Top Stories

• Bam games Detroit

• Kyrie hits INCREDIBLE game winner

• Wemby KEEPS breaking records

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Games of the day

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

Bam Adebayo made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Miami Heat to a 104-101 win over the Detroit Pistons yesterday. Cade Cunningham missed a 3-pointer for Detroit with 9 seconds left and Terry Rozier sprinted up the court with the rebound. He couldn't get to the basket, so he tossed the ball to Bam, who made the 12th 3-pointer of his seven-year career. Only a week ago, Adebayo was a career 11.8% 3-point shooter. He is 3 for 3 in the last three games, including Sunday's 30-footer. Duncan Robinson scored a season-high 30 points for Miami on 10-for-15 shooting. Adebayo had 20 points and 17 rebounds as the Heat beat the Pistons for the second time in three days. Robinson hit his 1,000th career 3-pointer in the first quarter. He reached the mark in 343 games, breaking the NBA record of 350 by Buddy Hield.

Kyrie Irving hit a running left-handed shot at the buzzer, capping a wild final final few seconds and giving the Mavericks a 107-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets on yesterday. Luka Doncic scored 37 points and Irving had 24 as the up-and-down Mavericks (39-29) beat the defending champs for their fifth win in six games. The Nuggets rallied from 13 points down midway through the fourth quarter and went ahead on Jamal Murray's tiebreaking 3-pointer with 26 seconds remaining. Doncic answered almost immediately on the inbounds pass after a timeout, hitting from several feet behind the arc for a 105-105 tie. After Murray missed an elbow jumper, Dallas called timeout with 2.8 seconds to go. The right-handed Irving took the inbounds pass, dribbled with his left hand as Nikola Jokic pursued and had to throw up the shot from 21 feet to beat the buzzer. The Mavs pulled even with Phoenix as part of a virtual three-way tie with Sacramento for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff spot in the Western Conference.

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League News

Around the League

• Luka Doncic and DeMar DeRozan have been named Players of The Week for Week 20.

• Victor Wembanyama ended last night’s comeback overtime win against Brooklyn with 33 points, 15 rebounds, 7 assists, and 7 blocks. He joined David Robinson as the only rookies to ever record those numbers in a game, and he also joined Charles Barkley, Joel Embiid, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as players to ever record those stats in general. Wembanyama scored four points and two blocks in overtime as the Spurs used a 12-5 scoring edge to seal the win. Wembanyama continued to stuff the stat sheet when he added seven assists and seven blocks while recording his 36th double-double in 60 games. The 7-foot-4 rookie center has five games of at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and five assists.

• Injury Updates: 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 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 1 week. 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. Marcus Smart (finger) will be out 1-2 weeks. Gabe Vincent (knee) will be out at least 1 more week. Mitchell Robinson (ankle) underwent surgery and will be out 2-3 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

• Isaiah Thomas was given a 10-day contract by the Phoenix Suns. The Bulls are likely gonna trade Zach LaVine in the offseason. 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 ppg, 12.3 rpg, 9.2 apg

His case: The defending champions fell right back into their dominating ways coming out of the All-Star break, winning 10 of 11 games heading into this past Friday’s game vs. the Spurs. Over that span, the two-time MVP has averaged a 25-point triple-double while shooting 60.5% from the field.

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 31.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Gilgeous-Alexander produced his 12th showing with 30-plus points in his last 14 outings and his 49th 30-point gem this season as Oklahoma City moved back into pole position in the West. The 25-year-old carved up the Mavericks on Thursday for 31 points, nine rebounds, five assists and two steals.

3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: No. 3

Season stats: 30.8 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Milwaukee dropped three of its previous four before Thursday’s 114-105 win over the Sixers, a game in which Antetokounmpo scored 13 of his 32 points in the final frame. The performance gave the two-time MVP his fourth-straight game with 30-plus points.

Antetokounmpo has an NBA-leading 31 games this season with 30-plus points and 10-plus rebounds. The Bucks moved back into second in the East, but face tough tests up next against Phoenix and Boston.

4. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 34.3 ppg, 9 rpg, 9.8 apg

His case: Although Dallas remains eighth in the West, the Mavericks captured four straight victories before Thursday’s loss to Oklahoma City with Doncic lighting up the scoreboard for triple-doubles in three of those four outings.

He strung together seven consecutive triple-doubles before Wednesday’s win over Golden State. A hamstring injury sidelined the 25-year-old for the loss Thursday in Oklahoma City. The MRI on that left hamstring came back clean, but he’ll be re-evaluated over the weekend.

5. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last week’s ranking: No. 4

Season stats: 27 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 4.9 apg 

His case: Tatum helped Boston become the first team to clinch a playoff spot with a 26-point performance Thursday in a win over Phoenix, giving the Celtics their eighth-straight win at home. Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 63 points on 59% shooting as Boston moved to a league-best 30-3 at TD Garden.

When Tatum scores, the Celtics win. Boston owns a record of 19-4 when the 26-year-old racks up 30-plus points.

The Next Five

6. Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings (Last week’s ranking: No. 6)
7. Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers (Last week’s ranking: No. 7)
8. Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns (Last week’s ranking: No. 9)
9. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers (Last week’s ranking: No. 8)
10. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns (Last week’s ranking: not ranked)

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Fantasy Leaders

Bobby Portis 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.