Walker Kessler produced a game-winning block to deny Grant Williams' after Lauri Markkanen's 27th double-double of the season as the Utah Jazz edged the Boston Celtics 118-117 on Saturday.
The Jazz, fighting for a playoff spot in the tight Western Conference, had re-taken the lead with 35.3 seconds remaining from Talen Horton-Tucker's lay-up before Kessler blocked Williams' game-winning two-point attempt on a drive to the basket on the buzzer.
Utah rallied back from a 19-point deficit but the Celtics went on a 14-3 run to re-claim the lead before the late drama.
All-Star Markkanen was brilliant with 28 points including four three-pointers with 10 rebounds and three assists for Utah, while Horton-Tucker added 19 points. Among Markkanen's triples was one with 1:19 to play in the fourth to cut the margin to one point at 117-116.
Williams had produced a career-high seven three-pointers in his 23-point haul, while Jayson Tatum was kept to 15 points on four-of-12 shooting with six assists in a quiet second half.
Boston guard Jaylen Brown scored a team-high 25 points, making four-of-nine from beyond the arc, with six assists.
The Celtics shot 22 three-pointers at 43.1 per cent, but the Jazz hauled down 56-40 rebounds and scored 17-of-22 from the free-throw line.
Boston, playing their third game in four nights, clinched their playoff spot despite the defeat, by virtue of the Miami Heat's 113-99 loss to the Chicago Bulls.
Despite his cold night, Tatum (two) became the fourth Celtics' player to reach multiple 2,000-point seasons, alongside Larry Bird (four), Paul Pierce (four) and John Havlicek (two)
Embiid exceeds Iverson & Wilt franchise record
Joel Embiid became the first Philadelphia 76ers player to record nine straight 30-point games as they downed the Indiana Pacers 141-121.
Embiid scored 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field along with 10-of-13 from the free-throw line, plus seven rebounds, seven assists and two blocks.
The center has averaged 36.1 points per game during his nine-game 30-point run, exceeding Allen Iverson and Wilt Chamberlain's previous joint record of eight.
Tyrese Maxey added 31 points with five triples while Tobias Harris contributed 24 points for the 76ers, who move into second in the Eastern Conference following Boston's loss.
Brunson leads Knicks past slumping Nuggets
Jalen Brunson made an impressive return from a foot injury with 24 points, including 16 in the first quarter, as the New York Knicks got past the Denver Nuggets 116-110.
The Knicks (42-30) rallied from a 13-point third-quarter deficit, with Brunson making two free throws with 43 seconds remaining, before lobbing to Mitchell Robinson to seal the win with 24 seconds left.
Nikola Jokic scored 24 points with 10 rebounds and eight assists for the Western Conference-leading Nuggets, who have lost five of their past six games to fall to a 47-24 record.
The West's second-ranked Memphis Grizzlies closed the gap on the Nuggets with a 133-119 win over the Golden State Warriors, led by Jaren Jackson Jr's 31 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
Kyrie Irving is focusing on maximising his on-court efficiency after returning from injury in style for the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.
Irving had been absent from the Mavs' previous three games due to soreness on his right foot, the team winning only one of those outings.
But his importance to the Mavs was clear to see as he returned to the court for the 111-110 win away to the Los Angeles Lakers, posting a game-high 38 points, plus six rebounds and six assists.
It was one of those assists that proved decisive at the end, as Irving lured two Lakers players before spotting Maxi Kleber wide open, and he ultimately drained the buzzer-beating three-pointer.
"I'm just grateful I was able to have my head on a swivel," he said post-game.
"I thought for a second about forcing that two up to tie the game, but I saw Maxi open and AD [the Lakers' Anthony Davis] helping a little too much, so I tried to get into his shot pocket, and I'm glad I got it to [Kleber] with enough time to at least get the shot off.
"I could easily be sitting in this position with a loss. It was just that kind of game, but I'm glad we were resilient.
"We got really lucky and fortunate at the end of the regulation, so I'm glad it worked out for us."
