Top Stories

• Booker drops 50 on Pelicans

• Magic keep rolling

• Embiid is returning

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Games of the day

Last Night’s Top Games! (link to the box scores of every game from yesterday)

Devin Booker joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only player to score 50+ points in 3 straight games against the same opponent. He has scored 162 points in the last 3 matchups against New Orleans, the most in the last 50 years. Clearly, Booker feels comfortable in a matchup with the Pels, something to watch at playoff time. Zion led New Orleans with 30 points, but it was a rough night for the rest of the team, as nobody else had over 21.

Jayson Tatum had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Sam Hauser poured in 25 points on seven 3s and the Boston Celtics avenged a from a loss earlier this season to the Charlotte Hornets with a 118-104 victory on Monday night. Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points and Derrick White had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Celtics, who’ve won 11 of their last 13 games. Their only losses came from back to back games against Atlanta. Bridges led the Hornets with 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Grant Williams added 23 points and Brandon Miller 19 points.The Celtics blew the game open in the third quarter, using their size advantage as Porzingis scored 11 points to help open a lead. Porzingis feasted on a Hornets team playing without 7-foot centers Nick Richards and Mark Williams due to injuries.

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League News

Around the League

• Luka Doncic and Dejounte Murray have been named Players of The Week for Week 23.

• The return of Joel Embiid is imminent and could come as soon as tonight against the Oklahoma City Thunder, sources told ESPN. Embiid, who has been out since Jan. 30, has been delivering the final preparations for his return from left meniscus surgery, ramping up his conditioning in recent days to rejoin the Eastern Conference playoff chase. The 76ers are 40-35 and eighth in the Eastern Conference with seven games remaining. The Sixers play the Thunder tonight, the Miami Heat on Thursday and the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.

  Embiid, the reigning NBA MVP, has been leading the NBA in scoring with 35.3 points a game and was on course to join Wilt Chamberlain as the only other player to average at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in a season. He's also the only player aside from Chamberlain in 1961 to average at least one point per minute played. It’s crazy that Embiid has only missed 2 months with this injury, and we hope he gets back to himself quickly.

• Injury Updates: Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell will both miss the rest of the season. Malik Monk (knee) will miss 4-6 weeks. Kevin Huerter (shoulder) is out for the season. LaMelo Ball (ankle) is out for the season. Brandon Ingram (knee) will miss at least 2 weeks. Ausar Thompson (blood clot) is out for the season. Christian Wood (knee) underwent surgery and will be out multiple weeks. Bilal Coulibaly (wrist) sustained a fracture and will be out for the season. Alperen Sengun (ankle and knee) is likely out for the season. Saddiq Bey (knee) tore his ACL and is out for the season. Benedict Mathurin (shoulder) underwent surgery and is out for the season. Ben Simmons (back) is out for the season. Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) underwent surgery and will be re-evaluated in 2 weeks. Josh Richardson (shoulder) had surgery and will be out for the season. Scottie Barnes (hand) underwent surgery and will be out at least 2 weeks. Trae Young (hand) had surgery and will be re-evaluated in 1-2 weeks. Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) will miss at least 2 more weeks. Julius Randle (shoulder) will be out 1-2 more weeks. Marcus Smart (finger) will be out 1 more week. Gabe Vincent (knee) will be out at least 1 more week. Tari Eason (leg) had surgery and will be out for the season. Patrick Williams (foot) had surgery and will be out for the season. Zach LaVine (foot) underwent surgery and will be out for the season. Robert Williams underwent knee surgery and will be out for the season. Ja Morant had surgery on a torn labrum and will miss the rest of the season. We wish all these guys speedy and successful recoveries.

Front Office Moves

• The Free Agent market is still deep with vets like Kemba Walker, Nerlens Noel, Dwight Howard, Rudy Gay, Blake Griffin, Tyreke Evans, Austin Rivers, and John Wall ready to contribute to winning or to mentor young guys. Joe Harris, Victor Oladipo, and Killian Hayes were all cut or waived by their teams and are available to be signed. There are a few younger names on the market, like Kevin Porter Jr and Darius Bazley.

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NBA MVP Race

1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Last week’s ranking: No. 1

Season stats: 26.1 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 9 apg

His case: The two-time MVP continues to grind through left hip soreness and lower back pain. But Denver has won four of its last five going into Friday’s game vs. Minnesota. In the four games Jokic has played over that span, the 29-year-old averaged 29 points, 12.5 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

The Nuggets suffered a setback Wednesday, losing to Phoenix for the second time this month. A loss to Minnesota Friday night hurts his case as well.

2. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: T-3

Season stats: 33.1 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 9.8 apg

His case: There’s still work to do, but the wins are finally starting to match the 25-year-old’s otherworldly production. Throughout Dallas’ 9-1 run, Doncic has posted 29.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 10 apg and 1.7 spg.

Of course, the team’s only loss over that span came March 14 at Oklahoma City in a game Doncic missed due to a sore left hamstring. After the clash at Sacramento on Friday, the Mavs head to Houston on Sunday to face the red-hot Rockets.

3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 30.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.3 apg

His case: The injury report going into a home clash Friday with Phoenix didn’t look good with Gilgeous-Alexander listed as doubtful due to a right quadriceps contusion. He suffered the injury more than a week ago but continued to try to play his way through the pain.

The latest setback comes at a crucial time. After the matchup against the Suns, the Thunder play five straight on the road, including games at New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Indiana.

4. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: T-3

Season stats: 30.7 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Antetokounmpo fights hard. But the two-time MVP needs help with Milwaukee dropping two in a row despite the eight-time All-Star averaging 31.3 points and 16.3 rebounds in his last three games.

Antetokounmpo scored 20 straight points in the third quarter of Thursday’s loss at New Orleans yet didn’t take a shot in the fourth quarter until 28.7 seconds remained. By comparison, Zion Williamson scored 11 of his 28 points in the final frame.

5. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 27.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 4.9 apg

His case: Tatum and the Celtics suffered their second loss to Atlanta in four days Thursday, falling 123-122 in overtime in a game featuring the second-most lead changes (41) since the 2000-01 season. The five-time All-Star dropped a team-high 31 points with 13 rebounds.

But the loss marked the first time since March 7 that Boston suffered defeat in a game that featured Tatum, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis in the starting lineup.

The Next Five

6. Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings (Last week’s ranking: No. 6)
7. Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns (Last week’s ranking: No. 8)
8. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns (Last week’s ranking: No. 9)
9. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers (Last week’s ranking: unranked)
10. Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers (Last week’s ranking: No. 7)

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Fantasy Leaders

Booker went OFF last night

Overtime Thoughts

Hoopgrids

Hoopgrids is a daily basketball trivia game. You cross match each category to find a player that fits both. The rarer the player, the lower the score. The goal is to get the lowest rarity score possible.