The READ
NBA Recap | March 13, 2026
Cleveland went to Dallas and turned it into a demolition job. Toronto upset Phoenix on the back of a Brandon Ingram masterpiece. Dejounte Murray dropped 35 on 77.8% shooting and it wasn't enough to beat Houston by two. Minnesota finally remembered they are capable of contending and blew out Golden State. Jalen Duren posted 30 and 13 in Detroit in another solid outing. The Knicks grinded out a road win in Indiana behind Jalen Brunson's quiet 29. Portland, of all teams, put up 16 steals and 12 blocks against Utah. And the Clippers handled Chicago for the second night in a row. Eight games. Let's run it.
CAVS DON'T TRAVEL — THEY ARRIVE
Cleveland 138, Dallas 105
Cleveland came in the night after a Dallas win in Memphis and reminded them who they are. The Cavaliers shot 61.5% from the field, 47.4% from three, and led by as many as 35. This was a statement performance — the kind that reminds the rest of the conference that Cleveland's ceiling is significantly higher than their floor.
Evan Mobley was the story: 29 points on 12-of-15 shooting (80%), 90.9% on twos, 7 rebounds, and a 80.2% true shooting percentage. He was everywhere in the paint, efficient and relentless. The bench contributed 52 points. Dennis Schroder ran the offense with 8 points and 6 assists. Keon Ellis added 13 on 3 threes (60% from deep). Thomas Bryant contributed 11 on 4-of-5 shooting with 2 steals and 2 blocks off the bench.
Dallas had no answers. Cooper Flagg put up the most respectable effort with 25 on 8-of-16 shooting (100% from the line), 5 assists, and a team-high +5 efficiency swing — but Khris Middleton went 2-of-6 for 4 points and was -12, and Klay Thompson went 3-of-11 for 6. The Mavericks committed 19 turnovers that Cleveland turned into 20 points. CLE outscored DAL 38-21 in the first quarter and the game was effectively over.
DAL 105 · CLE 138
DUREN'S DOMINANCE
Detroit 126, Memphis 110
Detroit is becoming genuinely hard to play. Two straight wins, two straight convincing performances — and this one was driven by Jalen Duren in a way that should be drawing more attention. Duren finished with 30 points on 12-of-15 shooting (80%), 13 rebounds, 11 second-chance points off 7 offensive boards, and 77.3% true shooting. He controlled the paint completely. Memphis had no answer.
Cade Cunningham orchestrated perfectly: 17 points, 15 assists, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 turnovers with a +23. Marcus Sasser added 16 off the bench on 50% from three. Duncan Robinson was 6-of-8 from the field for 14, going +24. DET shot 54.3% from the field and 75% from the rim. Their 36 assists on 50 made buckets tells you everything about how this team is sharing the ball right now. Detroit also had 12 steals. The Pistons led by as many as 22 and outscored Memphis in every quarter after the first.
Ty Jerome led Memphis with 21 but was -17. Cam Spencer had 19 on efficient shooting but the Grizzlies shot 47.9% from the rim and lost badly in the paint (36 points to Detroit's 74). Memphis committed 17 turnovers.
DET 126 · MEM 110
BRUNSON'S GRIND
New York 101, Indiana 92
This wasn't pretty, and New York didn't need it to be. The Knicks got out to a 15-point lead, survived a third-quarter Indiana surge that cut it close, and leaned on Jalen Brunson and Mitchell Robinson to close the door.
Brunson had 29 on 11-of-25 shooting, 7-of-8 from the line, 9 assists, and only 2 turnovers — steady, productive, and in control even when the offense stalled. OG Anunoby was the secondary engine: 25 points on 8-of-16 shooting (50% from three), 8 rebounds, 5 assists. Mitchell Robinson was a monster on the boards, finishing with 22 rebounds — 9 offensive — and 12 points, generating 6 second-chance points and anchoring every Knicks possession defensively. NYK shot just 42% from the field and 28.6% from three, but survived on Robinson's glass work and getting to the line 25 times.
Indiana shot 39.3% from the field and 26.3% from three in a home loss they can ill afford. Jarace Walker led the Pacers with 18 on 33% from three, and Ivica Zubac had 11 with 8 rebounds. Andrew Nembhard went 3-of-14 from the field, including 0-for-11 on twos. Indiana is fighting for its postseason life and putting up performances like that at home is a problem.
IND 92 · NYK 101
INGRAM'S RETURN TO FORM
Toronto 122, Phoenix 115
Brandon Ingram came to Toronto and absolutely erupted. After weeks of inconsistency — much of it in Pelicans blue before the trade — Ingram put together the kind of night that reminds you what he's capable of: 36 points on 13-of-20 shooting (65%), 5-of-6 from three (83.3%), 5-of-7 from the line, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 78% true shooting. He was +17, the best plus/minus on the floor by a wide margin. Toronto ran its offense through him in the fourth quarter and he made shot after shot when it mattered.
RJ Barrett added 22 on 9-of-16 shooting with 5 assists and 2 steals. Scottie Barnes chipped in 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists. Jamal Shead ran the offense efficiently with 8 assists. TOR shot 53.5% from the field and a scorching 51.9% from three, finishing the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run to put the game away.
Phoenix got 34 from Jalen Green (13-of-25, 8 threes, 68% TS) and 31 from Devin Booker (10-of-20, 9-of-11 FT), but Booker had 5 turnovers and a tech foul, finishing -8. Royce O'Neale went 2-of-9 from three for 6 points. The Suns shot 70% from the line on 30 attempts, and that leaky foul-shooting down the stretch was part of why the fourth-quarter lead evaporated. A second straight loss for a Phoenix team that just beat Indiana the night before — the West is unforgiving right now.
TOR 122 · PHX 115
DEJOUNTE FOUND HIS MF JOY
Houston 107, New Orleans 105
Dejounte Murray had one of the most efficient scoring nights of the season — 35 points on 14-of-18 shooting (77.8%), 4-of-5 from three, 7 rebounds, 4 assists — and the Pelicans still lost. Murray finished at 86.6% true shooting and was the best player on the floor by a significant margin. It still wasn't enough.
Houston made the plays when they needed to. Kevin Durant led the Rockets with 32 on 13-of-24 shooting and 5 assists. Amen Thompson posted a double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds (6 offensive), adding 8 assists. Reed Sheppard hit 5 threes for 18. HOU led for most of the game but New Orleans outscored them 33-27 in the fourth and got within two — then couldn't get the stops or the shot they needed in the final seconds.
Zion Williamson added 21 for NOP (7-of-10, 77.8% from two, 75.2% TS), and Trey Murphy III had 14 with 7 assists. But Murphy shot only 33.3% from the field and committed 4 turnovers. Saddiq Bey went 2-of-11 for 5. A heartbreaker for New Orleans — Murray was spectacular, and it didn't matter.
HOU 107 · NOP 105
PORTLAND STEAMROLLS UTAH
Portland 124, Utah 114
Portland won this game with 16 steals, 12 blocks, and 28 points off 18 Utah turnovers. That's not a basketball game — that's a mugging. The Trail Blazers trailed by 18 in the first quarter, then outscored Utah 38-20 in the second to flip the game entirely. From there they never looked back.
Jrue Holiday ran the offense and applied constant defensive pressure: 25 points on 10-of-16 shooting (44.4% from three), 8 assists, and 3 turnovers. Scoot Henderson came alive with 25 on 8-of-14 (71.4% from three), 4-of-4 from the line, and 79.3% true shooting. Portland's bench added 47 points and the Blazers shot 37% from three across 46 attempts — the volume and conversion rate both held up when they needed to.
Brice Sensabaugh led Utah with 31 on a spectacular shooting night — 12-of-19 (63.2%), 6-of-8 from three, 79.7% TS — but he couldn't overcome the turnover plague that infected everyone else around him. Cody Williams had 19 but committed 4 turnovers. Bez Mbeng was -28. Isaiah Collier (17 points, 9 assists) was competitive but couldn't hold the game together. Portland's defensive effort — 16 steals, 12 blocks — was the difference and one of the better defensive performances of the season from a team that doesn't usually get credit for that side of the ball.
POR 124 · UTA 114
ANT'S SHOWCASE
Minnesota 127, Golden State 117
Anthony Edwards dropped 42 on Golden State — 13-of-22 shooting (59.1%), 4 threes, a perfect 12-of-12 from the line — and Minnesota needed all of it. The Timberwolves led by as many as 25 but had to survive a Golden State push that cut it to 10 before Minnesota pulled away in the fourth.
