Nets, Wizards meet with NBA draft lottery looming
Mar 27, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Wizards forward Alex Sarr (20) takes a shot over Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) during the first half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images The Washington Wizards hit their nadir with a 162-109 home loss to the Indiana Pacers on Thursday — the most lopsided defeat in franchise history.
Washington (16-57) now will look to regroup for a matchup against the visiting Brooklyn Nets (23-51) on Saturday night.
In a game rife with NBA draft lottery implications, both teams stumble into the contest following ugly losses.
The Nets lost their sixth straight game on Friday, when they trailed by as many as 41 in a 132-100 home setback to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Washington would prefer to forget the records set in Thursday’s loss to Indiana. The Wizards allowed the most points in franchise history, while the Pacers made a franchise-record 27 3-pointers and scored their most points ever.
“You should be upset. You shouldn’t be happy, but it’s always about what you do going forward,” Washington coach Brian Keefe said. “Unfortunately, losses like this happen. You don’t want them to. No one’s happy about it. It’s how you go forward. It’s always how you respond.”
One bright spot in the defeat was the continued development of rookie center Alex Sarr, who scored 22 points and is averaging 17.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks this month.
The 7-foot Sarr, 19, has emerged as a top contender for the Rookie of the Year award, but he prefers to focus on the Wizards’ potential.
“I think it’s a nice accomplishment. But at the same time I think there’s way more than just getting an individual award,” Sarr said. “I’m going to be part of this team hopefully for a lot of years to come. And what we’re building right now is more important than (individual awards).”
The Wizards enter the game at far less than full strength. Khris Middleton (right knee) and Anthony Gill (left hip) exited Thursday’s loss with injuries and have been ruled out for Saturday. Kyshawn George has missed the past two games with a left ankle sprain and also is listed as out.
Washington is aiming for a season sweep of Brooklyn after winning its first two meetings — 119-102 on Feb. 5 and 107-99 on Feb. 24.
Brooklyn lost for the 16th time in its last 18 games on Friday, when the Clippers led 105-69 after three quarters.
“Who do you want to be?” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said. “It goes down to, you know, we have high expectations on how we want to do things, and how we want to compete. I have to find a way to engage our players better, to play the right way, and that’s what we’ve done so far. Whether you win or lose, you play the right way with the right intentions.”
Keon Johnson had 13 points in the loss for Brooklyn, which signed forward Drew Timme to a multiyear deal before the game.
The 24-year-old Timme stood out in his NBA debut with 11 points and 10 rebounds in 25 minutes.
“I mean, I was nervous as crap out there, but it was awesome, you know?” Timme said. “It was a dream come true. And I like this feeling. I don’t want it to end, so I gotta keep working hard.”
Timme was averaging 23.9 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 29 games (28 starts) this season for Brooklyn’s NBA G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets. He was undrafted in 2023 after four seasons at Gonzaga, where he was a second-team All-American three times.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tyler Reddick starts bid for 3rd straight NASCAR Cup win with pole run
Feb 22, 2026; Hampton, Georgia, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Tyler Reddick rounds the track at EchoPark Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Mady Mertens-Imagn Images AUSTIN, Texas — One of the few things that wasn’t startling about Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series qualifying session at Circuit of the Americas was Tyler Reddick’s run for the pole position.
Negotiating the 2.4-mile road course in 97.760 seconds (88.380 mph) in the second qualifying group, Reddick claimed his third Busch Light Pole Award in six attempts at the track. He will lead the field to green in Sunday’s DuraMAX Grand Prix Powered by Reladyne (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Of course, there’s more at stake for Reddick than simply a victory at COTA. In winning at EchoPark Speedway near Atlanta last Sunday, the driver of the No. 45 Toyota became the sixth Cup competitor to start a season with two consecutive wins. No driver has ever won three straight to open a season.
The 23XI Racing driver acknowledged that the pole position, the 12th of his career, is a positive first step toward that goal.
“It helps the chances, certainly,” said Reddick, whose series-best average finish of 4.6 at COTA includes a victory in 2023. “I think starting up front is huge.”
