Southeast Notes: Wizards, Wagner, Hornets, Daniels
The Wizards have suffered plenty of losses this season, but none carried the sting of allowing Bam Adebayo to score 83 points Tuesday at Miami, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic. With the embarrassment from that game still fresh, Washington needed to find some sense of atonement Thursday in Orlando. The Magic came away with an overtime win, but Wizards players were satisfied with their effort after erasing a 19-point deficit.
“(Bam) scored a lot of points. You’ve got to give him credit,” Trae Young said. “But the way it happened and the way it went down, you see the reaction from people around the league. Around everybody, it’s kind of the same. So we had a similar mindset, but at the same time, we allowed it to happen in the first half and gave him a rhythm to even have the confidence to think he was going to get that. So the way we bounced back is the way we needed to bounce back tonight. I’m just happy with the way that we did that.”
Robbins notes that Orlando still led by 16 points midway through the fourth quarter when Washington found success with a small lineup featuring Bub Carrington, Leaky Black, Will Riley, Bilal Coulibaly and Anthony Gill. That group made of 12-of-17 shots to end regulation and tied the game when Coulibaly banked in a three-pointer with 5.8 seconds remaining.
Gill, whom Robbins calls the team’s most “mild-mannered” player, stood over Orlando’s Desmond Bane and celebrated at one point during the rally. Like Young, Gill believed his team needed to make a statement to show that it’s not a pushover.
“I’m not going to be the one that talks about how (Tuesday’s) game was played out,” Gill said. “Bam had an unbelievable game. We did not respond. We didn’t prepare the way that we should have for the game, and it showed with how well he played against us. We know for what we’re trying to build here that’s unacceptable, and we were kind of upset with that.”
There’s more from the Southeast Division:
- For the first time since the All-Star break, Magic forward Franz Wagner was able to take part in an on-court workout during Wednesday’s shootaround, Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel states in a subscriber-only story. Wagner did some light shooting, and coach Jamahl Mosley said he hasn’t been cleared for contact yet.
- Wednesday’s victory at Sacramento was the Hornets‘ 12th in their last 13 road games, which gives the team confidence that it can succeed in any postseason scenario, per Roderick Boone of The Charlotte Observer (subscription required). “All these games feel like they have a little bit more intensity to them, they have a little bit more meaning,” coach Charles Lee said. “They have a little bit more physicality to them and so every game we are almost looking at it as a postseason game. And you’ve got to develop your habits now because that time of the year, it’s for the prepared. That’s not the time to start preparing for things. And so our guys are trying to find that next level even right now during the regular season.”
- Hawks wing Dyson Daniels continues to expand his game, according to Lauren L. Williams of The Atlanta Journal Constitution (subscription required), who details the 22-year-old’s improvements as a facilitator and offensive rebounder. Daniels missed Thursday’s win over Brooklyn with a left great toe sprain, according to Brad Rowland of Locked on Hawks (Twitter link).
Lakers Notes: LeBron, Doncic, Reaves, Ayton, Injuries
LeBron James returned Thursday after missing three games with foot, elbow and hip injuries, but it was mostly in a supporting role as the Lakers defeated Chicago for their fourth straight win, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. James posted 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, but he took just 13 shots as Luka Doncic (51) and Austin Reaves (30) dominated the scoring. According to McMenamin, L.A. is 8-3 this season when James isn’t one of the team’s top two players in field goal attempts.
“LeBron and I, we talked, we had a great conversation over the last couple days,” coach JJ Redick said. “He wants to do everything possible to help his team win, and he understands the importance of making sure Luka and AR can be at their best. And you know, that’s incredible with him. It speaks a lot to just how much he cares about this team and his teammates, and how much he wants to win.”
Although James is still capable of huge scoring nights, he has become more of a complementary player at age 41. He called Doncic and Reaves “magical and dynamic” on offense and said he’s willing to do whatever is needed to help the Lakers succeed.
