-ever game with 35+ pts, 20+ ast and 15+ reb.
Bucks 126, Sixers 113: Behind Giannis’ historic performance – 35 points, 17 rebounds and a career-high 20 assists – the Bucks completed their 2nd straight season sweep of the Sixers and climbed back into the top 5 in the East. | Recap
- 30-15-15 Club: Giannis posted the 11th game with 30+ pts, 15+ reb and 15+ ast since 2016, joining Jokić (6x), Luka (2x), Russell Westbrook and James Harden. The last player to post such a game prior to 2016? Larry Bird on April 1, 1987
- Doc Climbs Leaderboard: Bucks coach Doc Rivers passed Phil Jackson for 7th place on the all-time coaching wins list with his 1,156th victory
- Postseason Race (MIL ⬆️): The Bucks climb to 5th in the East with the win, holding the tiebreaker over the 6th-place Pistons, both teams are 3 games back of the 4th-place Pacers
Issac Baldizon & Brennan Asplen/NBAE via Getty Images
In the final possession of a tie game, Memphis got the ball to Ja Morant at the top of the key and let him go to work one-on-one against Miami rookie Kel’el Ware.
Morant drove into the lane, stopped on a dime, stepped back and put up a tough fadeaway jumper over the 7-footer that danced on the rim before settling through the net at the buzzer to win it for Memphis.
Ja let everyone know who to call before celebrating the game-winner with his dad courtside.
Grizzlies 110, Heat 108: Morant shook off an ice-cold 1st half (3 pts, 1-of-7 shooting) and scored 27 of his team-high 30 points in the 2nd half – capped off with the game-winner – to help Memphis snap a four-game skid and end Miami’s six-game win streak. | Recap
- Miami Duo Goes Off: Tyler Herro (game-high 35 pts, 9 reb, 4 3pm) and Bam Adebayo (26 pts, 7 reb) combined for 61 in the loss
- Postseason Race (MEM ⬆️): The Grizzlies climb 6th in the West with the win, owning the tiebreaker over the 7th-place Wolves, both teams are 0.5 games back of the 5th-place Warriors and 0.5 games up on the 8th-place Clippers
- Postseason Race (MIA 🔒): The Heat remain 9th in the East with the loss, 0.5 games up on the 10th-place Bulls. Miami is locked in the Play-In field as they are guaranteed to finish between 7th and 10th for the 3rd straight season
3. WOLVES WIN 4TH STRAIGHT, PAOLO STAYS HOT, BLAZERS KEEP PUSHING
David L. Nemec/NBAE via Getty Images
Timberwolves 105, Nets 90: Minnesota picked up its 4th straight win, behind a combined 49 points and 23 boards from Anthony Edwards (28 pts, 5 reb) and Rudy Gobert (season-high-tying 21 pts, 18 reb). | Recap
- Three 3s Away: Ant hit five 3s to give him 297 for the season, bringing him to the brink of joining Steph Curry (5x), Klay Thompson and James Harden as the only players to hit 300 3s in a season. Detroit’s Malik Beasley is five 3s away as well
- Last 15 Games: The Wolves improved to 12-3 over the past calendar month, ranking 2nd in offensive efficiency (122.2) with eight players averaging 10+ points in that span
- Postseason Race (MIN ⬇️): The Wolves left the night in 7th place, losing the tiebreaker to the 6th-place Grizzlies. Both teams are 0.5 games back of the 5th-place Warriors and 0.5 games up on the 8th-place Clippers
Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images
Magic 109, Wizards 97: Paolo Banchero (33 pts, career-high 18 reb, 8 ast) and Franz Wagner (27 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast) combined for 60 points to lead the Magic to their 6th win in the last eight games. | Recap
- Paolo On A Heater: Banchero scored 30+ for the 8th time in his last 12 games. Since the All-Star break, Paolo is averaging 29.4 points – 3rd in the NBA behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić
- Postseason Race (ORL ↔️): The Magic remain 7th in the East with the win, moving 1 game up on the 8th-place Hawks
Blazers 112, Raptors 103: Shaedon Sharpe tied his career-high with 36 points while Deni Avdija (26 pts, 15 reb, 6 ast) filled the box score to lead the Blazers to their 2nd straight win as Portland continues its push for the final spot in the Play-In – 2.5 games back of the 10th-place Kings. | Recap
4. TONIGHT ON NBA TV: BATTLE OF RECORD-SETTERS, SUNS EYE PLAY-IN
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Yet another page in the record books belongs to Nikola Jokić and Steph Curry after Tuesday night. Tonight (10 ET), the two game-breakers meet for the final time this regular season in a potential First Round preview.
Things remain tight in the West, as the 3rd-place Nuggets and 5th-place Warriors continue to duke it out for Playoff position with seeds No. 3 through No. 8 separated by 2.5 games.
