Top Stories

• Celtics blow 30 point point lead against Atlanta

• Spurs beat Suns without Wemby

• We know what teams to keep an eye on

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Games of the day

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

De’Andre Hunter could’ve held the ball and forced the Celtics to foul. Instead, he was confident and took a game-sealing shot. Considering what the Atlanta Hawks had done, rallying from a 30-point deficit against NBA-leading Boston, it only made sense that the shot hit nothing but net. Hunter scored 24 points, including a clinching 3-pointer with less than 10 seconds remaining, and the banged up Hawks pulled off one of the most improbable wins in franchise history with a 120-118 stunner over the Celtics last night. The Celtics had won 20 of 22 and brought a nine-game winning streak into Atlanta, and when Al Horford’s 3-pointer put Boston up 68-38 with just under 4 1/2 minutes left in the first half, nobody thought the Hawks would win this one. It was the biggest comeback win for Atlanta since at least the 1997-98 season, when the NBA began keeping detailed play-by-play. After Murray missed a jumper, Capela grabbed the offensive rebound and spotted Hunter all alone at the top of the key. Even though the shot clock was off and Hunter could’ve forced the Celtics to foul, he let go an open look from 26 feet. Hunter’s three capped off the biggest win for Atlanta this year, and also the worst loss of Boston’s season so far.

Jeremy Sochan hit a key 3-pointer in the final minute and finished with 26 points and a career-high 18 rebounds as San Antonio beat the Phoenix Suns 104-102 on Monday night. Devin Vassell added 26 points for San Antonio, who were without Victor Wembanyama sidelined due to a sprained ankle. The Suns outscored the Spurs 14-7 in the final five minutes, but Sochan’s 3-pointer with 29 seconds was the difference. Booker and Durant missed potential game-winning 3-pointers in the final seconds. Phoenix (42-30) is eighth in the Western Conference, percentage points behind Sacramento (41-29) and Dallas (41-29) in the race for sixth and the final spot to avoid the play-in tournament.

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League News

Around the League

• Anthony Davis and Derrick White have been named Players of The Week for Week 22.

• In the NBA, with three weeks left in the season, there are essentially 21 teams still playing for something. In the Eastern Conference, the 10 teams that will make the playoffs or the NBA Play-In Tournament are pretty much set, with the 11-place Brooklyn Nets 5 1/2 games out of the Play-In and not playing well enough to be any kind of a threat to the 10-place Atlanta Hawks. In the West, the 11th-place Houston Rockets have made a serious push and trail the 10th-place Golden State Warriors by just a single game. But the Rockets are the only team the Warriors have to worry about, as the Utah Jazz have gone on a post-trade-deadline flop for the second straight season. So, we have 21 teams still worth keeping an eye on every night. Those other nine teams were a combined 3-26 last week, with two of those three wins (Grizzlies over Spurs, Wizards over Raptors) having come against other teams in the bottom nine.

• Injury Updates: 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 3 weeks. Evan Mobley (ankle) will miss at least one more week. Josh Richardson (shoulder) had surgery and will be out for the season. Scottie Barnes (hand) underwent surgery and will be out 3 weeks. Trae Young (hand) had surgery and will be re-evaluated in 2 weeks. Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) will miss “several weeks”. Joel Embiid (torn meniscus) will be out for 1-2 months. 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. Mitchell Robinson (ankle) underwent surgery and will be out 2-3 weeks. 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, 12.3 rpg, 9 apg

His case: Maybe Jokic does have eyes in the back of his head. As long as the 29-year-old keeps dropping triple-doubles like the one orchestrated Thursday in a quality win over the Knicks, he’ll remain so far ahead of the field he won’t be able to see it in the rearview anyway.

The 30-14-11 performance against New York, snapped the Knicks’ four-game winning streak and came on the heels of a 35-point, 16-rebound gem in a gritty road win at Minnesota.

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 30.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Extended his franchise record of 30-point games on Wednesday to 50 (an NBA-high) with 31 points against Utah. The 25-year-old scored 20 of those points in the second half, as Oklahoma City captured its third-straight win and 13th in its last 16 outings.

T-3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: No. 3

Season stats: 30.7 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Antetokounmpo appears to be losing some ground after missing two games dealing with a left hamstring issue. The 29-year-old returned Thursday and contributed to Milwaukee’s 115-108 win against Brooklyn.

He scored 21 points with nine rebounds and five assists in the victory. But the Bucks are currently riding the hot hand of Damian Lillard, who has averaged 31 points and 11.3 assists over the team’s last three outings.

T-3. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: No. 4

Season stats: 34.1 ppg, 9 rpg, 9.8 apg

His case: Doncic produced perhaps the ugliest triple-double of the season Tuesday in San Antonio, shooting 6 of 27 against the NBA’s 28th-rated defense. But this is all about winning, and the 25-year-old keeps delivering on that front.

Doncic scored 34 points with nine rebounds Thursday against Utah to push Dallas into sixth in the West. He just needs to maintain the momentum. Doncic needs just four more 30-5-5 games to tie Oscar Robertson for the most such outings in a single season.

5. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 27.1 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 4.9 apg

His case: The savvy 25-year-old put up a couple of 30-point showings this week to increase his 30-point games total to 25, which is tied for sixth in the NBA. Tatum scored 23 points in Wednesday’s first half against a shorthanded Bucks squad missing Antetokounmpo.

Of the top five MVP candidates, Tatum holds the lowest usage percentage (29.6%) outside of Jokic (28.7%). Still, you can’t discount his contributions to Boston’s double-digit game lead in the East.

THE NEXT FIVE

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

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Fantasy Leaders

AD DOMINATED against the Pacers

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.