PIVOT! A useful technique both for moving couches and, if you’re Ant Edwards, creating space for a jumper.

THE LINEUP 🏀

What’s inside today’s edition? 

1. West heats up: Top 3 teams separated by a half-game; Rockets (10) & Lakers (5) extend streaks
2. Kawhi in the clutch: The Klaw comes through late to lead LA over Philly
3. Wemby joins Shaq: Wemby is the first rookie in 30 years with 300+ combined blocks & steals
4. Dunks of the Night: Four must-see posters from Wednesday night
5. Giannis vs. Zion: The top two scorers in the paint go head-to-head tonight in NOLA

BUT FIRST … ⏰

Last night’s scores & what to watch today.

Bucks-Pelicans (8 ET, NBA TV): Giannis and the Bucks took round one back in January. How will Zion and the Pelicans respond when they host Milwaukee with both teams locked in tight playoff races?

1. RACE FOR 1ST IN THE WEST HEATS UP

KD leads Suns: Kevin Durant (30 pts, 13 reb, season-high 5 blk) led the Suns to a 104-97 win over the Nuggets. Nikola Jokic (22 pts, 9 reb, 10 ast) fell one board shy of a triple-double in the loss. | Recap

• Joker makes History: Jokic became the first player in NBA history to total 8K points, 4K rebounds and 3K assists over a five-year span
• Play-In Race (PHX ⬆️): The Suns climb from eighth to seventh in the West, a half-game up on No. 8 Sacramento and half-game back of No. 6 Dallas
• Playoff Race (DEN ↔️): The Nuggets remain first in the West, but see their lead trimmed to a half-game over both No. 2 Minnesota and No. 3 OKC

Rockets win 10th straight: Jalen Green’s brilliant game (37 pts, 10 reb, 7 ast, 7 3s) led the Rockets to another win as Houston outlasted OKC in OT, 132-126. Amen Thompson (25 pts, career-high 15 reb) and Dillon Brooks (8 pts in OT) combined to add 45. | Recap

• Green rolling: Green joined James Harden as the only Rockets with seven straight games with 25+ pts and 4+ 3s. He became the fourth player 22 or under to average 25+ ppg over 10 games
• Play-In Race (HOU ↔️): The Rockets remain 11th in the West, a game back of No. 10 Golden State for the final Play-In spot
• Playoff Race (OKC ⬇️): The Thunder drop from second to third in the West via tiebreaker to Minnesota. Both teams are a half-game back of No. 1 Denver

Lakers win 5th straight: Rui Hachimura (32 pts, 10 reb, career-high 7 3s) posted his second 30+ point game of the season, while LeBron James (23 pts, 14 reb, 12 ast) posted his 111th career triple-double to lead the Lakers to a 136-124 win over the Grizzlies. | Recap

• Play-In Race (LAL ↔️): The Lakers remain ninth in the West, staying 2.5 games up on No. 10 Golden State and climbing within 1.5 games of No. 8 Sacramento

Warriors sweep Florida: After beating the Heat in Miami on Tuesday, the Warriors got a combined 40 points from Andrew Wiggins (23) and Steph Curry (17 pts, 10 ast) to defeat the Magic 101-93 in Orlando. | Recap

• Play-In Race (GSW ↔️): The Warriors remain 10th in the West, maintaining their one-game lead on No. 11 Houston and trailing the No. 9 Lakers by 2.5 games
• Playoff Race (ORL ↔️): The Magic remain fifth in the East, trailing No. 4 Cleveland by 1.5 games and leading No. 6 Indy by two games

2. CLUTCH KAWHI LIFTS CLIPPERS

Clutch Kawhi leads Clips: The Clippers led this game just four times, each time by a single point, and twice in the final 45 seconds thanks to back-to-back clutch and-1s from Kawhi Leonard, who also had a game-sealing block in a 108-107 win over Philly. | Recap

• Playoff Race (LAC ↔️): The Clippers remain fourth in the West, extending their lead to a full game over No. 5 New Orleans
• Play-In Race (PHI ↔️): The Sixers remain eighth in the East, trailing No. 7 Miami by a half-game and No. 6 Indy by 1.5 games

Knicks win 3rd straight: The Knicks posted season-highs in points in a half (80) and a game (145) as they vaulted the Raptors with a 145-101 victory. | Recap

