Two nights. Two walk-off, game-winning buzzer-beaters.
After LeBron’s game-winning tip-in on Wednesday, the Lakers were on the other end of a thrilling finish on Thursday, courtesy of Chicago’s Josh Giddey from 46 feet away.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 
March 28, 2025
Giddey Wins It: Josh Giddey stuns the Lakers with a walk-off, halfcourt buzzer-beater
West Roundup: An OKC-record 61st win, Rockets’ 11th win in 12 games, Kings end skid, Mavs rise
East Roundup: Historic offense from Indy, Cavs & Heat each win 3rd straight game
Cavs-Pistons On League Pass: Cavs seek 60th win, Pistons seek most wins in 9 years
Suns-Wolves On NBA TV: Ant Edwards goes for 8th straight win over idol Kevin Durant
BUT FIRST … 
Start the weekend with a seven-game Friday…
Friday Spotlight: Kevin Durant and the Suns visit Anthony Edwards and the Wolves (8 ET, NBA TV) in a rematch of last year’s First Round series and a potential SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament preview.
Plus, catch the Cavs go for win No. 60 when they visit Detroit (7 ET, League Pass) in a matchup of top-five teams in the East.
NBA, FIBA Exploring New League In Europe: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver discussed a collaboration with FIBA in Europe, the NBA All-Star format and other topics following the NBA Board of Governors meeting on Thursday.
1. GIDDEY’S HALFCOURT BUZZER-BEATER STUNS LAKERS
For the second straight night, the Lakers were involved in a buzzer-beating finish.
- On Wednesday, LeBron James hit a game-winning tip-in at the buzzer as the Lakers stunned the Pacers
- One night later, the Bulls rallied back with the ultimate stunner – a halfcourt heave with no time remaining by Josh Giddey
With no timeouts, Giddey inbounded the ball from the baseline to Patrick Williams, who gave it right back to Giddey, who took one dribble and pulled up from beyond halfcourt.
The buzzer sounded with the ball in flight. As it swished through the net, the sound of the buzzer was overcome by the eruption from the crowd, while leaving the Lakers in a stunned silence. | See It From All Angles
Bulls 119, Lakers 117: Giddey posted his 5th triple-double as a Bull (25 pts, 14 reb, 11 ast), while Coby White and Kevin Huerter combined to add 47 points and 10 3s to lead the Bulls to their 4th straight win and 9th in their last 11 games. | Recap | Must-See Finish
- A Tale Of Two Halves: Chicago never trailed in the 1st half until a Gabe Vincent 3 with one second left put the Lakers up by 1 at the break. The Lakers never trailed for the entire 2nd half until the game’s wild final sequence
- Chicago’s 6 Pts In 6 Sec: Down 5 with 12.6 seconds left, the Bulls cut L.A.’s lead to two on a Patrick Williams corner 3 with 10.3 left. Giddey then stole the Lakers’ inbounds pass and found White open beyond the arc for a go-ahead 3 with 6.1 to play
- 2 Lead Changes in 6 Sec: The Lakers found Reaves (who finished with a game-high 30 pts) for the driving layup to give the Lakers the lead with 3.3 to go before Giddey did the rest
Michael Reaves/Getty Images
- Déjà Vu: In honor of Giddey’s Tissot Buzzer Beater, take a look back at some of the best game-winners that immediately followed a go-ahead or game-tying bucket or free throw
- 4th Quarter 3s: The Bulls tied the record with 11 3-pointers in the 4th quarter (originally set by the Jazz on Feb. 22, 2021), with three of them coming in the final 10.3 seconds
- Lakers
Bulls: The Lakers became the 1st team to be involved in buzzer-beaters on back-to-back days since the Bulls on Dec. 31, 2021 and Jan. 1, 2022 (both game-winners by then-Bull DeMar DeRozan) - Postseason Race (CHI ↔️): The Bulls remain 9th in the East with the win, moving 1.5 games back of the 8th-place Magic and staying 1 game up on the 10th-place Heat
- Postseason Race (LAL ↔️): The Lakers remain 4th in the West with loss, holding the tiebreaker over the 5th-place Grizzlies, both teams 1.5 games back of the 3rd-place Nuggets
2. WEST ROUNDUP: AN OKC-RECORD 61, ROCKETS’ 11TH WIN IN 12 GAMES, KINGS END SKID, MAVS MOVE UP
William Purnell/Getty Images
Through the game’s first 41 minutes, the Grizzlies played the West-leading Thunder even – the score tied at 99 with seven minutes left in the 4th quarter.
