Mike Krzyzewski's extraordinary 42-year run as Duke head coach came to an end on Saturday, as North Carolina emerged 81-77 victors in the Final Four.
Of all teams, the arch rival Tar Heels were the team to deny Coach K a fairytale finish, just a month after they spoiled the party for his final home game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Meanwhile, UNC head coach Hubert Davis became the fifth head coach to make the national title game in his first year.
The closing exchanges made for a thrilling finish, with North Carolina and Duke trading three-pointers and scoring runs in the final five minutes of the game.
Caleb Love's clutch three and conversion of three free-throws gave North Carolina the ultimate breathing room, and he finished with 28 points. Meanwhile, Brady Manek's timely buckets for 14 points and Armando Bacot's 21 rebounds were critical.
Despite the clutch baskets at the end and Paolo Banchero's double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds, Duke were ice cold from beyond the arc, going five-of-22.
UNC will meet Kansas in the national title game on Sunday, after they rolled to an 81-65 victory over Villanova earlier on Saturday.
David McCormack and Ochai Agbaji were pivotal for the Jayhawks, with David McCormack putting up 25 points and nine rebounds, while Agbaji drained six-three pointers to score 21 points.
Playing without injured guard Justin Moore, the Wildcats were not able to find an early rhythm as Kansas shot out the gate, scoring the opening 10 points of the game and building a 19-point buffer at one stage in the first half.
It was an eerie role reversal of the 2018 national semi-final, where Villanova raced to a 22-4 opening lead on their way to a 95-79 win over Kansas and eventually their third national title.
Kansas were shooting far too well to let it happen a second time, however, making 29 of 54 total field goals and going 13-of-24 from the perimeter.
NBA: Brunson, Towns combine for 70 to keep Knicks hot
Jalen Brunson scored 36 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 34 and the New York Knicks rolled over the Phoenix Suns 138-122 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight win.
All five Knicks starters scored in double figures. Josh Hart had 19 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
Devin Booker scored 33 points on 12-for-23 shooting and Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the injury-depleted Suns, who have lost five straight.
New York never trailed, hitting its first eight shots, including four 3-pointers. The Knicks carried that momentum to a 44-28 advantage after one quarter and a 76-58 lead at halftime. Brunson had 23 points before the break on 8-for-9 shooting, including hitting all four 3s.
The Suns cut the deficit to 88-77 midway through the third quarter, but the Knicks responded with an 11-2 run.
Phoenix star Kevin Durant missed his seventh straight game with a left calf strain. Teammate and three-time All-Star Bradley Beal was out for the fifth straight game, also because of a strained left calf.
The Knicks shot 18 for 23 (78.3%) in the first quarter, including 8 for 11 (72.7%) from 3-point range.
Sengun stars as Rockets win again
Alperen Sengun had a season-high 31 points with 12 rebounds to lead the Houston Rockets to a 130-113 win over the Indiana Pacers.
The Rockets used a big run in the third quarter to push the lead to 21 entering the fourth and cruised to their sixth victory in seven games.
Jabari Smith Jr. added 23 points for the Rockets for his second 20-point game in the last four, and Fred VanVleet had 18 points and six assists.
Quenton Jackson had a career-high 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting for the Pacers, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Pascal Siakam had 19 points at halftime but only scored two more points the rest of the way.
A dunk by Myles Turner got the Pacers within three with about eight minutes left in the third quarter before the Rockets used a 12-3 run, with 3s from VanVleet and Sengun, to make it 82-70 less than three minutes later.
The Pacers made just 5 of 22 3-pointers, while Houston made 12 of 36 attempts.
Antetokounmpo powers resurgent Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 41 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Chicago Bulls 122-106.
Brook Lopez scored 21 points, Damian Lillard had 20 points and 10 assists, and AJ Green added 18 points to help the Bucks win for the fourth time in five games following a 2-8 start.
Zach Lavine scored 27 points and Torrey Craig added 15 for Chicago, which dropped to 3-8 this month.
The Bucks led by 18 and seemed to be in control after a 16-0 run from the end of the first quarter and into the second, but the Bulls chipped away and pulled within one in the third. The score remained close until midway through the fourth when the Bucks once again pulled away with Antetokounmpo dominating inside.
After being held to 13 points in the first half, Antetokounmpo scored 25 of Milwaukee’s 29 points in the third quarter. Lopez scored 20 or more points for the third time in four games.
Green swished a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer, his fifth of the game, from the corner with 6:49 left in the game to push the Bucks' lead to seven. Lillard and Lopez followed with 3s of their own to extend the lead to 13.
Durant expected to sign new Suns deal, says franchise owner Ishbia
Kevin Durant wants to be with the Phoenix Suns and is expected to sign a contract extension, according to franchise owner Mat Ishbia.
The two-time NBA Finals MVP and four-time Olympic gold medallist, who joined the Suns in February 2023, is under contract at Footprint Center through the 2025-26 season.
Durant made a strong start to his 18th NBA season - averaging 27.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 53.3% shooting and 42.9% from three-point range - though he is currently sidelined with a calf strain.
And Ishbia expects the 36-year-old to retire as a Sun, with both parties set to pursue a two-year, $120 million maximum extension following the conclusion of the 2024-25 campaign.
"[Durant] loves being in Phoenix, we love having him," the Suns owner told ESPN.
"He's off to an amazing start this season, and we're off to a very good start. We expect Kevin to sign an extension and be with us for the long term. We hope he finishes his career here in Phoenix.
"You can't sign a two-year extension this last summer, you can't do it based on the NBA rules. So, we figured after the season, we'd talk about it, take care of it.
"Kevin wants to be here, we want Kevin here. There's never been one grumbling of anything different."
'Everybody called me a liar' - LeBron thrilled by impressive Knecht
LeBron James heaped praise on Dalton Knecht after he tied the NBA's single-game rookie record in the Los Angeles Lakers' win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday.
He scored nine 3-pointers, including going 6-for-6 in the third quarter, while scoring a career-high 37 points in the Lakers' 124-118 win, their sixth on the bounce.
Knecht now shares the record with Rodrigue Beaubois (2010), Yogi Ferrell (2017) and Utah's Keyonte George (2024).
The Lakers' six-game winning streak is their longest since February 2021, while they have also extended their perfect home record this season to 7-0.
James, who had 26 points and 12 assists, had previously said that he was a fan of Knecht, having watched him at Tennessee while he was in college.
"Same s*** I saw last year," said James, when asked about being ahead of the curve in praising Knecht.
"Everybody on the internet called me a liar. So, what am I now?
"I watched him. I watched Tennessee a lot. I did not think he would fall to us. I thought it would be impossible."
Knecht was the 17th overall in the 2024 NBA draft, and James brushed off the suggestion that the Lakers 'found' him.
"They [The Lakers] didn't 'find' DK," he added. "The other 16 teams f***** it up. Did anybody watch him? You don't 'find' an SEC player of the year."
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