FloaterDaily Brief
Tuesday, March 24, 2026Regular season · 4 games
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4 games, none went to overtime. Biggest comeback: 7 points, by CLE (vs ORL) and DEN (vs PHX).

Final · Box score
Kings90
Hornets134
Q1 CHA +9; Q2 CHA +25; Q3 CHA +37; Q4 CHA +44
Final · Box score
Pelicans116
Knicks121
Q1 NYK +14; Q2 NYK +6; Q3 NYK +1; Q4 NYK +5
Final · Box score
Magic131
Cavs136
Q1 CLE -7; Q2 CLE +4; Q3 CLE +8; Q4 CLE +5
Final · Box score
Nuggets125
Suns123
Q1 DEN -7; Q2 DEN +10; Q3 DEN +2; Q4 DEN +2
On this day · 2024–25Mar 24, 2025: 8 games. Top scorer: Kevin Durant (Suns-Bucks), 38 points.
Mar 24 in other seasons2024202320222021201920182017201620152014201320122011201020092008200720062005200420032002200120001999199819971996
The lead · Nuggets-Suns

Nikola Jokic posts 23-17-17 as Denver tops Phoenix

Paolo Banchero goes for 36 points

Game flow · DEN margin at each break
-20-100+10+20TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0-7+10+2+2DEN AHEAD ↑PHX AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
Nuggets28393028125
Suns35223828123
Who led
Nikola JokicPoints, last 10 games: 38, 32, 16, 31, 24, 8, 29, 22, 22, 23DEN23 PTS · 17 REB · 17 AST
Jamal MurrayPoints, last 10 games: 12, 21, 30, 39, 5, 12, 19, 31, 22, 21DEN21 PTS · 1 REB · 6 AST
Devin BookerPoints, last 10 games: 30, 27, 43, 31, 40, 34, 22, 14, 25, 22PHX22 PTS · 3 REB · 8 AST
Jalen GreenPoints, last 10 games: 24, 25, 36, 34, 21, 9, 17, 24, 20, 21PHX21 PTS · 6 REB · 6 AST
Second story · Magic-Cavs

Cleveland makes it four straight

Cleveland beat Orlando 136–131 and moved to 45–27. Donovan Mitchell led Cleveland with 42 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists.

Streak strip · CLE
Wvs DET113–109Lvs BOS98–109Wvs PHI115–101L@ ORL122–128W@ DAL138–105Lvs DAL120–130W@ MIL123–116W@ CHI115–110W@ NOP111–106Wvs ORL136–131
Lead changes
Pelicans-Knicks15
Nuggets-Suns9
Magic-Cavs3
Shot of the night

Jokic's floater with 11 seconds left breaks the tie, 125-123 final

The night in charts
Magic-Cavs combined for 267, 19 more than any other game
Points by game
Magic-CavsMagic 131, Cavs 136
267
Nuggets-SunsNuggets 125, Suns 123
248
Pelicans-KnicksPelicans 116, Knicks 121
237
Kings-HornetsKings 90, Hornets 134
224
3 of 4 games were decided by 5 or fewer
Closest finishes
Nuggets-SunsNuggets 125, Suns 123
+2 DEN
Pelicans-KnicksPelicans 116, Knicks 121
+5 NYK
Magic-CavsMagic 131, Cavs 136
+5 CLE
Kings-HornetsKings 90, Hornets 134
+44 CHA
CLE rallied from 7 down, the night's biggest comeback
Biggest comebacks, at quarter breaks
Magic-CavsCLE won · Magic 131, Cavs 136
7 pts
Nuggets-SunsDEN won · Nuggets 125, Suns 123
7 pts
Zion shot 8-of-10 for the night's hottest hand
Hottest shooting · min 10 FGA
ZionNOP · 22 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL
80% (8-10)
Coby WhiteCHA · 27 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST
75% (9-12)
FearsNOP · 21 PTS, 3 AST, 2 STL, 1 REB
75% (9-12)
MitchellCLE · 42 PTS, 3 AST, 2 REB
64% (14-22)
BraunDEN · 13 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST
60% (6-10)
Final · Nuggets-Suns
Nuggets 125Suns 123
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Nuggets28393028125
Suns35223828123
The story
Jamal Murray had 21 points as Denver beat Phoenix 125-123

Devin Booker led Phoenix with 22 PTS, 8 AST, 3 REB 21 PTS, 6 AST, 1 REB · 7-18 FG, 3-9 3PT

The swing

Down 7 after the first, the Nuggets took the second 39-22.