Then, the first team to reach 60 wins this season left no doubt that they were ending the night with 61.
Thunder 125, Grizzlies 104: The Thunder closed the game on a 26-5 run – getting six points apiece from Isaiah Hartenstein, Lu Dort and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – to extend their win streak to eight straight and earn an OKC-era record 61st win on the season. | Recap
- The Streak Continues: SGA (37 pts, 6 ast) extended his streak of 20+ point games to 66 in a row, while also posting his league-leading 46th game with 30+ points
- J-Dub Returns: After missing the last seven games with a hip injury, Jalen Williams scored 20 points in the win
- Short-handed Grizz: Jaren Jackson Jr. (27 pts, 5 3pm) and Scotty Pippen Jr. (17 pts, 10 reb, 7 ast, 5 stl) led the Grizzlies, while Ja Morant missed his 6th straight game
- Postseason Race (MEM ↔️): The Grizzlies remain 5th in the West with the loss, losing the tiebreaker with the 4th-place Lakers, both teams 2.5 games up on the 6th-place Clippers & 7th-place Warriors
Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images
Rockets 121, Jazz 110: Behind Alperen Sengun’s 5th 30/10 game of the season, double-doubles from Amen Thompson and Jabari Smith Jr. and 21 points from Jalen Green, the Rockets defeated the Jazz for their 11th win in the last 12 games. | Recap
- Postseason Race (HOU ↔️): The Rockets remain 2nd in the West with the win, taking a 2 games lead on the 3rd-place Nuggets
Kings 128, Blazers 107: Behind Zach LaVine’s game-high 29 points (13-of-18 FG), and double-doubles from Domantas Sabonis (22 pts, 19 reb, 6 ast) and DeMar DeRozan (21 pts, 10 ast), the Kings defeated the Blazers to snap a four-game skid. | Recap
- Postseason Race (SAC ↔️): The Kings remain 9th in the West with the win, 0.5 games up on the 10th-place Mavs and 1 game up on the 11th-place Suns
Mavericks 101, Magic 92: Down by 11 with five minutes left in the 3rd quarter, the Mavs closed the frame on a 20-2 run to take a seven-point lead into the 4th that they would not relinquish. Jaden Hardy led the Mavs with 22 points off the bench in the win. | Recap
- Paolo, T-Mac & Shaq: Banchero (35 pts, 10 reb) joined Tracy McGrady and Shaquille O’Neal as the only Magic players with five straight 30+ point games
- Postseason Race (DAL
): The Mavs climb to 10th in the West with the win, 0.5 games up on the 11th-place Suns and 0.5 games back of the 9th-place Kings - Postseason Race (ORL ↔️): The Magic remain 8th in the East with the loss, still 0.5 games back of the 7th-place Hawks
3. EAST ROUNDUP: INDY’S HISTORIC OFFENSE, CAVS & HEAT EACH WIN 3RD STRAIGHT
Pacers 162, Wizards 109: A day after suffering a heartbreaking loss on a buzzer-beating tip-in, the Pacers made sure Thursday’s game did not come down to the final possession.
Indiana set franchise records for points (162) and 3-pointers made (27) as they rolled to their 6th win in the last seven games. | Recap
- First Team Ever: No team in NBA history had put up 160+ points while shooting at least 64% overall and 57% from 3 until the Pacers
- Team Effort: Tyrese Haliburton (29 pts, 7 3pm, 6 ast) led nine Pacers with 10+ points, nine with 2+ assists and six with 2+ triples
- Streak Ends: Haliburton’s points-assists double-double run ended at 12 games – the longest streak in the NBA since John Wall had 13 in 2017
- Postseason Race (IND ↔️): The Pacers remain 4th in the East with the win, moving 2 games up on the 5th-place Pistons and 2.5 back the 3rd-place Knicks
Cavs 124, Spurs 116: The combo of Jarrett Allen (29 pts, 15 reb, 10-11 FG) and Donovan Mitchell (25 pts, career-high 14 ast) was too much for the Spurs to handle as the Cavs won their 3rd straight game. | Recap
- Spida Streak: The Cavs made at least 10 3s for the 73rd straight game to set an NBA single-season record, breaking the previous mark of 72 by the 2020-21 Jazz that also featured Mitchell
- Postseason Race (CLE ↔️): The Cavs remain 1st in the East with the win, moving 5 games up on the 2nd-place Celtics
Brennan Asplen/Getty Images
Heat 122, Hawks 112: Tyler Herro erupted for 36 points, while Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell added 16 apiece to lead the Heat past Trae Young (29 pts, 12 ast) and the Hawks for their 3rd straight win. | Recap
- Postseason Race (MIA ↔️): The Heat remain 10th in the East with the win, 1 game back of the 9th-place Bulls
- Postseason Race (ATL ↔️): The Hawks remain 7th in the East with the loss, with their lead over the 8th-place Magic down to 0.5 games
- Postseason Race (NYK
): The Knicks clinched a Playoff berth with Atlanta’s loss
4. TONIGHT ON LEAGUE PASS: CAVS HUNT ANOTHER MILESTONE
Darius Garland hit a game-winning buzzer-beater from 31 feet the last time the Cavs and Pistons met on Feb. 5 | Chris Schwegler/NBAE via Getty Images
Win No. 60 is on the table for the Cavaliers tonight in their visit to Detroit at 7 ET, seeking to join the Thunder in that exclusive club.
