Sports
Skidding Heat taking nothing for granted vs. Pacers
Jan 10, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers forward Jarace Walker (5) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has been known to get the best from his teams come playoff time.
After a dreadful two-week stretch, the Heat still are about to lock down a spot in the play-in tournament as they face the Indiana Pacers at Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon.
Miami (39-35) has dropped six of its last seven games, falling to the No. 10 spot in the crowded Eastern Conference standings. After losing 149-128 to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, the Heat trail the sixth-seeded Atlanta Hawks by just two games while trending in the wrong direction.
Spoelstra’s group has allowed 128.9 points per game across the last seven games, while the 149 scored by the Cavaliers was the most ever allowed in a game in franchise history. It came after a 120-103 victory over Cleveland on Wednesday.
“It’s extremely disappointing,” Spoelstra said. “The guys put blood, sweat and tears to develop a top-four defense two weeks ago and when we needed it the most, we let it disappear. That’s unacceptable at this time of the season.”
During Miami’s woeful seven-game run, each opponent has been in the postseason hunt. For a franchise that has made the playoffs the last six seasons, the Heat have grown accustomed to playing up to their competition level. That wasn’t the case the last half of March.
“We didn’t treat this like a playoff series and we should have,” Heat center Bam Adebayo said about back-to-back games against the Cavs. “You always want to be optimistic. The next game we need to go out and win. The recipe is holding teams under 120, 115 points. It’s going to be difficult, but our back is against the wall.”
First-time All-Star Norman Powell leads Miami with 22.1 points per game, while Tyler Herro is averaging 20.9 points in 27 games. Herro has played in seven straight games since missing most of the season with ankle and rib injuries.
Adebayo adds 20.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per contest.
For the Heat to get back on track, a victory over the lowly Pacers is key.
Indiana (16-58) owns the league’s worst record and is on pace to finish with its most losses in franchise history. The Pacers haven’t won a home game since Jan. 31 and have pieced together losing streaks of 13 and 16 games this season.
Indiana had a rare chance for a victory on Friday but squandered a 24-point lead before falling 114-113 to the Los Angeles Clippers on Kawhi Leonard’s go-ahead jumper with 0.4 seconds left.
In a bizarre ending, the Pacers had a chance to steal a win, but Jay Huff missed both free throws with 0.1 seconds remaining to finish the game.
“It’s unfortunate we weren’t able to finish it the way we would have liked to, but it’s great experience going against a team that is that athletic, that tenacious, defends that well and is playing for a lot,” Indiana head coach Rick Carlisle said. “We’ll learn from it.”
Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard have shown consistency amid the team’s forgettable season, averaging 23.7 and 17.0 points per game, respectively. Nembhard has averaged 7.6 assists.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tobias Harris sparks Pistons to road win over Timberwolves
Mar 28, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (12) dribbles the ball as Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) and guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (1) defend during the second half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images Tobias Harris scored 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting, and the Detroit Pistons pulled away for a 109-87 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Ronald Holland II and Daniss Jenkins chipped in 13 points apiece for Detroit (54-20), which won for the sixth time in its past seven games. Paul Reed added 12 points off the bench, and Jalen Duren notched a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Donte DiVincenzo led Minnesota (45-29) with 22 points and made five shots from beyond the arc. Rudy Gobert finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Julius Randle notched 11 points despite missing 11 of 13 shots from the field.
Detroit outscored Minnesota 60-43 in the second half to seal the victory.
The Pistons opened the second half on a 7-1 run to go ahead by double digits. Ausar Thompson made a layup to finish the run and put Detroit ahead 56-45 with 9:53 to go in the third quarter.
By the start of the fourth quarter, Detroit increased its lead to 14 points. Caris LeVert knocked down a pullup jump shot from 15 feet to make it 74-60 in favor of the Pistons.
The TImberwolves trailed by double digits for the duration of the fourth quarter. They fell behind by 20 points when Harris made a free throw with 6:04 to play.
The Pistons held on to a 49-44 advantage at the half.
Detroit led by as many as 13 points before the break. Duren made a pair of free throws to put the Pistons on top 37-24 with 9:40 remaining.
Minnesota responded with a 15-6 run to cut the deficit to 43-39 late in the half.