Certainly, Irving's inspirational impact showed few signs of any lingering issues with his foot.
But he hinted afterwards that he did play through the pain barrier a little, meaning he felt the need to think extra carefully about how he operated on court.
"It would feel better if my wife rubbed on it when I get home... Watch it," he said with a grin.
"I just need to take care of it. Again, I said a few days ago it's a little worse than I thought, but I've just got to manage it, and I'm not going to sit up here and make any excuses."
On his efficiency, Irving added: "I don't think it's any extra science or anything like that, but it comes down to being intentional about my reps.
"I could sit at home or be on the court and be like, 'I wish my foot felt as great as it has all season', but it's just not the reality.
"Just taking my reps out there on the floor and being efficient in the opportunities I have.
"It's not the first time I've played with an injury or anything like that. Just keep pushing and keep getting rehab and recovery to put myself in the best position."
The Mavs are sixth in the West with a 36-35 record after beating the Lakers, who are 10th on 34-37.
Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins said a frank halftime discussion among his players was the catalyst for the biggest comeback in the NBA this season.
Trailing by 29 points in the third quarter of Friday's contest against the San Antonio Spurs, the Grizzlies produced a resounding fightback to earn a 126-120 overtime triumph.
Still down by nine in the final minute of regulation play, a 9-0 stretch in a dramatic finale sent the game into additional time.
Jaren Jackson Jr put up 28 points for the Grizzlies, who set a franchise record with their comeback.
Asked what sparked the revival, Jenkins said: "It really started at halftime.
"We didn't watch any film. I just opened up the floor to the players to talk and said, 'What do you got for me?'
"Four or five guys spoke up and said it was unacceptable what we were doing in the first half.
"We were too casual, we weren't communicating, we weren't executing our coverages, we weren't playing with physicality, we weren't trusting the pass."
The Grizzlies are now 4-3 without their All-Star guard Ja Morant, who served the seventh of an eight-game ban for "conduct detrimental to the league".
Jackson said the turnaround was reward for the Grizzlies' perseverance.
"We came in at halftime, regrouped, talked about it," Jackson said.
"Just came out firing (in the second half). You chip away long enough, you're going to make some noise."
The Grizzlies sit third in the Western Conference with a 42-27 record.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are anxiously awaiting an injury update on star player Anthony Edwards after the former Rookie of the Year had to be carried off the court on Friday.
Edwards, who is averaging 25.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in his third season, had eight points in eight minutes before going down with an ankle injury early in a 139-131 double-overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls.
The former number one draft pick is living up to the hype on the offensive end, but he has also shown terrific instincts on the other side of the ball, currently tied with Tyrese Haliburton for the fifth-most steals per game (1.6).
Minnesota had been expected to spiral after Karl-Anthony Towns went down with a long-term injury in November, but Edwards had kept them afloat, currently sitting eighth in the West at 35-36.
But while they are just one game behind the six seed, they are also only one game in front of the Utah Jazz in 11th, and any Edwards absence with just 11 games remaining could decide the franchise's playoff fate.
Speaking immediately after the loss, Edwards said he knew straight away that his night was over.
"I couldn't walk on it, so I knew it was a wrap," he said. "See how it feels tomorrow."
Head coach Chris Finch did not have an update on his status, and lamented the crushing nature of the loss after leading in the final stages of regulation.
"It's a devastating loss," he said "We've got to win that game, you know?
"Up two with 26 seconds left, with the ball. No reason to do anything, other than just make them come get us, and we just throw it out of bounds. We couldn't get a shot off in some key moments, too.
"We battled, and battled. We changed defenses all night long, we played our butt off, and we got a chance to win the game – and you've got to win that game."
When asked about how they will move forward without their two top offensive options, Finch said it can not be used as an excuse.
"Nobody cares," he said. "We've got to keep fighting. We've got a heck of a game tomorrow [away against the Toronto Raptors], and nobody cares what's happened to the Timberwolves.
"We'll figure it out, we'll lace it up tomorrow and we'll fight – I know that. We still have other players who can put the ball in the bucket.
