Top Stories

• Clippers narrowly beat Sixers for much needed win

• Suns beat Nuggets, move to .5 games of being out of Play-In

• Warriors and Rockets both win, stay 1 game apart

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Games of the day

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

Kawhi Leonard completed two 3-point plays late in the game then made a block at the rim on the final possession to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 108-107 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Leonard scored a bucket with 44 seconds left, was fouled by Tobias Harris and hit the free throw to give Los Angeles a 105-104 lead. Buddy Hield came back with a 3-pointer to give Philadelphia a 107-105 lead with 23 seconds to play. After a Ty Lue timeout, Leonard went straight to the basket with a reverse layup and hit another free throw after being fouled by Oubre to give the Clippers a one-point lead again. Oubre drove the lane at the other end of the floor, but Leonard pinned the ball against the rim and backboard, showcasing his two-way ability that has made him an all time great. Oubre had another shot to win the game, but was stood up by Paul George at the basket. Fans are torn on whether a foul should’ve been called or not, but it looked like good verticality from PG. After the game, Nick Nurse had to be held back from confronting the Refs, and Oubre called them some unsavory words that will most definitely lead to a fine.

Kevin Durant broke out of a mini slump, and the Suns cruised to a victory over the Jamal Murray-less Nuggets 104-97. Durant had 30 points on 12-20 shooting, 13 rebounds, and 5 blocks, his most since 2019. The Suns kept Denver shooting poorly all night, with Joker’s 22 points being the most of any Nugget. Phoenix moved to be .5 games behind Dallas for the 6 seed and final guaranteed playoff spot. Avoiding the Play-In would be good for Phoenix, as they’d be playing either Dallas (we know how Luka plays against them), or Sacramento (Suns have nobody to guard Sabonis OR Fox).

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League News

Around the League

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

• Houston extended their winning streak to 10 games, the best streak in the league as of now. At the same time, the Warriors have won 2 straight, not wanting to give up their spot so easily. They won last night against Orlando, even with Draymond getting ejected 3 minutes into the game. Both teams have 10 games left to play, including one against each other. Houston will finish the year playing Utah, Dallas, Minnesota, Golden State, Miami, Dallas again, Orlando, Utah again, Portland, and the Clippers. Golden State will have to play Charlotte, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, Dallas again, Utah, the Lakers, Portland, New Orleans, and Utah again. Both teams have schedules of similar strength, so the most important game is when they play each other. They play on April 4th in Houston, and both teams will have had at least 1 day of rest beforehand. Steph Curry is obviously the best player out of everyone on both teams, so we’ll watch him closely to see what kind of show he puts on when it matters most.

• 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 2 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 2 weeks. Trae Young (hand) had surgery and will be re-evaluated in 1-2 weeks. Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) will miss “several weeks”. Joel Embiid (torn meniscus) will be out for 2-3 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, 12.3 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 last 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 last 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 last 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 three 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 last 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

Rui Hachimura makes his Top 3 debut

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.