That feeling when you’re first in the West with the Playoffs less than a month away…

THE LINEUP 🏀

What’s inside today’s edition?

1. Celtics Clinch Division: The Bucks made a 4th-quarter run, but Jayson Tatum & Co. answered for Boston’s 7th straight win
2. Durant Passes Shaq: Kevin Durant climbed to 8th on the all-time scoring list on Wednesday. See what Shaq had to say
3. Kuminga, Steph Shine: Jonathan Kuminga was ‘electric’ while Steph Curry posted his 5th season with 300+ 3s
4. Eyes On The 5s: Before they meet tonight in Orlando, what do the No. 5 Magic and No. 5 Pelicans have in common?
5. Hart Of The City: There’s much love for the impact Josh Hart makes on both ends of the court for the streaking Knicks

BUT FIRST … ⏰

Last night’s scores & what to watch today.

Pelicans-Magic (7 ET, NBA TV): The No. 5 seeds in both conferences meet for the first time this season.

Hawks-Suns (10:30 ET, NBA TV): The Suns are tied for the third-best record (8-4) on the second night of a back-to-back. How will they fare tonight in a clash of teams in their respective Play-In fields?

1. CELTICS FIRST TO CLINCH DIVISION

Celtics Hold Off Bucks: A 24-6 Milwaukee run cut the Boston lead from 21 early in the fourth to three with 2:56 left. Jayson Tatum (eight points in the final 2:06) put the Celtics back in control as Boston prevailed 122-119 for its seventh win in a row. | Recap

• Celtics Clinch Division: Boston clinched the Atlantic Division in fewer than 70 games for the first time since the 2010-11 season, doing so 13 years ago to the day
• No Giannis: The Bucks played shorthanded, but still challenged the league-leading Celtics behind Damian Lillard’s game-high 32 points and a combined 46 points from Bobby Portis and Khris Middleton
• Playoff Race (BOS ↔️): The Celtics remain firmly in first in the East, growing their lead to 11 games over the Bucks
• Playoff Race (MIL ↔️): The Bucks remain second in the East, maintaining a one-game lead over Cleveland

Chet, SGA Shine For OKC: Chet Holmgren scored 18 of his 35 points in the fourth as OKC pulled away for the 119-107 win over the Jazz. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 31 points, seven dimes and four steals as the duo combined for 66 points in the win. | Recap

• 30×50 For SGA: Shai posted his league-leading 50th game with 30+ points this season, becoming the first player to do so since James Harden (57) in 2018-19
• First Since T-Mac: Shai became the ninth player age 25 or younger with at least 50 30+ point games in a season, joining Tracy McGrady (2001-02) as the only players to do so this millennium
• Playoff Race (OKC ↔️): OKC remains first in the West, taking a half-game lead over Denver and a 1.5-game lead over Minnesota

2. KD PASSES SHAQ AS SUNS TOP SIXERS

Allen’s 3s Lift Suns Past Sixers: Grayson Allen knocked down nine 3s for the third time this season and finished with a game-high 32 points to lead the Suns to a 115-102 win over the Sixers. Kevin Durant (22 pts, 8 reb) and Devin Booker (18 pts, 11 ast) combined for 40. | Recap

• Durant Passes Shaq: KD needed nine points to pass Shaq for eighth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. He got there with a smooth midrange jumper early in the third quarter
• Shaq Congratulates KD: “You know it doesn’t stop here … let’s see if you can get to No. 1.”
• Welcome Back: Two-time All-Star Isaiah Thomas saw his first NBA action since April 2022. After averaging 32.5 points in four games with the G League’s Salt Lake City Stars, the Suns signed IT to a 10-day contract on Wednesday
• Playoff Race (PHI ⬇️): The Sixers drop from sixth to eighth in the East, tied with the No. 7 Heat at 38-31, but Miami holds the tiebreaker. Both teams are a half-game back of the No. 6 Pacers
• Play-In Race (PHX ↔️): The Suns remain eighth in the West, tied with the No. 7 Mavs at 40-29, but Dallas holds the tiebreaker. The Suns and Mavs are a half-game behind the No. 6 Kings

Kings Cruise In Toronto: De’Aaron Fox scored a game-high 20 points while Domantas Sabonis posted his league-leading 24th triple-double and 51st consecutive double-double (13 pts, 17 reb, 10 ast) in a 123-89 win over the Raptors. | Recap

• Playoff Race (SAC ↔️): The Kings remain sixth in the West, leading No. 7 Dallas by a half-game and climbing within two games of No. 5 New Orleans

Clippers Get Right In Portland: Paul George (27 pts, 6 reb) and Kawhi Leonard (24 pts, 4 stl) combined for 51 points to lead the Clippers to a 116-103 win over the Blazers and avoid a three-game slide. James Harden added 19 points and 14 dimes for LA. | Recap

• Playoff Race (LAC ↔️): The Clippers remain fourth in the West, increasing their lead over the surging Pelicans to a full game

