The New York Knicks had a chance to make a real statement in their game against the Charlotte Hornets. Instead, they went home with a 114-103 loss, and Mitchell Robinson made sure no one forgot how bad it was.

Knicks Fan TV posted a video that caught everyone’s attention. The caption reads: “Coach Mitch giving Huckporty some pointers before the game.”

In the clip, Robinson can be heard rebounding for the young big man. He told Hookporty, “How to rebound… You know I had injuries back in the day… So I sat down and watched our team shoot… So like OG, prime example: OG shoots right above the front rim, so [misses] I’ll go back to that every time.”

After the game, Robinson did not mix anything. He commented on the same post and wrote: “It doesn’t matter unless we change our perspective, we’re not doing much, including me.”

The Knicks had no answers all night.

On the court, the Knicks couldn’t find any rhythm. The Hornets took a 38-36 lead early on after the first quarter and steadily increased it. The score was 65-55 at half time. Things got even worse in the third quarter, with Kon Knueppel and LaMelo Ball combining to significantly extend the lead, resulting in a 94–76 lead before the fourth.

The Knicks showed some fight late, with Josh Hart leading the way and Jalen Brunson finishing with 26 points and 13 assists. This was an important game. A win could have given New York the second seed in the East. Instead, they allowed a short-handed Hornets team to dominate them.

New York faces the Thunder on March 29 and it won’t be easy. OKC will come hungry after losing to the Celtics. Since Boston is still the second seed, the Knicks will have to find a way to get this win.

Furthermore, the Knicks will face even more difficult opponents going forward, and if Robinson’s statement is to be believed, they need to solve this immediately.

Jayesh Pagar is currently pursuing Sports Journalism from London School of Journalism and has four years of experience… More about Jayesh Pagar

On Sunday, the Chicago Bulls faced a tough challenge against the Sacramento Kings. After a stellar game with 28 points, Collin Sexton left the game with a lower leg injury. In the end, the Bulls lost to the weak Kings 126–110.

However, there was one bright spot. Josh Giddy finished with a triple-double of 15 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Not only this, according to Casey Johnson of Chicago Sports Network, he managed to surpass Scottie Pippen for second place on the Bulls’ all-time triple-double list with 16.

This leaves Giddy behind Michael Jordan, who has 28.

Giddy was doubtful to play after recovering from a recent ankle injury. He did not play in the Bulls’ game against the Phoenix Suns on March 5, which Chicago won 105–103. Overall, Giddy is averaging 17.6 points, 8.5 assists and 8.3 rebounds per game. Overall, he has played 42 games this season.

Meanwhile, the Bulls are now 28-38. Also, they have lost eight of their last ten matches. Currently, Chicago is in the middle of a five-game road trip. On Tuesday they will travel to Golden State to play the Warriors. Then, they play the LA Lakers on Thursday, followed by the Clippers on Friday.

The Bulls will return to Chicago on March 16 to play the Memphis Grizzlies.

Giddy is in the middle of his second season with the Bulls. Last summer, he signed a four-year, $100 million deal, indicating he is considered a franchise player.

Pippen played with the Bulls from 1987 to 1998 and 2003 to 2004. He was a major catalyst for the six championships won from 1991 to 1998.

Philadelphia 76ers fans may be having flashbacks of a brutal end to the 2024-25 season, as injuries have ravaged their roster, leaving them extremely vulnerable against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday night. Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Joel Embiid, and Paul George all sat out, and as expected, they were defeated by the Cavs, 115–101, in a game that was not as close as the final score line would indicate.

What makes matters worse is that the ghost of a transaction that could haunt the 76ers franchise for some time is making its presence felt. Earlier in the night, the 76ers jumbotron showed the team’s almost unrecognizable starting lineup against the Cavs, with Cameron Payne starting at point guard amid the team’s injury problems. The problem, however, is that they put Payne’s photo on the graphic instead of showing it a picture of Jared McCain has been replaced in his place.

Yes – the same McCain the 76ers traded for with the Oklahoma City Thunder at the trade deadline last month.