"Obviously, you lose Ant's dynamic big-shot making – of course you lose everything he brings – but we're going to have to rely more on ball movement, body movement, pass-pass combinations, those kinds of things.
"I thought we did a really good job in that three-man game with Kyle [Anderson], Mike [Conley} and Rudy [Gobert]… we have things we can go to, we just have to sift through it and figure it out."
Wolves center Rudy Gobert shared the sentiment that the team cannot feel sorry for themselves.
"We know that no one's going to help us," he said. "We're all we got.
"So we've just got to go out there, keep putting in the work, keep enjoying it and just learn from this situation. Win a game when we're in position to win a game."
Dillon Brooks has been fined $35,000 by the NBA for the "unsportsmanlike act" of pushing a camera person.
The Memphis Grizzlies guard-forward could be seen nudging the camera operator while trying to retrieve a loose ball during the second quarter of the 138-119 defeat to the Miami Heat on Wednesday at Miami-Dade Arena.
A statement from Joe Dumars, the NBA's executive vice president and head of basketball operations on Friday confirmed that Brooks had been "fined $35,000 for the unsportsmanlike act of shoving a camera person on the sideline after pursuing a loose ball".
It is not the first time this year that Brooks has been in disciplinary trouble, having been judged to have committed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected from the Grizzlies' game with the Cleveland Cavaliers last month after a scuffle with Donovan Mitchell in which he hit his opponent in the groin.
Brooks was suspended for one game without pay for the incident.
He got into a war of words with the Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green before and after a game earlier this month, also bumping chests with Green on court during the Grizzlies' win against the defending champions.
Brooks is averaging 14.2 points per game this season.
Michael Jordan is reportedly engaged in serious talks to sell a majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets.
Five-time NBA MVP Jordan became the only black majority owner in the league when he paid $275million for a controlling stake in the franchise in 2010.
Jordan then sold a significant minority stake to Gabe Plotkin and Daniel Sundheim in 2020, and an ESPN report suggests Sundheim is part of a group now looking to gain control of the Hornets.
While a deal is not said to be imminent, the report added Jordan was expected to retain a minority stake in the franchise, with Plotkin likely to join Rick Schnall as a co-governor of the team.
The Hornets have only enjoyed two postseason runs during Jordan's 13-year period as majority owner, last doing so in 2016.
Charlotte are currently 14th in the 15-team Eastern Conference, having seen their record for the season slump to 22-49 with Tuesday's 120-104 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Ben Simmons has had "zero discussions" with the Brooklyn Nets about bringing his season to an end, says head coach Jacque Vaughn.
While remaining vague about the specific issue keeping Simmons sidelined, the 26-year-old has been contending with back and knee problems.
Speaking prior to the Nets' 101-96 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Thursday, Vaughn confirmed he expects Simmons – who last featured on February 15 – to be back on court before the season ends.
"Definitely operating under that belief," Vaughn replied when asked if Simmons will play again this campaign.
"There's zero discussions about him not playing. We expect him to be back, waiting for him to be back."
It has been a frustrating time in Brooklyn for Simmons, who did not play at all last season after moving to the Nets in the huge trade that saw James Harden switch to the Philadelphia 76ers.
He sat out the first half of the season while he was waiting to be traded, then missed the rest of the campaign with a back issue.
While he has played 42 games this term, Simmons is averaging career-lows for points (6.9), rebounds (6.3), assists (6.1) and steals (1.3).
Vaughn added there has been no setback to his recovery.
"No setbacks. He's progressing. So, great to see him," he added.
"He's doing some work on court right now, so as more updates come, I'll definitely give them to you guys, but good to see him back on court getting some work in."
The Nets' setback to the Kings leaves them sixth in the Eastern Conference, two wins back of rivals the New York Knicks.
Forward Mikal Bridges was pretty frank about why the Nets failed to get the job done.
"They just played harder," Bridges said. "Get stops and they were just scoring. Getting to the line. But, yeah they just played harder than us."
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