- Absurd: Jokić submitted the 3rd 60-point triple-double in NBA history during the Nuggets’ 140-139 2OT loss to the Timberwolves. He remains on pace to become the 3rd player ever to average a triple-double for a season
- Watch Out, Wilt: With those latest heroics, the three-time MVP has notched a 60+ point game, 20+ rebound game and 20+ assist game this season. Only Wilt Chamberlain had done that back in 1967-68
- “He was in a good rhythm, obviously – 61 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds, 2 steals,” said coach Michael Malone. “The guy is Superman.”
New Recipe: Curry became the league’s first-ever player to tally 10 showings of 50+ points following his 30th birthday. His 46.3 FG% since turning 30 is only a slight departure from his 47.7% mark during his 20s.
- Chef Climbing: Curry cracked the top 25 on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, passing Jerry West. He’s already passed four other Hall of Famers in 2024-25 – Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson, Ray Allen and Patrick Ewing – and is 38 points shy of passing Reggie Miller
- It’s been over three years since Golden State last defeated Denver in the regular season on March 10, 2022. Can the Warriors find a way to narrow the standings gap?
Chris Coduto/Getty Images
Earlier in the evening, the Suns take on the Celtics (7:30 ET) after the latter’s season-best nine-game win streak came to a halt Wednesday.
- Everything They Got: Phoenix sits one game behind Sacramento for the final Play-In spot, and has six contests remaining to fight its way into the postseason. Bradley Beal is expected to return tonight for the first time since March 16
- Time Running Out: Boston is guaranteed at least the No. 2 seed, but to claim the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage throughout the East Playoffs, it’ll take some work. Two Cavalier wins or two Celtic losses would clinch 1st for Cleveland
5. LEAGUE PASS SPOTLIGHT: WEST’S TOP 2 FACE OFF IN HOUSTON
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Tonight in Houston (8 ET), the Rockets will do something no other has done all season – face the Thunder for a 5th time.
Thanks to their matchup in the Emirates NBA Cup Semifinals – won by OKC 111-96 – the Rockets get a 5th opportunity to measure themselves against the league’s top team at 64-12.
Houston accounts for one of OKC’s 12 losses as the Rockets are one of only seven teams to beat the Thunder this season. Tonight, they will try to join the Nuggets, Warriors, Wolves and Mavericks as the only teams to beat OKC more than once.
- Closing Strong: No team has topped OKC since March 10 as the Thunder are riding an 11-game win streak with six games to play as they inch closer to clinching the No. 1 overall seed in the Playoffs
- Gaining Separation: Houston has won 13 of its last 15 games to rise to 2nd in the West behind OKC and build a 3-game cushion on the 3rd-place Nuggets
- Something Has To Give: Can the Thunder push their win streak to a dozen, or will the Rockets earn their 14th win in the last 16 games – something they haven’t done since 2019?
Similar Strengths: As the chart above illustrates, the numbers behind the recent success of both teams are very similar. Both teams are top three in offensive and defensive efficiency and top six in opponent scoring and opponent FG percentage in their recent runs.
Must-See Matchup: After representing Team Canada together last summer, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will look to keep his historic scoring run going while facing Dillon Brooks.
- The Numbers: Brooks has the 3rd most defensive matchup time against SGA in the league this season. In that 18:25, Brooks has held SGA to 32 total points on 40% (8-of 20) shooting – the 2nd lowest FG% allowed (min. 20 DFGA)
- The Counter: While SGA leads the NBA in scoring (32.8 ppg), Houston does not have a top 25 scorer. Instead, Jalen Green (21.5 ppg) leads seven Rockets with 12+ points. The Cavs (6) are the only team with more than five such players (min. 50 games)
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Seven more games on League Pass round out a 10-game Friday.
- Kings at Hornets (7 ET): Sacramento looks to end a three-game skid and hold onto final West Play-In spot
- Jazz at Pacers (7 ET): Indiana can strengthen its grip on 4th in the East and keep pressure on Knicks for 3rd place
- Pistons at Raptors (7:30 ET): Detroit tries to avoid a three-game skid and leap the Bucks for 5th in the East
- Blazers at Bulls (8 ET): Portland needs a win streak to keep its Play-In hopes alive; Chicago is locked in a tightly-packed East Play-In with 7th-10th place separated by just 3 games
- Cavs at Spurs (8 ET): Cleveland can inch closer to clinching the top seed in the East
- Pelicans at Lakers (10:30 ET): Los Angeles remains in the top four in the West with a win
- Mavericks at Clippers (10:30 ET): LA looks to keep pace with Minnesota and Memphis in the race for 6th place; Dallas tries to hold onto 9th in West Play-In
