Between MLB Opening Day and the NCAA Tournament returning to action, Thursday was a wildly distracting day to try to focus on late-season NBA hoops. But FOCUS is exactly what we must do. There are fantasy titles on the line, and with that in mind we have two things to take care of:
1) First things first — go add Christian Wood. More on him later in the column.
2) Now, to the full recap of your eight-game Thursday night:
Sixers 123, Nets 110
Joel Embiid had a phenomenal matchup against the Nets, and he took full advantage, putting up 39 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, three steals, a block and three 3s, shooting 12-of-20 from the field and 12-of-16 from the line with just two turnovers. This is commonly known as “destroying” the other team. The Sixers also threw Boban Marjanovic at Brooklyn for 18 minutes, and he responded with 16 points, three boards and splashed his second career 3-pointer. Also his second in the last six days. I don’t hammer the Boban drum as aggressively as some around this website, but it’s clear that there are no limits to what the man can do on a basketball court.
Joe Harris had a quiet start to March (10.7 ppg and 1.4 3s over his first 10 games of the month), but after a 22-point, four-trey night on Thursday, he’s now averaging 20.3 ppg and 3.7 3s over his last three games. Overall, the Nets went bench-heavy after a bad first quarter, with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (19 and 10) and Caris LeVert (18-4-3) doing much of the work. LeVert has now followed up a rough stretch by scoring 16 and 18 in back-to-back games. As for RHJ, he actually started the second half, but he’s been out of the rotation lately, so it’s hard to bank on this being the start of anything.
Other than the aforementioned Joe Harris, this was a rough night for the Nets starters. D’Angelo Russell shot 6-of-19 (13 points, eight dimes, seven turnovers), DeMarre Carroll had three points in 23 minutes, and Jarrett Allen was benched after just nine minutes as the Nets got completely mauled by the Sixers bigs.
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Pistons 115, Magic 98
Andre Drummond threw down a monster line — 18 points, 17 rebounds, four assists and a season-high six blocks — while Blake Griffin went for 20-10-5. The Pistons got a big game of sorts from Wayne Ellington, who had 25 points, seven triples and three steals, and now has 11 3s — with zero rebounds or assists — in his last two games. Feel free to stream him while he’s hot, but he is the ultimate points/3s only guy. This was an ugly night for Reggie Jackson (five points on 2-of-8 shooting), as he got outplayed by Ish Smith (15 points, four rebounds, six assists). Meanwhile, Luke Kennard was almost invisible in this one, with six points in 21 minutes.
There wasn’t a lot of intrigue on the Magic side of things. Nikola Vucevic (5-of-15) and Jonathan Isaac (4-of-14) had rough shooting nights in the lopsided loss, while Aaron Gordon (20 points, four assists) and D.J. Augustin (18-4-4 with a steal and his fourth block of the season) both shot 7-of-12 on an ugly night for Orlando overall.
Heat 105, Mavs 99
The final showdown between Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki saw Wade go 4-of-14 (11 points, four steals), while Dirk scored 13 on 5-of-13 from the field. Not exactly the extreme fireworks that the nostalgic among us were hoping for, but so it goes. From a fantasy perspective, Josh Richardson (heel) missed this game, Goran Dragic got the start — and went absolutely berserk in a matchup against countryman Luka Doncic. Dragic had 23 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists — his first triple-double since April 2011. Of course, Dragic had combined for 11 points on 4-of-24 shooting over his previous three games, so give yourself a pass if he was on your bench. The other big stat line for Miami came from Bam Adebayo, who had 11 points, 16 rebounds and three assists as he continues his stellar March (11.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.1 spg, 0.9 bpg prior to Thursday’s game). The Heat moved back into the No. 8 spot in the East with the win — a half game ahead of Orlando.
The aforementioned Doncic had typically strong counting stats (19-8-7 with three 3s), but shot 6-of-18 from the field and 4-of-6 from the line with six turnovers. All five starters hit double digits for the Mavs, including Justin Jackson, who’s been hit-or-miss lately but had 14 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and two 3s — and is a potential desperation streaming play in deeper leagues.
Raptors 117, Knicks 92
Kawhi Leonard resting often means a big game for Pascal Siakam, and Thursday was no exception, as Siakam went for 31-5-5 with a steal, a block and two 3s. Danny Green added 15 points and five 3s, and Fred VanVleet put up 12 points, eight assists, a steal, two blocks and four 3s in a start for Leonard. In less happy Raptors news, Kyle Lowry struggled (seven points on 3-of-10 shooting), as did Marc Gasol (two points, five rebounds, four assists in 23 minutes). Also: OG Anunoby (concussion) missed this game for Toronto, and Norm Powell (11 points, two steals, three 3s) hit double digits for a third consecutive game.
Kevin Knox (ankle) started, and Dennis Smith Jr. returned from his back injury, coming off the bench. They were both pretty bad, with Knox going 3-of-10 from the field and 1-of-4 from the line, though he did pick up nine points, a steal, two blocks and two 3s. As for DSJ, he had seven points on 2-of-11 shooting in his first game in over two weeks. Overall, this was a hideous game from the Knicks starting five, which totaled 40 points, and the only NY players who really did anything of note were Mitchell Robinson — season-highs of 19 points and 21 rebounds with a steal and two blocks — and Kadeem Allen, who scored 18 in just 19 minutes.
