On Saturday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers continued their winning ways with an impressive home win in overtime over the Denver Nuggets. After Austin Reaves brought the game into extra period with some heroics late in regulation, Luka Doncic won things for Los Angeles with the game winner in the final frame, giving the Lakers their fifth consecutive win in the process.

There was a playoff-like atmosphere at Crypto.com Arena for most of the evening, and after the game, Doncic made sure to give a shout-out to the fans in attendance for the matchup.

X, formerly on Twitter According to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Doncic said, “I felt like it was the best environment because I’ve been a Laker… I had goosebumps.”

Indeed, there were several notable “crowd pops” on ESPN’s broadcast of the game, including perhaps the loudest when Doncic’s final jumper found the bottom of the net with .5 on the clock in overtime.

At times it felt like this game was following the familiar script of many Lakers vs. Nuggets matchups over the years, with Los Angeles getting off to a strong start, Denver eventually taking control late, and things going down to the wire. However, in most cases, it seems like the Nuggets made the biggest plays during the game and won, but that was not the case on Saturday night, as Los Angeles produced several great performances to pick up the win.

It also helped matters that legendary Lakers killer Jamal Murray only scored five points in this one and ultimately fouled out.

The win allowed the Lakers to move back into third place in the vaunted Western Conference. They will take the field on Monday evening for the first set of two games against the Houston Rockets.

Cooper Flagg’s homecoming was everything people expected, even if the scoreboard didn’t go the Dallas Mavericks’ way. The Maine native and No. 1 overall pick finally made his professional debut at TD Garden on Friday night, and despite playing for the visiting team, the Boston crowd treated him like a local legend.

The atmosphere was filled with excitement as the Mavericks took on the Celtics. The Celtics ultimately bounced back with a 120-100 blowout, but the story belonged to the 19-year-old rookie. Cooper Flagg finished his Garden debut with 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists in 30 minutes. While he struggled with his efficiency, shooting only 7-of-23 from the floor and 0-of-4 from deep, that moment was not lost on him.

After the game, the media tried to prod the rookies into imagining a future in green. When asked if the experience of the TD Garden crowd inspired him to experience it as a home player rather than a visitor, Flagg shrugged it off with the veteran patience he has shown all season. “I love being Maverick,” Flagg said. “That’s home, and I don’t want anything else.”

Cooper Flagg was asked if the experience of playing at TD Garden met his expectations and whether he would like to experience it “with the home crowd.” #mavs: :

“I love being a vagabond. It’s home and I don’t want anything else.” pic.twitter.com/okQuCz4bRq

– Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) 7 March 2026

The Boston Celtics, led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, proved why they are the class of the Eastern Conference, but Flagg showed flashes of the generational talent that could make him the top prize of the 2025 NBA Draft. He hit two shots and played high-level defense against some of the best wings in the world. It wasn’t the “W” the Mavs wanted, but for a kid from Newport, Maine, to stand out on that court and applaud was a full-circle moment.

The Charlotte Hornets have been one of the hottest teams in the league over the past few months, and it doesn’t look like they’ll be letting up any time soon. After a slow start to the season, they have found their rhythm on both sides of the ball and are now over .500 for the first time this year, with a chance to move up in the Eastern Conference standings.

Fans have begun to embrace the Hornets’ success, and this is shown by how packed the field is these days, something that Miles Bridges has not seen since his time with the team.

“I’m not used to it,” Bridges said, via Will Eudy. “It’s usually just a few games, like Warriors, Lakers, Knicks. But now, people are coming to games against Portland. Portland is a good team… but people don’t play those type of games. So I’m happy for the fans that they’ll get to experience that.”

I was just at the Hornets shootaround and I asked Miles Bridges about playing in front of noisy crowds every night:

“I’m not used to it. It’s usually just a few games, like the Warriors, Lakers, Knicks. But now, people are coming to games against Portland. Portland is a good… pic.twitter.com/0Gfd4c7o7B

– Will Eudy (@WillEudyNBA) 6 March 2026

The Hornets have played great in their last few games and join the 2017 Golden State Warriors field, tying their streak to six straight games. Winning by 15+ points.

Head coach Charles Lee’s team is playing its best basketball at the right time, and he cited staying healthy as one of the keys to their success during this period.

“It’s been good to have a healthy roster,” Lee said. “It’s definitely played a role in some of the changes we’ve made. But I think our guys have embraced the process even more. It started in the offseason. I thought everyone has increased their work habits, their work standards and their togetherness about how we can lift each other up. We’ve come out stronger through all of this.”

The Hornets are currently the ninth seed in the East, but they could make up some ground and continue to climb depending on what the teams above them do.

The Houston Rockets opened the second half of the season with a win by defeating the Charlotte Hornets 105-101 courtesy of Kevin Durant’s heroics at the Spectrum Center on Thursday.

The Rockets were leading by three points, 101–98, with just 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter, needing a stoppage to give the Hornets a chance to steal the victory.

But Durant said: No. With the shot clock expiring, the veteran forward sank a dagger jumper over two defenders. seal victory.

Kevin Durant. Dagger.

First game back from break and Reaper dropped 35 points 🗡️ pic.twitter.com/gOVfsyPZ8W

– NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) 20 February 2026

The Rockets improved to 34–20, bouncing back from their loss to the Los Angeles Clippers before the midseason break.

Durant led the freshman season with a game-high 35 points on 14 of 20 shooting. He also had eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks.