Top Stories

• Wolves fall to Cavs

• Magic have worst game of season

• Lakers take down Bucks

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Games of the day

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

Anthony Edwards did not follow up his 44 point performance well at ALL. In all fairness he was playing hurt, but this game was rough. Edwards finished with 19 points, but went 7-27 from the field, 0-7 from 3, and had 5 turnovers. Naz Reid was the one to pick up the slack for Minnesota, as he scored a career-high 34 points on 10-18 shooting and 7-11 from 3. He’s stepping into a bigger role with KAT out for at least a month, so expect bigger scoring numbers from him. Darius Garland led the Cavs with 34 points, while Jarrett Allen added 33 and 18.

The Monstars must’ve been in the Orlando locker room before the game, because other than Paolo and Franz, no other Magic player scored in double digits. Banchero was quite literally the ONLY bright spot for Orlando, and in comparison, New York had 5 players in double figures. This won’t fly in the Playoffs, so Orlando needs to get it together and fast.

Spencer Dinwiddie’s defense won the game are words i thought i’d never say. But that’s what happened, as after a nail biting game down the stretch, Dinwiddie blocked Damian Lillard’s game winning stepback jumper attempt. Giannis and Dame became the first teammates EVER to both have 25 points and 12 assists in the same game, and that wasn’t enough to beat D’Angelo Russell. He was red hot this game, scoring 44 points on 17-25 shooting, his best game in a Laker uniform. LA needs all the wins they can get, and although they likely can’t get out the Play-In, they can change their opponent from Golden State to either Dallas or Sacramento.

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League News

Around the League

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

• Damian Lillard’s modern-day range continues vaulting him up the record books. The Milwaukee Bucks All-Star continued that climb Friday against the Los Angeles Lakers, passing Hall of Famer Reggie Miller for fourth on the NBA’s all-time 3-pointers made list. Lillard is on pace for his ninth season with at least 200 made 3-pointers, keeping pace with Golden State’s Klay Thompson for the second-most such seasons (9) in league history behind Stephen Curry. The top three spots on the list would be the most difficult to surpass. James Harden, still actively playing for the LA Clippers, is next at third with over 300 more made 3s between them. Ray Allen and Curry, the league’s all-time leader, top the list. Lillard’s All-Star play has helped alter the identity of the 2021 NBA champion Bucks, who are also rediscovering their once-dominant defense under new head coach Doc Rivers. Milwaukee sits firmly in the East’s top three, jostling with Cleveland for second place with just over a month remaining in the regular season.

• Injury Updates: 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 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 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).

The Thunder host Miami on Friday (8 ET, NBA League Pass) with the Heat poised to play the second night of a back-to-back set.

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

I don’t understand how D’lo keeps ending up here

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.