Both teams played without their top players. Anthony Edwards remained out for the Timberwolves because of inflammation in his right knee, and Cade Cunningham remained out for the Pistons as he recovers from a collapsed lung.
The Timberwolves also played without Jaden McDaniels (knee) and Ayo Dosunmu (calf). Terrence Shannon Jr. made his second career start in the backcourt.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Tobias Harris sparks Pistons to road win over Timberwolves
Mar 28, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Detroit Pistons forward Tobias Harris (12) dribbles the ball as Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle (30) and guard Terrence Shannon Jr. (1) defend during the second half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images Tobias Harris scored 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting, and the Detroit Pistons pulled away for a 109-87 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Ronald Holland II and Daniss Jenkins chipped in 13 points apiece for Detroit (54-20), which won for the sixth time in its past seven games. Paul Reed added 12 points off the bench, and Jalen Duren notched a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Donte DiVincenzo led Minnesota (45-29) with 22 points and made five shots from beyond the arc. Rudy Gobert finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Julius Randle notched 11 points despite missing 11 of 13 shots from the field.
Detroit outscored Minnesota 60-43 in the second half to seal the victory.
The Pistons opened the second half on a 7-1 run to go ahead by double digits. Ausar Thompson made a layup to finish the run and put Detroit ahead 56-45 with 9:53 to go in the third quarter.
By the start of the fourth quarter, Detroit increased its lead to 14 points. Caris LeVert knocked down a pullup jump shot from 15 feet to make it 74-60 in favor of the Pistons.
The TImberwolves trailed by double digits for the duration of the fourth quarter. They fell behind by 20 points when Harris made a free throw with 6:04 to play.
The Pistons held on to a 49-44 advantage at the half.
Detroit led by as many as 13 points before the break. Duren made a pair of free throws to put the Pistons on top 37-24 with 9:40 remaining.
Minnesota responded with a 15-6 run to cut the deficit to 43-39 late in the half.
Both teams played without their top players. Anthony Edwards remained out for the Timberwolves because of inflammation in his right knee, and Cade Cunningham remained out for the Pistons as he recovers from a collapsed lung.
The Timberwolves also played without Jaden McDaniels (knee) and Ayo Dosunmu (calf). Terrence Shannon Jr. made his second career start in the backcourt.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen comes up big in shootout win over Kraken
Mar 28, 2026; Buffalo, New York, USA; Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (1) looks to make a save during the first period against the Seattle Kraken at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 32 saves in regulation and overtime, and stopped both attempts in the shootout, helping the Buffalo Sabres rally for a 3-2 victory against the visiting Seattle Kraken on Saturday evening.
Rasmus Dahlin and Peyton Krebs scored in regulation, and Tage Thompson and Jack Quinn scored in the shootout for the Sabres (45-21-8, 98 points), who avoided losing four in a row for the first time since a five-game skid in November.
Chandler Stephenson and Bobby McMann each had a goal and an assist, Kaapo Kakko recorded two assists and Philipp Grubauer made 34 saves for the Kraken (32-29-11, 75 points), who have lost five of six (1-3-2) after taking a 2-0 lead in the second period.
The Kraken grabbed a 1-0 lead at 12:42 of the first period.
A clearing pass by Buffalo defenseman Logan Stanley went off the skate of Stephenson while he was still in the Sabres zone and McMann gloved it down before passing it to Kakko on his right.
Kakko brought the puck through the right circle before passing it to Stephenson coming through the left circle, and he scored off the bottom of the crossbar with a wrist shot.
McMann extended the lead to 2-0 with his seventh goal in eight games since he was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 6 — the most goals of any player dealt at this season’s trade deadline.
McMann was bringing the puck down the right side when Dahlin tried to check him off the puck but failed. McMann skated in on Luukkonen and scored on the shortside at 13:18 of the second.
Buffalo cut it to 2-1 with a power-play goal at 15:55 of the second
Adam Larsson was in the penalty box for slashing when Dahlin scored with a wrist shot from above the right hash marks.
Krebs tied it 2-2 at 11:39 of the third when he entered the play late and received a pass from Zach Benson before skating into the right face-off circle and scoring with a snap shot.
–Field Level Media
Tobias Harris sparks Pistons to road win over Timberwolves
Tobias Harris sparks Pistons to road win over Timberwolves
