NBA Player News

Allen has played well for the Memphis Hustle this season, and now he has earned a chance to join the Grizzlies for the rest of the regular season. It is unlikely that he will be available to play against the 76ers on Saturday, but they play four games next week. He should see plenty of playing time as the Grizzlies leave their main players on the bench, though it is unclear if he’ll be able to make any impact in fantasy basketball.

A game-time call for Game 2 due to right knee inflammation, Okongwu was able to play 30 minutes without any issues. And he held his own against New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns, grabbing as many rebounds while scoring three fewer points. For the Hawks to win this series, they’ll need Okongwu to hold serve more often than not against KAT, which he is certainly capable of doing. Game 3 is on Thursday in Atlanta.

New York’s Josh Hart has been solid defensively against Johnson in the first two games of this series, but the Hawks’ forward shot the ball better than he did in Game 1. After shooting 8-of-19 from the field in Game 1, Johnson made 50 percent of his attempts in Game 2. Add in the rebounds, and this was a solid effort on a night when the Hawks received key contributions from multiple players. It would be unsurprising if Johnson had a big night in Game 3 on Thursday after Atlanta grabbed the momentum with its comeback in Game 2.

Kuminga’s play in Game 2 was one of the underlying reasons why the Hawks came back to even the series. The Hawks’ forward shot 6-of-8 from inside the arc, and his defensive ability allowed Atlanta to keep Dyson Daniels (6/4/2/2/1) on the bench in crunch time. As a result, there was no one on the court the Knicks could hide Jalen Brunson or Karl-Anthony Towns on defensively, which factored into CJ McCollum taking over late. Kuminga played 35 minutes on Monday, and that may also be the case for Game 3 on Thursday.

McCollum and the Hawks appeared headed for a 0-2 deficit, but an elite fourth quarter on both ends of the floor shifted the series momentum to Atlanta. While he did miss two free throws with 5.6 seconds remaining that would have extended the Hawks’ lead to three, McCollum was outstanding throughout Game 2. Productive enough to keep the visitors within striking distance during the third quarter, McCollum was the main reason why the Hawks walked down the Knicks in the fourth. Game 3 is on Thursday in Atlanta.

Effective in 20 minutes in Game 1, Murray-Boyles played 26 minutes in Game 2. And the rookie replaced Jakob Poeltl (two points, four rebounds and one assist) in the lineup to begin the third quarter, with the veteran center not playing at all after halftime. While there is a need for Poeltl’s size, he was ineffective in Toronto’s first two games. We should see a lot more of Murray-Boyles and Sandro Mamukelashvili (12/10/2/1 with one three-pointer) in Thursday’s Game 3 as the Raptors look to avoid falling into a 0-3 hole.

The good news for Ingram in Game 2 is that he got more shots than he did in Saturday’s series opener. The bad was that he struggled mightily, shooting 20 percent from the field. Even a marginally better version of Ingram would have been enough to give the Raptors a chance to steal Game 2, much less the All-Star version the team received for most of the regular season. It goes without saying that Ingram must be better if Toronto is to have a chance of winning this series. Game 3 is on Thursday in Toronto.