Only five games on the slate, and you’re telling me that two of them went to overtime and featured superstars delivering some of the most clutch performances of the season? No, your eyes are working just fine, dear reader. No typos here, as we got to witness some truly excellent games on Thursday. Let’s get into them!
Hawks 131, Cavaliers 107
Another tough loss for Cleveland, as the team is beginning to show cracks without the elite frontcourt duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.
- Darius Garland finished with 18 points on 7-of-21 shooting and added eight assists, a rebound, a steal, a three and a block. His streak of 20-point games ends at three and his double-double streak at two. Fortunately for fantasy managers, Garland gets two more games this weekend in the form of a back-to-back set against New York and Philly.
- Moses Brown finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and a block. Yes, people. He’s back. As long as both Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are out, you can confidently stream Brown. He’s just 7% rostered on Yahoo.
- Cedi Osman totaled 21 points, six rebounds, four assists, three triples and a block. It’s the obligatory big bench game for Cedi who doesn’t carry fantasy value outside of deeper leagues.
- Trae Young put up 30 points, nine assists, four triples and two rebounds, He’s scored at least 30 points in three of four matchups with the Cavs this season. Expect him to finish the week strong when Atlanta faces Brooklyn on Saturday.
- Clint Capela managed 12 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks, two steals and two assists in 23 minutes after going 4/11 on Wednesday. It’s his third double-double in four games.
- Kevin Huerter hit 5-of-6 triples and scored 23 points to go with two rebounds, two assists and two steals, and he’s now scored at least 20 in four straight. Red Velvet has been making it rain, too. He’s averaged five triples in that span. Check to see if he’s available in your Yahoo league. He’s just 47% rostered.
- Onyeka Okongwu went off for 17 points, 12 rebounds, an assist and a block across 25 minutes. It’s his first of the season and just the third in his career. He played two more minutes than Capela, but that could be due to the blowout. In either case, Okongwu’s upside is capped as long as Capela is in the fold.
Pistons 102, 76ers 94
After a tough, two-point loss to the Bucks on Tuesday, Philly looked like it was headed for a bounce-back until Detroit flipped the script in the fourth quarter. Philly led 79-73 after three, but the Pistons won the decisive final quarter 29-15 to capture the win and serve Philly a second straight loss.
- Joel Embiid posted 37 points, 15 boards, three dimes, two blocks and a steal and notched his fifth game of the season with at least 35 points and 15 rebounds, most in the NBA this season.
- Matisse Thybulle finished with just four points but piled up the stat sheet with five stocks, four assists and three boards. Unfortunately, he’s provided only deeper-league value for most of the season and has been useful as a defensive specialist in most formats.
- Tobias Harris is ranked 118 over the last month, way down from his overall season ranking of 58. He had a solid performance against the Pistons with 14 points, five boards, three dimes, three swats and two triples.
- Isaiah Stewart pulled down double-digit rebounds (12) but failed to score on four shot attempts. He’s ranked 122 over the last month and just inside the top-150 on the season, due in large part to his inability to put up consistent numbers on offense or
- Cade Cunningham is making a late-season push for Rookie of the Year, and he’s been a fantasy stud. He ranks 56 on the season but has provided third-round value over the last month thanks to positives in every category and much more efficient shooting.
- Saddiq Bey was masterful in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 of his 20 points in a three-minute stretch from the five-minute mark down to the two-minute mark. Though his shooting is often inefficient, he’s proven to be one of the league’s best at heating up in a flash.
- Marvin Bagley made an early exit due to a hip pointer, and if he’s forced to miss any time moving forward, Kelly Olynyk should see a major bump in value. Olynyk finished this one with 12 points, five boards, three assists and three stocks. He’s rostered in just 34% of Yahoo leagues.
Bucks 120, Nets 119
This was the best game of the night, and it featured two of the league’s best going head-to-head for four quarters and overtime. It doesn’t get much sweeter than that. Down 110-107, Giannis hit a step-back three with 18 seconds in regulation to force overtime. In the extra period, the Bucks went down one after three Durant FGs. Giannis earned two of his own on a foul from Nicolas Claxton just seconds later and converted them both to edge out the Nets.
- Kevin Durant finished with 26 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds, three triples, one steal and a block after averaging 33.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 2.7 stocks and 2.3 triples across his last six games. He’ll need to keep up these gaudy stat lines if Brooklyn hopes to keep winning.
