The Morning Dunk closes off the week with all of the best NBA news, highlights, and betting odds from an eventful slate of games on Thursday night.
DeRozan, Brooks Get Heated In Rockets Victory
With 6:02 remaining in the third quarter of Thursday's matchup between the Houston Rockets and visiting Chicago Bulls, DeMar DeRozan and Dillon Brooks got involved in a heated exchange which resulted in both players getting booted from the festivities.
DeRozan was assessed a flagrant-2 foul for steamrolling through Jalen Green, while Brooks received a technical foul and subsequent ejection for getting into DeRozan's face and kicking off the scuffle.
Dillon Brooks and DeRozan ejected after scuffle 😳 pic.twitter.com/tdnMKNxZvt
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 22, 2024
The Rockets ultimately prevailed with a 127-1117 victory, covering the spread as the four-point favorites and extending their winning streak SU to an impressive seven games.
Magic Clinch Winning Season, Steamroll Pelicans
The Orlando Magic are the hottest team in basketball that not nearly enough people are talking about, frankly.
A 121-106 win over the New Orleans Pelicans at the Kia Center was Orlando's fifth-straight victory and 18th in its last 23 games.
Paolo Banchero recorded the second triple-double of his career with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists to help the Magic clinch just their second winning season in 12 years.
Paolo Banchero drops a triple-double to lead the @OrlandoMagic to their 5th straight win and 8th over the last 10 🪄📈
— NBA (@NBA) March 22, 2024
20 PTS | 10 REB | 11 AST pic.twitter.com/EMnon0qsvW
With a 42-28 record SU, Orlando moves into the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference for home-court advantage in the opening round of the playoffs.
Porter Jr. Sets New Nuggets Record For 3-Pointers
Michael Porter Jr. can't seem to miss these days, and the Denver Nuggets are reaping the benefits.
The 25-year-old shot 13-of-16 from the field and connected on three 3-pointers in a 113-100 win over the New York Knicks, ending the Knicks' four-game winning streak. He now has 193 made 3-pointers for the season, breaking the Nuggets' franchise record of 192 set by Dale Ellis from the 1996-97 campaign.
Michael Porter Jr. falling to 14 in 2018 draft is a big reason the Nuggets are as good as they are now. They got a guy who is a go to wing on many other teams. This is a 25 ppg talent who's bought into a sniper role. He adjusted his game so well for this system.
— Ball Don't Stop (@balldontstop) March 22, 2024
🎥 @nuggets pic.twitter.com/ywvsNGRgQG
The reigning champions are just 0.06 percentage points out of first place in the Western Conference following the win. They covered the spread as the 8.5-point favorites at Ball Arena, dropping New York's record in that regard to 6-14 over its last 20 outings.