• Deuce Drops Career-Highs: Deuce McBride (career-high-tying 29 pts, career-high 9 3s) and Jalen Brunson (26 pts) led the charge, while Mitchell Robinson dropped 8 points and 2 blocks in his return
• Playoff Race (NYK ⬆️): The Knicks climb from fourth to third in the East, taking a half-game lead over No. 4 Cleveland and trailing No. 2 Milwaukee by two games

Hornets close out Cavs: Trailing by four with 3:28 left, Charlotte finished the game on an 11-0 run for a 118-111 win over Cleveland. Rookie Brandon Miller scored 31 points and splashed a career-best seven 3s in the win. | Recap

• Playoff Race (CLE ⬇️): The Cavs, who have lost four of their last five games, drop from third to fourth in the East, a half-game back of No. 3 New York and 1.5 games up on No. 5 Orlando

3. ROUNDUP: WEMBY JOINS SHAQ WITH ROOKIE FEAT

Vassell, Wemby lead Spurs: Devin Vassell scored a game-high 31 points, while Victor Wembanyama (19 pts, 8 reb, 6 ast, 5 blk) stuffed the stat sheet to lead the Spurs past the Jazz 118-111. | Recap

• Wemby 🤝 Shaq: Wemby (301) became the first rookie since Shaq (346 in 1992-93) to total 300+ combined steals and blocks

Bulls snap 3-Game slide: Behind a combined 49 points from DeMar DeRozan (27 pts) and Nikola Vucevic (22 pts, 12 reb), the Bulls took control in the second quarter and rolled to a 125-99 win over Indy. | Recap

• Play-In Race (CHI ↔️): The Bulls remain ninth in the East, 1.5 games up on No. 10 Atlanta and four games back of No. 8 Philly
• Playoff Race (IND ↔️): The Pacers remain sixth in the East, one game up on No. 7 Miami and two games back of No. 5 Orlando

Hawks win 3rd straight: Dejounte Murray (30 pts, 7 ast, 4 3s) and Garrison Mathews (21 pts, 5 3s) combined for 51 points to lead the Hawks to a 120-106 win over Portland. | Recap

• Play-In Race (ATL ↔️): The Hawks remain 10th in the East, within 1.5 games of No. 9 Chicago

Nets outlast Wizards: Forty-eight minutes were not enough to decide the duel between Brooklyn’s Cam Thomas (38 pts, 7 ast) and Washington’s Jordan Poole (38 pts, 8 ast, 5 3s). Thomas hit a pair of clutch jumpers in OT to lead the Nets to a 122-119 win. | Recap

4. WEDNESDAY’S 4 MUST-SEE POSTERS 

Tap on each photo to watch.

Isaiah Joe

LeBron James

Coby White

Victor Wembanyama

5. ZION VS. GIANNIS: THE FINISHERS

Break out the Spider-Man meme. We’ve got a matchup tonight (8 ET, NBA TV) between the league’s top two interior scorers – Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and New Orleans’ Zion Williamson.

No matter which way you slice it – in the paint, in the restricted area, inside 10 feet, inside 8 feet, inside 5 feet – the top two scorers are always Giannis and Zion.

While the two players are built differently – Zion a 6-foot-6 explosive powerhouse with a 45-inch vertical leap; Giannis a 6-foot-11 athletic phenom with a 7-foot-3 wingspan and a 40-inch vertical – they are two of the most unstoppable forces when attacking the basket.

Transition: When Giannis or Zion gets the ball on the fast break, teams have two options:

1. Build a wall and pray it can force them to pull up or pass the ball
2. Get out of the way

Zion slices through the defense for the lefty finish

Giannis leads the NBA with 5.4 fast break points per game

In the halfcourt, on the move: Whether driving to the basket, working the pick-and-roll, or executing a timely cut for an alley-oop, Zion and Giannis always find ways to score at the basket.

Zion ranks fourth in the NBA in points per game off drives at 12.2 (Giannis ranks ninth at 10.3)

Giannis – in pick-and-roll action with Damian Lillard – finds a clear path to the basket

In the halfcourt, exploiting mismatches: Zion and Giannis can take a smaller defender on the block, face up on the perimeter and blow past a big in isolation, or crash the glass for putbacks.

Giannis ranks ninth in points on post-ups (3.2 ppg), with two coming here against 6-foot-3 De’Aaron Fox

Zion crashes the glass and rises over everyone to clean up Herb Jones’ miss

Which player will have the advantage on Thursday night? In five head-to-head matchups, Zion (24.7 ppg) has a slight edge in scoring over Giannis (23.3 ppg), but the Bucks have a 4-1 advantage in wins.