Image Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images

NBA Daily Recap, February 23 – Warriors edge out Mavs, SGA’s big night, Pelicans’ comeback win and more

Let's take a look at what happened on Sunday in the NBA.

Image Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images

Here’s the NBA Daily Recap for Feb. 23, 2025, where we witnessed ten matchups. Players like Stephen Curry, Tyrese Haliburton, Tyler Herro, Cade Cunningham, Donovan Mitchell and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander produced magical performances.

From the Pelicans’ comeback from a 19-point deficit to SGA’s another MVP-level performance for the Thunder, let’s go through the key highlights from the NBA action on Sunday.

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Celtics 118-105 Knicks

New York Knicks dropped one more game against the NBA elite as Boston Celtics rallied for a clinical win after Karl-Anthony Towns’ knee injury, which forced him to leave the game. KAT scored 24 points for the Knicks.

Karl-Anthony Towns limped into the Knicks locker room with an apparent knee injury that he suffered on this play:pic.twitter.com/bofpKT8jPj
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 23, 2025

Jayson Tatum fell shy of one assist of recording a triple-double for the second straight game. Jaylen Brown dropped 24 points and eight rebounds, while Derrick White contributed 19 points. Jalen Brunson added 22 points for the Knicks, who lost all three games against Celtics this season.

Warriors 126-102 Mavericks

Golden State Warriors tied the season-series 2-2 with a blowout win over Dallas Mavericks. Stephen Curry scored 30 points and Jimmy Butler added 18 points on his home debut. Warriors are now 5-1 since acquiring Butler from Miami.

Warriors didn’t drop their lead and held a 23-point advantage in the second period. Draymond Green taunted Mavericks with Curry’s ‘night night celebration.’ PJ Washington and Kyrie Irving led Mavericks with 17 points apiece. Golden State also retired Andre Iguodala’s jersey after the game.

IGUODALA'S NO. 9 HEADS TO THE RAFTERS 🙌

Congrats, @andre 👏 pic.twitter.com/tgUXcaYRqX
— NBA (@NBA) February 24, 2025

Pacers 129-111 Clippers

Tyrese Haliburton scored 29 points and 12 assists and Aaron Nesmith dropped a season-high 19 as Indiana Pacers squeezed past the short-handed LA Clippers. Haliburton scored 17 points in 3rd quarter when Indiana held a 18-point lead.

Haliburton goes through his legs on the alley-oop pass 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Jt5Ma5Lb6c
— NBA (@NBA) February 23, 2025

Myles Turner added 17 points after returning from a three-game injury absence. James Harden led the Clippers with 31 points and 11 assists. Ivica Zubac added 22 points. Clippers are 1-2 in their eight-game road trip and dropped both games against the Pacers in regular season.

Bucks 120-113 Heat

Milwaukee Bucks sparked a fourth quarter surge to beat Miami Heat for their fourth straight win. Damian Lillard scored a team-high 28 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 23 points and 16 rebounds. Brook Lopez chipped in with 17 points, while Kyle Kuzma and Gary Trent Jr. scored 16 apiece.

Tyler Herro led the Heat with a season-high 40 points and 11 assists. Bam Adebayo scored 24 points and Andrew Wiggins had 20. Kel’el Ware dropped 12 points and 12 rebounds. Miami tied the scored at 109 in fourth but the Bucks had a 11-4 run to close the game.

Raptors 127-109 Suns

Toronto Raptors’ second and fourth quarter outburst helped them to win against Phoenix Suns and snap a two-game skid. Immanuel Quickley, Chris Boucher, and RJ Barrett scored 23 points apiece. Raptors made 20 three-pointers in the game and handed Suns fifth loss in six games.

Scottie Barnes scored 20 points while Boucher grabbed 10 rebounds for the Raptors. Devin Booker led the Suns with 31 points and Bradley Beal added 30. Kevin Durant scored 15 points, but went 5-for-15 from the floor and 0-for-5 from 3-point range.

4 players with 20+ PTS in tonight’s win 🔥👏 pic.twitter.com/NhoQoa0G2X
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) February 24, 2025

Magic 110-90 Wizards

Orlando Magic pulled off a comeback in the second half to beat one of the league-worst, Washington Wizards. Franz Wagner and Anthony Black scored 23 points apiece. Paolo Banchero chipped in with 19 points in the win. Black posted his career-high performance and scored 18 points in the decisive 2nd half. Jordan Poole led the Wizards with 16 points while Richaun Holmes added 11 points and 10 rebounds. Washington now fell to 9-47 after six straight defeats.

Hawks 143-148 Pistons

Detroit Pistons overcame the Atlanta Hawks in a high-scoring affair to extend their winning streak to season-high six games. Cade Cunningham scored 38 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds while Malik Beasley added 24. Tim Hardaway Jr. added 18 points and Dennis Schroder chipped in with 16 off the bench.

Trae Young led the Haws with 38 points and 13 assists. Georges Niang racked up 27 points and Atlanta lost three games in a row. This is one of the bitter defeat for the Hawks as they lost the game even after scoring 143 points.

Pelicans 114-96 Spurs

New Orleans Pelicans came out from a 17-point deficit to beat the San Antonio Spurs in a two-game set. Zion Williamson scored 22 points and nine rebounds. Kelly Olynyk dropped 14 points and 15 rebounds. Karlo Matkovic scored a career-high 19 points while Yves Missi grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds.

The Spurs backcourt STRUGGLED from the field tonight, combining for 6-45 in a loss to the Pelicans 😳 #CaptureTheFlagg 👀 pic.twitter.com/7cc1FJXBbw
— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) February 24, 2025

Trey Murphy III chipped in with 15 points and Jose Alvarado added 12 off the bench. Julian Champagnie and Keldon Johnson each scored 18 points for the Spurs. De’Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes scored 13 points apiece. San Antonio dropped the game after taking a 50-33 lead in the second quarter.

Cavaliers 129-123 Grizzlies

The NBA-leaders Cleveland Cavaliers edged out the Memphis Grizzlies for a seventh straight win. Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points, and Evan Mobley chipped in with 25 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. Ty Jerome added 15 points out of 26 in the final quarter and Cavs improved to 27-4 at home.

Donovan Mitchell drops 33 as the @cavs keep rolling!

📈 7th-straight W
📊 47-10, 1st in the NBA pic.twitter.com/qleR7JmbLX
— NBA (@NBA) February 24, 2025

Darius Garland missed out this fixture due to a hip injury in the last game. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 22 points for the Grizzlies, who lost three games in the last four. Ja Morant added 21 points and 10 assists, and Luke Kennard had 19 off the bench.

Timberwolves 123-130 Thunder

Oklahoma City Thunder beat Minnesota Timberwolves convincingly to open a home-and-home set. MVP contender, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 37 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and three steals. Chet Holmgren dropped 19 points in the win.

Anthony Edwards led the short-handed Timberwolves with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Minnesota cut a 19-point deficit in the second quarter but couldn’t prevail the fourth defeat in five games.

Image Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images

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A native of Jaipur, Rajasthan, journalist, and a complete soccer and basketball fan, he found the huge interest with basketball by watching videos of Allen Iverson and Tony Parker, but fell head over heels in love with the sport during the Warriors’ championship era (2015-2018). A sports game addict since his late PS1, he’s also passionate about the Eagles, Inter Miami and the Fever. He’s fortunate to have seen all his favorite teams win championships. He also has a special love for cricket and football (soccer), where he is a fan of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Barcelona.