When you drop a career-high 44 points, hit the game-winner with 0.1 seconds left and still have enough left for the shimmy.

THE LINEUP 🏀

What’s inside today’s edition? 

Dejounte delivers: Murray scores 44, hits game-winner as Hawks drop Celtics again

Pelicans inch closer: After beating the Bucks, New Orleans is within a half-game of the four-seed

1st place at stake: Get ready for Nuggets-Wolves tonight, with the winner leading the West

Showdown in Sactown: Dallas goes for 6 straight wins in a game filled with playoff implications

Eyes on the Play-In: Examining the SoFi Play-In Tournament implications of tonight’s 12-game slate

BUT FIRST … ⏰

Last night’s scores & what to watch today.

Lakers-Pacers (7 ET, NBA TV): The Lakers look for their third win over the Pacers this season – sweeping the regular season series with a win to go with their In-Season Tournament title

Mavs-Kings (10 ET, NBA TV): After the Mavs took home the W on Tuesday, how will Sacramento respond in this pivotal game?

1. DEJOUNTE DOMINATES OT, HITS GAME-WINNER

Hawks beat Celtics again: In a game that featured 41 lead changes, Dejounte Murray delivered the most important one, as his pull-up jumper dropped with 0.1 seconds left to give him a career-high 44 points and Atlanta its second win over Boston in three days. | Recap

Bogdan Bogdanovic’s clutch 3 with 27 seconds left forced overtime, then Murray took over the game, scoring all 11 of Atlanta’s points in the extra session.

• 🗣️ Murray after the game: “This is the NBA, right? That’s the best team in the league… we competed.”
• 🗣️ Trae Young’s reaction: YESSSSSSIR 5!!!! 🏁 @DejounteMurray WeMove!
• 🗣️ Murray after his game-winner: “I’m Him!”

Murray finished with 44 points on 18-of-44 shooting with seven boards and seven assists in the win. Tatum led Boston with 31 points and 13 boards, while Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick White combined for 42.

Rare feat: Boston dropped consecutive games for only the third time this season as Atlanta became only the third team – joining Denver and Indiana – to beat the Celtics twice this season.

Back and forth: How close was this game? It is only the third game of the play-by-play era (since 1997-98) to feature over 40 lead changes. This game had 41 lead changes and 14 ties. Here’s what that looks like.

• Play-In Race (ATL ↔️): The Hawks remain 10th in the East, moving within one game of No. 9 Chicago
• Playoff Race (BOS ↔️): The Celtics have already clinched the top seed in the East

2. PELICANS DEFEAT BUCKS, INCH CLOSER TO NO. 4 SEED

Pelicans hold off Bucks: Zion Williamson (28 pts, 5 reb, 9-15 FG) and CJ McCollum (25 pts, 7 reb, 7 ast) combined for 53 points as the Pelicans overcame a 35-point night from Giannis Antetokounmpo for the 107-100 win. | Recap

• Giannis scores 20 straight: As Milwaukee rallied back from 18 down to make it a three-point game, Giannis went to work, scoring 20 straight Bucks points from 8:07 remaining until the end of the third quarter
• NOLA double-doubles: Jonas Valanciunas (17 pts, 10 reb) and Trey Murphy (15 pts, 11 reb) combined for 32 points and 21 boards
• Playoff Race (MIL ↔️): The Bucks remain 2nd in the East, with their lead trimmed to 1.5 games over No. 3 New York and two games over No. 4 Cleveland
• Playoff Race (NOP ↔️): The Pelicans remain 5th in the West, moving within a half-game of the No. 4 Clippers and increasing their lead to 1.5 games over No. 6 Dallas

3. FIRST PLACE IN THE WEST ON THE LINE

The Nuggets enter Friday with a half-game lead on both the No. 2 Timberwolves and No. 3 Thunder at the top of the Western Conference. But another shakeup is possible with all three in play tonight.

Nuggets will test Gobert, Wolves’ defense: Rudy Gobert has a chance to join an exclusive club – a fourth Defensive Player of the Year would tie him with Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo for the most in NBA history.

The Resume:

• Leads NBA in defensive rating at 105.9 (min. 24 min/game)
• Leads NBA in FG% differential, holding opponents 6.7% lower than their expected FG% (min. 300 FGA defended)
• Leads NBA in defensive win shares (11.4)
• Ranks 6th in blocks (2.1 per game)
• Ranks 7th in rim protection, holding opponents to 52.2% shooting at the basket (min. 300 FGA defended at rim)

Gobert anchors the league’s best defense as the Timberwolves bring a 108.2 defensive rating into tonight’s No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup against the defending champion Nuggets (9 ET, NBA App).