Michael McDowell led the first qualifying group of 19 drivers with a lap at 88.031 mph but fell to sixth soon after the second group took to the track. Ultimately, Ross Chastain posted the second-fastest lap at 88.256 mph (97.897 seconds) and will start on the front row beside Reddick.
The shocker was not that Chastain, the 2022 COTA winner, fashioned an excellent lap. What was surprising was that his two Trackhouse Racing teammates, Shane van Gisbergen and Connor Zilisch — both vaunted road course racers — failed to crack the top 10 in qualifying.
Van Gisbergen was 13th fastest on his third lap. Zilisch could do no better than 25th. Van Gisbergen is seeking his sixth straight road course victory in the Cup Series, a mark that would tie NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon for most consecutive road course wins.
Chase Briscoe (88.242 mph) will start third, followed by Ryan Blaney (88.179 mph) and Chase Elliott (88.161 mph). Elliott leads active drivers with seven road course victories.
Behind McDowell in sixth, AJ Allmendinger qualified seventh, followed by defending race winner Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs and William Byron.
“We’ll see how it gets going,” Reddick said. “Certainly, Ross, Shane, Ryan Blaney-there’s a number of good drivers who were really strong in practice today. We’ll try to understand what that all looks like and make our best decisions on the car and everything.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Warriors F Gui Santos signs multi-year extension
Feb 25, 2026; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Gui Santos (15) passes the ball as Memphis Grizzlies guard Javon Small (10) defends during the third quarter at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images Golden State Warriors forward Gui Santos signed a multi-year contract extension on Saturday.
Specific terms were not disclosed by the Warriors. However, ESPN reported it was a three-year, $15 million contract extension with a player option in 2028-29. Santos was in line to become a restricted free agent prior to this extension.
Santos, 23, is posting career-best averages in points (6.6), rebounds (3.2) and assists (1.7) in 48 games (13 starts) this season.
He is contributing 4.9 points, 3.0 boards and 1.4 assists in 127 career games (15 starts) since being selected by the Warriors in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Isaiah Evans, No. 1 Duke overwhelm No. 11 Virginia
Feb 28, 2026; Durham, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Isaiah Evans (3) grabs a pass as he moves around a pick center Patrick Ngongba II (21) as Virginia Cavaliers guard Sam Lewis (5) defends during the first half at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images Isaiah Evans used a hot start on the way to 19 points and top-ranked Duke’s defense contained No. 11 Virginia for much of Saturday afternoon’s showdown in a 77-51 victory at Durham, N.C.
The Blue Devils, with two games remaining, secured at least a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship and locked up the top seed for the upcoming ACC tournament.
Cameron Boozer racked up most of his 18 points on free throws for Duke (27-2, 15-1 ACC), which built its lead to 28 points in the second half. Boozer also had a team-high nine rebounds, while Patrick Ngongba II added 11 points.
Thijs De Ridder had 16 points for Virginia (25-4, 13-3), which was bidding to pull even atop the ACC standings. Instead, the Cavaliers’ nine-game winning streak was halted as they were held to a season-low point total.
Virginia went 29.1% from the field, including 7-for-35 on 3s, so the Cavaliers’ 12-for-13 shooting at the foul line couldn’t save them. Virginia collected nine offensive rebounds despite its volume of missed shots.
Evans shot 5-for-9 on 3-pointers and was 7-for-11 overall from the floor, accounting for nearly half of Duke’s 12 baskets from 3-point range.
Boozer had 11 first-half points on 11-for-12 free-throw shooting, but didn’t make a field goal until a 3-pointer early in the second half. He ended up 3-for-9 from the field in 33 minutes in Duke’s second-to-last home game of the season.
Aside from De Ridder, Virginia’s starters shot a combined 4-for-22 from the field.
An 11-0 run in the second half stretched Duke’s advantage to 70-43.
Duke built an 18-9 lead across the first 11 minutes, with Evans providing 14 of those points. The Blue Devils carried a 41-26 lead into halftime.
Virginia shot 4-for-17 on first-half 3s, while going 4-for-8 on 2-point range attempts.
By game’s end, Boozer attempted 12 of Duke’s 14 free throws.
–Field Level Media
Tyler Reddick starts bid for 3rd straight NASCAR Cup win with pole run
Warriors F Gui Santos signs multi-year extension
