Kevin Durant had 18 points and moved into sixth place on the NBA’s career points list, and Jabari Smith Jr. scored a season-high 32 points as the Houston Rockets beat the New Orleans Pelicans 119-110 Sunday night.

Fred VanVleet combined for 55 points in the last two games to lead the Houston Rockets back from a 3-1 deficit and force a deciding Game 7 against the Golden State Warriors in their first-round playoff series.

Fred VanVleet had 29 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, Alperen Sengun contributed 21 points and 14 rebounds, and the Houston Rockets kept their season alive by beating the Golden State Warriors 115-107 and forcing a deciding Game 7 in their first-round series.

Warriors forward Jimmy Butler returned from a one-game absence and rejoined the starting lineup for a 109-106 Game 4 Warriors victory in their first-round series against the Houston Rockets, limping at times as he led his team one win away from advancing to the Western Conference quarterfinals.

Stephen Curry has picked up another NBA award.

Tyler Herro scored 27 points before being one of six people ejected after a fight in the final minute of the Miami Heat’s 104-100 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night.

Jordan Poole made the winning layup with a second remaining to cap a crazy, back-and-forth final minute, and the Golden State Warriors fought back to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 122-120 on Wednesday night.

Hall of Fame football player Shannon Sharpe apologized after getting into a heated courtside conversation with Memphis Grizzlies players Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks and Morant’s father during Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Dennis Schröder completed a three-point play with 7.6 seconds left after a steal, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied past Memphis 122-121 to snap the Grizzlies’ winning streak at 11 games.

Hall of Fame football player Shannon Sharpe had a heated courtside conversation with Memphis Grizzlies players Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks and Morant’s father at the end of the first half in a nationally televised game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Nikola Jokic had 13 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for his second straight triple-double to lead the Denver Nuggets over the Memphis Grizzlies 105-91 in a matchup between the top two teams in the Western Conference.

Ja Morant scored 21 of his 33 points in the third quarter and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Detroit Pistons 122-112 on Sunday night.

Kyrie Irving returned from his suspension with 14 points, Ben Simmons tuned up for his trip back to Philadelphia with a season-high 22 and the Brooklyn Nets beat the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies 127-115.

Ja Morant and Desmond Bane scored 38 points each to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 134-124 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.

Klay Thompson knocked down eight 3-pointers on the way to 30 points, Stephen Curry scored 29 with six 3s, and the Golden State Warriors advanced to the Western Conference finals by beating the Memphis Grizzlies 110-96 in Game 6.

The Milwaukee Bucks want to build off the momentum from a thrilling comeback.

Jaren Jackson Jr., Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones each scored 21 points and the Memphis Grizzlies routed the Golden State Warriors 134-95 on Wednesday night to avoid elimination and force a sixth game in the Western Conference semifinal.

Stephen Curry converted eight free throws over the final 45.7 seconds on the way to 32 points, leading the Golden State Warriors’ fourth-quarter comeback for a 101-98 victory against the Memphis Grizzlies and a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

Stephen Curry scored 30 points, Klay Thompson had 21 and nine rebounds and the Golden State Warriors shut down Ja Morant’s supporting cast to embarrass the Memphis Grizzlies 142-112 on Saturday night for a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

Game 1 showed that whoever wins the 1-on-1 scoring battle between Memphis’ Ja Morant and Stephen Curry of the Warriors doesn’t mean their team will win the game or their Western Conference semifinal.

Klay Thompson hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 36 seconds left, and the Golden State Warriors overcame Draymond Green’s first-half ejection to edge the Memphis Grizzlies 117-116 on Sunday in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Splash Brothers Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson have the Golden State Warriors in their seventh Western Conference semifinal in 10 seasons.

Karl-Anthony Towns rebounded from two rough games with a career playoff-best 33 points and 14 rebounds, helping the Minnesota Timberwolves pull out a 119-118 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies.

Desmond Bane made seven 3-pointers and had 26 points and the Memphis Grizzlies overcame a 26-point deficit to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-95 on Thursday night for a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series.

Ja Morant scored 23 points and handed out 10 assists as the Memphis Grizzlies looked much more like the team that posted the NBA’s second-best record, routing the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-96 to even up their first-round Western Conference series at 1 apiece.

Anthony Edwards scored 36 points in his postseason debut, and the seventh-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves stunned the No. 2 seed Memphis Grizzlies 130-117 to grab home-court advantage in the opener of their first-round Western Conference series.

Here’s a look at some picks for NBA games on Thursday, March 3, 2022.

Ja Morant threw down a massive dunk over 7-footer Jakob Poeltl and scored a career-high 52 points, lifting the Memphis Grizzlies over the San Antonio Spurs 118-105.

