NBA: Cavs' streak ends, Timberwolves win again
The Cleveland Cavaliers had their winning streak end while the Minnesota Timberwolves earned another victory during Sunday's NBA schedule.
Paolo Banchero capped a 24-point performance with a go-ahead jumper in the final minute as the Orlando Magic ended the Cleveland Cavaliers' franchise-record 16-game winning streak with Sunday's 108-103 victory.
The Magic overcame a 13-point half-time deficit to hand the NBA-leading Cavaliers their first defeat since Feb. 4. Franz Wagner helped spark the comeback by scoring 17 of his 22 points in the second half.
Banchero added 11 rebounds and seven assists, while Wendell Carter Jr. also notched a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds for Orlando.
Donovan Mitchell paced Cleveland with 23 points but was just 3 of 14 from 3-point range on a day his team struggled from beyond the arc. The Cavaliers shot 25 per cent on 3-point tries, their second-lowest success rate in a game this season.
Jarrett Allen finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds for Cleveland, which also received 19 points from Darius Garland.
The Cavs had little trouble scoring early on, as they shot 61.5 per cent in the first quarter to build a 38-25 lead after one period. Cleveland maintained a 13-point advantage at half-time at 60-47 before the Magic began closing the gap after the break.
Orlando took an 80-78 edge late in the third quarter behind a 10-0 run, though Cleveland countered with a 13-4 spurt to go up 91-84 early in the fourth on Mitchell's dunk off a Magic turnover.
The Magic fought back to later take a 102-100 lead when Wagner followed teammate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope's 3-pointer with two free throws with 1:18 left.
Max Strus' 3-pointer on the ensuing possession put Cleveland back in front, but the Cavs failed to score in the final minute as Orlando closed the game on a 6-0 run that began with Banchero's go-ahead jumper with 45.3 seconds remaining.
P5. CLUTCH. https://t.co/CconqgvsGc pic.twitter.com/U5ewH32uL1
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 16, 2025
Edwards' 41 points extend Timberwolves' winning streak to eight games
Anthony Edwards amassed 41 points in just three quarters as the Minnesota Timberwolves continued their recent hot stretch with a 128-102 rout of the lowly Utah Jazz.
Edwards finished 16 of 27 from the field to surpass the 40-point mark for the seventh time this season, while Jaden McDaniels contributed 20 points and 12 rebounds to help the Timberwolves extend their season-high winning streak to eight games.
Minnesota met little resistance from the Jazz, the Western Conference's last-place team that has now lost nine in a row. The Timberwolves opened the game on a 17-5 run and built a lead as large as 19 points in the first quarter.
Utah did string together a 9-2 spurt to pull to within 36-32 three minutes into the second quarter, but the Timberwolves scored 12 of the game's next 14 points and maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
Up 62-51 at half-time, Minnesota outscored the Jazz by a 37-25 margin in the third quarter to take a comfortable 99-76 lead into the fourth.
ANOTHER DUB!!! pic.twitter.com/LtVbjfBRjX
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) March 17, 2025
Collin Sexton led Utah with 22 points and the Jazz did get a strong effort from center Walker Kessler, who pulled down 19 rebounds to go along with 15 points.
Thunder cruise past Bucks to continue hot stretch
The Oklahoma City Thunder remained hot as well, as the Western Conference leaders came through with a 121-105 win over the Milwaukee Bucks behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's 31 points.
Despite a 21-point, 12-rebound, 10-assist triple-double from Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo, Oklahoma City rolled to a 10th win in 11 games by dominating the Bucks on the boards and in the lane. The Thunder outscored Milwaukee by a 60-36 margin in the paint and finished the game with a 50-34 rebounding advantage.
Isaiah Hartenstein played a big part in those disparities as the 7-footer amassed 24 points on 11-of-15 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds.
The Thunder also received 19 points off the bench from Isaiah Joe, who went 5 of 9 from 3-point range, and 16 points and eight rebounds from Chet Holmgren.
Milwaukee, which had a two-game winning streak halted, owned a 26-24 edge after one quarter but went cold in the second, making just 4 of 18 field goal attempts for the period as the Thunder took control.
After going in front on Hartenstein's 3-point play early in the second quarter, Oklahoma City closed out the period on a 7-0 run to go into the break with a 53-41 advantage as Gilgeous-Alexander tallied 14 first-half points and Hartenstein and Holmgren added 12 each.
The Bucks continued to struggle offensively in the third quarter as Oklahoma City widened its margin, with the Thunder's lead getting to 20 points when Jalen Williams knocked down a 3-pointer with 2:58 left in the period to make the score 81-61.
Successful road trippic.twitter.com/3p2J5fuiqS
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) March 17, 2025
Oklahoma City went into the fourth up 92-74 and remained ahead by double digits the rest of the way.