“I mean, if it benefits others, it benefits the team. The team is most important,” James said. “Everybody’s successful when we win. So yeah, it is a sacrifice. I know what I’m capable of still doing as an individual, but what’s important for this team, I’m able to adapt to. … And that’s the only thing that matters. And the win is the only thing that matters.”
There’s more from Los Angeles:
- Doncic celebrated his first 50-point game with the Lakers and his highest scoring total since being traded last February. Reaves topped 25 points for the third straight game, which McMenamin notes is his longest streak since suffering a calf injury in November that led to an extended absence. “I obviously have delusional confidence in myself when it comes to basketball,” Reaves said. “But when the game’s over and I’ve got to go home and think about it, I don’t really think of myself in the category of some of these other guys. But I just enjoy playing basketball, playing the right way and continuing to get better.”
- Deandre Ayton is averaging 14.3 points and 10.0 rebounds over the last three games after being sidelined by knee soreness last week, McMenamin tweets. “Felt like I picked up my energy and my focus,” Ayton said. “You know, I finally caught up with the team.”
- Before the game, Redick told reporters that Maxi Kleber is expected to miss more time with a lumbar issue, McMenamin adds (Twitter link). The team is waiting for results after Jaxson Hayes underwent imaging on his back, while Marcus Smart, who sat out Thursday’s contest with a hip issue, may be able to return Saturday against Denver.
Bam Adebayo: ‘I Don’t Care’ About Critics Of 83-Point Game
After posting the second-highest single-game scoring total in NBA history on Tuesday, Bam Adebayo felt like he received more criticism than praise about the circumstances surrounding his 83-point night. Following the Heat‘s victory over Milwaukee on Thursday, Adebayo fired back at his detractors, writes Fred Katz of The Athletic.
“First of all, y’all are blaming me. You should be blaming that head coach (Washington’s Brian Keefe). Get that first,” Adebayo said. “I was not the one that let me go one-on-one the whole game until I had 70 (points) and then started to send a double (team). At that point, I had 70 with, what, nine minutes left to go in the game? You think I’m not going for it?”
As Katz outlines, both teams altered their strategies during the closing minutes of Adebayo’s historic performance. Miami committed several intentional fouls to get the ball back and give him more scoring chances, while the Wizards surrounded Adebayo with their entire defense in an effort to stop him from surpassing Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game from 2006.
Adebayo set the tone for the night with 31 points in the first quarter, reached 43 by halftime, and was at 62 going into the fourth quarter. He set NBA records by making 36 free throws and attempting 43, with 16 of his foul shots coming in the closing 12 minutes.
“That’s the thing that’s crazy when they talk about the unethical part of basketball. I’m like, ‘I had 70 with nine minutes to go,’” Adebayo said. “Who would just be like, ‘You know, coach? Just take me out.’ Yeah, right. … A minute? All right. Nine? Yeah, I’m going for it. You can’t be mad at that. If you are mad, I don’t care. Because a lot of people, they’re upset because if they did play, they never had a chance to get that close to chasing greatness. And if you get that close to chasing greatness, that’s the point of chasing it, so you can surpass it. … If you’ve been in the backyard, and you and a couple of your homies are playing 21, and you got 19, you’re not gonna get an easy look off.”
Regarding the free throws, he added, “It’s not like I shoot 15 free throws a game. It’s not like I average 10 free throws a game. You can watch the film. I was legitimately getting fouled every time, so I went to the free-throw line.”
Coach Erik Spoelstra sent a similar message during Thursday’s pregame session with the media, saying, “I apologize to absolutely no one,” per Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald (subscription required). The Heat played Tuesday without Tyler Herro, Norman Powell, Kel’el Ware and Andrew Wiggins, who were all sidelined by injuries, so Spoelstra wanted Adebayo to take control of the offense.
“I’ve seen people say, you’ve got to be a purist,” Spoelstra said. “I’m a Darwinist in this league. Really, you can do anything you want in this game. You can approach it however you want. If we get criticized for what we do, there was probably irony in these two organizations. There’s nothing wrong with what [the Wizards are] doing. If you can tank and get a great draft pick, I don’t care. Like, you can do anything you want in this league. You can approach it however you want.
