Wizards 106-93 76ers
The Wizards beat the 76ers 106-93 76ers. Gortat scores a double-double (23 points and 14 rebounds), Beal scores 20 points and Wall scores 13 points and 15 assists. Smith scores 23 points and Canaan scores 18 points. Coach Wittman on Gortat’s performance:
Rolling to the basket instead of floating a little bit. That was really good because he’s got great hands, he can get to the basket. That was as good (a game) probably that he’s had from the standpoint of rolling out of there.
Gortat:
They were passing me the ball. I was doing the same thing I’m doing every single game.
Coach Brown on Wizard’s Performance:
And we got jumped. I think it’s a fantastic experience for our guys. We knew this was going to be the landscape. But it’s still hard to navigate.
Mavericks 135-131 Thunders
The Mavericks wbeat Thunder 135-131. Ellis scores 26 points, Chandler scores a double-double (14points,10 rebounds), Rondo scores 10 points and 10 assists. Westbrook scores a triple-double (31 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists), Kanter scores a double-double (30 points and 16 rebounds) for the Thunder. Coach Carlisle:
It was a great basketball game. Every once in a while, you stand over there and you say, ‘This is an unbelievable game to be a part of,’ and it was. The extreme momentum swings back and forth – the shot making was breathtaking.
Kanter:
I think we just got beat on a lot of pick-and-rolls, and I think we just have to work on it.
Parsons:
Being patient and staying aggressive and just trying to make some big plays down the stretch for our team. We all know how important this game was. We needed this win in a bad way.
Nets 100-98 Knicks
The Nets wins 100-98 against the Knicks. Williams scores 26 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, Lopez scores 18 points. Bargani scores 22 points, Early scores 14 points for the Knicks. Williams:
We’re just finding ways to win ballgames. We start off great and have some lulls. Tonight we had two, but at the end we buckled down and did what we had to do to win.
Lopez:
D-Will got a good look. He was being aggressive like he had been all night. I was right there around the rim and just tried to keep it alive.
Smith:
It’s tough, but we kind of put ourselves in a hole earlier in the game, It wasn’t just that last play.
Warriors 110-106 Clippers
The Warriors wins 110-106 over the Clippers. Curry scores 27 points, Thompson scores 24 points, Lee scores 17 points. Griffin scores 40 points, Paul scores 27 for the Clippers. Paul says of Curry:
The man is tough. They run him off a ton of screens. Three of those shots I was in his chest and he still made them.
Curry:
I knew he was trailing and I thought I could make a move toward the basket and get some creativity in between,As soon as I saw him kind of go down, I knew I had to shoot it and just see what happened. You kind of get a little adrenaline rush because those are kind of cool moments. Thankfully, the shot went in. I didn’t see the bench’s reaction, but they said everybody was going crazy.
Thompson:
We weren’t playing that well but that’s what we’ve been doing all year: bouncing back.
Pistons 105-95 Hawks
The Pistons win 105-95 against the Hawks. Drummond scores 22 points and 13 rebounds, Tolliver scores 13 points and ten rebounds. Sefolosha scores 19 points, Horford scores 16 points. Coach Budenholzer:
We wanted to really give the starting group with Jeff (Teague), Kyle (Korver), DeMarre (Carroll) and Paul (Millsap) a lot of reps together and a lot of time together.
Jackson:
I was a little under the weather, and I felt it before the game, but I tried to give the guys everything I could.
Coach Van Gundy:
Joel is always ready to give us great defense and John hadn’t played in weeks, but when we needed him tonight, he was there to get us through the game. Caron and Tayshaun, too. This is just a great group of veterans working with a young core.
Nets 111-106 Pacers
The Nets beat the Pacers 111-106. Lopez has a double-double (24 points and 11 rebounds), Johnson scores 21 points. Hill scores 28 points for the Pacers. Coach Vogel:
We’ve got a game tomorrow night. There’s plenty of basketball still to be played.
Williams:
It’s just a mentality, I guess, sense of urgency. Realizing we have a chance to make these playoffs and we’re just trying to make a push.
Hill:
We’ve just got to bring it more and take away the loss and how bad it feels.
Spurs 95-81 Heat
The Spurs wins 95-81 over Heat. Leonard scores 22 points, nine rebounds and four steals, Parker scores 16 points and plays his 1,000 the NBA game, Duncan has a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds). Dragic scores 19 points, Wade scores 15 points. Coach Popovich:
We played good D.
Parker:
When you see all of the names and obviously all of the history in the NBA, that’s pretty cool.
Coach Spoelstra:
He has a way of knocking it all sideways.
Celtics 116-104 Hornets
The Celtics beat the Hornets 116-104. Bradley scores 30 points, eight rebounds, Evan Turner scores 15 points. Walker scores 28 points and 12 assists for the Hornets. Coach Stevens:
Avery was terrific on both ends of the floor.
Turner:
Every game is important, so we came and toughed it out.
Walker:
I’m pretty disappointed, especially because we had to play catch-up throughout the whole game.
