Nightly Pulse: NBA Updates & Highlights from March 16th

The Magic stunned the Cavaliers with a thrilling 108-103 victory in Cleveland.

Sunday night hoops

Magic 108, Cavaliers 103 (

Final

)

76ers 130, Mavericks 125 (

Final

)

Suns vs. Lakers (

Live on ABC/ESPN+

)

Raptors vs. Trail Blazers (

6 ET, Live on NBA League Pass

)

Hawks vs. Nets (

6 ET, Live on NBA League Pass

)

Jazz vs. Timberwolves (

7 ET, Live on NBA League Pass

)

Hornets vs. Clippers (

7 ET, Live on NBA League Pass

)

Thunder vs. Bucks (

9 ET, Live on ESPN

)

Afternoon notes

Paolo Banchero was key in the clutch, finishing with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists, as was Wagner, who ended the game with 22 points and eight rebounds. Also delivering a strong performance off the bench was Anthony Black, who scored 17.

The Cavaliers were without Evan Mobley but did get Donovan Mitchell bank in the fold, who scored 23 points but shot just 9-for-28 from the field.

Also, earlier this afternoon, the 76ers upended the Mavericks, 130-125.

Quentin Grimes was electric against his former squad. pouring in 28 points and dishing out six assists.

P.J. Washington scored a game-high 29 points for Dallas and also pulled down 12 rebounds.

3️⃣Stories for tonight

Oklahoma City and Milwaukee will meet for the third time this season on ESPN tonight. Although it didn’t count toward the standings, these teams met in the Emirates NBA Cup finals in December, with Milwaukee earning an 87-81 victory to hoist the Cup. They met again on Feb. 3, and the Thunder struck the Bucks with a 125-96 payback victory. Now they’ll meet again with both teams looking to extend a two-game win streak. 

The Timberwolves are still red-hot, earning their seventh consecutive win Friday, defeating the Magic. The returns of Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, and Donte DiVincenzo have ignited this squad, and avoiding the play-in is becoming a legitimate possibility. They’ll continue their five-game homestand this evening by hosting a struggling Utah team that has lost eight straight, while Minnesota is in a prime position to extend their win streak.  

The Hawks and the Clippers will both take the floor tonight, looking to improve their playoff positioning. Atlanta will be in Brooklyn taking on the Nets and are just 1.0 game up on Orlando for the No. 7 seed. Meanwhile, the Clippers have fallen behind the surging Warriors and Timberwolves, and a win over the Hornets tonight will be beneficial in keeping them in the mix to avoid the play-in.