Top Stories

• LeBron hits 9 threes

• Mavs stop Rockets win streak

• Another standings update

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Games of the day

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

LeBron tied his career high in three’s made, going 9/10 from three in a thrashing of the Brooklyn Nets. The 20-time All Star finished 13 for 17 overall as the Lakers played the fourth game of a six-game road trip and rebounded from a loss Friday night at Indiana that snapped their five-game winning streak. The Lakers have now won five of their last six, and this victory moved them a season-high nine games over .500 with seven games remaining in the regular season. Los Angeles remained ninth in the Western Conference, but the Lakers could catch the Sacramento Kings for eighth or the Phoenix Suns for seventh in the West, taking them out of the single-elimination No. 9 vs. No. 10 play-in game.

Luka Doncic had 47 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, Kyrie Irving added 24 points and seven assists, and the Dallas Mavericks won their seventh straight and snapped the Houston Rockets’ 11-game winning streak with a 125-107 victory on Sunday night. Doncic scored 32 points in the first half on 12-of-18 shooting, going 6 of 10 on 3-pointers, as the Mavs led 66-45. Doncic had 22 in the first quarter alone and finished 18 of 30 from the field, including 9 of 16 on 3s. He tied his career high for 3-pointers. Dallas tied New Orleans for fifth in the Western Conference with eight games remaining for each team. Jabari Smith Jr. scored 28 points and Aaron Holiday added 16, but Jalen Green was held to just 12 on 5-for-15 shooting as Houston’s push for a play-in spot was slowed. The Rockets fell to two games behind 10th place Golden State for the final play-in spot in the West.

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League News

Around the League

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

• The Thunder and Nuggets both clinched a playoff berth with their wins, as the Wolves fall to the #3 seed. Dallas won their 7th straight game and moved past New Orleans for the 5 seed, while Sacramento passed Phoenix for the 7th seed. Out east the Cavaliers lost to the Nuggets and fell 2.5 behind the 2nd place Bucks. The Knicks are only .5 games behind Cleveland for the #3 spot. The #11 seeded Nets and Rockets are the only teams outside the play-in race that have a very slim chance to make it in. The 1-10 seeds as you see them now are very likely to be the set brackets. The only thing that will be changing is the seeding.

• Injury Updates: 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 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. 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. 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, 12.2 rpg, 9 apg

His case: The two-time MVP continues to grind through left hip soreness and lower back pain. But Denver has won four of its last five going into Friday’s game vs. Minnesota. In the four games Jokic has played over that span, the 29-year-old averaged 29 points, 12.5 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

The Nuggets suffered a setback Wednesday, losing to Phoenix for the second time this month. A loss to Minnesota Friday night hurts his case as well.

2. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: T-3

Season stats: 33.1 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 9.8 apg

His case: There’s still work to do, but the wins are finally starting to match the 25-year-old’s otherworldly production. Throughout Dallas’ 9-1 run, Doncic has posted 29.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 10 apg and 1.7 spg.

Of course, the team’s only loss over that span came March 14 at Oklahoma City in a game Doncic missed due to a sore left hamstring. After the clash at Sacramento on Friday, the Mavs head to Houston on Sunday to face the red-hot Rockets.

3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 30.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.3 apg

His case: The injury report going into a home clash Friday with Phoenix doesn’t look good with Gilgeous-Alexander listed as doubtful due to a right quadriceps contusion. He suffered the injury more than a week ago but continued to try to play his way through the pain.

The latest setback comes at a crucial time. After the matchup against the Suns, the Thunder play five straight on the road, including games at New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Indiana.

4. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: T-3

Season stats: 30.7 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Antetokounmpo fights hard. But the two-time MVP needs help with Milwaukee dropping two in a row despite the eight-time All-Star averaging 31.3 points and 16.3 rebounds in his last three games.

Antetokounmpo scored 20 straight points in the third quarter of Thursday’s loss at New Orleans yet didn’t take a shot in the fourth quarter until 28.7 seconds remained. By comparison, Zion Williamson scored 11 of his 28 points in the final frame.

5. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 27.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 4.9 apg

His case: Tatum and the Celtics suffered their second loss to Atlanta in four days Thursday, falling 123-122 in overtime in a game featuring the second-most lead changes (41) since the 2000-01 season. The five-time All-Star dropped a team-high 31 points with 13 rebounds.

But the loss marked the first time since March 7 that Boston suffered defeat in a game that featured Tatum, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis in the starting lineup.

The next five

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

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Fantasy Leaders

Porzingis 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.