Top Stories

• Bucks manage without Giannis

• Suns move to .5 games of getting out of Play-In

• Clippers-Mavs matchup official

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

Games of the day

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

Bobby Portis had 30 points, nine rebounds and a career-high five steals to help the Milwaukee Bucks withstand Giannis Antetokounmpo's absence and beat the Orlando Magic 117-99. The Bucks announced Wednesday that the two-time MVP would miss the final three games of the regular season, though his availability for the start of the playoffs remains uncertain. Milwaukee (49-31) is 1 1/2 games ahead of New York (47-32) and two games ahead of Cleveland (47-33) in the race for the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 playoff seed behind the Boston Celtics, who already have clinched the NBA’s best regular-season record. The Magic (46-34) have lost two straight and three of four as they try to earn one of the Eastern Conference’s top six seeds and avoid falling into a play-in game. Orlando is chasing its first playoff appearance since 2020 and only its third since 2012.

Last night’s victory was payback for the Suns after they were embarrassed in the first quarter the previous night in Phoenix. That’s when the Clippers led 35-4 and went ahead by 37 in the second quarter before the Suns got close only to lose 105-92. The result Wednesday locked Golden State and Los Angeles Lakers into the play-in tournament. The Suns are seventh in the West, a half-game behind New Orleans for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot.

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

League News

Around the League

• Kyrie Irving and Kristaps Porzingis have been named Players of The Week for Week 24.

• The Clippers, who already won the Pacific Division for the first time in 10 years, could have secured the fourth seed in the West with a win. They know their first-round playoff opponent will be Dallas, which beat Miami earlier yesterday to set up the matchup. It'll be the third opening-round matchup between those teams in the last four seasons; the Clippers won each of the first two, prevailing in 2021 and 2022. Luka and Kawhi will once again be front and center as the main stars in the series. Kyrie and PG will be the secondary options, but what sets the Clippers apart is their depth. Dallas is a 2 man wrecking crew, but LA still has Harden and Russ as scoring options, not to mention a 6MOTY frontrunner in Norman Powell. PJ Washington and Derrick Jones Jr will both play a pivotal role cause they will likely be the primary defenders on Kawhi and PG. Luka and Kyrie will be tested on defense, as there’s no player Dallas can have them guard that’s not an offensive threat (except PJ Tucker).

• Injury Updates: Giannis Antetokounmpo (achilles) will miss the rest of the regular season. Julius Randle (shoulder) is out for the season. 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 1 week. 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 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 return this week. 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. Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) will miss at least 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 News

• Jrue Holiday agreed on a 4 year, $135M contract with Boston. 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.

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

NBA MVP Race

1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Last week’s ranking: No. 1

Season stats: 26.5 ppg, 12.4 rpg, 9.0 apg

His case: Denver lost, but Jokic put on a triple-double show last Thursday against the Clippers with 36 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists as the Nuggets fell a half-game behind No. 1 Minnesota in the West. They now sit at #1 after beating Minnesota.

The two-time MVP also faced a potential future MVP last Tuesday in Victor Wembanyama, who flirted with a quadruple-double. Jokic tied his season-high with 42 points — despite the Spurs rookie blocking his shot four times — and finished with 16 boards and six dimes.

2. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 33.8 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 9.8 apg

His case: When he wasn’t throwing no-look crosscourt dimes last Tuesday in producing his 20th triple-double of the season, Doncic splashed 5-for-11 from deep to seize the Mavericks’ single-season record for made 3-pointers (258).

The Warriors snapped Dallas’ seven-game winning streak that night. But Doncic brought the Mavs back majorly, stepping through on the way to the bank to cash in a win Thursday against the Hawks. He scored 16 points in the second quarter.

3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 3

Season stats: 30.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 6.3 apg

His case: Gilgeous-Alexander missed the fourth of Oklahoma City’s last five games last Wednesday at Boston, effectively pumping the brakes for now on what’s been a strong MVP candidacy. Let’s not forget the 25-year-old has starred in 71 of the OKC’s 76 games up to this point.

Given the club’s lead over several teams in the West, Gilgeous-Alexander’s prospects remain alive if the Thunder can maintain and finish among the top three in the conference. OKC is now 1-4 without SGA.

4. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: No. 4

Season stats: 30.7 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 6.5 apg

His case: Dropped a triple-double with 35 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists last Tuesday in a loss at Washington. He nailed 15-for-21 from the floor while the rest of the team shot 37% as Milwaukee fell to 5-5 this season when the two-time MVP posts a triple-double.

Despite Antetokounmpo scoring 35-plus points in three of his last five games, the Bucks have lost four of five. Milwaukee plays its next four at home.

5. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 27.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 4.9 apg

His case: Tatum pushed Boston to its first 60-win season since the 2008-09 season with a 24-point night last Wednesday in a 135-100 trouncing of Oklahoma City. The victory marked the Celtics’ 11th in a row at TD Garden and ensures they’ll finish the regular season with the best record in the league.

Expect the Celtics to continue rolling, playing five of their last six at home.

The Next Five:

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

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀

Fantasy Leaders

Bones Hyland was on one against Phoenix

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.