Top Stories

• Sabonis outduels AD, moves to 10-0 against him

• DeMar drops 46 on Pacers

• Wemby faces Joker tonight

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Games of the day

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

Despite the playoff implications of this Lakers/Kings matchup, the only storyline talked about was the fact that Domantas Sabonis was 9-0 against Anthony Davis throughout his career. Most great players would use that to fuel them in this game, but Davis claimed he wasn’t concerned about it. He definitely played like it, only putting up 22 and 10 on 7-18 shooting. Sabonis, on the other hand, had 17/19/10 on 6-10 shooting. His league leading 23rd triple double of the season. Sacramento swept the Lakers this year, so if they matchup in the Play-In, LA could be in trouble.

It’s starting to seem like DeMar hates the Pacers, as 2 years ago he hit that one-legged game-winning three to beat Indiana. DeRozan cooked the Pacers again tonight, dropping 46 points, including the shot to send it to overtime. He hit his only 3 of the game in the overtime, cooking Indiana from all over the floor. Coby White went down with an injury late in the 4th, and it’s unclear how serious it is or how much time he’ll miss. The frontrunner for MIP is vital for Chicago’s offense, so they’ll need him back soon.

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League News

Around the League

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

• Nikola Jokic will face Wembanyama for the second of four potential meetings this season. Arguably the best center in the NBA, Jokic had 39 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists as the Nuggets won the first matchup in November. Wembanyama, who everyone expects to be Jokic’s and Joel Embiid’s successor as the top big man in the league, had 22 points, 11 rebounds, six steals and four blocks in the loss. Their teams still will play twice more in April (April 2 and 12). Wembanyama might be one of the best options to deal with Jokic while also being the worst. His height and length can deal with the ridiculous shots Jokic puts up. But his lack of weight and strength could cause him to get shoved under the rim. We’ll see how well Wemby deals with the 2 time MVP tonight.

• 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. Desmond Bane (ankle) will miss 2-3 weeks. Marcus Smart (finger) will be out 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

• NBA Champion Otto Porter Jr announced his retirement. The Orlando Magic extended head coach Jamahl Mosley. 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), 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).

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 last 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 last Thursday’s 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

Darius Garland 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.