Today’s Top Stories

• OKC defeats Minnesota in a top of the West slugfest

• Freak Time in Detroit

• Jazz-Rockets has an insane ending

• Spurs win the battle of the bottom against the Wizards

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Box Scores

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Games of the day

Last Nights top games!

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League News

Around the League

• Lauri Markkanen and Bam Adebayo have been named Players of The Week for Week 12.

• NBA All Star Voting for 2023 is now open! Click here to do your daily vote.

• The Milwaukee Bucks are starting to figure things out (again). Although not as dominant as expected when the traded for Damian Lillard, they’re still a very good 29-13, which is 2nd in the East. The defense has suffered without Jrue Holiday, and the backcourt rotation of Lillard, Cam Payne, and Malik Beasley has been atrocious so far. Thankfully for the Bucks, they have 2 DPOY level defenders holding down the paint in Giannis and Brook Lopez. They’re reportedly interested in trading for Dejounte Murray, which would fix some of their perimeter defensive problems. Even with their current team, the offensive dominance of Lillard and Antetokounmpo would make them a tough opponent for any team in the playoffs. Can Giannis and Dame elevate to win the Bucks their 2nd championship in 4 years?

• In other news: Jabari Smith and Kris Dunn were ready to fight after a heated moment, and Giannis did Giannis things.

• Injury Updates: Desmond Bane (ankle) will miss 6 weeks. Marcus Smart (finger) will be out 6 weeks. Chris Paul underwent surgery on his left hand and will miss 4-6 weeks. De’Andre Hunter (knee) will be out at least 2 weeks. Gabe Vincent (knee) will be out 4-6 weeks. Darius Garland (jaw) and Evan Mobley (knee) will both be out for at least 2 weeks. Mitchell Robinson (ankle) underwent surgery and will be out 8-10 weeks. Ben Simmons (nerves) will miss 2+ weeks. 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

• Indiana traded Jordan Nwora and Bruce Brown for Pascal Siakam. The Detroit Pistons traded Marvin Bagley lll, Isaiah Livers, and a 2nd round pick to the Washington Wizards for Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala. The Bulls are looking to move Zach Lavine and possibly DeMar DeRozan. The Knicks signed and waived Taj Gibson in the span of a week. The Pacers are signing James Johnson because they clearly don’t want another Giannis Incident. Look for more moves sooner than later with veterans like Malcolm Brogdon looking to be moved in the coming weeks.

• The Golden State Warriors are reportedly looking to clean house. Everyone not named Steph Curry is available for trade, and they’re hoping to be be able to move on from Andrew Wiggins and acquire “an offensive minded 7 footer.”

• The Free Agent market is still deep with vets like DeMarcus Cousins, Isaiah Thomas, Dwight Howard, Rudy Gay, Blake Griffin, Tyreke Evans, Austin Rivers, Montrezl Harrell (he’ll be out for a few months), and John Wall ready to contribute to winning or to mentor young guys. 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. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

Last week’s ranking: No. 1

Season stats: 35.1 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 6.1 apg

His case: Combined with Tyrese Maxey (25 points) and Tobias Harris (24) for 90 points on Tuesday, marking his second-straight outing with 40 points or more since returning from a knee injury. Embiid has racked up 40-plus points in two consecutive matchups against Jokic and, this season, the Sixers are 23-6 with Embiid … and 3-7 without him.

2. Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 25.5 ppg, 11.9 rpg, 9.1 apg

His case: Teams are trying to take away Jokic’s impact as a facilitator. The two-time MVP tied his season-low with three assists Tuesday and it’s no coincidence that Denver has lost nine straight games when opponents limit Jokic to fewer than five assists.

The Nuggets head into Game 2 of a five-game road trip last night at Boston with clashes at Washington, Indiana and New York on deck.

3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 3

Season stats: 31 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 6.3 apg

His case: Oklahoma City shot 50% or better for the 12th time in its last 14 outings on Thursday as Gilgeous-Alexander produced his NBA-leading 29th game this season with 30-plus points. The 134-129 win against the Jazz marked the 13th game the Thunder finished with 30 assists or more.

That’s a new franchise record since the club moved to Oklahoma City. The Thunder are 21-8 this season when Gilgeous-Alexander goes for 30 points or more.

4. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 31.2 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 5.9 apg

His case: There’s a reason Antetokounmpo leads in the East in voting as the field takes shape for the February NBA All-Star Game after Thursday’s release of the third and final set of fan voting results. Antetokounmpo sat out of Wednesday’s 135-95 loss at Cleveland due to a right shoulder contusion.

Milwaukee is 1-1 without Antetokounmpo and he remains on pace to finish the season as the first player to average 30-plus points on 60% shooting.

5. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: No. 4

Season stats: 33.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 9.2 apg

His case: Doncic returned from a three-game hiatus and dropped 33 points to go with 13 rebounds and 10 assists, scoring 14 of his 33 points in the second quarter. The showing marked Doncic’s seventh triple-double this season and 63rd of his career.

Did we mention Doncic is just 24 years old? He was scheduled to face off with Stephen Curry on Friday at Golden State, but the matchup was postponed after the passing of Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic.

The Next Five:

6. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics (Last week: No. 6)
7. Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings (Last week: No. 7)
8. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers (Last week: No. 8)
9. Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers (Last week: No. 9)
10. Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers (Last week: No. 10)

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Fantasy Leaders

Dame Time for the Bucks again ⌚️

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.

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NBA All Star 2024