The READ
NBA Recap | March 5, 2026
Victor Wembanyama put up 38 and 16 and the Spurs led by 17 in the first quarter. Nikola Jokic posted his 22nd triple-double of the season — 28 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists — and still needed a clutch 8-footer with 22 seconds left to hold off the Lakers. A Curry-less Warriors team survived Houston in overtime on the back of Podziemski and a Melton tip-in. And Wendell Carter Jr. dunked the game-winner with 1.4 seconds left to hand Dallas another heartbreak. Nine games. Let's run it.
THE WEMBY GAME
San Antonio Spurs 121, Detroit Pistons 106
Take a bow, Mr. Alien. Victor Wembanyama was dominant as he scored 38 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, and blocked five shots. The Spurs raced out to a 17-point lead after just one quarter against the best team in the East. San Antonio shot 54% from three in the first half while Wembanyama had 24 of those 38 before halftime. De'Aaron Fox added 22, and eight Spurs scored in double figures for the second game running.
This is a team that has won 13 of its last 14 games. They blew out Philadelphia by 40 on Tuesday, came back Thursday and blew out the Eastern Conference's best record by 15. The only caveat to Detroit's night is that Cade Cunningham did everything short of winning: 26 points, 8 assists, 4-of-7 from three — on 10-of-26 shooting overall, which tells you the rest wasn't falling. He was a minus-21.
The Pistons are still 45-18 and still in first place. San Antonio is 46-17. Those two numbers will matter a great deal come April.
SAS 121 · DET 106
JOKIC DOESN'T MISS
Denver Nuggets 120, Los Angeles Lakers 113
Nikola Jokic had 28 points, 13 assists, and 12 rebounds — his 22nd triple-double of the season. He also had a season-high nine turnovers in a game where Denver was still without four of their top forwards. None of that mattered in the end because Jokic hit an 8-footer with 22.3 seconds left when the Lakers needed a stop to win, and that was the game.
Jamal Murray matched Jokic with 28 and Julian Strawther contributed 18 as the primary backup behind a depleted frontcourt. Together they had enough.
The Lakers made it interesting though. Luka Doncic put up 27 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals on 24 shots — efficient enough, if not clean — and Los Angeles clawed all the way back to within one with two minutes remaining before running out of runway. The final possession went to Jokic, which is unsurprising. Denver stays 1.5 games ahead of the Lakers for fifth in the West. As the season winds down, it is worth noting Luka picked up his 15th technical foul of the season, which means he is one away from an automatic suspension.
DEN 120 · LAL 113
WITHOUT CURRY, AGAIN
Golden State Warriors 115, Houston Rockets 113 (OT)
Stephen Curry missed his 12th consecutive game, yet the Warriors went into Houston and won in overtime anyway.
Brandon Podziemski hit a three with under three minutes left in OT to push the Warriors to a 111-106 lead, and De'Anthony Melton sealed it with a tip-in layup with 5.3 seconds remaining. Between them they had 49 points — Podziemski with 26, Melton with 23. Al Horford chipped in 17 as the unlikely tertiary option. Golden State survived by sheer volume and, when it mattered, by execution.
Houston had every chance to win this game. Reed Sheppard was outstanding: 30 points, six threes, six assists — continuing a stretch of play that is quietly building a case for his breakout sophomore season. Kevin Durant added 23, Amen Thompson posted 18 and 10, and Alperen Sengun had 17, 7, and 7. Four Rockets in double figures, but the Rockets couldn't close it out.
The Warriors are treading water without Curry and the Rockets are losing games they need. Both of those facts matter in a compressed West.
GSW 115 · HOU 113 (OT)
1.4 SECONDS
Orlando Magic 115, Dallas Mavericks 114
Cooper Flagg returned for his first game after missing eight straight and led Dallas to a 14-point first-half lead. That advantage would not last. The Magic chipped away to make it a close one in the fourth quarter, and with 37 seconds remaining Flagg put them ahead by four. Jalen Suggs answered with a three to make it a one-point game. And then Wendell Carter Jr. caught the ball in the post, dunked it with 1.4 seconds on the clock, and the Magic snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat.
Klay Thompson led Dallas with 24 points on 7-of-12 from three — the sharpest offensive performance a Maverick has put together in some time. The Mavericks shot 42% from deep as a team and still lost by one.
For Orlando, this was the kind of late-execution win that separates contenders from pretenders. They trailed by 14, made the necessary adjustments, and found a way. Banchero and Suggs both contributed, but the story ends with Carter Jr. and a dunk that Dallas will be thinking about until the next time these teams play.
ORL 115 · DAL 114
SEXTON SCORES 30
Chicago Bulls 105, Phoenix Suns 103
The Bulls were without Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey — both nursing ankle injuries from Tuesday's game against Oklahoma City. Collin Sexton responded by scoring 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting, his season high, and the third consecutive game he's topped 20. Tre Jones added 21 and Guerschon Yabusele had 16. An undermanned roster that had lost 11 straight just a few weeks ago built a 12-point lead with six minutes left and held on when the Suns made it uncomfortable.
Devin Booker, in his second game back from a four-game absence, scored 27 and hit the three that made it 104-103 with 23 seconds remaining while Grayson Allen added 21. Phoenix had enough to take the lead — they just couldn't get the stop. Chicago held on, and the Bulls have now won two of three after the lengthy skid, but the playoffs are still out of reach unless they go on a meaningful winning streak.
