There were nine games in store for Wednesday, and they led to plenty of excitement with three overtime games.
Starting things off, the Magic got a big win over the Pelicans to keep their playoff hopes alive, while Joel Embiid and the Sixers took down the Celtics in a fiery, exciting game.
Later on, the Jazz easily handled the Knicks, while the Spurs were unable to extend their nine-game winning streak in a loss to the pesky Miami Heat in San Antonio. In the late games, we saw the Blazers knock off the Mavericks thanks to a big night from Damian Lillard (33 points, 12 assists), and then the Raptors recomposed after a furious OKC comeback forced overtime, and eventually pulled out the win.
Here's everything you need to know about Wednesday night in the NBA, along with Thursday's schedule.
NBA scores for Wednesday, March 20NBA schedule for Thursday, March 21
*All times Eastern
Siakam leads Raptors past OKC
Russell Westbrook had 42 points, but the star of the Raptors' overtime win against the Thunder was Pascal Siakam. Likely the NBA's Most Improved Player, Siakam finished with 33 points, 13 rebounds and six assists.
Embiid goes off, Butler closes out Celtics
The 76ers finally beat the Celtics this season, winning an exciting game, 118-115. Joel Embiid led the way, finishing with a ridiculous stat line of 37 points and a career-high 22 rebounds, and Jimmy Butler closed out the game with some clutch buckets down the stretch. On the other side, Kyrie Irving went for 36 points, but it wasn't enough. The win further solidifies the Sixers as the No. 3 seed in the East.
Harden drops 57 in OT loss
The Rockets looked dead in the water until James Harden brought them back in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Ultimately it wasn't enough, as Jonas Valanciunas hit the game-winning free throw with 0.1 seconds left, but Harden finished with 57 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, while shooting 9-of-17 from the 3-point line.
Gordon leads Magic to big win
The Magic needed a big win on Wednesday night to keep pace in the playoff race, and they got one thanks in large part to Aaron Gordon. The forward finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists as the Magic crushed the Pelicans by 23 points.
Mitchell throws it down
Donovan Mitchell showed off his athleticism at MSG, getting free on the baseline for a thunderous slam.
Parsons hits from deep
Chandler Parsons is finally healthy again, and on Wednesday he made one of the plays of the night with this deep 3-pointer off one leg to beat the shot clock.
Collison's gets jersey retired
Nick Collison had his jersey retired by the Thunder on Wednesday night, becoming the first player in the franchise's short history to receive that honor.
Spurs look for 10th straight win when Heat visit
It's a testament to Gregg Popovich and the organization that despite trading away Kawhi Leonard, and losing franchise cornerstones Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, the Spurs are still just cruising along. They've won nine games in a row, and surged up into fifth place in the West, just a game and a half out of fourth. On Wednesday night, they'll look to secure their 10th straight win and move even closer to having home-court advantage in the first round -- something no one was predicting after their moves this summer.
