Hot shooting, stifling defense carry Magic over Kings
Mar 29, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) passes the ball against Sacramento Kings guard/forward DeMar DeRozan (10) in the first quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Reper-Imagn Images Caleb Houstan’s 6-of-7 3-point shooting off the bench en route to 18 points helped the Orlando Magic capitalize on a stifling defensive effort as they cruised psat the visiting Sacramento Kings 121-91 on Saturday.
Orlando (36-39), the NBA’s top defense in points allowed coming into Saturday’s matchup, delivered its 18th game holding an opponent to fewer than 100 points this season. The Magic limited the Kings to 42 percent shooting from the floor, including 7-of-28 from 3-point range.
The Orlando defense was especially effective against Zach LaVine, holding him to just 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting and forcing him into five turnovers.
The Magic came out aggressively from the start, not allowing the Kings (36-38) a made field goal until more than three minutes into the contest. By then, Orlando built a nine-point it never relinquished.
Jonathan Isaac helped cap the tone-setting first quarter with a steal of a Malik Monk pass — one of six Monk turnovers in the game — that led to a Goga Bitadze dunk in transition.
The sequence put an exclamation mark on Orlando’s 38-21 first-quarter performance.
Bitadze recorded a double-double off the bench with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Houstan knocked down three triples before halftime to help the Magic take a 15-point lead into intermission.
Sacramento cut the deficit to 11 points early in the third quarter on a DeMar DeRozan 3-pointer, the last of his team-high 21-point effort. Orlando erupted in response, going on a 26-5 run from that point.
Franz Wagner scored 10 of his 21 points during the decisive burst. Behind Wagner, Houston and Paolo Banchero, who scored a game-high 24 points, the Magic recorded their fifth-highest scoring game of the season.
Domantas Sabonis finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds for Sacramento, which was playing the first of six straight road games.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Fresh off play-in win, Suns take on top-seeded Thunder
Apr 17, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Jalen Green (4) celebrates after a slam dunk against the Golden State Warriors during the first half in the play-in rounds of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images The Phoenix Suns come into their first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder with some momentum after knocking off the Golden State Warriors in the play-in finale Friday to earn the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference.
The Thunder haven’t played in a week heading into Sunday’s Game 1 of the series in Oklahoma City.
After letting a big lead slip away in the play-in opener against the Portland Trail Blazers, the Suns bounced back with a 111-96 home win over the Warriors.
Jalen Green was one of the biggest factors in Phoenix advancing, with 36 points in Friday’s victory.
“They’re going to come in, play hard, play their game, but I think if we bring the same energy that we brought (Friday night) and getting stops, playing defense, getting out and running, we can use that to our advantage,” Green said, looking forward to facing Oklahoma City. “It should be a good series.”
The Thunder are looking to become the first team since Golden State in 2017-18 to repeat as champions.
“It’s an opportunity,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I think just going through last year and realizing that’s so far down the line. So many things are going to happen before we get to the Finals clinching game. … So many things have to go our way that aren’t in our control and so many things we have to control that are hard to control at this level for a long period of time for us to have that opportunity.”
Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren said there’s value in having the experience, but that his team can’t take any team lightly.
“You have to try to carry over the experiences that you learn from, but you can’t carry over the result, because the result means absolutely nothing,” Holmgren said. “If you’re sitting here in the playoffs saying, ‘Oh, we won last year,’ that’s not going to win you a playoff series or a game or get a stop on a possession.”
The series features two of the best defenses in the league.
The Thunder had the NBA’s best defensive rating, allowing just 106.5 points per 100 possessions during the regular season while the Suns were ninth at 112.9.
In Friday’s win, Phoenix scored 30 points off Golden State turnovers to help fuel the win, while Oklahoma City led the league with 22.0 points per game off turnovers during the season. The Thunder also limited opponents to just 14.7 points per game off turnovers, second-best in the NBA.
The Thunder won three of the five regular-season matchups between the teams, with Phoenix being one of just three teams to hand Oklahoma City multiple losses this season.
