Top Stories

• Evan Mobley drops a career high 41

• Jokic drops 56/16/8

• Orlando loses Franz to the same injury Paolo has

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Games of the day

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

Evan Mobley scored a career-high 41 points, Donovan Mitchell added 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and the Cleveland Cavaliers extended their strong start with a 116-102 victory over the injury-riddled Charlotte Hornets. Mobley scored 23 points as the Cavaliers built a 40-18 lead after the first quarter en route to their 21st victory in 24 games. The forward then had seven points in a late 12-2 surge as Cleveland held on. Brandon Miller scored 24 points for Charlotte, which got as close as 104-100 with 5:05 left to play in its eighth straight loss. The Cavaliers won their fourth straight game since a two-game losing streak last month and continued their franchise’s best start since the 2008 season.

Jordan Poole scored 39 points, and the Washington Wizards overcame a career-high 56 by Nikola Jokic to beat the Denver Nuggets 122-113 and snap their 16-game losing streak. Jamal Murray (hamstring), Aaron Gordon (calf) and Dario Saric (ankle) were all out for Denver, which left Jokic as something of a one-man show for the Nuggets. He took 38 shots from the field — also a career high — and had 16 rebounds and eight assists. But Washington always had an answer. The Wizards (3-18) won for the first time since Oct. 30. Their 16-game skid tied a franchise record. Poole made a career-high nine 3-pointers, and Washington as a team made 16. Denver went 5 of 24, which is why the Nuggets couldn't fully take advantage of Jokic's dominance. The Wizards were up 69-57 at halftime, and although Jokic scored 23 points in the third quarter, Washington was still up by six when he went to the bench at the start of the fourth. Denver was down 108-95 when he returned with 7:35 remaining. It was a huge game for Jokic, but the fact that it wasn't a triple-double was a sign that Denver didn't have enough balance.

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League News

Around the League

• Franz Wagner stepped up in countless ways for the Orlando Magic when All-Star forward Paolo Banchero tore his oblique. And now, Wagner has the same injury. Wagner has a torn right oblique in a crushing blow for a team that survived the loss of Banchero and will play in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, but now will be without their second-leading scorer for at least four weeks and likely longer. Wagner was hurt in Friday’s loss at Philadelphia. He started each of Orlando’s first 25 games this season, a huge reason why the team is off to a 16-9 start and advancing to the Knockout Rounds of the NBA Cup with a 3-1 record in Group Play action. Wagner, without question, has been Orlando’s best player in the 20 games the team has played since Banchero got hurt in late October, averaging 26.1 points, 6 rebounds and 6.3 assists in that span — leading the Magic to a 13-7 record in those, 13-3 in their last 16 games.

• Injury Updates: Kawhi Leonard (knee) is out indefinitely, and his recovery might “take longer than expected” according to the team. James Wiseman tore his achilles and will be out indefinitely. Taylor Hendricks (leg and ankle) suffered a fractured fibia and dislocated ankle and will be out for the season. Paolo Banchero (oblique) has a tear and will be out indefinitely, and re-evaluated in 3-4 weeks. Isaiah Jackson (achilles) will be out for the season. Jeremy Sochan (thumb) underwent surgery to repair a fracture and will be out indefinitely. Aaron Gordon (hamstring) will miss multiple weeks. Zion Williamson (hamstring) will be out multiple weeks. Chet Holmgren (hip) suffered a fracture and will be out 8-10 weeks. DeAnthony Melton (ACL) underwent surgery and will be out for the season. Grant Williams (ACL) suffered a tear and will be out for the season. LaMelo Ball (calf) will be out at least 2 weeks. Franz Wagner (oblique) has a tear and will be out at least 4 weeks. We wish all these guys speedy and successful recoveries.

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NBA MVP Ladder

1. Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets

Last Ladder: No. 1
Season stats: 29.9 ppg, 13.4 rpg, 10.4 apg

His case: The Nuggets are feast or famine with and without the Joker on the floor. That was always the case for much of the last four years, but it is more striking now — Denver’s offensive rating is dead last in the NBA without him and No. 1 with him, same for team field goal percentage.

He’s the only player in the league in the top five in scoring, rebounds and assists, and he also leads the Nuggets in steals. His defense, never as bad as often suggested, is better this season.

2. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last Ladder: No. 4
Season stats: 32.6 ppg, 11.6 rpg, 6.6 apg

His case: He’s on an efficient and productive tear that confirms his place among the NBA greats. With a decision to swap the 3-point shot for the mid-range, Giannis’ shot selection is better and reflected in his 61.6% marksmanship.

He’s among the league’s double-double leaders while applying his usual presence on the defensive end. Giannis is averaging more rebounds than Anthony Davis, more assists than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and more points than anyone.

3. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last Ladder: No. 2
Season stats: 28.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 5.6 apg

His case: Until Wednesday when he missed his first game of the season, Tatum was an ironman while the Celtics saw absences from Kristaps Porzingis, Jaylen Brown and even Derrick White. He nearly took down the top-ranked Cavaliers without Brown and White, missing a bunny shot in the final minute. He still leads the defending champs in scoring, rebounds, assists and steals.

In addition to the Friday showdown with the rising Bucks and Giannis, Tatum has another star matchup Saturday with the equally rising Memphis Grizzlies and Ja Morant (8 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass).

4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last Ladder: No. 5
Season stats: 29.8 ppg, 6.5 apg, 5.4 rpg

His case: He’s coming off another steady and consistent week which has been his trademark all season, actually. Shai is an automatic 25-30 points on 50% shooting each night, with decent playmaking and closing skills. Book it.

Next Tuesday he’ll face the Mavericks and Luka Dončić. This will be an interesting checkpoint because the Mavs bounced Shai and the top-seeded Thunder from the playoffs last spring in six games. Shai was solid in that series (30 or more points in five games) but didn’t rise to the level of Luka (or Kyrie Irving).

5. Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks

Last Ladder: Honorable mention
Season stats: 25.2 ppg, 13.2 rpg, 3.0 apg

His case: A hearty top-five welcome to KAT, who’s a difference maker so far for the Knicks, and most nights he’s their go-to guy in big moments. He’s also back at center full-time — he played power forward next to Rudy Gobert in Minnesota the last few seasons — and has the power results to back it up.

Towns leads all East centers in scoring and is averaging a career-high 13.2 rebounds. Oh, and he hasn’t neglected the deep shot, currently at 45%. The Knicks started 5-6; then KAT got comfortable in his new skin and they’ve gone 9-2 since.

The Next 5:

6. Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic
7. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers
8. Luka Dončić, Dallas Mavericks
9. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
10. Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs

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Fantasy Leaders

Joker dropped a generational statline

Overtime Thoughts