The Los Angeles Lakers have been on a roll the past few weeks, and it’s largely due to the scoring streak that Luka Doncic continues to put up. In his latest matchup against the Indiana Pacers, Doncic finished with 43 points, and although Rick Carlisle may have been upset, he teased a ray of hope.

“We held him below average against us,” Carlisle said, via Tony East of Forbes Sports.

In two games this season, Doncic has averaged 43.5 points per game against the Pacers. It looks like a win in Carlisle’s eyes, and he knows there’s not much you can do against a player who is in the same position as him right now.

The Pacers have had difficulty getting stops all season, and it shows in their record. One of those reasons is because of the injuries they have had to deal with, and they don’t have the personnel they need in those moments. When they have been healthy enough at times this season, they have shown that they can be competitive, and a good example of that was when they recently beat the Orlando Magic.

With the season the Pacers are having, there’s a good chance they could get the top pick in this year’s draft, and they’ll add back Tyrese Haliburton next season. This is good news for them, and hopefully they can get back to their competitive ways from the last two seasons.

They were also able to add Ivica Zubac at the trade deadline, and although he was sidelined for the rest of this season, he should be a big help next season, especially after they lost Myles Turner to the Milwaukee Bucks last offseason.

The future looks bright for the Pacers, and hopefully they don’t hand over 40 points to Doncic when they get back to the Lakers.

The Houston Rockets had every reason to feel down on themselves on Friday night. Not only did they dismantle one of the league’s hottest teams, but they did so with a swagger that showed they knew exactly what was going to happen. After the Rockets ended the Atlanta Hawks’ impressive 11-game winning streak with a decisive 117-95 win, Kevin Durant decided to have a little fun with the media during his postgame availability.

Durant, who has faced considerable scrutiny recently regarding his body language and engagement, walked into the press conference room with a bright smile. Before taking the first question, he looked at the assembled reporters and asked, “How was the body language tonight, was it good? What were the vibes like?” The room immediately erupted with laughter, a clear indication of the various narratives that often follow famous scorers.

Kevin Durant after the Rockets blew out the Hawks and ended their 11-game winning streak.

“What was the body language like tonight, was it nice? What were the vibes like?”

(h/t @AdamJWexler)pic.twitter.com/aEnXi8Mv0I

– FullCourtPass (@FullCourtPass) 21 March 2026

The atmosphere on the court at Toyota Center was certainly impeccable. Durant led the way with 25 points, but the real story of the night was his ascent into basketball immortality. During the second quarter, Durant officially passed Wilt Chamberlain to move into fifth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

It was a historic moment that served as the perfect backdrop for an impressive team performance. Jabari Smith Jr. was a force of nature all evening, scoring 23 points and nine rebounds, while Alpern Sengun carried the offense with 15 points and 10 assists.

The Atlanta Hawks had no answer to Houston’s defensive intensity. Nickell Alexander-Walker managed to score 21 points, but the Hawks struggled to find rhythm against a Rockets team that forced them to make difficult shots all night. As the Rockets controlled the glass and the pace, Atlanta’s 11-game run came to a screeching halt. With this win, the Houston Rockets proved that they can compete with anyone when their stars align.

On Wednesday evening, the Los Angeles Lakers continued their winning ways with their second consecutive victory over the Houston Rockets. LeBron James had a stellar game, scoring 30 points on an incredible 13-14 from the field, helping guide his team to consecutive wins.

After the game, Lakers head coach JJ Redick made a humorous quip, joking that watching James do what he does at age 41 “makes me feel like a loser.”

After this James responded with a funny comment.

“If he’s a loser, we’re all in deep shit,” James said, according to X, formerly of Oh No He Didn’t, on Twitter.

Redick has earned the respect of both the Lakers players and fanbase over the past few seasons in Los Angeles, guiding the team to the number three seed in the Western Conference a season ago, a spot they currently hold in the standings as the 2025-26 season enters its home stretch.