3. ROUNDUP: ‘ELECTRIC’ KUMINGA LIFTS WARRIORS

Warriors Snap 3-Game Home Losing Streak: The trio of Jonathan Kuminga (26 pts), Klay Thompson (23 pts, 5 3s) and Andrew Wiggins (22 pts, 10 reb) combined for 71 points to lead the Warriors to a 137-116 win over the Grizzlies. | Recap

• Steve Kerr On Kuminga: “Maybe the best game I’ve ever seen him play, at both ends … he’s electric.”
• Steph Surpasses 300 3s This Season: That mark has only been hit seven times in NBA history — Curry has five of them
• Play-In Race (GSW ↔️): The Warriors remain 10th in the West, pulling within a half-game of the No. 9 Lakers and moving three games up on red-hot Houston

Heat Survive Cavs Rally: Miami blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead and trailed by four with 1:34 to play. Enter Terry Rozier, who erased that Cavs lead with a four-point play and then hit the go-ahead 3 with 14.5 seconds left as the Heat prevailed 107-104. | Recap

• Playoff Race (CLE ↔️): The Cavs remain third in the East, one game behind the No. 2 Bucks
• Play-In Race (MIA ⬆️): The Heat climb to seventh in the East, via a tiebreaker with Philly, and remain a half-game back of Indy

Pacers Race Past Pistons: Pascal Siakam (25 pts, 8 reb) and Tyrese Haliburton (20 pts, 9 ast) each scored 12 in the third as the Pacers pulled away and cruised to a 122-103 win over the Pistons. | Recap

• Play-In Race (IND ⬆️): The Pacers climb to sixth in the East, a half-game up on both No. 7 Miami and No. 8 Philadelphia

4. EYES ON THE FIVES

Ahead of their matchup tonight in Orlando (7 ET, NBA TV), let’s take a look at the similarities between the Magic and Pelicans.

• Win Streaks: Both enter tonight on a roll – four straight wins for Orlando, three straight (and seven in last eight) for New Orleans
• Current Standing: Both hold the No. 5 spot in their respective conference
• Playoff Race: Both are within a game of the No. 4 spot (Orlando a half-game back of New York, New Orleans one game back of LA)
• Team Construction: Both are built around PFs selected with a No. 1 overall pick – Zion Williamson (2019) and Paolo Banchero (2022)
• Scoring Leaders: Zion and Paolo lead their respective teams in scoring at a matching 22.7 points per game
• Winning With Balance: Neither team has a top 20 scorer in the NBA (every other top six team has at least one)

Chasing Greatness: Banchero is on pace to join LeBron James and Oscar Robertson as the third No. 1 overall pick in NBA history to average at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in their first two seasons.

Joining Greatness: Banchero has already joined Shaquille O’Neal and Tracy McGrady as the only Magic players with at least 40 games with 25+ points in their career at age 21 or younger.

Peaking At Right Time: In eight games in March, Zion is averaging 24.4 points on 63.3% shooting while adding 7.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game. The Pelicans have outscored their opponents by 78 points in Zion’s 195 minutes on court this month.

One team’s win streak will end tonight, but the Magic and Pelicans have shown that they are ready to make some noise down the stretch and into the postseason.

5. HART OF THE CITY

After winning at Portland, Sacramento and Golden State, the Knicks close their four-game West road trip in Denver tonight (9 ET, NBA App)

In addition to their 3-0 record, two 40+ stats stand out from this trip.

• 40.3 points per game: Jalen Brunson with games of 45, 42 and 34 points for the NBA’s fifth-leading scorer (27.6 ppg) this season
• 42.9 minutes per game: Josh Hart became the first player in the NBA this season to play the full 48 minutes in the Knicks’ win over the Warriors. He’s played 40+ minutes in 11 of New York’s 13 games since All-Star (and hit 39 in the other two)

Brunson and Hart have been integral to New York’s success since they arrived last season. From their deepest playoff run (East semis) in a decade in 2023 to being in position for a top-four finish in 2024.

With New York hit with injuries to Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and OG Anunoby, Hart has been a reliable option for coach Tom Thibodeau.

• Thibodeau: “He’s handled it well. Obviously, we’re shorthanded right now, so that’s what’s required. He’s [giving us] 18 rebounds, seven assists and he’s a great defender, so we need him right now.”
• Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff after Hart’s triple-double (13 pts, 19 reb, 10 ast in 45 min on March 3): “Josh Hart is a winner and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to win basketball games, and you got to give him a ton of credit to play the amount of minutes that he played and go out and be as effective as he was.”

That triple-double against the Cavs was one of five for Hart since Jan. 30 (21 games). Prior to that, he had zero triple-doubles during the first six-plus seasons of his career (418 games).

Hart’s ability to do a bit of everything has helped fill the gaps for the Knicks – and maintain their hold on a top-four playoff position – while they wait for reinforcements.