The Nuggets own the league’s best record since the All-Star break (15-3) and the second-ranked offense (119.5) during that 18-game stretch, which has lifted Denver from third to first in the West.

Slowing down Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets will require a team effort, but it all begins with Gobert, who played in Minnesota’s win over Denver on Nov. 1, but was out for its loss on March 19. The teams meet two more times – tonight and April 10 – with both games critical to the playoff race.

The winner of tonight’s game will emerge first in the West:

• Denver Wins: The Nuggets (52-22) go 1.5 games up on Minnesota (50-23), and maintain a half-game lead on the Thunder (if OKC wins vs. Phoenix) or a 1.5-game lead (if OKC loses)
• Minnesota Wins: The Wolves (51-22) go a half-game up on Denver (51-23), and would either be tied with OKC and take first via tiebreaker (if OKC wins) or go a full game up (if OKC loses)

4. SURGING MAVS ENTER SHOWDOWN IN SACTOWN

What’s happening in Texas hoops right now?

• The Rockets are the league’s hottest team, having won 10 in a row to put the pressure on Golden State for the final Play-In spot
• The Mavericks have won five straight to jump from the Play-In (8th) to the Playoff (6th) race
• The Spurs are coming off wins over Phoenix and Utah and go for their first three-game win streak of the season tonight

Tuesday in Sacramento, the Mavs raced past the Kings on the court and in the standings, earning a 132-96 win and climbing to sixth in the West.

Tonight in Sacramento, the Mavs and Kings have their final regular-season matchup (10 ET, NBA TV). Once again, the Playoff vs. Play-In implications are massive.

Dallas Wins: The Mavs stay in sixth and move two games up on the Kings and either maintain a half-game lead over the Suns (if PHX beats OKC) or take a 1.5-game lead (if PHX loses).

• It would even the season series with the Kings, removing the head-to-head tiebreaker

Sacramento Wins: The Kings and Mavs would be tied at 43-40 with Sacramento owning the head-to-head tiebreaker (3-1).

• A Phoenix win over OKC would result in Suns (6th at 44-30), Kings (7th) and Mavs (8th)
• A Phoenix loss would result in Kings (6th), Mavs (7th) and Suns (8 at 43-31)

What has been the key to Dallas’ win streak? Their defense.

• Dallas has held its opponents to 105, 107, 97, 105 and 96 points during the streak, and has the league’s top defensive rating (102.6) over all teams’ last five games
• How Big Is That Improvement? Before this streak, Dallas ranked 22nd in defense, allowing 116.8 points per 100 possessions

5. PLAY-IN IMPLICATIONS HIGHLIGHT FRIDAY SLATE

Blazers at (7) Heat (8 ET, NBA App): The Heat trail the Pacers by a game for the final guaranteed playoff berth and have a rubber match with them to decide the tiebreaker on April 7.

• Tonight, they take on the Blazers looking to inch closer to Indy while fending off Philadelphia (half-game back)

(8) Sixers at (4) Cavs (7:30 ET, NBA App): Coach Nick Nurse said there is a “good likelihood” that Joel Embiid returns before the Playoffs. The reigning MVP’s return could make Philly a team no one wants to see in the Play-In or first round.

• Tonight, they take on a Cavs team that has dropped four of their last five games as Philly tries to stay within striking distance of No. 7 Miami and No. 6 Indy

(9) Bulls at Nets (7:30 ET, NBA App): The Bulls appear headed for the 9 vs. 10 bracket of the Play-In as they trail Philly by four games. Can they fend off No. 10 Atlanta to secure home-court in the win-or-go-home game?

• Tonight, the Bulls look to avoid a season-series sweep at the hands of the Nets

(9) Lakers at (6) Pacers (7 ET, NBA TV): The Lakers bring a five-game win streak into tonight’s game – a run that’s been led by Anthony Davis (28.8 ppg, 18.3 rpg, 57.3% shooting).

• The Lakers are 2.5 games up on the No. 10 Warriors and are creeping up on the No. 8 Kings. However, they must finish ahead of Sacramento to avoid the 9 vs. 10 bracket of the Play-In since the Kings hold the tiebreaker

(10) Warriors at Hornets (7 ET, NBA App): After a 4-7 run over three weeks (Mar. 3-24), the Warriors won back-to-back games to help fend off Houston and hold the final spot in the Play-In.

• The Warriors have two games left on a five-game road trip – tonight in Charlotte (18-54) and Sunday in San Antonio (17-56)

(11) Rockets at Jazz (9:30 ET, NBA App): The Rockets look to extend their win streak to 11 games and continue to put pressure on No. 10 Golden State.

• Jalen Green (29.8 ppg) ranks No. 3 in scoring over all teams’ last 10 games. He’s made a league-high 45 3s on 45.7% shooting from 3 during this stretch