“We don’t do that and we have a 14th pick do something that you’re trying to get out of the No. 1 pick. I’ve seen teams hack a Shaq. Debate it or not debate it, who cares? You can do whatever you want. You foul three-point shooters, not foul three-point shooters. You can take the last shot in the game that’s already over or don’t take it. Who gives a damn? Like, you’re allowed to do what? I don’t even believe in that.”
Celtics Notes: Tatum, White, Gonzalez, Brown, Harper
The Celtics were down two starters on Thursday at Oklahoma City, with Jayson Tatum (right Achilles injury management) and Derrick White (right knee contusion) both ruled out (Twitter links via the team).
Thursday will mark Tatum’s first absence since he made his season debut on March 6. He has averaged 19.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.0 steal in his first three contests (27.0 minutes per game). Head coach Joe Mazzulla said Tatum’s day off was part of his recovery plan, per Brian Robb of MassLive.
“Just trust in our sport science team and trainers,” Mazzulla said. “The goal was always for him to come back and also to maintain his health as he continues to stay healthy and continue to get better. Just the trust and communication from our team.”
Boston’s next game will be on Saturday vs. Washington.
Here’s more on the Celtics:
- In a story for The Athletic, John Hollinger examines Tatum’s first two games of the season. Hollinger didn’t notice anything awry with Tatum physically, and says with the team already playing at a very high level before he returned, the Celtics don’t need a peak version of the perennial All-NBA forward to make a deep playoff run.
- Hollinger has also been keeping tabs on Hugo Gonzalez, writing that the 20-year-old wing has played high-level defense as a rookie and is a strong rebounder for his size. According to Hollinger, Gonzalez plays with lots of energy and finishes well near the basket, especially in transition, but his jump shot and handle are shaky. The Celtics have had multiple developmental success stories the past two years, Hollinger adds, so Boston was an ideal landing spot for the Spanish small forward.
- On the Cousins podcast with Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady (YouTube link), Jaylen Brown said he contemplated asking for a trade in 2019 after Boston was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, but McGrady convinced him not to. “Coming and sitting down with Mac, we spent a couple days just working out and talking, having some food, and he’s telling me like, I’m thinking like one thing and he’s thinking like, ‘nah, you need to stay, it’s going to be you.’ He’s telling me all the stuff that all just manifested itself. So, I can’t even like, it’s crazy looking back on it now,” Brown said.
- In a mailbag, Robb of MassLive states that Ron Harper Jr. is “highly likely” to have his two-way contract converted to a standard deal. Robb expects Harper’s promotion to happen on the final day of the regular season (April 12) since he still has two-way eligibility left. Harper scored a career-high 22 points (on 8-of-11 shooting) in 33 minutes during Tuesday’s loss at San Antonio and has been solid defensively for the Celtics, Robb notes.
Magic’s Jonathan Isaac Suffers Left Knee Sprain Thursday
Big man Jonathan Isaac sprained his left knee during Thursday’s overtime win vs. Washington and was ruled out for the remainder of the contest, the Magic announced (via Twitter).
“My heart dropped,” head coach Jamahl Mosley said of the moment Isaac went down, according to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link). Mosley added that Isaac’s injury took “a lot of energy out of our players.”
According to the Magic (Twitter link), Isaac underwent an MRI on Thursday, which confirmed the sprain. His return will depend on how his knee responds to treatment.
For what it’s worth, Beede saw Isaac walking without assistance in the locker room. The 28-year-old declined to speak to the media prior to exiting the locker room, Beede adds (via Twitter).
Isaac recently missed three consecutive games due to left knee soreness, but he was available for Wednesday’s victory against Cleveland even though he didn’t play.
“That’s just something that’s been kind of lingering,” Mosley said over the weekend. “We just continue to monitor it to make sure that it doesn’t continue to get worse over time, just being more careful than anything.”
Isaac previously missed two-and-a-half seasons after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee in 2020.
Entering Thursday, Isaac had averaged 2.6 points and 2.6 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game across 51 appearances. He and the Magic recently worked out a deal to amend his salary protection for next season.
