LeBron’s night began by creating the 50K club with his first bucket.

It ended with the Lakers’ longest win streak in four years.

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION 🏀
March 5, 2025

Milestone & Streaks: LeBron reaches 50K points, Lakers win 7th straight, Cavs hit 11 in a row (again)

The Steph Show: Curry electrifies MSG as Warriors stay ahead of West Playoff challengers

Tuesday Roundup: Raptors rookie hits game-winner, Pacers & Bucks remain tied

ESPN Tonight: The league’s top 2 teams headline a national TV doubleheader

League Pass: All 4 teams in the West Play-In – separated by 1.5 games – play tonight

BUT FIRST … ⏰
The Playoffs are just 45 days away…

ESPN Doubleheader: The league’s two 50+ win teams get the national spotlight as the Cavs go for their 12th straight win when they host Miami (7 ET), followed by SGA (coming off his 4th 50-piece) and the Thunder going for their 5th straight win when they visit Memphis (9:30 ET).

February’s Best: The NBA announced its monthly awards on Tuesday with LeBron James becoming the oldest player in NBA history (by three years) to earn Player of the Month honors.

• Players: L.A.’s LeBron James & Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell
• Rookies: Utah’s Isaiah Collier & Atlanta’s Zaccharie Risacher
• Defenders: Portland’s Toumani Camara & Cleveland’s Evan Mobley
• Coaches: OKC’s Mark Daigneault & Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff

1. LEBRON HITS 50K, LAKERS & CAVS EXTEND WIN STREAKS

The Cavaliers and Lakers entered – and ended – Tuesday with the two longest active win streaks in their respective conferences, with Cleveland reaching 11 straight for the 3rd time this season, and L.A. posting its first 7-game win streak since the 2020-21 season.

And this time, it came with a little extra history.

Lakers 136, Pelicans 115: LeBron James needed only one point to become the first player with 50,000 total points scored between the regular season and Playoffs combined.

He hit the milestone with a 1st quarter 3, then poured in 31 more points – along with eight rebounds, six assists, five 3s, two blocks and a steal – to lead L.A. to its 7th straight win. | Recap | Fans React To Milestone

• Tying Duncan: The win gave Bron the 1,001st of his regular season career, tying Tim Duncan for 4th all-time
• “He might get to 70K.” – Luka doesn’t see LeBron slowing down anytime soon
• Dončić added 30 points, 15 dimes, eight boards and six 3s as the new star duo became the first Lakers teammates with 30+ pts and 5+ 3pm in the same game
• Luka Joins Laker Legends: It took just nine games for Dončić to become only the 4th Laker to post a 30+ point, 15+ assist game. The others: Magic Johnson (19x), Jerry West (6x) and LeBron (1x)

“I obviously gotta work on my celebrations.“ – Luka on his skipping celly after his 3rd triple in the span of 67 seconds in the 1st quarter

The Lakers overcame a monster game from Zion Williamson (37 pts, 17-23 FG, 6 ast, this must-see slam) to take a half-game lead over idle Denver for 2nd in the West.

Cavaliers 139, Bulls 117: After back-to-back Zach Collins layups tied the game at 107 with 7:04 to play, the Cavs called timeout and returned to the court with a vengeance, outscoring the Bulls 32-10 the rest of the game to earn their 11th straight win. | Recap

• Spida & JA Show: Donovan Mitchell (28 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast) and Jarrett Allen (25 pts, 10-11 FG, 17 reb) led the Cavs to their 51st win of the season
• Allen 🤝 Wilt: JA posted his 3rd career game with 25+ points and 15+ rebounds while shooting 90%+ from the field. Only Wilt Chamberlain has more such games (12)
• Party Of 4: The Cavs become the 4th team with three 11+ game win streaks in a single season, joining the 1999-00 Lakers, 2006-07 Mavs and 2017-18 Rockets

 2. CURRY, WARRIORS STAY HOT AT MSG, WEST PLAY-IN SHAKEUP

Warriors 114, Knicks 102: Steph Curry has not lost a game at Madison Square Garden in over 12 years, as he dropped 28 points, nine assists and five 3s to lead the Warriors past the Knicks and improve to 9-2 since acquiring Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline. | Recap

Timberwolves 126, Sixers 112: The Minnesota trio of Naz Reid (23 pts, 5 3pm), Nickeil Alexander-Walker (20 pts, 8-11 FG) and Anthony Edwards (18 pts, 5 reb) combined for 61 points as the Wolves pulled away from the shorthanded Sixers in the 4th quarter. | Recap

• Pack Marching: After going 2-6 in their final eight games of February to drop from 6th to 10th in the West, the Wolves have responded with back-to-back wins to climb to 7th

Suns 119, Clippers 117: Phoenix trailed by 23 points with 2:01 remaining in the 3rd quarter, before outscoring the Clippers 47-22 the rest of the game to complete a four-game sweep of the season series. | Recap | Watch The 4th Quarter Comeback Uncut

• KD Takes Over: Kevin Durant scored 21 of his 34 points during Phoenix’s rally over the final 14 minutes. Devin Booker led five more Suns in double figures as they moved within three games of No. 10
• Zu Goes Off: Ivica Zubac dropped a career-best 35 points on 15-of-19 shooting to lead the Clippers, who have dropped three straight and six of their last seven to fall to 9th in the West

Spurs 127, Nets 113: Devin Vassell’s career night (37 pts, 11 reb, 8 3pm, 5 ast) led the Spurs to their 2nd win in three games. Vassell became the 1st Spur ever with 35+ pts, 10+ reb, 5+ ast & 5+ 3pm in a game. | Recap