This time, the Lakers will hope for a better playoff result than the five-game shellacking they received from the Minnesota Timberwolves in the postseason last year, and if their recent play is any indication, Los Angeles could be a very scary opponent in the playoffs this year.

Right now, the Lakers are playing their best defense of the season, featuring James off the ball more to conserve energy, and Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves showing better effort on that end of the floor.

It also helps that the Lakers are on offense right now, but when that finally settles down, they’ll still have all the tools they need to scare Western Conference contenders in the coming months.

sports witness I’ve regularly covered how Manchester City loanee Manuel Akanji is performing at Inter Milan.

The Swiss defender has largely been one of the team’s better players, establishing himself as a regular under Cristian Chivu.

This has convinced the Italian media that Inter will hire him permanently. Even if they do not automatically trigger the clause, the Nerazzurri will attempt to keep him beyond this season.

However, things took a turn for the worse for the Manchester City player on Tuesday.

He was responsible for Bodø/Glimt’s first goal in the Champions League play-off second leg. This gave the Norwegian team a huge advantage, playing a role in their 5–2 victory on aggregate.

Despite how impressive he has generally been, Akanji has now attracted criticism.

What is the reaction to Akanji?

Inter Milan’s shock exit from the UEFA competition is being discussed throughout the Italian media. Often in these situations, pointing the finger at someone helps.

Right now, he is Manuel Akanji.

corriere dello sport Just give it a rating of 4/10. He has been described as the ‘worst’ player during the match, despite this mistake coming after he suffered a head injury.

gazzetta dello sport Do the same, give it a 4.5/10 rating.

It’s all a bit unfortunate because the Manchester City player was largely reliable beyond error. He made many improvements and if anything, the entire Inter team struggled to deal with the opposition’s counter-attacks.

mistake proves costly

tutomercatoweb Looking at this incident in detail, it all appears ironic.

This is because Akanji initially joined Inter because he would play Champions League football. He went to the extent of dismissing rivals AC Milan but it was his mistake which led to Inter being eliminated from the Champions League.

He also agrees with Pep Guardiola’s decision to sideline the defender. The Spaniard is admired for his vision, even if the Swiss has largely been influential.

The outlet is certain that his purchase from Manchester City is not in doubt. His mistake was certainly avoidable and would have given Bodo/Glimt a historic win, but he will be signed permanently.

The Manchester City manager was at the match, and it was said that Akanji made a fool of himself ‘right in front of Guardiola’.

The Los Angeles Lakers made room for another statue outside Crypto Arena. Lakers’ legendary head coach and current Miami Heat president Pat Riley now has a golden statue. However the relay ceremony came with some ribs.

Riley stepped inside the Lakers’ home venue to accept his latest honor. But the 80-year-old still has jokes especially for James Worthy and others he trained.

Pat Riley’s speech at halftime, where he praised James Worthy for being the only former player to wear a tie and mocked everyone else for giving him a $2,000 fine: https://t.co/fqcqzh11fh pic.twitter.com/cUa6lBKVzP

– Khobi Price (@khobi_price) 23 February 2026

The night was filled with laughter and jokes, especially among the famous relay players. But there was still a serious tone from Riley, particularly with this message inscribed on his statue:

The message reads, “There will come a time when you will be challenged. And when that time comes, you have to find your footing. You have to stand firm. You have to make a point. Who you are, what you do and where you come from. And when that time comes, you do this.”

That quote came during the 1985 NBA Finals won by LA against the rival Boston Celtics.

Comparing current Lakers coach to Pat Riley?

The four-time NBA champion with the Lakers Riley founded the famous “Showtime Lakers” of the 1980s. Riley turned to names like Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Magic Johnson, Worthy and others to dominate in the 1980s.

JJ Redick now occupies the position that Riley made famous nearly four decades ago. Redick was a child during the Lakers’ run in the ’80s — yet many believe his coaching style mimics the great leader.

