Top Stories

• Hawks beat Celtics AGAIN

• Bucks fall short against Pelicans

• Can Philly make a real run with Embiid?

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Games of the day

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

Dejounte Murray scored a career high 44 points in 47 minutes (on 44 shots), including the game winner to lift Atlanta over Boston. The Celtics now know they can't relax if they face the Atlanta Hawks in the first round. Murray scored all of Atlanta's 11 points in OT to give the Hawks their second win over Boston in four days in the matchup of teams currently holding the 1 and 10 seeds in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics have the NBA's best record and have already clinched the No. 1 seed in the East. Atlanta holds the final play-in spot in the East. The Hawks would face the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs if they make it through the play-in tournament with the ninth or 10th spot from the conference. Based on these last 2 games though, who knows how a 1st round series between the 2 teams would go.

The 2 best paint scorers in the NBA faced off last night in Giannis and Zion, and it was like the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object. The Pelicans led for most of the game and by as many as 18 in the first half. But when Damian Lillard hit a 3-pointer with just more than five minutes left, New Orleans’ lead was down to five, and this was looking like Tuesday night, when the Pelicans lost a five-point lead in the last three minutes to the Thunder. Giannis put the Bucks on his back, at one point scoring 20 straight points for them. It wasn’t enough, as the Pels offensive firepower overwhelmed Milwaukee’s poor perimeter defenders.

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League News

Around the League

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

• Reigning MVP Joel Embiid was recently pictured in practice for the 76ers. Head coach Nick Nurse told reporters prior to Wednesday's game against the Los Angeles Clippers "there's a very good likelihood" Embiid would return before the end of the regular season. He will also travel with the team on their upcoming road trip, where they play 5 of their next 6 games on the road. Since losing to the Warriors in the game Embiid was injured, the 76ers have fallen to eighth in the East standings. They aren't in any danger of falling out of the play-in tournament with a four-game lead over the ninth-place Chicago Bulls, but their path into the playoffs looks tough even if they get their superstar center back. If they win and make it in as either the 7 or 8 seed, they’d have to play either Boston or Milwaukee in the first round. Even with Embiid back, that’s a tough task. Odds are Philly’s season will be ending early this year, and they’ll be looking to compete next year.

• Injury Updates: 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. 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

2 straight games in the Top 3 for Dejounte

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.