The teams closed the regular season against each other, though that game — a 32-point Suns win — will bear little resemblance to Sunday’s matchup.
With their playoff/play-in positions set, both teams sat most of their starters, with the Thunder’s only regular starter to play being Luguentz Dort.
Phoenix was without Grayson Allen (hamstring) and Mark Williams (foot soreness) for Friday’s win.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Experienced Lightning face young Canadiens in first round
Apr 9, 2026; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak (81) vies for position with Montreal Canadiens forward Juraj Slafkovsky (20) during the second period at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images The Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning will meet in the postseason for the first time since 2021 and this matchup will come under much different circumstances.
Game 1 in the first-round series is set for Sunday at Tampa, Fla.
Holding the Atlantic Division’s second spot, the Lightning clinched home-ice advantage Tuesday night when the third-place Canadiens lost 4-2 in their regular-season finale against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Tampa Bay right winger Nikita Kucherov produced 130 points (44 goals, 86 assists) in 76 games, falling eight short of Art Ross Trophy winner Connor McDavid, who produced 138 points while playing in all 82 matches for the Edmonton Oilers.
In a season that may produce a second Vezina Trophy, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy went 39-15-4 to lead the NHL in wins. He had a 2.31 goals-against average and a .912 save percentage.
Jon Cooper’s Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021, the latter in the Finals over the Canadiens when conference alignment was ditched in an adjusted playoff format because of the pandemic.
The Lightning’s title run was interrupted by three straight Cup appearances and two championships by the archrival Florida Panthers.
“Everybody’s looking for something new, right? For somebody new to win or somebody new to come along,” Cooper said. “But what’s wrong with the team that wants to sit there and maybe throw (the word) ‘dynasty’ around. That’s what we’re looking at.”
A pending unrestricted free agent, defenseman Darren Raddysh had a breakout year running the power play, producing a career-best 22 goals, a franchise record, to go with 48 assists that will lead to a hefty contract in the summer.
The availability of defenseman Victor Hedman, who has not played since March 19, is uncertain.
While Tampa Bay has played in six conference finals and made four trips to the Final under Cooper, coach Martin St. Louis will send out a group of youthful Canadiens that represent early success from a rebuild.
Montreal suits up the NHL’s youngest club with an average just shy of 26 years old, ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks and Buffalo Sabres.
The first-round matchup is a classic one of veteran core players versus talented youngsters.
Cole Caufield, 25, produced 51 goals in 81 games, while 22-year-old Juraj Slafkovsky, the No. 1 overall pick in 2022, had 30 tallies and 73 points in 82 matches.
Star defenseman Lane Hutson, also 22, had 12 goals and 66 assists as one of 11 Canadiens to reach double figures in goals.
The squad’s 26-year-old captain from London, Ontario, Nick Suzuki had a career year in becoming the fifth Montreal player to register 100 points, posting 29 goals and 72 helpers en route to a second straight playoff appearance.
Guy Lafleur, Peter Mahovlich, Steve Shutt and most recently Mats Naslund in 1986 hit the century mark.
Suzuki, who played against the Lightning in the 2021 Final, said the Habs have grown since losing in five games to the Washington Capitals a year ago.
“We’ve built our game throughout the whole season, learning different things, individually and as a team,” said Suzuki, who missed Wednesday’s practice to attend the birth of his daughter, Maya. “We’re in a much better spot that we were last year in the playoffs. We’ve matched up well against (the Lightning) the last couple of years.
“There’s no intimidation.”
Montreal went 2-1-1 against Tampa Bay including two victories in the campaign’s final nine games.
–Field Level Media
Entertainment
Nicole Kidman’s R-Rated Satire On Netflix Is A Masterclass In Manipulation
By Robert Scucci
| Updated
After watching Nicole Kidman’s Before I Go To Sleep on Netflix a couple weeks ago, I needed something that didn’t completely waste her talent. My search led me to 1995’s To Die For, which has such a stacked cast you’d think I was exaggerating if you didn’t check IMDb or Wikipedia yourself. Going as pitch black as a Gus Van Sant comedy can get, To Die For showcases Joaquin Phoenix, Casey Affleck, Kurtwood Smith, Wayne Knight, Matt Dillon, and even David Cronenberg in a brief appearance.