- Kyrie Irving shot just 9-of-22 for 25 points and added five assists, three rebounds and two steals. It was a poor shooting night, and he’s now averaged just 19 points and 6.3 dimes over his last four contests. Kyrie’s fantasy game has taken a hit since he’s been cleared to play home games, but he’s due for a bounce-back. He’ll get a shot at one Saturday against the Hawks.
- Bruce Brown went off for 23 points, five rebounds, three assists, three blocks and a steal. The points are a season-high and match the second-highest scoring game of his career. He’s been an elite multi-category contributor for much of the season and ranks 65th in per-game value over the last month.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo detonated with a 44/14/6 line that included a game-tying step-back three in regulation and game-tying free throws with three seconds remaining in overtime. He’s making a late-season case for MVP, and fantasy managers already know how special he’s been all season.
- Jrue Holiday chipped in with 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists and a ridiculous six steals, while Khris Middleton finished 16/9/4/2/1.
Bulls 135, Clippers 130
Los Angeles controlled this game for three quarters, but after that, it was all Bulls. Coming into tonight, DeMar DeRozan led the NBA in fourth-quarter points with 587, nearly 100 points more than second-place Giannis (491). He delivered when it mattered most yet again with 17 points in the fourth quarter and 10 more in overtime for 50 points and a Chicago ‘W.’
He’s just the sixth Bulls player in NBA history to score at least 50. This is also the ninth 50-point game of the month, which is the most since December, 1962. Leave it to the buzzer-beating king to score 50 on the last day of the month.
- Reggie Jackson had another big game, finishing with a strong 34/2/7 line and six triples. It’s his third 30-point game of the month, but he’s been just outside the top-120 in that span.
- PG13 logged a healthy 22/4/5/3 line in 32 minutes. If you held him or were able to add/trade before he returned, kudos to you! Keep playing him.
- Hot pickup Isaiah Hartenstein totaled just 4/4/2 with a block in 18 mins. There’s no reason to drop him unless there’s another guy on the wire who you really need.
- Chicago’s other stars did their thing, as Nikola Vucevic finished with 22/14, and Zach LaVine added 21.
- Patrick Williams posted 10/12 with two blocks for his first double-double of the season and fourth of his career.
- DeRozan finished with 50 points, five rebounds, six assists and a steal for his best game in a Bulls’ uniform. His ADP is going to skyrocket ahead of 2022 fantasy drafts.
Jazz 122, Lakers 109
The Lakers trotted out their 37th different starting lineup against the Jazz in this one, pitting Russell Westbrook, Stanley Johnson, Trevor Ariza, Dwight Howard and Malik Monk against Utah’s regulars, who came into this one with a 27-11 record.
The Lakers hung around, but this team never had a chance against the Jazz. Los Angeles is hanging onto the West’s 10th seed precariously, and the team will hope to have LeBron James and Anthony Davis available.
- Russell Westbrook hit 9-of-18 shots for 24 points and added seven assists and six rebounds. He’s averaged 21.8 points, 8.2 assists, 8.0 rebounds, 2.2 triples across his last six while shooting 52.5% from the floor and 70% from the FT line. Brodie has done a complete 180, but the Lakers are too far gone at this point.
- Dwight Howard finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and a steal. This was one of his best games of the season, which tells you all you need to know about his ceiling. Howard is a risky streamer even when he’s starting, so fantasy managers don’t need to get him off the waiver wire.
- Malik Monk managed 14 points, four assists, four rebounds, two triples and a steal after averaging 24.7 points and 3.7 triples across his last three. With Anthony Davis and LeBron James scheduled back for Friday’s tilt with the Pelicans, Monk can be dropped if you’re still hanging onto him.
- Rudy Gobert finished Thursday’s win with 25 points, 17 rebounds and two blocks, his second big game in a row. The Jazz close out the week against the Warriors on Saturday, so there’s an excellent chance Gobert provides huge numbers yet again.
- Bojan Bogdanovic returned to the starting lineup Thursday with 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting, five assists and three rebounds. He’s a top-120 player on the season, but there’s not much to read into his performance after being off for nine games. Even at full strength, Bogdanovic wasn’t a super appealing fantasy option.
