NBA

Jones injured his right knee during the fourth quarter of Saturday’s loss to the Celtics when Payton Pritchard landed on his leg while attempting to reel in a loose ball. Jones eventually limped back to the locker room after being helped off the floor, but he was still seen struggling to put weight on his right leg after the game. This is the same knee that he injured during a November 16 game in Boston, with the sprained right MCL sidelining him for nearly six weeks.

Brown’s magnum opus featured an extremely efficient shooting performance as he knocked down 18-of-26 attempts, including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc, finishing at nearly 70 percent from the floor. It was his second 50-point effort, matching his previous career-high mark set back on January 2, 2022. The 29-year-old franchise cornerstone combined with teammate Derrick White for 24 first-quarter points as Boston erupted for a season-high 42 points in the opening stanza and simply never looked back. It was a sublime all-around performance as Brown also locked up Clippers star Kawhi Leonard on the defensive end of the floor. He’s scored at least 29 points in 11 of his last 12 games since December 2. Unreal. The Celtics return home next week for a four-game slate that includes matchups against the Bulls, Nuggets, Raptors and Spurs.

Harden has tormented the Celtics over the years, but he was unable to get anything going in this one as Boston threw a combination of strong defenders at him including Derrick White, Jared Walsh and rookie standout Hugo González. The 36-year-old veteran point guard was held to less than 20 points for the first time in six games as Los Angeles’ extended win streak came to an unceremonious end. The Clippers have four games on tap next week including matchups against the Warriors, Knicks, Nets and Pistons.

Jaylen Brown’s 50-point explosion will grab most of the headlines in this one-sided affair, but White remains the unheralded straw that stirs the metaphorical drink on both ends of the floor. The 31-year-old guard, who ranks second in the league in “stocks” (steals and blocks), added three more to the ledger while defending Clippers superstars Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, who were held to fewer than 25 points each. He’s topped 20 points in eight of his last 14 games since December 2.

Leonard had his hands full with Boston’s plethora of strong wing defenders as Jaylen Brown and company took turns making things challenging for the veteran superstar, who shot just 35 percent from the floor, including 2-of-8 from beyond the arc. He still managed to turn in a respectable effort from a fantasy standpoint with a handful of rebounds, assists and steals in a one-sided affair that snapped a six-game winning streak for Los Angeles.

Zubac failed to make a significant impact, despite logging 20 minutes in his return from a five-game absence due to a sprained ankle that he suffered back on December 20. The 28-year-old big man was unable to exploit Boston’s lack of strong interior defense, attempting just six shots in a one-sided affair. Fantasy managers should anticipate the Clippers keeping a governor on his workload for at least a couple additional contests as he works his way back to full strength.

With Jusuf Nurkić still out due to injury, it was Love who started Saturday’s game and not Kyle Filipowski. While the veteran forward/center didn’t do much scoring in San Francisco, he was effective as a rebounder and playmaker. As for Filipowski, he tallied seven points, one rebound, one assist, one steal and one blocked shot in 19 minutes off the bench. Generally speaking, Filipowski has been more valuable to fantasy managers than Love, and that will be the case later in the season. However, the veteran was more productive than his younger teammate on Saturday.

While George didn’t shoot the ball poorly, he was responsible for seven turnovers in Saturday’s defeat. That was a season-high for the point guard, who recorded three turnovers or fewer in seven of his previous nine games. However, even with Saturday’s performance, George has been a top-10 player in eight-cat formats over the past two weeks. After two inconsistent seasons, the Jazz point guard has turned the corner in year three.

For the 12th time this season, Markkanen scored at least 30 points in a game. He was more effective during the first half than the second, with the Jazz forward shooting 9-of-12 from the field before halftime. Over the past two weeks, Markkanen has offered top-10 per-game value in eight-cat formats. The lone concern now is those injury management days that tend to pop up at inopportune times for fantasy managers. The Jazz play four games in Week 12, including a midweek back-to-back, which may limited Markkanen to three appearances.

Back in the Warriors’ lineup after a one-game absence, Butler played 34 minutes against the Jazz. While the final stat line was solid, one can’t blame fantasy managers for wanting more from the veteran forward. Butler only attempted nine shots on the night, making it three straight games in which he’s failed to exceed that number. His category league value remains excellent, but Butler is capable of offering more.