The desire for popcorn and drinks before arriving to one’s seat is certainly understandable, but anyone even a half-minute late to the New Orleans Pelicans’ tipoff on March 13, 2025 missed quite the display from Karlo Matković. Wearing the energetic look of a player making just NBA career start No. 4, Matković gets the highlight tape rolling from the first play, pinning Cory Joseph’s layup attempt off-glass for a forceful block-and-rebound combo. Unafraid to run “point center” with the Orlando Magic’s No. 1-ranked defense unset, Matković keeps the statisticians busy, racing the floor’s length before gliding through the skies for a tomahawk powerful enough to floor even himself. Orlando, with more to fight for in the Eastern Conference Play-In race, would eventually respond, taking victory for themselves. A quiet orchestrator of one of March’s best game-to-game dunk reels regardless, Matković paired his big-time flush with a near double-double, chipping in eight points (on four-of-eight shooting), six rebounds, one assist, and two swats. · Mar 14, 2025