Rockets 112, Nuggets 85
The Rockets blitzed the Nuggets with a 40-19 second quarter, with James Harden putting up a 38-6-6 line in the lopsided win. Eric Gordon (ankle) played and scored 18 points with four 3s, while Clint Capela had 17 points, 15 rebounds, a steal and a block. Danuel House, who’s been pretty useful for points and 3s lately, failed to score (0-of-5 shooting) in 19 minutes. On the injury front for Houston, Kenneth Faried (knee) is reportedly out through Saturday, and will miss one of Houston’s back-to-back games next week.
Nikola Jokic managed 16-8-6 in the blowout loss, and Jamal Murray had 20-4-3 with two steals, but there’s not much else to say about Denver. Monte Morris took advantage of garbage time with 16 points and four times, and Gary Harris had 11 points, three assists and three 3s — which actually qualifies as a decent game for him these days.
Bucks 128, Clippers 118
Khris Middleton dropped a season-high 39 with nine rebounds and five assists, while Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 34, and had nine boards and five dimes as well. Overall, Milwaukee’s starters scored 115 out of their 128 points, while Sterling Brown scored a season-high 15, and recent waiver wire sensation Pat Connaughton had an off game, with six points, five rebounds, one steal and one triple in 30 minutes. I’d be inclined to give him another shot against the Hawks on Sunday. The Bucks are now four games up on the Raptors for the No. 1 seed with six left to play.
Patrick Beverley (hip) missed this game, and Lou Williams rested, which gave late-season hero Shai Gilgeous-Alexander room to step up with a big stat line: 21 points, six boards, two assists, one steal, two blocks and one trey. As good as SGA has been lately, this was his first game of 20-plus points since Jan. 18. Also notable for the Clippers: Landry Shamet (ankle) returned to action after a one-game absence and scored 13 with four assists and four 3s, so he’s a potential consideration if you’re looking to make up ground in 3s. Shamet, prior to this game, was averaging 3.2 of them in March.
Pelicans 121, Kings 118
The Christian Wood show continues. With Anthony Davis (back spasms) out again, Wood backed up his monster line from Tuesday — 23 points, nine rebounds, three steals, six blocks — with 25 points, nine rebounds, three steals and a block in 28 minutes. It goes without saying that this should be an all-out sprint to the waiver wire to see if Wood is somehow still available. Fantasy titles are often won by men named Christian Wood and Bruno Caboclo, and lost by those who do not add them.
Also for New Orleans: Julius Randle had 34 points and 11 rebounds, Jahlil Okafor had 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocks, and Stanley Johnson made some noise (10 points, four assists, two steals, a block and two 3s in 20 minutes), giving him double digits in three of his last four (something to keep in mind if you’re playing in a deeper league). Darius Miller left early with a thigh injury, and Frank Jackson (concussion) was out, which allowed Ian Clark to start and do nothing (six points on 2-of-11 shooting in 32 minutes).
Buddy Hield led the Kings with 27, but went 1-of-8 on 3s, including a brick on a last-second attempt to send the game to OT. Meanwhile, after going 12-of-40 over his previous three games, De’Aaron Fox found his shooting touch, going 11-of-22 en route to 25 points, 12 assists, three steals and a block. Willie Cauley-Stein had his own big line with 18-12-4 plus two blocks in 35 minutes.
Nemanja Bjelica only played eight minutes due to an illness, and Marvin Bagley started the second half in his place. Bagley had 10 and eight with a steal and two blocks. Harry Giles (thigh) missed his fourth straight.
Spurs 116, Cavs 110
Patty Mills hit a dagger three on Manu Ginobili’s jersey retirement night, finishing with 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and three 3s. In other Spurs PG-related news, Derrick White got into foul trouble and continued to struggle offensively, following up an 0-of-10 game with six points and four assists (with a steal, a block and a trey) in just 20 minutes. I personally wouldn’t cut White, and won’t be surprised at all if he bounces back with a strong game on Sunday. Also for San Antonio, DeMar DeRozan scored 25 with eight assists on 10-of-12 shooting, and low-end points/3s specialist Bryn Forbes had one of his better all-around games with 19-6-4, adding three steals and three 3s.
Collin Sexton had exactly 24 points, two rebounds, three assists and three 3s for a second straight game, which is weird. He also had no steals, and came into this game averaging 22.4 ppg, 2.7 apg, 0.3 spg and 2.6 3s in March — on 51.2 percent from the field and 83.3 from the line. That stat line leaves plenty of room for improvement in assists and steals, but points, 3s and percentages is a start, and a big improvement on where Sexton was earlier in the year. Brandon Knight scored 14 with two assists and two 3s in a season-high 32 minutes, and Larry Nance had a stout all-around line with 13-11-4 off the bench, adding two steals, a block and one 3-pointer.
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Quick Hits: Paul George (shoulder) is listed as questionable for Friday. … LeBron James (groin) is probable, while Reggie Bullock (foot) is questionable. … Cody Zeller (knee) has been ruled out for Friday. Jeremy Lamb, meanwhile, is probable after leaving early Tuesday with an ankle injury. … Al Horford (knee) and Robert Williams (back) are probable. … Per The Athletic, Victor Oladipo’s trainer says he’s ahead of schedule in his (long) recovery. … Josh Hart is out for the season (12 weeks in total) after knee surgery. … Taurean Prince (foot) is doubtful for Friday, which puts Kent Bazemore and DeAndre Bembry into play as potential streaming options. … Taj Gibson (calf) is doubtful. … Trevor Ariza (groin) is listed as out.