Via Q Carlin of Sixers Wire:

I look at the jumbotron as the intro starts and…that’s not Cam Payne #sixers pic.twitter.com/m8QOtpzFlg

– Ky Carlin (@Ky_Carlin) 9 March 2026

The 76ers could use Jared McCain right now

The 76ers believed they had enough safety depth to the extent that they were comfortable trading McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder for some draft picks.

However, in today’s NBA where injury problems are a daily occurrence, the 76ers could have maintained that depth at least until the end of the season. Instead, the 76ers decided to avoid the tax, trade some picks for McCain, and sacrifice a valuable young member of their core in the process.

Amidst the 76ers’ injuries, someone like McCann could step up and take on leadership responsibilities just as he did when he flourished during his rookie campaign. But now, with the Thunder benefiting from McCann’s excellent outside shooting, Philly has nothing but what they had, but no longer have.

Hours after the Phoenix Suns’ embarrassing loss to the Chicago Bulls, injured player Dillon Brooks was arrested for DUI on Friday, March 6, 2026.

TMZ Sports reported that Brooks was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona around 2:00 p.m. After a while, around 3:20 pm, he was released.

According to a TMZ Sports report, Brooks was “respectful and cooperative” before his release. They also shared his mugshot after his arrest.

Dillon Brooks’ DUI arrest comes after Suns’ blowout loss to Bulls

Brooks’ arrest came after the Suns’ dramatic latest loss to the Bulls. It was a back-and-forth affair, but the Suns ultimately lost the game.

With the loss, the Suns dropped to 35–27. Meanwhile, the Bulls are still below .500 with a record of 26-37, making the loss even worse for Phoenix.

Unfortunately, Brooks had no impact in the game. He sat out due to his long-term injury. His left hand is broken, due to which he will have to remain out of the field for several weeks.

Before his injury, he was averaging 20.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He has played 50 matches so far in the season.

Brooks is a former second round pick in the 2017 NBA draft from Oregon. He was selected by the Houston Rockets but was immediately traded to the Memphis Grizzlies.

He spent the first seven years of his NBA career with the Grizzlies before joining the Houston Rockets in 2023. After two seasons with the Rockets, he was traded to the Suns as part of the Kevin Durant trade.

The Suns’ leading scorer in their latest loss was Devin Booker, who scored 27 points. He also had six rebounds and two assists. Grayson Allen scored 21 points off the bench.

After winning a gold medal at the Olympics for Team USA, it’s not too surprising that returning to the last-place Toronto Maple Leafs hasn’t exactly been thrilling for Auston Matthews. But these last three games? not even that much He could imagine it.

After their third consecutive disappointing effort coming out of the break, a 5–2 loss to the Ottawa Senators, captain Matthews criticized his teammates, calling his team “embarrassing”.

“There’s actually been a loss of communication in all three zones. Too bad. It’s a shame, to be honest,” Matthews said. “No matter where we are, no matter what the situation, we need to take more pride in our game…

“Everyone just has to look in the mirror and be better.”

But Matthews wasn’t the only one disappointed with the team’s effort. Jake McCabe also did not back down.

“I thought, the first five minutes were good… after that we’ll get out of bed.”

The Leafs’ playoff hopes are now little to none, and they will be sellers

After this three-game losing streak, and eight losses in 11 games, the Leafs now only have a 1.2% chance of making the playoffs. And that, frankly, seems a bit much. It seems that, by all accounts, they will open the door to a fire sale of sorts as we approach Friday’s trade deadline.

No, Matthews won’t be going anywhere, but at this point we wonder if he won’t. Could this be a conversation this summer, depending on how much disruption it takes?

The Arizona-born center still has two years left on his four-year, $53 million contract ($13.25 million AAV). In his first year without Mitch Marner, he is having a poor season, scoring 26 goals and 51 points in 54 games. With 778 points in 683 career games, Matthews was averaging 1.14 points per game over his first nine seasons. It has dropped to 0.94 in this losing Leafs season.

The shine of the gold medal wore off quickly for Matthews, who faced some ridiculous media and fan backlash after defeating Canada at the Olympics.

Toronto, welcome back to Austin.

Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton tempted the basketball gods and karma when he reportedly complained that the team is trying to turn him into a version of lob threat/rim-runner Clint Capela. Less than 48 hours later, he had to pay a heavy price for those alleged locker-room comments. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft scored two points on 1-3 shooting with four rebounds and a steal. He was -24 on the court against the Phoenix Suns, as LA lost 113-110 at the Mortgage Matchup Center.

Royce O’Neal deserves the spotlight after hitting the game-winning 3-pointer with less than a second left on the clock, but the public is focusing most of its attention on Ayton. In the Lakers’ second consecutive disastrous loss, he disappeared against his former team and was force-fed a bigger slice of the modest pie. His performance tells the story effectively, but fans are expressing their opinions on the matter.

NBA fans flock to the Lakers’ Deandre Ayton

Chris Walder of Odds Shark posted on X, “Deandre Ayton said the Los Angeles Lakers were trying to make him Clint Capela, and in his first game after those comments, he started playing like Kwame Brown.”

For those wondering, Capela recorded four points, six rebounds, three assists and four blocks in just 17 minutes of action as the Houston Rockets defeated the Orlando Magic on the same night as Ayton’s loss.

@BeenHim16 declared, “On everything I love, if Deandre Ayton wasn’t 7 feet tall, he would literally be my DoorDash.” @jeff_on_sports commented, “The Deandre Ayton signing is going exactly like the haters said it would.” “Finally earned the #1 pick for the Suns,” @The_MilesFiles quipped. “Their best player tonight.”

Ouch. Ayton has experienced some good moments while wearing the purple and gold – totaling 21 points and 13 boards on Tuesday vs. the Magic – but his first season in L.A. has not gone as fans expected. The 27-year-old entered the Suns clash averaging 13.2 points and 8.5 rebounds in 49 games. Fans criticize him, but when at his best he can be a real difference maker.

Ayton has averaged a double-double for his career, so he should have the ability to make a consistent impact. However, Lakers and NBA fans aren’t seeing it. After this difficult run in Phoenix, the Bahamian has reached a crucial point in his Los Angeles tenure. He could allow himself to be filled with conflict and subsequent ridicule, or he could use this low point as motivation for the remainder of the campaign.

Which path will he take?

With Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson winning the 2026 Slam Dunk Contest, there is still some discussion going on about the event and the changes that should be made to it. As people wonder what the future of the Slam Dunk Contest will look like, former player Kendrick Perkins has a request for the league.

Perkins didn’t hold back on his feelings toward the event on Saturday, saying the Slam Dunk Contest was a “disgrace” and “terrible.” He believes the addition of big-name players will help fix this, the three players he mentioned are Anthony Edwards, Ja Morant and Victor Wembanyama.

Perkins said, “That was an embarrassment. If there was one thing that was an embarrassing moment for All-Star Weekend, that dunk contest was terrible.” “And I wouldn’t say that … and I would sit here today and say the Dunk Contest doesn’t need to go anywhere, but it needs to be fixed. And the only way you fix it is you need bigger, top players, bigger names, Anthony Edwards, Ja Morant. Hey, I’d even like to see Wembey go seven-on-seven.”

“He was an embarrassment. … The only way you fix it is you need big-time players … Anthony Edwards, Ja Morant — I’d like to see Wembley in it, too.”

Kendrick Perkins wraps up this year’s dunk contest at NBA All-Star Weekend 😳pic.twitter.com/8912v95Mtf

– ClutchPoints (@clutchpoints) 16 February 2026

Kendrick Perkins compares the Slam Dunk Contest and the Three-Point Contest

While there were some viral moments on Saturday, such as Johnson winning the Slam Dunk Contest by helping rapper E-40 dunk, the excitement has been noticeably subdued. Perkins explained the difference between the event and the three-point contest, saying that stars compete there, with Damian Lillard winning his third title.

“The difference between the dunk contest and the three-point contest, the superstars and the stars, they participate in the three-point contest. We saw Dame Lillard… We need those big-name guys, Adam Silver and the NBA to do whatever they need to commit and get those guys to participate, damn it, get it done. It may cost a little salad, but make sure they make sure you get it done. Dunk Contest NBA and All-Star “It means a lot to the weekend.”

At any rate, it remains to be seen how the Slam Dunk Contest develops