However, the current Lakers leader decided to give his rose to Riley.

Redick told reporters, “I didn’t think much about the comparisons at the time. I think Pat, to me, kind of set the standard for modern NBA coaches and I’ve always looked at the NBA as two very different eras.” “You can make the demarcation point right at the time of the merger or right in 80-81 when Dallas joined as the 23rd team.”

Redick added: “Pat set the standard for what a modern NBA coach should be.”

Riley joins Shaquille O’Neal, Johnson, Abdul-Jabar, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Chick Hearn and Kobe Bryant as Lakers to erect a statue outside of Crypto.

In the NBA, veteran leadership usually comes with “welcome to the league” moments, but the New Orleans Pelicans are flipping the script.

After an impressive 126-111 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night, Pelicans rookie Derrick Queen decided to give 17-year veteran DeAndre Jordan a taste of his own medicine. Jordan, who made a rare start after appearing in only two games all season, was in the middle of a postgame interview when Queen “hijacked” the mic with a hilarious flurry.

“So how does it feel to not play since November and get us a win tonight?” Queen joked about the veteran’s 52-game DNP (Did Not Play).

“So how does it feel to lead us to a win tonight after not playing since November?”

Derrick Queen makes jokes while hijacking DeAndre Jordan’s postgame interview

(via @nba)pic.twitter.com/pewzSxQ277

– ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) 22 February 2026

While Queen told jokes, Jordan had the last laugh on the court. With the Pelicans missing several key rotational pieces, head coach James Borrego turned to the 37-year-old center to lead the defense.

With Giannis Antetokounmpo committed to the Milwaukee Bucks this season after not being traded at the February 5 deadline, the question now turns to his status in the offseason. As the basketball world has been theorizing on potential trades for the Bucks and Antetokounmpo, one popular destination has been the Miami Heat, an area he made fun of during All-Star weekend.

After an event on Sunday, Antetokounmpo was asked by a fan if people would see him in Miami sometime this year, to which the star player responded with a joke.

“Giannis, will we see you in Miami this year?”

“For the holidays,” Antetokounmpo replied.

“Giannis, will we see you in Miami this year?”

Giannis Antetokounmpo: “For the holidays.” 😅

(via Courtesydemia/TikTok)pic.twitter.com/I9ZEe38ILV

– ClutchPoints (@clutchpoints) 16 February 2026

Playing on the fact that the Heat have long been rumored to be linked to Antetokounmpo, and it is also a popular vacation spot for many, it seemed as if the 31-year-old couldn’t help himself.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is “committed” to the Bucks

While the Bucks kept Antetokounmpo past the trade deadline, Hindicated is also ready for a new home. 5 or in the upcoming offseason. However, his current focus for the remainder of the season is “committed” to Milwaukee, as he told Malika Andrews in an interview this weekend.

“To this day, I’m committed to the Milwaukee Bucks, I’m committed to the people I work with, my teammates, the coaching staff, Coach Doc [Rivers]and john [Horst] In the front office,” Antetokounmpo said. “You’ll never hear me say I don’t want to be a Milwaukee Buck. I am a winner and extremely loyal.”

“If there were ever a situation where I couldn’t be a Milwaukee Buck, I don’t want anyone to think, ‘Hey man, I left my team because it’s my team and I love it.'”

Giannis:

“As of today I’m committed to the Milwaukee Bucks, I’m committed to the people I work with, my teammates, the coaching staff, Coach Doc and John in the front office… You’ll never hear me say I don’t want to be a Milwaukee Buck. I’m a winner and I’m extremely… pic.twitter.com/ihRNC7zw3q

– Oh no, he didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) 15 February 2026

It remains to be seen what Antetokounmpo’s future looks like with the Bucks, but there is still a lot of work to be done with the team’s 23-30 record currently, which puts them in 12th place in the Eastern Conference. Milwaukee’s first game after the All-Star break is Friday night against the New Orleans Pelicans.