NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates
As the high-flying Houston Rockets aimed to secure a playoff spot on Monday night, LeBron James and the Lakers dashed those ambitions, ensuring at least one more game of competition.
**FIVE HEADLINES IN TODAY’S ISSUE** 🏀 April 1, 2025
**Continuing the Streak:** The Celtics (9) and Thunder (10) extend their winning streaks on Monday.
**Victories in L.A.:** Both the Lakers and Clippers notch victories to intensify the competition for postseason berths in the West.
**Game Recap:** The Heat achieve their fifth consecutive win, pushing up in the Play-In standings, while the Pacers defeat the Kings, and the Nets pull off a shocking win against the Mavericks.
**Tonight on TNT:** The Timberwolves aim for a sweep over the Nuggets, while the Bucks and Suns look to find their footing.
**Upcoming on League Pass:** The surging Warriors have a chance to break into the West’s top 5 with a win.
**BUT FIRST … ⏰ Scores from last night and key matchups for today…**
Tonight’s TNT doubleheader begins in Milwaukee at 7:30 ET, where the 6th-seed Bucks and 11th-seed Suns both strive to get back on course as they vie for playoff positioning.
Following that, the Nuggets will take on the Timberwolves at 10 ET, looking to end a streak of five consecutive losses against Minnesota that started in last year’s playoff first round.
**Today’s Featured Articles:** The Boston Globe explores Jrue Holiday’s standout performance as playoffs approach, while the San Antonio Express-Times discusses a Spurs trio highlighting role models during Women’s History Month. The LA Times reports on JJ Redick’s plans to restore the Palisades recreation center after devastating fires.
1. **CELTICS AND THUNDER INCREASE NBA’S LONGEST ACTIVE WIN STREAKS**
Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images
On Monday, the 2024-25 Celtics achieved a feat unprecedented in their rich history:
A flawless 6-0 away trip.
Indeed, while the Celtics did have a streak of 6 neutral and road games in December 1955 where they went 6-0, one of those occurred against the Lakers at Madison Square Garden, and another was in Bangor, Maine.
Last night, the Celtics captured their ninth consecutive win overall, completing a sweep of a challenging six-game West Coast trip that included stops in Utah, Portland, Sacramento, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Memphis.
Celtics 117, Grizzlies 103: Al Horford scored a season-high 26 points, complemented by Jayson Tatum (25 pts, 14 reb) and Derrick White (14 pts, 10 ast) each securing double-doubles, as Boston handed the Grizzlies a third consecutive defeat. | Recap
Thunder 145, Bulls 117: Isaiah Joe came off the bench to match his season highs with 31 points and 8 three-pointers, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (27 pts, 12 ast) and Jalen Williams (23 pts) contributed 50 points to propel the Thunder to their second win streak of 10+ games this season. | Recap
In his return to OKC, Josh Giddey (15 pts, 10 ast, 8 reb) narrowly missed a triple-double but connected with former teammates postgame.
2. **L.A. TEAMS BOOST WESTERN PLAYOFF AND PLAY-IN STANDINGS**
Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images
Entering Monday, the Rockets had claimed 12 wins in their past 13 games. They needed a victory over the Lakers, along with a Grizzlies loss to the Celtics, to become one of the only teams from the West to secure a playoff spot.
Lakers 104, Rockets 98: The Lakers secured a pivotal victory in the Western playoff race, driven by 20-point performances from Luka Dončić, Gabe Vincent, and Dorian Finney-Smith, plus a game-clinching block from LeBron James. | Recap
Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images
Clippers 96, Magic 87: Contributions from Kawhi Leonard (21 pts, 8 reb) and Norman Powell (21 pts), along with Ivica Zubac (18 pts, 20 reb) and James Harden (20 pts, 7 stl), propelled the Clippers to their eighth win in ten games. | Recap
3. **HEAT SECURE FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN, PACERS AND NETS MAKE COMEBACKS, HORNETS DEFEAT JAZZ**
Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images
Heat 120, Wizards 94: Bam Adebayo (28 pts, 12 reb, 5 ast) and Tyler Herro (27 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast) combined for 55 points, leading the Heat to their longest win streak of the season at five games. | Recap
Nets 113, Mavs 109: Overcoming a 10-point deficit with eight minutes remaining, the Nets finished strong on a 25-11 run to stun the Mavericks, driven by Keon Johnson’s 24 points and D’Angelo Russell’s double-double (18 pts, 11 ast). | Recap
Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Pacers 111, Kings 109: Indiana rallied from a 16-point deficit late in the third quarter, outscoring Sacramento 51-33 in the closing stretch to claim their sixth victory of the season after trailing by 15 or more points. The Pacers improved to 9-3 over their last 12 games, going 6-2 in close contests during that span. | Recap
Hornets 110, Jazz 106: With double-doubles from Miles Bridges (26 pts, 10 reb, 8 ast) and Mark Williams (18 pts, 13 ast), the Hornets ended a five-game losing streak, while Utah’s Isaiah Collier (17 pts, 7 ast) set a new record for assists by a Jazz rookie, surpassing John Stockton’s previous mark (415). | Recap
4. **TONIGHT ON TNT: TIMBERWOLVES AIM FOR SWEEP, BUCKS AND SUNS WORK TO REGAIN FORM**
Justin Edmonds/Getty Images
Minnesota has the chance to achieve something no other team in their conference has – a regular-season sweep of Denver. They look to maintain their flawless 4-0 record against the Nuggets tonight (10 ET).
In the first three matchups, Minnesota found ways to combat Nikola Jokic, but with only four games separating third from eighth in the West, avoiding a sweep could be critical for Denver.
Jeremy Chen & Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images
In earlier games, both Phoenix and Milwaukee (7:30 ET) will be focused on correcting their recent misfortunes, having suffered three and four-game skids, respectively.
The Suns sit just one game behind the 10th-place Kings, with seven games left to secure a place in the West Play-In. Meanwhile, the Bucks trail by two games behind the 5th-place Pistons in the East.
5. **TONIGHT ON LEAGUE PASS: RED-HOT WARRIORS LOOK TO PASS GRIZZLIES**
Before Jimmy Butler III’s debut with the Warriors on February 8, Golden State was teetering with a game below .500 and on the edge of playoff contention.
In just 52 days, the Warriors have surged from 11th place in the West at 25-26 to standing just one win away from overtaking the 5th position in the conference as they face Memphis tonight (8 ET).
The Warriors have shown improvements on both offense and defense since Butler’s addition. Offensively, they are shooting nearly the same number of baskets and three-pointers but have seen a notable rise in free throws made per game (+5.6) and points generated through assists (81.3 ppg, leading the NBA).
Defensively, the Warriors top the league in steals since the trade (10.5) and are converting turnovers into offense, generating the best in the league with 23.7 points off turnovers.
Sitting just half a game behind Memphis, a win tonight would not only elevate the Warriors above the Grizzlies into 5th place in the West but also secure the tiebreaker by winning the season series 3-1.
Patrick McDermott, Fernando Medina, & Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images
Four additional matchups on League Pass wrap up the first day of April basketball, featuring three teams tightly competing in the Eastern Conference Play-In race.