Jazz Ending Mo Bamba’s Second 10-Day Contract
The Jazz are terminating Mo Bamba‘s second 10-day contract, reports Kevin Reynolds of The Salt Lake Tribune.
According to Reynolds, Bamba won’t finish out his second 10-day deal with Utah because he was unable to travel with the team on its three-game road trip after he contracted an illness. The eighth-year center’s contract was set to expire next Tuesday, but he will be let go early to make room on the roster for Bez Mbeng, who will also sign a 10-day pact.
Bamba is now a free agent and doesn’t have to clear waivers since he was on a 10-day agreement. He will still be paid the full $177,064 he was owed, with Utah taking on a cap hit of $131,970 ($263,940 in total, since he signed two 10-day deals).
The former lottery pick has spent most of the season in the G League with the Salt Lake City Stars. Bamba also had a brief stint with Toronto earlier this season. He has appeared in four total games with the Raptors and Jazz in 2025/26, averaging 2.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in 11.0 minutes per contest.
The Jazz signed former Texas A&M forward Andersson Garcia to a 10-day contract on Wednesday. The 25-year-old rookie, who had been playing in the G League with the Mexico City Capitanes, had six points, nine rebounds, one steal and one block in 25 minutes during his NBA debut on Wednesday against New York.
“I was super grateful, but really surprised,” Garcia said about the process of signing with Utah, per Eric Spyropoulos of the team’s website. “Coming from the Dominican Republic, it’s a small island where not a lot of basketball players can be here (in the NBA). I’m grateful for the opportunity to be here and bring the energy and do the things I do.”
Head coach Will Hardy was pleased with Garcia’s effort.
“For Andersson’s first game, he really played hard,” Hardy said. “He guards, rebounds, and digs out loose balls. I was really proud of the way he played. The great part is that his strengths are very simple and repeatable.”
Keyonte George Out At Least Two Weeks With Hamstring Strain
Jazz guard Keyonte George has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 right hamstring strain and is expected to be reevaluated in two weeks, sources tell Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link). Tony Jones of The Athletic confirms the news (via Twitter).
George underwent imaging after suffering the injury during Wednesday’s loss to New York. He played 20 minutes in that game, recording 14 points, five assists and two rebounds in 20 minutes prior to being ruled out.
The 16th overall pick in the 2023 draft, George is having a breakout third season for Utah, averaging 23.6 points, 6.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 33.1 minutes per contest on .456/.371/.892 shooting through 54 games.
Since George is a former first-round pick who had his fourth-year option exercised, he will be eligible for a rookie scale extension this summer. If the 22-year-old doesn’t sign an offseason extension, he will be a restricted free agent in 2027.
Isaiah Collier and Elijah Harkless are among the candidates for more backcourt minutes with George sidelined for the foreseeable future.
The 20-46 Jazz are shorthanded at the moment, with Walker Kessler, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurkic all out for the season due to injuries.
International Notes: Satoransky, Fournier, Wainright, Quinn
Veteran guard Tomas Satoransky will be a free agent this summer and his future with Spanish EuroLeague team Barcelona is up in the air, he told Ernest Macia of Catalunya Radio (Twitter link).
“No one from Barça has communicated anything to me,” Satoransky said (hat tip to Sportando). “I will have to evaluate the options that come my way, but for now there is nothing.”
Satorasnky played six NBA seasons from 2016-22. This is his fourth consecutive season with Barcelona and sixth overall. He also played for Sevilla in Spain from 2009-14.
Here are a few more international items of interest:
- In an interview with Julie Yalap of INFOSPORT+ (Twitter video link), longtime NBA wing Evan Fournier revealed that he contemplated retiring from basketball after the 2024 Olympics in Paris, when he won a silver medal with the French national team. “I seriously considered retiring after the Paris Olympics,” Fournier said (hat tip to BasketNews for the transcription). “I had given myself a little bit of time to think about it. I went to the mountains and I thought, ‘Okay, let’s give it a go. I’ll enjoy it.’ I was coming off two difficult seasons with the Knicks and I deeply love basketball, so I thought, ‘Enjoy yourself and end your career on that note.’” He also explained why he was intrigued by the possibility of joining Olympiacos, with whom he has spent the past two seasons, and said he plans to retire within the next two or three years.
