NBA insider takeaways - What matters most from a stacked weekend slate

This weekend featured five high-stakes NBA showdowns on ESPN and ABC.

The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers faced off in a huge Eastern Conference tilt Saturday night in a game that came down to a last-second 3-pointer by Jayson Tatum — and a three-quarters-court Hail Mary by Joel Embiid that would have sent the game to overtime if it was made just a tenth of a second earlier.

On Sunday, the Milwaukee Bucks topped the (still Kevin Durant-less) Phoenix Suns to extend their winning streak to 14 games — even with Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined with a quad injury.

The Los Angeles Lakers successfully mounted a 27-point comeback against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday afternoon on the back of a monster 30-point, 15-rebound game from Anthony Davis, continuing their late-season push into the playoff picture.

Behind Klay Thompson's 32 points, the short-handed Golden State Warriors rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 109-104.

And the best was saved for last as the Denver Nuggets defeated the LA Clippers 134-124 in overtime. Nikola Jokic had 40 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists, improving his team's record to 23-0 when he has recorded a triple-double this season.

ESPN NBA insiders are breaking down the top storylines from a stacked weekend.

This time, the LA Clippers showed up in Denver and fought.

The problem is Nikola Jokic showed up once again as well.

In a big spot for the Clippers to gauge where they stand in the West with their new players, LA had a chance to win in Denver for the first time since Christmas night in 2020.

But in what was a scintillating duel between Kawhi Leonard and Jokic, the two-time regular season MVP beat the two-time Finals MVP — again.

Like the rest of the NBA,