Edwards was locked in: 68% from two, 44.4% from three, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 turnovers, and 77% true shooting. He looked like the player everyone expected this season. Rudy Gobert had an efficient night with 18 points on 5-of-5 shooting and 9 rebounds, drawing 7 fouls and going 8-of-10 from the line. Ayo Dosunmu facilitated cleanly with 12 points and 7 assists.
For Golden State without Curry, Brandin Podziemski carried the offense with 25 on 8-of-17 shooting (50% from three) and 10 rebounds. Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points. Gui Santos had 17 with 8 assists. But the Warriors shot 40.2% from the field and allowed Minnesota to shoot 56.1% — a combination that was always going to be hard to overcome.
GSW 117 · MIN 127
CLIPPERS CLEAN UP
LA Clippers 119, Chicago 108
The Clippers made it a sweep of the back-to-back against Chicago, this time doing it on the road with a more workmanlike effort than Thursday's blowout. LAC won in the paint — 70 points to Chicago's 56 — generated 12 blocks, and kept their turnover count at just 6 all game. Tight, controlled, efficient.
Bennedict Mathurin led the way with 26 on 10-of-19 shooting (64.3% on twos), 6 rebounds, and 60.1% true shooting. Kawhi Leonard was the facilitator: 28 points on 36.4% shooting but drawing 9 fouls, going 10-of-12 from the line, and getting to the right spots to find teammates. Brook Lopez added 11 with 5 blocks off the bench. LAC's defensive infrastructure — 12 blocks, 8 steals, 28 points off turnovers — was the game within the game.
Chicago got 20 points and a triple-double (29th this year) from Josh Giddey (20 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists) and 18 from Matas Buzelis (6-of-18 shooting), but the Bulls are falling into a late-season funk and can’t seem to decide whether they are tanking or trying to win. They shot 29.3% from three and were outblocked 12-7. Buzelis has now shot below 38% from the field in back-to-back games against this Clippers team.
LAC 119 · CHI 108
⭐ STAR OF THE NIGHT
Anthony Edwards | Minnesota Timberwolves 42 PTS | 13-22 FG | 4-9 3PT | 12-12 FT | 8 REB | 5 AST | 77.0% TS
After a rough patch where Edwards was getting outperformed by his own teammates and watching from the wrong side of box scores, tonight was a reminder of what his ceiling looks like. Forty-two on 59% shooting, perfect from the line, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 turnovers. He didn't force it. He just played — and in doing so carried Minnesota to a win they needed after getting shredded by the Clippers earlier this week.
💀 DUD OF THE NIGHT
Andrew Nembhard | Indiana Pacers 8 PTS | 3-14 FG | 0-11 on TWOs | 26.9% TS | -14
Indiana lost a game they needed at home and their starting point guard went 3-of-14 from the field — hitting zero of his eleven two-point attempts. Nembhard had 7 assists but at 26.9% true shooting, his presence on offense was a liability for most of the night. The Pacers are in a race for their postseason lives and performances like this from a key piece are the reason they can't get out of their own way.
QUICK TAKES
Cleveland's 61.5% shooting night in Dallas looks even more impressive given they played it as a road back-to-back. Evan Mobley's 29 on 80% from the field is a top-tier performance that deserves more attention.
Jalen Duren posting 30/13 with 12-of-15 shooting is the kind of line that belongs in a different conversation than Detroit usually gets. The Pistons are for real.
Brandon Ingram's 36 on 65% from the field against a playoff team — on 5-of-6 from three — is exactly the night Toronto needed from him. If that Ingram shows up regularly, the Raptors are dangerous.
Dejounte Murray at 86.6% true shooting in a 2-point loss to Houston might be the unluckiest line of the season. That's a performance that usually wins games.
Portland's 16 steals and 12 blocks against Utah is a legitimate defensive effort. The Blazers are more fun than they're given credit for.
Indiana is in serious trouble. Two consecutive home losses, Andrew Nembhard going 0-for-11 on twos, and a back-to-back schedule that won't get easier.
Anthony Edwards playing like the Ant everyone expected this season, at the right time, is good for the NBA.