It’s a fourth-wall-breaking film that works as a thriller, comedy, drama, and mockumentary all at once, rolled into a murder mystery centered on Nicole Kidman’s Suzanne Stone, a woman so obsessed with fame and fortune that she throws her entire life away when nobody around her sticks to the script.
Multiple Timelines Effortlessly Intersect
There are two narratives in To Die For that strip away any real sense of mystery from the premise. Through television interviews, we’re introduced to Suzanne Stone, who got off scot-free after her husband, Larry Maretto (Matt Dillon), was murdered. We know she’s involved, maybe even directly responsible, right off the rip, but that’s not what the film is interested in. Instead, we get a full character breakdown of Suzanne and her sociopathic commitment to becoming a TV star. We know Larry is dead, and we know she had something to do with it. The story then rewinds to show us how everything led up to those interviews, introducing everyone she crossed paths with along the way.
Desperate to become a world-famous TV correspondent, Suzanne grows resentful of her husband Larry, despite the fact that he gives up his band and focuses on work so he can support her dreams. The guy does a complete 180, even though he comes from a mob-connected family running multiple successful businesses. In other words, Larry was never a screwup, but he still buckles down when he falls in love with Suzanne because he wants the best for her. That contrast exists purely to show just how unhinged Suzanne is when it comes to chasing clout.
While Larry works his ass off, occasionally hinting that he’d like to start a family, Suzanne takes a job at WWEN, a local cable network, under the supervision of Ed Grant (Wayne Knight), who we learn through interviews is absolutely terrified of her. It’s one thing to be ambitious, but Suzanne is aggressively so, making most people rightfully suspicious of what she’s capable of, including Larry’s sister Janice (Illeana Douglas).
While working her way toward a weather girl position, Suzanne recruits naive high school students for a “Teens Speak Out” documentary she hopes will launch her career. She pulls in a troublemaker named Jimmy (Joaquin Phoenix), who immediately falls under her spell, along with Lydia (Alison Folland), who admires her, and Russell (Casey Affleck), who was basically forced to participate. With three teenagers eating out of the palm of her hand, Suzanne starts plotting how to get rid of Larry, who she believes is holding her back because he wants a traditional life she finds completely suffocating.
A Masterclass In Manipulation
If I had to compare Nicole Kidman’s Suzanne to anybody, it would be Reese Witherspoon’s Tracy Flick from Election. She’s beautiful, driven, and easily the most dangerous person you could cross paths with if you happen to be in her way of her goals. Suzanne’s ruthlessness is initially softened by how charming and driven she is when she makes her first impressions. When you apply that level of manipulation to a group of teenagers, it’s only a matter of time before they start doing exactly what you want. This dynamic comes to a head when Suzanne fully sinks her hooks into Jimmy.
But nobody here is innocent. Suzanne may be the mastermind who sets everything in motion, but everyone else is self-aware enough to know better. That’s where half the fun comes from. Jimmy might be infatuated, but he still makes his own choices. Suzanne sizes him up, offers him a version of the life he thinks he wants, and he goes along with it despite the consequences because he’s short-sighted and naive. It’s fascinating to watch because at any point, anyone in Suzanne’s orbit could have just said “nah” and walked away. But they don’t.
One of the more uniquely structured black comedies I’ve seen in a while, To Die For is equal parts morbid and hilarious. Every character is painfully short-sighted, and they all become worse versions of themselves the moment they fall for Suzanne’s tricks. And while you should hate Suzanne for being an objectively terrible person, you still end up rooting for her because she’s living life on her own terms, just in the most antisocial way possible.
To Die For is currently streaming on Netflix.
Fresh off play-in win, Suns take on top-seeded Thunder
Experienced Lightning face young Canadiens in first round