Ja Morant scored a franchise-record 46 points, and the Memphis Grizzlies hung on to beat DeMar DeRozan and the Chicago Bulls 116-110.

Ja Morant plans to give Memphis Grizzlies much more than the memorable highlight 360-degree dunk during his first All-Star Game.

Ja Morant scored 23 points, Steven Adams added 17 points and 14 rebounds and the Memphis Grizzlies routed the Detroit Pistons 132-107.

Ja Morant scored 34 points, his sixth straight game of at least 30 points, and the Memphis Grizzlies built an early lead in a 115-95 victory over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.

Luka Doncic had 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in his 40th career triple-double, and the Dallas Mavericks used a second-half rally to rout Memphis 112-85 and end the Grizzlies’ winning streak at 11 games.

Desmond Bane scored 21 points, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 20 and the Memphis Grizzlies pulled away in the final minutes for their 11th straight victory, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-108 on Thursday night.

Ja Morant scored 29 points, including five in the final minute, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Golden State Warriors 116-108 for their 10th straight win.

The Memphis Grizzlies set a franchise record with their ninth straight win, getting 16 points and a breathtaking block from Ja Morant in a 127-119 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Another NBA head coach has entered the league's health and safety protocols.

Ja Morant scored 41 points, Desmond Bane added 20 and the Memphis Grizzlies overcame a 14-point second-half deficit to beat the Los Angeles Lakers 104-99 on Wednesday night.

Dillon Brooks and Desmond Bane scored 21 points each, and the surging Memphis Grizzlies beat the Miami Heat 105-90.

The Western Conference has the best regular season team from last year in Utah.

New Dallas coach Jason Kidd is already thinking of ways to tell Luka Doncic he has help on the roster.

A person familiar with the situation says the Memphis Grizzlies have agreed to trade center Jonas Valanciunas to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for center Steven Adams, guard Eric Bledsoe and an exchange of first-round choices in this week’s draft.

LeBron James scored 25 points before he appeared to mildly aggravate a right ankle injury,and the Los Angeles Lakers closed out the regular season with a 110-98 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) goes to the basket against Los Angeles Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma (0) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)NEW ORLEANS – Brandon Ingram scored a season-high 36 points, Zion Williamson had 27 points and nine rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 128-111 on Tuesday night. Ingram helped keep the Pelicans comfortably in front with 17 points in the third quarter, showcasing his mid-range repertoire of pull-ups, fades and turnaround jumpers. Pelicans guard Josh Hart — like Ingram an ex-Laker who was part of the trade that sent Anthony Davis to Los Angeles — grabbed 15 rebounds to go with five steals. ... Steven Adams had 12 points and seven rebounds.

Tucker, center, his held back by Oklahoma City Thunder's Steven Adams, right, as he confronts Dennis Schroder (17) after a foul during the second half of an NBA basketball first round playoff game Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Both Schroder and Tucker were ejected from the game. Tucker and Oklahoma City's Dennis Schroder were ejected from Game 5 of their first-round playoff series Saturday night after a tussle following a hard pick that sent them both to the floor. When the two players stood back up, Tucker approached Schroder and head-butted him from behind. After checking the video, referee James Capers called a flagrant 2 foul on Schroder and ejected him.

Houston Rockets' P.J. That was a fortunate turn of events for the Houston Rockets. We need him.Schroder led the Thunder with 19 points 18 of them in the second quarter, when Oklahoma City had its only lead of the game. Steven Adams had 12 points and 14 rebounds, and Darius Bazley had 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Thunder. Houston scored 20 of the games first 27 points, but the Thunder erased the deficit in the second -- taking a brief lead of as many as five points -- before the Rockets took a 48-45 lead into the half.

Houston All-Star Russell Westbrook, who played his previous 11 years with the Thunder, was out with a quad injury. Jeff Green scored 22 points and Eric Gordon added 21 for Houston, which isn't sure how long it will be without Westbrook. Chris Paul, who joined the Oklahoma City in the trade that sent Westbrook to Houston, finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Gordon scored 16 points and Harden had 15 in the first half to help the Rockets take a 68-52 lead. Oklahoma City cut its deficit to 10 at one point in the third quarter, but the Rockets pulled away and led 104-83 heading into the fourth.

Oklahoma City pulled even with Houston for the fifth seed in the Western Conference playoff picture with five games left. Los Angeles, which has already clinched the top seed in the West and the Pacific Division title, never held a lead for the first time all season. Los Angeles dropped two games behind Milwaukee for the NBA's best overall record, which won't provide a real home-court advantage in the NBA Finals this year. Dion Waiters scored 14 points for the Lakers, whose poor perimeter shooting in the bubble still hasn't been fixed. ... Los Angeles got a scare in the third quarter when Paul elbowed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the ribs, forcing Caldwell-Pope to leave the game.