Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) dunks against the Atlanta Hawks in the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Republished March 31, 2026 - 5:41 AM
Original Publication Date March 30, 2026 - 6:36 AM
Now with back-to-back 60-win seasons, Oklahoma City has joined an elite group.
Oklahoma City — behind a 47-point masterpiece from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — beat Detroit 114-110 in overtime on Monday night, winning a showdown of conference leaders and giving the defending NBA champions their 60th win of the season. Oklahoma City won 68 games last season on its way to the title.
The Thunder join Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Golden State, the Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, San Antonio and Utah on the list of teams to pull off back-to-back 60-win seasons.
The Lakers had a run of four straight seasons with 60 wins at the peak of Pat Riley’s “Showtime” era (and did it five times in six years; the exception was a 57-25 mark in 1988-89). Boston, Chicago, Golden State and Milwaukee all have had runs of three consecutive 60-win years.
Knicks clinch
New York clinched a playoff spot, thanks to Miami's win over Philadelphia. The Knicks join Detroit, Boston, Oklahoma City and San Antonio on the list of teams with playoff spots secured.
The postseason (not playoff) teams are set: Milwaukee, Chicago, Washington, Brooklyn and Indiana have all been eliminated from the Eastern Conference race while Memphis, New Orleans, Dallas, Utah and Sacramento are out of the Western Conference race.
Portland and Golden State are locked into the play-in tournament.
Monday recap
— Heat 119, 76ers 109: A 14-0 late run lifts Miami to win.
— Hawks 112, Celtics 102: Atlanta has won 16 of its last 18 games.
— Suns 131, Grizzlies 105: Devin Booker had 36 points in 26 minutes.
— Spurs 129, Bulls 114: 41 points, 16 rebounds for Victor Wembanyama.
— Timberwolves 124, Mavericks 94: An 18-15-12 triple-double for Ayo Dosunmu.
— Cavaliers 122, Jazz 113: Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley each with 34 in win.
— Thunder 114, Pistons 110: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shoots 25 free throws, Pistons shoot 21.
— Lakers 120, Wizards 101: 21 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists for LeBron James.
Tuesday's games
— Phoenix at Orlando: A back-to-back for Suns, start of a tough home back-to-back for Magic.
— Charlotte at Brooklyn: One of only two games left for Hornets against eliminated teams.
— Dallas at Milwaukee: Matchup of teams officially playing out the string.
— Toronto at Detroit: After this, the Pistons have only two home games left in regular season.
— New York at Houston: Rockets blew 18-point fourth-quarter lead versus Knicks on Feb. 21.
— Cleveland at L.A. Lakers: LeBron James is 35-19 against his former teams (19-6 vs. Cavs, 16-13 vs. Heat, including playoffs).
— Portland at L.A. Clippers: Major play-in seeding implications for teams looking to avoid 9 vs. 10 game.
Wednesday's games
— Philadelphia at Washington: 76ers still trying to escape play-in.
— Atlanta at Orlando: The Hawks have eyes on the No. 5 seed.
— Boston at Miami: Celtics can move closer to No. 2 seed ...
— New York at Memphis: ... especially if the Knicks falter here.
— Sacramento at Toronto: DeMar DeRozan rightfully remains a Raptors favorite.
— Indiana at Chicago: A pair of lottery-bound teams.
— Milwaukee at Houston: Rockets looking to secure top-6 seed.
— Denver at Utah: Nuggets closer to securing home-court.
— San Antonio at Golden State: Warriors have scored 8,617 points this season — and given up 8,619.
National TV schedule
Tuesday's games on NBC and Peacock: New York-Houston and Portland-L.A. Clippers.
Wednesday's games on ESPN: Boston-Miami and San Antonio-Golden State.
Betting odds
Oklahoma City (+140) is favored to win the NBA title, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, followed by San Antonio (+450), Boston (+700), Cleveland (+1000), Denver (+1100) and New York (+1600). Detroit, on its way to the No. 1 seed in the East, is +2500.
Key dates
— April 10: All 30 teams play their 81st games of the season.
— April 12: All 30 teams play their regular season finales.
— April 14, 15 and 17: NBA play-in tournament dates.
— April 18 and 19: NBA playoff series openers.
— May 2, 3 or 4: Conference semifinals begin.
— May 10: NBA draft lottery.
— May 10-17: NBA draft combine.
— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.
— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.
— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).
Numbers watch
With 25 free-throw attempts Monday, Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the first player with two such games in the same season since James Harden in 2018-19. No player has had three 25-FTA games in the same season since Adrian Dantley in 1983-84.
Stat of the day
Including playoffs, there have been 18 instances in NBA history of someone having a triple-double after turning 39. LeBron James now has 16 of them. (Karl Malone and John Stockton had the other two).
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