Top Stories

• Clippers comeback to beat Rockets

• Bulls/Jazz has heated ending

• Kings take down Lakers

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Games of the day

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

The Clippers haven’t looked as dominant post-break as they did beforehand, and this game was trending in that direction as well. They were down 20 points before the half, but Kawhi Leonard put the team on his back and refused to lose. Leonard ended up with 28/6/7 on 11-18 shooting as LA stormed back to beat Houston. Sengun continued his elite stretch, dropping 23/19/14, including his career high in assists. While this may not be Houston’s year, Sengun will likely start them off better next season.

Chicago winning a narrow game is gonna be overshadowed by the scuffle that happened at the end of this game. After an intentional foul on DeMar DeRozan in front of the Bulls bench, players and coaches alike stood up to protest the “extra” on the foul. Then Collin Sexton exchanged words with them, and during that face off John Collins got into a shoving match with an assist coach of Chicago. All of this takes away from DeMar being clutch and winning Chicago the game, but he still gets his flowers here.

De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis absolutely DISMANTLED the Lakers in Staples Center (yes i’m still calling it that). Fox tied his career high with 44, and Sabonis had 16/20/12. LeBron did his part for the Lakers, putting up 31 points and 13 assists. AD however, as he tends to do against Sabonis, did absolutely nothing. He only had 14/11, a disappointing performance from someone of his caliber. At the end of the game, LeBron did end up going to the locker room due to an unknown injury, so that’s something to keep an eye on.

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League News

Around the League

• LeBron James and Jaylen Brown have been named Players of The Week for Week 19.

• The most most suspense right now is in the West playoff positioning and in particular, the race to make (or avoid) the Play-In Tournament. It’s dramatic because it involves, for the moment, Stephen Curry and LeBron James, who have been in this position before (in 2021, the Lakers moved on). Except now there’s a higher urgency given the fragile state of the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors and what might happen to the loser come summer. And if the Phoenix Suns who actually have the toughest remaining schedule in the NBA, stumble down the stretch, add Kevin Durant to the mix. Imagine 3 top 15 players of all time having to beat 2 of the others to move on, this years Play-In is gonna be amazing to watch.

• Injury Updates: Bismack Biyombo collapsed on the bench and will be evaluated today. 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 2 weeks. OG Anunoby (elbow) will miss 2+ weeks. 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 ranking: No. 1

Season stats: 25.8 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 9.3 apg

His case: Four-straight triple-doubles propelled four consecutive victories for Denver headed into last Thursday’s win against Miami. Nuggets coach Michael Malone passed off to Jokic some well-earned hardware Wednesday after the two-time MVP bolstered his triple-double with three steals.

He recently joined Westbrook as the only players since 1997-98 to post a triple-double before the fourth quarter in at least four consecutive games. All told, Jokic is spearheading Denver’s push to seize the West.

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 31.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.5 apg

His case: The battle between rookies Chet Holmgren and Victor Wembanyama caught all the eyeballs, but Gilgeous-Alexander remains the real headliner, despite OKC falling to the Spurs.

The 25-year-old continues to drop 30 points like it’s nothing. He’s now up to seven straight 30-point outings, and his 44 games with 30-plus points leads the NBA.

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last ranking: No. 3

Season stats: 30.6 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 6.3 apg

His case: We’re starting to see Milwaukee settle in under new coach Doc Rivers, and we can’t diminish Antetokounmpo’s role on the team. The two-time MVP is putting together his best shooting month of the season and he’s draining a career-high from the field by a longshot.

The Bucks have a long way to go to catch Boston for No. 1 in the East, but second place is within reach.

4. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 27 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 4.9 apg

His case: Yes, the Celtics are loaded. But teams gear up every night to shut down Tatum, and he consistently finds ways to lead Boston to victories. We listed the statistical credentials above and mentioned the fact Boston owns a sizeable lead in the Eastern Conference standings.

5. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last ranking: No. 4

Season stats: 34.4 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 9.7 apg

His case: Sorry Mavs fans, but the standings matter. The NBA’s leading scorer, Doncic dropped a 30-point triple-double (his 11th of the season) last Wednesday on his 25th birthday to pace a 136-125 win at Toronto.

We understand he’s scored 25-plus in nine straight games. But flashy highlights and massive numbers aside, Doncic needs to lift Dallas out of Play-In Tournament territory to climb near the top of this list.

The next five

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

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Fantasy Leaders

Sengun with back-to-back days as #1

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.