Top Stories

• KD cooks Cavs

• Maple Mamba and The Joker duel (yes that headline is real)

• Lakers to fix errors on Kobe statue

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Games of the day

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

KD put on a vintage performance in a comeback win against the Cavs. Phoenix trailed 63-44 midway through the second quarter, but answered with a 43-15 run that ended deep in the third. Durant ended the night with 37/8/6 on 14-26 shooting, leading the Suns furious comeback. Devin Booker added 27 in his return from missing a few games, and Bradley Beal added 24. Darius Garland was the only Cavalier to score over 20, so their chances were slim from the start.

RJ Barrett and Nikola Jokic went head to head last night. Those are words nobody thought they’d ever say, yet RJ dropped 26/7/9 on the defending champs. He even had the Raptors up 21 in the 3rd quarter before Denver locked in. Joker had 35/17/12, leading Denver to a comeback in the late 3rd and 4th quarters. Still looking like a dominant reigning champ, Denver is going to be tough for anyone to beat this year.

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League News

Around the League

• Luka Doncic and DeMar DeRozan have been named Players of The Week for Week 20.

• The Los Angeles Lakers say they’re planning to fix a handful of errors on the base of the statue of Kobe Bryant unveiled last month outside their arena. The names of former NBA players Jose Calderon and Von Wafer are misspelled on the base in a rendering of the box score from Bryant’s 81-point game in January 2006, along with a misspelling of the phrase “Coach’s Decision.” There are also multiple formatting mistakes in another spot on the base of the statue, which displays many of Bryant’s accomplishments. “We have been aware of this for a few weeks and are already working to get it corrected soon,” the Lakers said in a statement. Despite having arguably the most storied franchise in all of the NBA, the Lakers have dropped the ball with this Kobe statue. Multiple errors all over and the fact that it seems like a rushed job is a stain on the organization. Hopefully the 2 future statues for Kobe turn out better

• Injury Updates: 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 one month. Evan Mobley (ankle) will miss at least one week. Josh Richardson (shoulder) had surgery and will be out for the season. Russell Westbrook (hand) underwent surgery and is expected back by the playoffs. Scottie Barnes (hand) underwent surgery and will be out 4 weeks. Trae Young (hand) had surgery and will be re-evaluated in 3 weeks. Dyson Daniels (meniscus) will be re-evaluated in 1 week. Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) will miss “several weeks”. Joel Embiid (torn meniscus) will be out for 1-2 months. Julius Randle (shoulder) will be out 2-3 more weeks. Desmond Bane (ankle) will miss 2-4 weeks. Marcus Smart (finger) will be out 3 weeks. Gabe Vincent (knee) will be out at least 3 more weeks. Mitchell Robinson (ankle) underwent surgery and will be out 2-5 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 Miami Heat signed Patty Mills. Isaiah Thomas signed with the Utah Jazz G-League affiliate in hopes to return to the league. The Free Agent market is still deep with vets like Kemba Walker, Nerlens Noel, Dwight Howard, Rudy Gay, Blake Griffin, Tyreke Evans, Austin Rivers, Montrezl Harrell (he’ll be out for a few more months), 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 Kai Jones (yikes), Kevin Porter Jr (yikes again), Sharife Cooper, and Darius Bazley.

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NBA MVP Race

1. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Last week’s ranking: No. 1

Season stats: 26 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 9.2 apg

His case: Dropped a 32-point triple-double against the Celtics Thursday to move within a game of the Western Conference lead, and punctuated the performance with a spinning dime.

Jokic notched his 51st double-double on Tuesday in an overtime loss to Phoenix. Even still, the Nuggets are 7-1 since the All-Star break.

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 31.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.5 apg

His case: The Thunder star picked up his career-high 46th game with 30 points or more this season in Wednesday’s win at Portland to cap a four-game road trip. He’s now only one game short of the OKC franchise record for 30-point games, reached twice by Kevin Durant (2009-10 and ’13-14).

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: No. 3

Season stats: 30.7 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 6.3 apg

His case: Antetokounmpo returned to the lineup Wednesday after sitting out Monday due to left Achilles tendinitis. But even the two-time MVP couldn’t help the Bucks in a 125-90 loss to Golden State.

The 29-year-old scored 23 points with seven rebounds and six assists. Still, the Warriors manhandled the bigger Bucks in the paint, outrebounding them 50-36 while outscoring them 54-36 in that area. Additionally, rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis flat-out gave Antetokounpo fits.

4. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last week’s ranking: No. 4

Season stats: 26.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 4.8 apg

His case: The NBA’s longest winning streak ended Tuesday at Cleveland in a game in which Tatum scored two points in the fourth quarter. The trio of Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis combined for 64 points in the first three quarters before totaling seven in a final frame they entered leading by 16.

The Celtics followed with a loss Thursday at Denver in a potential NBA Finals preview. They’ve dropped two straight for the first time since early November.

5. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 34.6 ppg, 9 rpg, 9.8 apg

His case: He started the week winning Kia NBA Western Conference Player of the Month for the fourth time in his career. Doncic is just two Player of the Month awards away from catching Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki’s career total (six).

Still, individual brilliance hasn’t translated into team success for the eighth-place Mavs. The 25-year-old joined Russell Westbrook as the only players in NBA history to log five-straight 30-plus point triple-doubles as he reached that mark in a Thursday win vs. Miami.

The Next Five:

6. Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings (Last week: No. 6)
7. Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers (Last week: No. 9)
8. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers (Last week: No. 8)
9. Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns (Last week: No. 10)
10. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers (Last week: No. 7)

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Fantasy Leaders

Jokic puts up an INSANE game

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.