Hawks 101-88 Bucks
The Hawks win 101-88 against the Bucks. Caroll scores 23 points. Antetokounmpo scores 18 points for the Bucks. The Hawks has the number one seed in the East and plays an easy schedule and plans to stay healthy for the playoffs. Caroll:
We’re trying to get our mojo back, get our momentum back going to the playoffs.
Korver:
I’m so tired of wearing this mask. I can’t wait for it to be over.
Coach Kidd:
When you play against the best in the East, you have to compete.
Lakers 113-111 76ers
The Lakers wins 113-111 over the 76ers. Clarkson scores 26 points, Brown scores 20 points. Noel get his ninth double-double of the month (19 points, 14 rebounds), Canaan scores 18 points for the 76ers. Coach Scott:
He’s not afraid of the moment, You’ve got to like to that.
Clarkson:
I was trying to get myself in a good position to rebound the ball and Wayne got space to shoot it.
Coach Brown:
I’m at a stage personally where I have confidence that he’s going to step up and not be intimidated by the moment.
Leukemia returns
Sager has a recurrence of the leukemia he has been fighting for the past year.
We wanted to ensure he was taken care of & that we knew what the next steps were before we shared this #SagerStrong pic.twitter.com/IhUM2nK8yl
— Craig Sager II (@CraigSagerJr) March 29, 2015
Out for playoffs
Beverley undergoes season-ending wrist surgery to repair a torn ligament. He will miss the playoffs. He originally injured the wrist in a game against the Pacers and had been debating whether or not to play through the injury as he sought second opinions.
Too bad for Pat Bev and the Rox, but this team has depth, and they've been grinding through injury all season: http://t.co/PRIJD3cffx
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) March 30, 2015
Rockets 99-91Wizards
The Rockets win 99-91 against the Wizards. Harden scores 24 points, Howard scores 11 points and 10 rebounds. Wall scores 25 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds for the Wizards. Wall:
We show a sense of urgency one game, and another game, we take it off. To be where we want to be and go as far as we did last year, we have to turn it around or … we’ll be done quick.
Coach McHale:
It’s nice to win the games, but it would be really nice to get healthy. That’s our biggest thing.
Howard:
I was surprised he got up there. He’s not known for blocking shots.
Thunder 109-97 Suns
The Thunder wins 109-97 over the Suns. Russell Westbrook scores 33 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, Steve Adams scores 13 points and 16 rebounds. Markieff Morris scores 24 points, T.J. Warren scores 18 points for the Suns. Coach Hornacheck:
I told the guys, this is mathematically not over.
Westbrook:
It was a huge game, and we played with a playoff mindset.
Morris:
This is a tough blow.
Coach Brooks:
What changed was we went out there and played a scrappy brand of basketball.
Hornets 115-100 Hawks
The Hornets win 115-100 aginst the Hawks. Walker scores 21 points, Williams scores 18 points. Bazemore scores a career-high 20 points, Muscala scores 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks. Coach Budenholzer:
Defensively was where there was the most slippage, but they played the way we want to play and did a lot of things.
Bazenmore:
I did get some pull-up jumpers to go down and shot some 3s.
Coach Clifford:
Obviously we caught a break with them resting their guys.
Pistons 111-97 Magic
The Pistons win 111-97 over Magic. Jackson scores a triple-double ( 26 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) for the team. Harris score 21 points for the Magic. Coach Van Gundy:
Reggie sort of had a tough start, but he started to attack (in the third quarter) and that really gets him going. When he’s playing laterally, east and west, he’s not as good. When he’s on the attack, he’s really good.
Foot injury, will miss rest of season
The Oklahoma City Thunder announces that Durant will miss the rest of the season due to a Jones fracture injury in his right foot. He will undergo a bone graft procedure to address the fracture, the recovery for which usually takes four to six months. Thunder GM Sam Presti:
It was the consensus of the specialists team, in addition to a collective decision by Kevin, his representation and the Thunder, that to address the setback of the fracture site, a bone graft procedure would be the most proactive and recommended approach.
Durant has been limited to only 27 games during the season due to the injury.
‘A colorful player and man’
In a brief statement, Buss reflects on Hundley’s contributions to the Lakers.
Hot Rod was a colorful player and man, and an important member of the early Lakers teams in the 1960s and therefore the history of our franchise. We’re saddened by his passing, and send our condolences to his family.
‘One of the best play-by-play announcers in the game’
Upon hearing the news of Hundley’s death, West gives this statement:
I am saddened by the news of the passing of my longtime friend, Rod Hundley. I first met Rod when I was 18 and he encouraged me to attend West Virginia University. We were Laker teammates and never lost contact…Rod was not only a great basketball player, but one of the best play-by-play announcers in the game. He will be missed by all those he touched through his legendary career as will his colorful story-telling.
‘Legendary’
Mourning Hundley’s death, Miller gives this statement:
Hot Rod was the voice of the Utah Jazz for 35 years and his voice was synonymous with Jazz radio. The expressions he used throughout the game broadcasts are legendary. He had the unique ability to make the game come to life so that you felt as though you could see what was happening on the floor when listening to him call the games…Rod was a very special talent and will be missed by our family as well as Jazz fans everywhere. Our thoughts and condolences are with the Hundley family.