- Forward Ish Wainright, who played for Phoenix and Portland from 2021-24, is discussing a two-year contract extension with Hapoel Tel Aviv, according to Noa Poplinger of Israeli outlet Sport5. Wainright has spent the past two seasons with Hapoel, notes Kevin Matorando of Sportando.
- Veteran guard Quinn Cook, who played in China last season, backed out of a contract agreement with an Iranian team in January, he told Marc J. Spears of ESPN’s Andscape. Cook also recently agreed to play in the upcoming Basketball Africa League (BAL) season, but the Rwandan team he agreed to terms with decided not to compete due to a disagreement with the United States. Cook, a two-time champion who played five years in the NBA, is open to other opportunities in the BAL. “I have never been to Africa,” Cook told Spears. “I was excited about checking it out. I also planned on going with my mom and sister. Rwanda was a spot we were supposed to hit, but now I will have to wait and see. Everything happens for a reason, but I hope BAL teams see I’m available and I’m open to play for another team.”
Nets’ Day’Ron Sharpe To Undergo Season-Ending Thumb Surgery
Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe has been diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his left thumb and will undergo season-ending surgery, the team announced in a press release (Twitter link).
A North Carolina native who played one year of college basketball at UNC prior to being selected 29th overall in the 2021 draft, Sharpe had a productive fifth season for the Nets. The 6’10” big man averaged career highs in several categories in 2025/26, including points (8.7), rebounds (6.7) assists (2.3), steals (1.1), and minutes (18.7) per game.
Sharpe appeared in a career-best 62 games this season, shooting a career-high 60.1% from the field and 67.8% from the free throw line. He primarily came off the bench behind Nic Claxton, though he made seven starts when Claxton was injured.
This is the third straight season in which the Nets have been better when Sharpe is on the court than when he’s not playing. During Sharpe’s minutes, Brooklyn held a net rating of -4.3, which is the top mark on the team among rotation regulars. When the 24-year-old wasn’t playing, the team’s net rating plummeted to -11.4.
The Nets hold a $6.25MM team option on Sharpe for next season. If they exercise it, he will be an unrestricted free agent in 2027.
If Brooklyn declines the option to try to work out a long-term contract, the Nets would have an exclusive negotiating window with Sharpe before other teams would be able to talk to him on June 30. That window would open the day after the NBA Finals end — it could start anywhere from June 10-20, depending on how long the series lasts.
Ivica Zubac Will Make Pacers Debut Thursday
March 12: Zubac will play on Thursday, head coach Rick Carlisle confirmed (Twitter link via Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star).
Obi Toppin, Nesmith, McConnell, Siakam and Jackson are all out, but Nembhard will be available, tweets East.
March 11: Veteran center Ivica Zubac has been upgraded to questionable for the Pacers‘ game against the Suns on Thursday, per Tony East of Forbes Sports (Twitter link).
If he’s able to play vs. Phoenix, it would mark Zubac’s debut for the Pacers, who acquired him at February’s trade deadline with an eye to shoring up their frontcourt in the 2026/27 season when Tyrese Haliburton returns from his ruptured Achilles.
After averaging 16.8 points and 12.6 rebounds per game and being named to the All-Defensive second team in 2024/25, Zubac has battled injuries this season, including a left ankle sprain that has kept him on the shelf since February 2.
At the time of the trade that sent him from the Clippers to the Pacers, it was unclear if Zubac would suit up for Indiana this season, especially since the 2026 first-round pick they gave up for him includes top-four and 10-30 protection, making the team’s end-of-season lottery odds especially important. The Pacers are currently 15-50, which is the NBA’s worst record.
T.J. McConnell, Andrew Nembhard, and Aaron Nesmith are all also considered questionable for Thursday’s matchup with Phoenix, while Pascal Siakam and Quenton Jackson are listed as doubtful to play.