DEN lead by quarter
200 −7+10+2+2 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Magic-Cavs
Magic 131Cavs 136
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Magic39292934131
Cavs32403331136
The story
James Harden's 26 points carried Cleveland past Orlando, 136-131

For Orlando, Desmond Bane had 17 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST 26 PTS, 7 AST, 3 REB · 8-16 FG, 4-6 3PT

The swing

The Cavaliers trailed by 7 going into the second, then won it 40-29.

CLE lead by quarter
200 −7+4+8+5 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Pelicans-Knicks
Pelicans 116Knicks 121
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Pelicans28323224116
Knicks42242728121
The story
New York beat New Orleans 121-116 behind 32 points from Jalen Brunson

Zion Williamson paced New Orleans: 22 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST 32 PTS, 7 AST, 1 REB · 11-19 FG, 2-4 3PT

The swing

A 42-28 first quarter did the most damage for the Knicks.

NYK lead by quarter
200 +14+6+1+5 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle

OG Anunoby topped the game at 46.3 FPTS: 21 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST

Fantasy angle
Heating up
+9.7points, last 5 vs season avg
Points per game
11.9Season avg21.6Last 5

21.6 points a game over his last five games, against 11.9 in 64 earlier games. Today: 16 points in 29 minutes.

Losing minutes
−9.8minutes, last 3 vs season avg
Minutes per game
24.8Season avg15.0Last 3

15.0 minutes a game over his last three games, against 24.8 in 60 earlier games. Today: 6 points in 16 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+22.4minutes, today vs season avg
Minutes per game
9.6Season avg32Today

32 minutes today, against 9.6 a game in 27 earlier games. Line: 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists.

Top performances

Donovan Mitchell leads the day with 42

Donovan MitchellPoints, last 10 games: 20, 23, 30, 17, 25, 24, 26, 19, 27, 42Cavs-Magic · W
28.3 PPG season to date · +14.0 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Most like it, modern era: Glen Rice CHH, Jan 2, 1998: 42 PTS · 2 REB · 3 AST
42 PTS · 2 REB · 3 AST
Paolo BancheroPoints, last 10 games: 33, 25, 18, 27, 18, 32, 20, 16, 39, 36Magic-Cavs · L
22.7 PPG season to date · +13.5 vs his regular-season average before tonight
36 PTS · 6 REB · 5 AST
Jalen BrunsonPoints, last 10 games: 16, 9, 24, 28, 28, 29, 30, 17, 23, 32Knicks-Pelicans · W
26.2 PPG season to date · +5.9 vs his regular-season average before tonight
32 PTS · 1 REB · 7 AST
Coby WhitePoints, last 10 games: 20, 17, 13, 7, 9, 18, 24, 27, 12, 27Hornets-Kings · W
17.8 PPG season to date · +9.4 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Ties season high27 PTS · 5 REB · 1 AST
James HardenPoints, last 10 games: 18, 19, 21, 30, 17, 13, 27, 36, 20, 26Cavs-Magic · W
24.2 PPG season to date · +1.9 vs his regular-season average before tonight
26 PTS · 3 REB · 7 AST
Nikola JokicPoints, last 10 games: 38, 32, 16, 31, 24, 8, 29, 22, 22, 23Nuggets-Suns · W
27.9 PPG season to date · −5.0 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Most like it, modern era: Russell Westbrook OKC, Jan 24, 2019: 23 PTS · 17 REB · 16 AST
23 PTS · 17 REB · 17 AST
Hot and cold

Last 10 games against the season so far

Hot
Bam AdebayoMIA+9.1 29.4 last 10 · 20.3 season
Cody WilliamsUTA+8.1 15.5 last 10 · 7.4 season
Quentin GrimesPHI+8.0 21.9 last 10 · 13.9 season
Airious BaileyUTA+7.8 21.2 last 10 · 13.4 season
Brice SensabaughUTA+7.1 21.4 last 10 · 14.3 season
Cold
Mikal BridgesNYK−6.1 8.6 last 10 · 14.7 season
Dennis SchroderCLE−5.5 5.6 last 10 · 11.1 season
Cam ThomasMIL−5.5 8.0 last 10 · 13.5 season
Nikola VucevicBOS−5.3 10.3 last 10 · 15.6 season
Cade CunninghamDET−4.4 20.1 last 10 · 24.5 season