Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: It was the 13th win in the past 16 games for the Spurs, who completed March 9-1. "They have patience, they have experience," said Gasol, who struggled to 16 points after starting 1 for 7. "They know how to play together -- everything you can ask for as far as a team goes." When the fourth quarter dawned Sunday with the game still in doubt, the Spurs purposefully went away from their beautiful game offense. They found Leonard in a low-post mismatch, and they fed him like Thanksgiving dinner. "We went to him, and he went to himself," Popovich said. "He was rolling and he felt it." This is not a role Leonard would have been apt to fill a few seasons ago, when he was the Spurs' clear fourth scoring option behind the Big Three and still trying to feel his way. As Leonard has grown -- winning a Finals MVP in the process -- so has his confidence. "It has gotten easier, because I've been in the league," said Leonard, who also recorded his 18th consecutive game with at least one steal. "It's my fourth year, and Coach Pop has a little bit more confidence in me. I get to do a little bit more of what I want on the floor." Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman: Sunday’s game came with some clear playoff implications. And Scott Brooks coached like it. The Thunder’s rotation, already decimated by this latest injury rash, was shortened even more against the Suns. Brooks essentially played only seven guys. Perry Jones, Jeremy Lamb and Steve Novak didn’t appear. Mitch McGary, surprisingly, only received eight quiet first half minutes. Anthony Morrow and D.J. Augustin were the only OKC bench players to receive significant run. But the duo, again, provided the type of offensive boost that’s made each so valuable over the past couple months. Morrow had 11 points in his 28 minutes, nailing three big 3s that each came with a wave of momentum. In his past 14 games, Morrow is 42-of-78 from three — a 54 percent clip that has raised his season percentage to 42.7, eighth best in the entire NBA. And Augustin, for stretches, was the most important player on the floor. In his 32 minutes, Augustin ran the offense smoothly in Westbrook’s absence and then served as a cold-blooded spot-up shooter when alongside OKC’s playmaking point guard. Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star: The Pacers started the game like it finally meant something to them, and played until the end as the more desperate group on the floor, as shown by C.J. Miles' open-armed celebration after draining a clutch 3-pointer with a minute remaining and David West's rare show of triumphant emotion as he pumped his fist 
with Miles securing the final defensive rebound. With this victory, the Pacers (32-41) have given themselves a chance. Even some hope, which they'll need this week. The Pacers' next three straight games feature the same three teams crowding the standings for the final berth in the Eastern Conference playoffs. On Tuesday, Indiana plays Brooklyn, then the next night, the show moves to Boston: a road back-to-back against the two rivals ahead in the standings. By the time Indiana returns home, the final regular-season matchup with the Charlotte Hornets awaits on Friday night. And it doesn't end there, because a fourth team bunched at the bottom, Miami, currently in the seventh seed, comes to Bankers Life Fieldhouse next Sunday. The season, essentially, comes down to the next seven days. If the Pacers can break out of this late-season slide – they've only just improved to 2-7 over the past nine games – and somehow win these games, they'll be back among the top eight. And back to achieving the goal that was set in October, even when Paul George hobbled about in a walking boot. Dave Hyde of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Before Sunday’s game, with Hassan Whiteside and Chris Craig “Birdman” Andersen injured, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told Haslem the game came to him playing Drummond. “You have to lead us with your physicality and toughness,” Spoelstra said. “Oh, and by the way, you can’t foul out.” The Heat had no other body to play Drummond. Henry Walker, at 6-7, did for a while out of desperation. But when Luol Deng and Michael Beasley couldn’t play in the second half, that limited every position to the point Wade even took some minutes at power forward. The Heat don’t make these playoffs without Wade being Wade, of course. Draining his knee Saturday. Uncertain to play. Then making big shot after big shot, just as he has since 2003. But the surprise to the season is the names that trail behind Wade like tin cans tied to a car. Mario Chalmers. Henry Walker. James Ennis. Tyler Johnson. And Haslem, still Haslem, back riding sidekick to Wade like he has since 2003. “He’s the ultimate pro,” Van Gundy said. “He had times in the last two years where he wasn’t in the rotation. Now he’s starting. That guy is going to be ready and compete all the time.” Van Gundy was Heat coach when Haslem came from the minor leagues. John Reid of The Times-Picayune: Pelicans backup guard Toney Douglas was re-signed last week for the remainder of the season because of the uncertainty involving point guard Jrue Holiday's stress reaction injury in his lower right leg. Yet, already since his arrival after three games, Douglas has shown to be a defender to reckon with. In Sunday's 110-88 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Douglas was all over rookie guard Zach LaVine, cutting off his movement on the perimeter and forcing him to make mistakes. Douglas' defensive play was particularly noticeable in the fourth quarter when he had three steals, all off LaVine's turnovers. With the Pelicans (39-34) in a tightly contested race with the Oklahoma City Thunder for the final playoff seed in the Western Conference with nine games remaining, Pelicans coach Monty Williams said they are going to need strong play from their bench like they got Sunday. Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle: The Rockets have just 10 games left in the regular season and the stretch before the playoffs will be far from easy. They have a back-to-back on the road with Washington and Toronto. They also have road games in Dallas, Oklahoma City and San Antonio in addition to having to host the Spurs as well. “I think it’s good,” forward Josh Smith said. “It gives us big challenges and opportunities to see what we are made of.” As center Dwight Howard gets back in the mix with the team, he said he is welcoming the tough schedule. Howard missed two months with edema in his right knee. He is currently on a minutes restriction, but hopes to be back at full speed by the time the team gets to the playoffs. “I think it’s a lot of fun, especially for me getting back into it,” Howard said of the upcoming schedule. “It gives me the opportunity to get back in shape and play against good guards, like Tony Parker and Russell Westbrook. That will be great for me, especially defending the pick and roll for the playoffs." Tim Bontemps of the New York Post: As the Nets went through practice Saturday, Lionel Hollins was impressed with what he saw from rookie Markel Brown. “He was really shooting the ball well,” Hollins said, “and I just walked over and told him, ‘You’ve got to shoot with that kind of confidence in the game. Just play.’ ” Brown must have taken his coach’s advice to heart, as he had one of his best games of the season, finishing with a career-high 17 points to go with four rebounds and four assists to help the Nets to a 107-99 win over the Lakers. “I just felt more relaxed out there on the court,” Brown said. “I felt like I had a good rhythm going, and I wanted to keep shooting.” While Brown has been a consistent starter since entering the rotation after the All-Star break, he’s seen his minutes drop recently because of the uptick in production from fellow rookie Bojan Bogdanovic coming off the bench behind him. But Brown got into a rhythm early Sunday, scoring seven straight points in the first quarter — capped by a drive and emphatic baseline dunk after the defense had to commit to him after a pair of perimeter jumpers. Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal: This isn’t going to take long. It was hard enough sitting through this game the first time without reliving it blow by blow. The Cavs can talk all they want about winning this with defense (they didn’t) and gutting out tough wins (I guess they did), the fact is this team has looked bored in three of their last four games. The one they were motivated to play was against the Grizzlies and they destroyed the second-best team in the West. This isn’t a huge concern. It’s tough to get “up” for every game, but the concern is whether the Cavs are taking full advantage of the games in front of them. If the starters are going to stumble around like this, it’s better to just sit them and knock the rust off guys like Mike Miller and Shawn Marion. At least get some sort of accomplishment out of the game. And while we’re on the topic, it is sounding as if J.R. Smith could get some time off soon. Neither team made a basket for the last 4 minutes of this game. The Sixers missed their last five shots and their last four free throws. The Cavs missed their last six shots. Kyrie Irving joked he kept looking up at the scoreboard, only the score wasn’t changing. “Hands down for me personally,” Irving said, “that was one of the ugliest games I’ve played in.” Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times: It's the part of the Clippers' game that often goes unnoticed, like the upholstery in a Ferrari. Defense is easy to overlook when J.J. Redick swishes shots as if he's all alone in the gym or DeAndre Jordan jumps so high to dunk a lob that it seems like his head might graze one of the Boston Celtics' championship banners. "Our offense is beautiful to watch," Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said after Redick and Jordan wowed their teammates, not to mention the TD Garden crowd, Sunday during a 119-106 victory over the Celtics. And yet, Rivers also is the first to acknowledge it is the Clippers' defense that has triggered their seven-game winning streak and a monthlong stretch of play that might be as good as any his team has logged since he arrived in Los Angeles in the summer of 2013. "I think our guys have finally connected the dots," Rivers said. "When we're good defensively, we're really good offensively. That's something we've been trying to get them to see all year. ... They get it." Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: The Orlando Magic soon will seek to extend general manager Rob Hennigan's contract beyond the 2015-16 season, an industry source with knowledge of the team's plans told the Orlando Sentinel. The DeVos family and CEO Alex Martins are pleased with the job Hennigan has done since Hennigan was hired in June 2012. Martins, who would not comment for this article, likes to maintain continuity in key leadership positions. Martins also believes it's dangerous to have a key executive work in the final season of a contract because uncertainty about job status can prompt an executive to make risky decisions for short-term gains. When the team originally hired Hennigan, it signed him to a three-year deal with a team option for a fourth year. Last May, the team exercised its option for the 2015-16 season. Extension talks between the Magic and Hennigan or Hennigan's agent likely will occur after this season ends on April 15.
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