3. RAPTORS SINK MAGIC IN LAST SECOND, BUCKS & PACERS REMAIN TIED

Raptors 114, Magic 113: Down two with 4.8 seconds left, the Raptors inbounded the ball to Ja’Kobe Walter and the rookie took care of the rest, sinking a contested pull-up 3 from the top of the key with 0.5 seconds left to hand the Magic their fourth straight loss. | Recap | Watch The Final 5:02

• Ja’Kobe: “That was my first game-winner in my life, so I’m definitely gonna remember that one.”
• Coach Darko Rajaković On Giving Walter The Final Shot: “He’s 19 years old, if you would see that kid, the way he’s put [the work] in every single day, the amount of work and dedication and how he’s committed to this team, that gives me confidence to believe in him and to put him in that situation there.”
• Magic Rally Denied: Paolo Banchero (22 of his 41 pts) and Franz Wagner (12 of his 28) combined for 34 points in the 4th quarter as the Magic overcame a 12-point deficit before Walter’s game-winner

The Bucks and Pacers began and ended Tuesday tied in the East Playoff race, with the Bucks holding the tiebreaker for the No. 4 seed.

Pacers 115, Rockets 102: Tyrese Haliburton’s heater (six straight points-assists double-doubles) continued on Tuesday as he dropped 28 points, 15 dimes and five 3s to lead the Pacers past the Rockets. | Recap

• 25/15/5 Club: Haliburton posted his 7th career game with at least 25 pts, 15 ast and five 3s, breaking a tie with Luka and Steph (6 each) and trailing only James Harden (10) in NBA history

Bucks 127, Hawks 121: Giannis Antetokounmpo notched his 6th triple-double of the season (26 pts, 12 reb, 10 ast), Damian Lillard added 23 points and Kevin Porter Jr. scored 12 on 5-of-5 shooting in the 4th as the Bucks won the final frame 35-26 to earn the win. | Recap

• Bucks Heating Up: Milwaukee overcame 28 points and 13 assists (including a 3/4 court dime) from Trae Young to win for the 7th time in their last nine games and remain No. 4 in the East via tiebreaker

4. TOP 2 TEAMS HEADLINE ESPN DOUBLEHEADER

Four things the Cavaliers and Thunder have in common:

1. The only teams to clinch a postseason berth
2. The only teams with 50 wins
3. Led their respective conferences for the past 100 days
4. In action tonight on ESPN

Cavs Host Heat (7 ET): On Tuesday, the Cavs won their 11th straight game, becoming the 4th team in NBA history with three separate 11+ game win streaks in a single season.

With a win tonight, they’d enter an even rarer group, joining the 2006-07 Mavs as the only teams with three 12+ game win streaks in a season.

Cleveland’s current streak sees the Cavs with their top marks across the board – points per game, point differential, offensive & defensive efficiency, net rating and the number of players averaging 10+ points.

• New Addition: A key piece to Cleveland’s current run is the addition of De’Andre Hunter, who is averaging 14.9 points and 2.8 3s on 56.8% shooting over nine games since arriving at the trade deadline
• Tonight’s opponent – the Miami Heat – are one of only seven teams to beat the Cavs this season. And while Cleveland has a commanding 8-game lead at the top of the East, the Heat find themselves in a competitive Play-In race

Thunder Visit Grizzlies (9:30 ET): What does Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have in store for an encore to his latest 50+ point masterpiece?

• Shai has more games with 50+ points (4) than he does with 20 or less (1, Oct. 30) this season and is on pace to win his first scoring title (32.6 ppg, 1.8 up on 2nd place Giannis)

Powered by SGA, the Thunder rank fourth in both offensive rating (118.5) and scoring average (119.6 ppg). But it’s the other side of the ball where OKC showcases its true dominance.

• OKC’s 106.0 defensive rating is 3.2 points better than 2nd-ranked Orlando. That gap between 1st and 2nd is larger than the gap that separates the No. 2 Magic and No. 12 Heat
• OKC has six of the top 10 players in defensive rating (min. 25 mpg): Chet Holmgren (102.5, 1st), SGA (104.6, 3rd), Isaiah Hartenstein (104.8, 5th), Cason Wallace (105.7, 7th), Jalen Williams (106.1, 8th), Lu Dort (106.7, 10th)
• OKC’s combo of a top-5 offense and league-best defense has them on pace to set an NBA record in point differential (+12.7 ppg)

Tonight’s game features two teams on opposing streaks – OKC is seeking a 5th straight win to build on its 10.5-game lead in the West, while Memphis tries to end a three-game losing streak that has dropped them to 4th in the conference.

5. LEAGUE PASS SPOTLIGHT: WEST PLAY-IN RACE

The four teams currently in the West Play-In field – the (7) Wolves, (8) Kings, (9) Clippers & (10) Mavs – take the court tonight on League Pass.

With four teams separated by just 1.5 games – and all within striking distance of the Warriors, who currently hold the sixth and final guaranteed Playoff spot – every game matters.

• Timberwolves at Hornets (7 ET): Anthony Edwards, who has four 40+ point performances in his last 11 outings, leads the Wolves into Charlotte looking for their first three-game win streak since Feb. 8
• Mavericks at Bucks (8 ET): Dallas takes the court for first time since losing Kyrie Irving to a season-ending torn ACL, which will only further test their depth as they take on a Bucks squad that has won six of its last seven – including a win in Dallas on Saturday
• Kings at Nuggets (9 ET): Reigning West Player of the Week Zach LaVine – responsible for 26.5 ppg and 5.0 rpg during the Kings’ four-game win streak – brings the Sacramento show to Denver. He’s shot 18-for-27 from beyond the arc during that span
• Pistons at Clippers (10:30 ET): The Clippers have fallen to 9th in the West as a result of a 1-6 mark since the All-Star break, but they’re still buoyed by a top-three defense for the stretch run