It might be the opening weekend of March Madness, but there's still plenty of NBA action on the schedule.
Starting off the day, Kemba Walker and the Hornets staged an incredible 18-point comeback in the fourth quarter to shock the Celtics, who have now lost three games in a row.
Also early on, the Heat snuck past the Wizards to pick up a big win in their hunt for a playoff spot. Meanwhile, Trae Young's buzzer beater lifted the Hawks over the Sixers in an exciting contest.
Later on, the Jazz absolutely crushed the lowly Bulls, Karl-Anthony Towns went off to lead the Timberwolves past the Grizzlies and Luka Doncic recorded his sixth triple-double of the season as the Mavericks beat the Warriors by 35 points.
To close out the night, Damian Lillard led the Trail Blazers to a comeback win over the Pistons, while the Kings closed out the Suns.
Here's everything you need to know about Saturday night in the NBA:
NBA schedule for Saturday, March 23
- Charlotte Hornets 124, Boston Celtics 117 (Box Score)
- Miami Heat 113, Washington Wizards 108 (Box Score)
- Atlanta Hawks 129, Philadelphia 76ers 127 (Box Score)
- Utah Jazz 114, Chicago Bulls 83 (Box Score)
- Minnesota Timberwolves 112, Memphis Grizzlies 99 (Box Score)
- Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors, 8:30 p.m. (Box Score)
- Portland Trail Blazers 117, Detroit Pistons 112 (Box Score)
- Sacramento Kings 112, Phoenix Suns 103 (Box Score)
NBA schedule for Sunday, March 24
*All times Eastern
- Los Angeles Clippers at New York Knicks, 12 p.m. (GameTracker) -- Watch on fuboTV with NBA League Pass extension
- Cleveland Cavaliers at Milwaukee Bucks, 3:30 p.m. (GameTracker) -- Watch on fuboTV with NBA League Pass extension
- Denver Nuggets at Indiana Pacers, 5 p.m. (GameTracker) -- Watch on fuboTV with NBA League Pass extension
- Charlotte Hornets at Toronto Raptors, 6 p.m. (GameTracker) -- Watch on fuboTV with NBA League Pass extension
- Houston Rockets at New Orleans Pelicans, 7 p.m. (GameTracker) -- Watch on fuboTV with NBA League Pass extension
- San Antonio Spurs at Boston Celtics, 7:30 p.m. (GameTracker) -- TV: NBATV Streaming: fuboTV (try it free)
- Detroit Pistons at Golden State Warriors, 8:30 p.m. (GameTracker) -- Watch on fuboTV with NBA League Pass extension
- Sacramento Kings at Los Angeles Lakers, 9:30 p.m. (GameTracker) -- Watch on fuboTV with NBA League Pass extension
Kemba outduels Kyrie in Charlotte
Kemba Walker and the Hornets were struggling on Saturday evening and looked to be heading towards another bad loss. That is, until Walker absolutely took over down the stretch. He led the Hornets on a 30-5 run over the last eight minutes to secure a vital victory to keep their thin playoff hopes alive. Walker scored 18 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and added 11 rebounds and nine assists. On the other side, Kyrie Irving finished with 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
👀 @KembaWalker (36 PTS) and @KyrieIrving (31 PTS) duel as the @hornets prevail at home! #Hornets30 pic.twitter.com/QUA8364j5d
— NBA (@NBA) March 24, 2019
Young beats the buzzer to lead the Hawks to victory
The Atlanta Hawks are not making the NBA playoffs this season but Trae Young is looking more and more like a great selection for the franchise and he proved that once again tonight by hitting the game-winner against the Philadelphia 76ers.
32 PTS (4 3PM), 11 AST, 6 REB and the game-winning floater for @TheTraeYoung in the @ATLHawks home win! #NBARooks #TrueToAtlanta pic.twitter.com/lyg7WTj4R0
— NBA (@NBA) March 24, 2019
Luka records another triple-double
This might be Dirk Nowitzki's last game in Oakland, but Luka Doncic stole the show. The rookie finished with his sixth triple-double, registering 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Lillard leads Trail Blazers' comeback win
The Trail Blazers got a crucial win in terms of playoff seeding in the West, and did so thanks to some clutch play from Damian Lillard down the stretch. They closed on a 12-0 run that included a number of big plays by Lillard, including a four-point play to give them the lead for good.
🔥⌚️ DAME TIME! ⌚️🔥#RipCity 117#DetroitBasketball 112
— NBA (@NBA) March 24, 2019
4.1 remaining on @NBATV pic.twitter.com/GjKnUMJzvp
Wade's big night gets Heat a crucial win
Every game is a must-win for the Heat at this point as they try to hold on to the eighth and final playoff spot in the East. On Saturday night in D.C. they did indeed get a win, sneaking past the Wizards in a close one, 113-108. And they did so thanks to Dwyane Wade, who finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists in his last game in D.C.
D-Wade showed out in D.C. tonight! ⚡️
— NBA TV (@NBATV) March 24, 2019
📊: 20 PTS | 9 REB | 5 AST#OneLastDance | #HeatCulture pic.twitter.com/oMNOJtHatt
Towns puts up monster night in win over Grizzlies
The Timberwolves have already been eliminated from the playoffs, but Karl-Anthony Towns isn't giving up on the season. The big man put up a monster effort on Saturday night, finishing with 33 points and 23 rebounds. It was his second 20-20 game in his last three outings, and seventh double-double in a row.
Jazz put style into the fastbreak
The Jazz got out to a huge lead on the Bulls thanks to sequences like this one. First, they wiped out a shot, then advanced the ball up the court in style before Donovan Mitchell slammed it home with authority.
✅ rudy block
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 24, 2019
✅ jae behind-the-back no-look pass
✅ joe assist
✅ don dunk #TeamIsEverything pic.twitter.com/lMZ9UtuMTz
Boban from deep
Boban Marjanovic now has more 3-pointers than Ben Simmons. The Sixers big man drained a triple from the corner against the Hawks for the first 3 of his career.
🔥 BOBAN FOR THREE! 🔥#HereTheyCome 23#TrueToAtlanta 23
— NBA (@NBA) March 23, 2019
📺: @NBATV pic.twitter.com/PpTkttJimr
Bridges gets it done on both ends
Miles Bridges got busy on both ends against the Celtics. First, he played some nice defense to get a deflection, then hustled down the other end of the floor and finished the fastbreak with an alley-oop.
Miles Bridges knocks it away and flies in for the oop! #NBARooks #Hornets30
— NBA (@NBA) March 23, 2019
📱💻: https://t.co/cb8TXyNer6 pic.twitter.com/kyLYeKEwIb