Randy Harvey of the Houston Chronicle: The game Sunday at Toyota Center between the Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers was as close to any alley fight as you'll see in a regular-season game. It was not just one of 82. Playoff intensity is the phrase most often associated with the rare occasions when regular-season games make throats tighten and pulses race. But this game had more than playoff intensity. It had seventh-game intensity. ... But this game wasn't about any individual. Or two individuals. It was not about the best man winning. This game was about the Rockets' establishing themselves as a contender by displaying a toughness that has been lacking when they reached the playoffs in recent seasons. This didn't look like a one-and-done team. The Rockets stood their ground.

Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle: With his team trailing by 26 points midway through the second quarter Sunday, Draymond Green sat on the bench and hoped that no cameras would catch his unusual reaction. “I was laughing,” the Warriors’ power forward said. “I just told everybody that there was a bunch of time left in the game, a lot of time.” The Warriors needed almost all of the game’s remaining 30 minutes to match the NBA’s biggest comeback of the season, riding Green’s confidence, Stephen Curry’s brilliance and a handful of other contributions to grind their way back to a 106-101 victory over the Celtics at TD Garden. Just two nights after being up by 41 points in Toronto, the Warriors found themselves down by double digits for a stretch of 21 minutes, 24 seconds that extended from the first quarter to the third and ballooned to 26 points at the 6:53 mark of the second. To trim the Celtics’ lead to a single digit, the Warriors generally showcased a small-ball lineup with Green (6-foot-7) playing center, defending 7-foot Tyler Zeller and switching to contest shots by 5-9 Isaiah Thomas. The Warriors limited Boston to 30.9 percent shooting in the final three quarters. Green “deserves some accolades for what he does,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said.

Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times: It takes some doing to keep DeAndre Jordan out of an NBA game. The last time it happened, on March 23, 2011, the Clippers center had been hospitalized the previous week because of a mild case of pneumonia. "Iron man," Clippers shooting guard Jamal Crawford said of his teammate. "He's unbelievable." Jordan played in his 300th consecutive game Sunday at the United Center during the Clippers' 96­86 victory over the Chicago Bulls, extending the NBA's longest active streak. Jordan said there was no secret to his durability. "It means I'm lucky just to be able to play and not have any injuries to where it holds me out," he said. Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said what's even more impressive than Jordan's consecutive games streak is his consecutive practices streak; Rivers couldn't recall Jordan having sat out one in his two seasons as the team's coach. Clippers point guard Chris Paul said Jordan's presence in games has been such a constant that he couldn't imagine Jordan sitting in street clothes on the bench. ... Jordan remains a long way from threatening the franchise record of 595 consecutive games played by Randy Smith from February 1972 to April 1979.

Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman: This Thunder season has gone from cursed to crazy. You’ve got to laugh, else you’ll cry. Forget “Thunderstruck.” Or “Oklahoma!” The new Thunder anthem is the theme from M*A*S*H. Good thing the NBA has its own health insurance; the Thunder alone would bankrupt ObamaCare. Now we know why Reggie Jackson wanted out of town so badly. He figured the Chesapeake scoreboard would fall on his head while he dribbled across halfcourt. Kevin Durant is the NBA MVPP. Most valuable podiatrist patient. He’s missed 33 games, with four episodes: foot fracture, sprained ankle, sore toe and a procedure to fix swelling around the fractured foot. This time, docs put in a headless screw. Geez, wish they’d have had that technology in October. Westbrook has missed 15 games, with the broken bones. Steven Adams, so tough that he played rugby back in New Zealand, has missed 10 games. A migraine and a broken hand. Adams. Westbrook. We’re talking rough and tumble dudes. Alley fighters. Now they’re like china in a bull shop. The plague has afflicted all but Serge Ibaka, who has answered the bell for all 60 games. Nick Collison is next on the list, with 53.

Mike Richman of The Oregonian: As important as the Blazers securing their first three game winning streak in over a month was the most important development came from the man running the offense. Simply put, Damian Lillard started to look like Damian Lillard again. After a forgettable start to 2015, Lillard has put together back-to-back performances more fitting of an All-Star point guard. After a 29-point game in a win over Oklahoma City on Friday, Lillard poured in 31 points (9 in the fourth quarter) along with seven assists and four rebounds. He shot 11-for-20 from the field, including 3-for-5 from the three-point line. He attacked the paint early, going the entire first half without shooting a three-pointer. Possession after possession he probed the defense either finishing at the rim or kicking out to a waiting teammate. He recorded five assists in the first half. And then when the game suddenly got close, Lillard showed flashes of the go-to scorer Portland relied on so heavily early in the season. Is it safe to say Lillard is back after he suffered through the worst shooting month of his career in February? "I have been feeling good, but shots weren't falling and things weren't going our way as a team. It was a little rough," Lillard said.

Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star: March can be kind to the Indiana Pacers, considering they have one of the softest schedules remaining among the Eastern Conference playoff hopefuls. However, this doesn't mean the Pacers plan on making it easy for themselves. Indiana defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 94-74 Sunday, even though stretches of the second half dragged with poor shooting from both sides and unexpected rallies from one of the worst teams in the league. Even though the Pacers held the Sixers, ranked last in the league in points per game, to just 28 in the second half, Philadelphia still trimmed a double-digit lead to seven or six points on multiple occasions. Yet, the Pacers still won by 20. Bad opponents have a way of mystifying basketball. ... Over the next seven games, the Pacers play more opponents like the Sixers: Orlando Magic, New York Knicks (twice) and Brad Stevens' surprising Boston Celtics, who can vie for the eighth seed but are still 11 games under the .500 mark. But if the Pacers can survive those challenges the same way they did Sunday – shooting only 16.7 percent from the 3-point circle and scoring just 14 points through the third quarter – they'll take the result while understanding the need to stay focused.

John Reid of The Times-Picayune: The Pelicans have struggled on the road this season, but they closed out strong enough on Sunday night to beat the Denver Nuggets, 99-92, at the Pepsi Center. The victory allowed the ninth-seeded Pelicans, who are 12-17 on the road, to remain a half-game behind eighth-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference playoff race. The Pelicans (32-27) are on a five-game winning streak, their longest of the season. It was the Pelicans' first win against the Nuggets at the Pepsi Center in seven games. New Orleans closes out its two-game road trip on Monday night against the Dallas Mavericks. "We have been in this position so many times I am sure guys understand we can win the game in different ways," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. "Offensively, it wasn't there for the full 48 minutes; we just found a way to grind it out. For a young team, that's a big moment for us."

Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: Charlotte Hornets rookie P.J. Hairston was inactive for Sunday’s game against Orlando after missing a weight-training session. Two sources confirmed Hairston missed his weights obligation. It’s the latest in a series of transgressions large and small in Hairston’s rookie season. The Hornets traded for Hairston’s draft rights on draft night in June in a prearranged deal with the Miami Heat. Just before the start of summer-league practices, he got into an altercation with a high-school basketball player at a Durham YMCA. Charges related to that fight were later dropped at the request of the alleged victim. Hairston also retained a player-agent who hadn’t been certified by the National Basketball Players Association. Had the Hornets signed Hairston while he was still under noncertified representation, the team could have been subject to a fine from the NBA. Hairston was also made inactive from a December game against the Boston Celtics after an unexcused absence from practice.