CHI 105 · PHX 103
ZION AND THE RUN
New Orleans Pelicans 133, Sacramento Kings 123
New Orleans snapped a two-game losing streak with a performance that peaked in the third quarter — a 15-0 run that turned a six-point lead into 20 and broke the game open. Zion Williamson led the way with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting, added 9 rebounds and 5 assists, and looked like the version of himself that makes the Pelicans a legitimately dangerous team when he's available and locked in. The challenge is his inability to stay healthy.
Trey Murphy III added 21 and Saddiq Bey had 20 off the bench on efficient shooting. The Pelicans made 12 threes and controlled the game from the third quarter onward.
For Sacramento it was another forgettable showing, but Precious Achiuwa continued the individual production that has made him one of the more interesting stories on a 14-48 roster: 29 points and 12 rebounds in a losing cause. Russell Westbrook contributed 19 and 10. The Kings have the worst record in the NBA, but they're not giving games away.
NOP 133 · SAC 123
POPCORN IN MINNEAPOLIS
Minnesota Timberwolves 115, Toronto Raptors 107
Minnesota extended their winning streak to five with a performance that had six players in double figures and looked exactly like a team that knows what it is. Anthony Edwards led with 22. Rudy Gobert posted 18 points and 12 rebounds — an anchor double-double that took scoring and rebounding off the table for Toronto simultaneously. Julius Randle added 17 and 8, Donte DiVincenzo had 16 off the bench, and Naz Reid contributed 12. This was a balanced, professional win from a Timberwolves team that is rounding into form at the right moment.
For Toronto, RJ Barrett did what he could with 25 points and 6 rebounds, and Immanuel Quickley added 18 with 7 assists. But the Raptors have now lost six straight, and Barrett carrying 25 every night isn't a sustainable path forward for a team that needs more from its supporting cast.
MIN 115 · TOR 107
COLLIER TAKES OVER
Utah Jazz 122, Washington Wizards 112
Isaiah Collier scored 27 points and handed out 11 assists. The 20-year-old point guard is developing in real time, and Thursday was his clearest demonstration yet of what Utah is building toward. The Jazz took care of Washington, which has now lost seven straight, and Collier's performance was the most compelling single storyline in a game that didn't draw much national attention.
Seventeen points and eleven assists on a team going nowhere is the wrong way to look at it. The right way: a young player getting reps in meaningful situations and responding. File it.
UTA 122 · WAS 112
PORTER BOUNCES BACK
Miami Heat 126, Brooklyn Nets 110
Two nights ago, Michael Porter Jr. shot 0-of-9 from three in a Heat loss. Thursday he had 27 points and 13 rebounds. The Nets lost their 10th straight. Both of those things were true simultaneously, and neither particularly surprises at this point — MPJ has the range to recover from a shooting performance like Tuesday's, and Brooklyn has the structural problems that make 10-game skids both possible and expected.
Miami controlled this one throughout and barely broke a sweat as six players scored in double figures, including 25 from Tyler Herro and 21 from Bam Adebayo. The Nets simply don't have the personnel to stay with a functional playoff team for 48 minutes, and the Heat made sure they didn't need to. As 1.5 games separate seeds 5 through 8, this was a necessary win for Miami and they took care of business.
MIA 126 · BKN 110
⭐ STAR OF THE NIGHT
Victor Wembanyama — SAS · 38 points · 16 rebounds · 5 blocks
The 38 and 16 headline it, but what made this performance remarkable was its completeness — 24 before halftime, rim protection on the other end that warped how Detroit ran its offense, and a first-quarter stretch that personally built a 17-point lead before most cities on the East Coast had finished dinner. The Spurs are 13-of-14, and Wembanyama is the reason the margin of victory keeps looking like this.
💀 DUD OF THE NIGHT
Houston Rockets (Collective) · 113 points · 45% FG · 41% from three
Four players in double figures. Reed Sheppard with 30. Kevin Durant with 23. A full complement of healthy contributors. And they lost at home in overtime to a Warriors team that hasn't had Stephen Curry for 12 games. That's a game the Rockets needed, in a West standings race where every game through March will matter. The failure to close wasn't on one player — it was on the execution in overtime, and that makes it harder to point to and harder to fix.
QUICK TAKES
Wembanyama's 38 and 16 is the kind of line that belongs in the season's highlight reel. The Spurs are playing their best basketball of the year at the right time, and he is the reason.
Jokic's 22nd triple-double came with nine turnovers and a clutch 8-footer in the final seconds. That's the full Jokic experience: messy, brilliant, and winning.
Reed Sheppard's 30 in the overtime loss is the third time this season he's flirted with a line that turns heads. The award conversation is coming. The loss stings.
Wendell Carter Jr.'s dunk with 1.4 seconds left is the play of the night, and maybe the play of the week. Klay Thompson's 7-of-12 from three in a one-point loss is the cruelest runner-up.
The Bulls are two wins in three games after an 11-game skid. Sexton's 30 without Giddey and Buzelis is the kind of performance that resets how a coaching staff allocates minutes going forward.
Isaiah Collier's 27 and 11 for Utah deserves more attention than it will get. He is becoming a real player.
Detroit lost by 15 to the West's second-best record and is still 45-18 with the East's best mark. That's a testament to how good they've been. One loss to San Antonio doesn't change the picture.
The Pelicans' 15-0 run in the third quarter is the kind of stretch that reminds you what this team can be when Zion is healthy and locked in. The Pelicans are worth watching in March.
