Top Stories

• Warriors are close to falling out the Play-In

• Bucks crush Thunder

• Zion rounding into shape (no pun intended)

• Kris Dunn suspended 2 games, Jabari Smith suspended 1

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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 scored 23 points and made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 12 seconds for the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 114-110 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night. Naz Reid had 20 points and a season-high-tying 12 rebounds, and Rudy Gobert added 17 points and 12 rebounds for the Wolves. The Warriors (36-34) were embarrassed by Indiana at home on Friday, still trying to find themselves with their hold on 10th place in the Western Conference for the final play-in spot in a bad position with surging Houston (35-35) one game behind them. Steve Kerr questionably played Curry only 30 minutes in a game that was practically a must win. Curry needs to play a little more if the Warriors wanna keep their spot.

The Milwaukee Bucks demonstrated exactly what they're capable of accomplishing when they have all their top players available. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points and a season-high 19 rebounds, Khris Middleton recorded his second career triple-double and the Bucks dismantled the Oklahoma City Thunder 118-93. Fraudulent MVP candidate SGA only managed 12 points, further showing he’s a free-throw merchant that lives at the line. The loss knocked OKC out of the #1 seed, and only half a game ahead of Minnesota for the #2 seed. SGA has scored 30 against all but 2 teams this season, one of which being Milwaukee. He’ll get his final chance on April 12 when the teams face off for the final time this year.

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League News

Around the League

• Jalen Green and Jalen Brunson have been named Players of The Week for Week 21.

• Zion Williamson scored 36 points and led the New Orleans Pelicans to a 114-101 victory over the Detroit Pistons last night. Williamson shot 13 for 14 from the floor and 10 for 14 from the line in 36 minutes. Excluding last game in Miami where he scored 4 points (in a win), Zion hadn’t scored less than 20 points in his last 8 games. He’s becoming the version of himself that everyone envisioned coming out of Duke, at the best possible time. As of now, the Pelicans would be facing the Clippers in the first round, and while that’s no easy matchup, Zion is a matchup nightmare for them. If he continues playing at this level, the Pels are definitely not a team you wanna see come first round.

• Injury Updates: 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 3 weeks. Evan Mobley (ankle) will miss at least one more week. Josh Richardson (shoulder) had surgery and will be out for the season. Russell Westbrook (hand) underwent surgery and is expected back by next week. Scottie Barnes (hand) underwent surgery and will be out 3 weeks. Trae Young (hand) had surgery and will be re-evaluated in 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 1-2 more weeks. Marcus Smart (finger) will be out 1 more week. 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

• 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, 12.3 rpg, 9 apg

His case: Maybe Jokic does have eyes in the back of his head. As long as the 29-year-old keeps dropping triple-doubles like the one orchestrated Thursday in a quality win over the Knicks, he’ll remain so far ahead of the field he won’t be able to see it in the rearview anyway.

The 30-14-11 performance against New York, snapped the Knicks’ four-game winning streak and came on the heels of a 35-point, 16-rebound gem in a gritty road win at Minnesota.

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Last week’s ranking: No. 2

Season stats: 30.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Extended his franchise record of 30-point games on Wednesday to 50 (an NBA-high) with 31 points against Utah. The 25-year-old scored 20 of those points in the second half, as Oklahoma City captured its third-straight win and 13th in its last 16 outings.

T-3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

Last week’s ranking: No. 3

Season stats: 30.7 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 6.4 apg

His case: Antetokounmpo appears to be losing some ground after missing two games dealing with a left hamstring issue. The 29-year-old returned Thursday and contributed to Milwaukee’s 115-108 win against Brooklyn.

He scored 21 points with nine rebounds and five assists in the victory. But the Bucks are currently riding the hot hand of Damian Lillard, who has averaged 31 points and 11.3 assists over the team’s last three outings.

T-3. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Last week’s ranking: No. 4

Season stats: 34.1 ppg, 9 rpg, 9.8 apg

His case: Doncic produced perhaps the ugliest triple-double of the season Tuesday in San Antonio, shooting 6 of 27 against the NBA’s 28th-rated defense. But this is all about winning, and the 25-year-old keeps delivering on that front.

Doncic scored 34 points with nine rebounds Thursday against Utah to push Dallas into sixth in the West. He just needs to maintain the momentum. Doncic needs just four more 30-5-5 games to tie Oscar Robertson for the most such outings in a single season.

5. Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Last week’s ranking: No. 5

Season stats: 27.1 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 4.9 apg

His case: The savvy 25-year-old put up a couple of 30-point showings this week to increase his 30-point games total to 25, which is tied for sixth in the NBA. Tatum scored 23 points in Wednesday’s first half against a shorthanded Bucks squad missing Antetokounmpo.

Of the top five MVP candidates, Tatum holds the lowest usage percentage (29.6%) outside of Jokic (28.7%). Still, you can’t discount his contributions to Boston’s double-digit game lead in the East.

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. 8)
9. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns (Last week’s ranking: No. 10)
10. Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves (Last week’s ranking: unranked)

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Fantasy Leaders

AD DOMINATED against the Pacers

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.