Top Stories

• Warriors top Rockets in pivotal matchup

• Clippers beat Nuggets without Kawhi

• Knicks receive bad news

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Games of the day

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

Tari Eason called for the Warriors to “come out to play” for this matchup, and unfortunately for him, they did. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson scored 29 points each and the Golden State Warriors stretched their winning streak to a season-high six games with a 133-110 win over the Houston Rockets. The Warriors, who are in 10th place in the Western Conference, never trailed and built a 15-point lead by halftime behind 21 points by Thompson. He made seven 3-pointers with five of them coming in the first half. Jabari Smith Jr. had 24 points to lead the Rockets, who dropped their third game in a row after winning their previous 11 games. Cam Whitmore added 17 points off the bench. Houston had a shot to catch Golden State, but now that seems nearly impossible.

Paul George scored 28 points, James Harden added 20 and the Los Angeles Clippers overcame an early 17-point hole to beat the Denver Nuggets 102-100. The Clippers snapped a five-game skid at home despite the absence of Kawhi Leonard, who missed his second straight game because of a sore right knee. Nikola Jokic had 36 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists, his 24th triple-double of the season, to lead Denver, which had won two in a row and six of eight. Aaron Gordon added 18 points. Denver fell 0.5 games behind Minnesota for the 1 seed in the West, while LA strengthened their hold on the 4 seed, 2 games ahead of Dallas.

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League News

Around the League

• Luka Doncic and Dejounte Murray have been named Players of The Week for Week 23.

• The New York Knicks will be without one of their star players for the postseason. New York confirmed Randle will undergo season-ending right shoulder surgery and be reevaluated in five months. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski first reported the news. Randle hasn't played since he dislocated the shoulder on Jan. 27, and Wojnarowski noted "doctors warned him that his shoulder's continued instability made it unsafe for him to play again this season" despite his rehab attempts. While Randle had rehabbed with the hope to avoid the surgery and return for the playoffs, having the procedure at this point means he could be fully recovered for the start of the 2024-25 campaign. Injury concerns have limited what seemed to be a high ceiling for the Knicks. While they are 12-2 with Randle and OG Anunoby in the lineup together, the former will not return and the latter hasn't played since March 16 because of an elbow injury. That has left Jalen Brunson to lead the way without two of the other go-to options. New York is in the middle of a slump without Randle's offensive presence and Anunoby's defensive prowess. It has lost three straight games and has largely relied on players such as Donte DiVincenzo and Miles McBride to increase their scoring alongside Brunson. The Knicks have dropped to fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings and are just two games clear of the play-in tournament for the Nos. 7-10 seed with seven games remaining. Avoiding that fate or an early postseason exit will be much more difficult without Randle as a No. 2 option.

• Injury Updates: Julius Randle (shoulder) is out for the season. Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell will both miss the rest of the season. Malik Monk (knee) will miss 4-6 weeks. Kevin Huerter (shoulder) is out for the season. LaMelo Ball (ankle) is out for the season. Brandon Ingram (knee) will miss at least 2 weeks. Ausar Thompson (blood clot) is out for the season. Christian Wood (knee) underwent surgery and will be out multiple weeks. Bilal Coulibaly (wrist) sustained a fracture and will be out for the season. 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 1 week. Josh Richardson (shoulder) had surgery and will be out for the season. Scottie Barnes (hand) underwent surgery and will be out at least 2 weeks. Trae Young (hand) had surgery and will be re-evaluated in 1-2 weeks. Jarred Vanderbilt (foot) will miss at least 2 more weeks. Marcus Smart (finger) will be out 1 more week. Gabe Vincent (knee) will be out at least 1 more week. 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 News

• Rajon Rondo announced his official retirement. 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: 26.1 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 9 apg

His case: The two-time MVP continues to grind through left hip soreness and lower back pain. But Denver had won four of its last five going into last Friday’s game vs. Minnesota. In the four games Jokic has played over that span, the 29-year-old averaged 29 points, 12.5 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

The Nuggets suffered a setback last Wednesday, losing to Phoenix for the second time this month. A loss to Minnesota last Friday night hurts his case as well.

2. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: T-3

Season stats: 33.1 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 9.8 apg

His case: There’s still work to do, but the wins are finally starting to match the 25-year-old’s otherworldly production. Throughout Dallas’ 9-1 run, Doncic has posted 29.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 10 apg and 1.7 spg.

Of course, the team’s only loss over that span came March 14 at Oklahoma City in a game Doncic missed due to a sore left hamstring.

3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 30.4 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.3 apg

His case: The injury report going into a home clash last Friday with Phoenix didn’t look good with Gilgeous-Alexander listed as doubtful due to a right quadriceps contusion. He suffered the injury more than a week ago but continued to try to play his way through the pain.

The latest setback comes at a crucial time. After the matchup against the Suns, the Thunder play five straight on the road, including games at New York (a win), Philadelphia (a loss), Boston (a loss) and Indiana.

4. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: T-3

Season stats: 30.7 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Antetokounmpo fights hard. But the two-time MVP needs help with Milwaukee dropping two in a row despite the eight-time All-Star averaging 31.3 points and 16.3 rebounds in his last three games.

Antetokounmpo scored 20 straight points in the third quarter of last Thursday’s loss at New Orleans yet didn’t take a shot in the fourth quarter until 28.7 seconds remained. By comparison, Zion Williamson scored 11 of his 28 points in the final frame.

5. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 27.3 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 4.9 apg

His case: Tatum and the Celtics suffered their second loss to Atlanta in four days last Thursday, falling 123-122 in overtime in a game featuring the second-most lead changes (41) since the 2000-01 season. The five-time All-Star dropped a team-high 31 points with 13 rebounds.

But the loss marked the first time since March 7 that Boston suffered defeat in a game that featured Tatum, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis in the starting lineup.

The Next Five

6. Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento Kings (Last week’s ranking: No. 6)
7. Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns (Last week’s ranking: No. 8)
8. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns (Last week’s ranking: No. 9)
9. Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers (Last week’s ranking: unranked)
10. Kawhi Leonard, LA Clippers (Last week’s ranking: No. 7)

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Fantasy Leaders

Tyrese keeps putting up good games even with Embiid back

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.