Success against Detroit dates back even further than a 3-0 record against Cade Cunningham and Co. this season. Cleveland has claimed every one of the last 12 contests between these two.
Tonight, the Pistons can secure a first victory since Feb. 24, 2022 for another feather in the cap of their already-historic campaign.
- Long Time Coming: Jumping Milwaukee for 5th place on Wednesday, Detroit is now a top-five squad this deep into the season for the first time since 2007-08. That group – seeded No. 2 for the postseason – got as far as the Eastern Conference Finals
- Cunningham has cruised to a career-best 25.7 ppg and 9.2 apg in his 4th year, but the team’s remarkable rebound from last season’s 14-68 finish goes beyond him
- Crucial Cogs: Jalen Duren is sinking shots like he never has before, posting a 69.9 FG% (2nd in NBA), while Malik Beasley’s career-best 42.1 3P% (12th in NBA) has him averaging 16 ppg for the first time since 2020-21
The inevitable challenge, though, is limiting Cunningham, and the Cavaliers may have just the match in store.
- Star-stopper: Cleveland went out and acquired De’Andre Hunter to shut down the best players in the game, and his defensive impact has been sizable
- Best Of The Best: Since joining the Cavs, Hunter’s 40.1 DFG% ranks 3rd in the league among players with at least 200 DFGA
The action doesn’t stop there. Tonight’s six-game League Pass slate features the Knicks visiting the Bucks (8 ET) in a battle of top-6 teams in the East, while the Clippers (@ Nets, 7:30 ET) and Warriors (@ Pelicans, 8 ET) continue their push for the final West Playoff spot.
Rounding out the night is Hornets at Raptors (7:30 ET) and Jazz at Nuggets (9 ET) with Denver looking to build on its lead for 3rd in the West.
5. SUNS-WOLVES ON NBA TV: PLAYOFF REMATCH & POTENTIAL PLAY-IN PREVIEW
Kelsey Grant/Getty Images
After meeting in the First Round of the Playoffs a season ago, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns both find themselves in the West Play-In race with nine games to play – the first of which comes against each other tonight (8 ET, NBA TV).
- Minnesota – which enters tonight 8th in the West after dropping three of its last four games – aims to climb out of the Play-In, sitting a half-game back of the 7th-place Warriors and 6th-place Clippers
- Phoenix – which enters tonight 11th in the West after winning four of its last five games – aims to get into the Play-In as part of a three-team race with the 9th-place Kings and 10th-place Mavs for the final two spots in the tournament
Leader Of The Pack: In his 5th NBA season, Anthony Edwards continues to elevate his game. Not only is he averaging a career-best 27.3 ppg (4th in NBA), he’s transformed himself into an elite 3-point shooter.
- 3-Point Royalty: Only three players in NBA history have ever matched what Ant is doing this season, shooting 39.5% or better from 3 on at least 10 attempts per game: Steph Curry (6x), Klay Thompson (2022-23) and Damian Lillard (2019-20)
The Rising Sun: In his 18th NBA season, Kevin Durant is on pace for his 11th top-6 finish in scoring. KD is tied for the 3rd most scoring titles (4) in league history and enters tonight on his best three-game scoring run of the season (36.7 ppg on 59.1/63.6/94.7 shooting splits)
Facing his idol in last year’s Playoffs, Ant’s Wolves swept KD’s Suns and that streak has continued this season. With a win tonight, Minnesota would sweep the season series and make it eight straight wins over Phoenix overall.
Depending on how the final nine games play out for both teams, there is the potential for another postseason matchup this year – in the SoFi NBA Play-In Tournament.
