NBA Player News

Scratched from the lineup for Saturday’s win over the Wizards for personal reasons, Herro is on track to play Tuesday night. His return would push Simone Fontecchio to the bench.

Green struggled on Tuesday, missing all four of his three-point attempts. Over his last four games, the Suns guard has shot 5-of-22 from beyond the arc. While productive nights in the mid-range and around the basket boosted Green’s points tally in games against the Suns and Bulls, he only made five two-pointers against the Rockets. He’ll look to bounce back on Wednesday against the Mavericks.

After playing 26 minutes in his return to the Suns’ starting lineup on Sunday, Williams played 28 minutes on Tuesday. While the increase in playing time was slight, his workload will be something to watch in Phoenix’s last three regular-season games. Oso Ighodaro (8/5/1/1/1) played 19 minutes off the bench, with his role taking a hit since Williams’ return to action. The Suns host Dallas on Wednesday, a spot where they could look to rest Williams. If so, Ighodaro would start.

Booker has scored 30 points or more in four of his last five games, and his 31-point effort on Tuesday was supplemented by eight assists. A 15-of-16 night from the foul line helped boost the point total, but the defeat locked the Suns into the Play-In Tournament. Phoenix still has a little work to do to ensure it will remain in seventh, which would guarantee it home court in the 7 vs. 8 game.

Şengün locking in during the fourth quarter helped the Rockets pull away in Phoenix. The Suns could not find an answer for the Rockets’ center, who was especially impactful in making plays for his teammates. In the fourth quarter, Şengün recorded three assists and committed just one turnover. While Amen Thompson led the way with eight assists, Şengün recorded six and was able to get the turnovers in check after being a bit loose with the basketball early on.

Thompson was outstanding on Tuesday, finishing two assists shy of a triple-double. The Suns struggled to come up with an answer for the athletic wing, even though he isn’t much of a threat on the perimeter. In addition to his work on the offensive end, Thompson put up four defensive contributions, including three steals. With the Rockets still able to finish as high as third in the Western Conference, Thompson should continue to play starters’ minutes for the team’s final three games of the regular season.

For the second consecutive game, Smith scored at least 20 points and made five three-pointers. His percentage wasn’t good on Tuesday, with a 1-of-5 night inside the arc being more problematic than Smith shooting 5-of-13 from three. Add in the rebounds, and this was a solid showing from Smith, even with the low field-goal percentage. The Rockets have three games left in their regular-season schedule, starting with the 76ers on Thursday.

Playing in Phoenix for the first time since being traded during the offseason, Durant started slowly on Tuesday. He missed five of his first six shot attempts, and the Rockets were on the wrong end of a 21-0 run during the first quarter. Durant and the Rockets would eventually find their footing, with the veteran forward leading seven double-digit scorers with 24 points. The victory pulled Houston into a tie for fourth in the West, but the Lakers do hold the tiebreaker. And third remains within reach, as the Rockets trail the Nuggets by one game with three to go.

With LeBron James and Jaxson Hayes joining Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves and Marcus Smart on the sidelines for Tuesday’s game, Vanderbilt appeared well-positioned to play increased minutes. However, he lasted only one four-minute stint, with Lakers head coach JJ Redick benching the forward for the rest of the night. After the 123-87 defeat, Redick said it was a “confluence of things” that prompted him to pull Vanderbilt during the second quarter and not go back to him. Vanderbilt’s benching and his reaction to it are worth watching heading into the playoffs, but they won’t affect active fantasy leagues.

Flagg was coming off scoring 45 and 51 points in his last two games, respectively. The 19-year-old small forward was highly efficient in those games, unlike Tuesday when he had 25 points on 25 attempts from the field. Flagg has provided fourth-round per game value in his potentially Rookie of the Year campaign and he’s only going to get better from here.

Garland had 22 points on 18 field goal attempts in Tuesday’s win over the Mavericks. The 26-year-old point guard wasn’t as efficient as he had been recently and only had four assists. He’s provided eighth-round per game value over the last two weeks. Garland should thrive in his first full season with the Clippers next year as long as they keep Kawhi Leonard.