NBA Player News

After a strong first half, AD exited the game briefly due to a left shoulder injury. While he was able to play through it, he really wasn’t the same player after that. 16 of his 17 points came before halftime, and if he stayed healthy, the result of this game may have been different. AD has been banged up all season, but he was still able to play a career-high 77 games. Davis has been knocked in fantasy hoops over the last few years by his lack of games played, but he may have flipped the script this season. He should go earlier in drafts next season, with managers hoping that he will be healthy once again.

Bruce Brown tied a season-high in points on Thursday thanks to a sensational first half of basketball, when he scored 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting with three triples. He cooled down considerably after halftime but still finished as one of Denver’s top scorers on the evening. His facilitation was also impressive and important for Denver in his 25 minutes of game action. Brown isn’t a needle-mover in fantasy leagues or someone fantasy managers should be looking to add immediately, but he’s capable of having some productive nights.

Murray had his highs and lows throughout Thursday’s contest, with his clutch scoring down the stretch to give the Nuggets a chance, ultimately getting overshadowed by a game-tying missed free throw with under 1.0 second remaining in the game. Despite some inefficient shooting, he was one of two Denver players to score at least 20 points, and his work on the glass and as a facilitator led to a pretty strong fantasy performance.

Jokić posted a good stat line on Thursday, but it was a bit of a rollercoaster ride to reach his final numbers. The former Finals MVP missed all six of his three-point attempts en route to finishing with one of his least efficient shooting performances of the season. He also committed six turnovers in his 36 minutes of game action. Still, he flirted with a 20-point, 20-rebound game and almost led Denver to a win. He’ll take the floor again on Friday against the Trail Blazers.

Jones Jr. had maybe his best performance of the season on Thursday. The versatile wing used a combination of free throws and inside-out scoring to reach the 20-point mark for the first time all season, which included some timely makes at the charity stripe down the stretch. He’s remained healthy since the start of February after returning from his second MCL sprain of the season. As he gets further removed from the injury, his opportunities should only increase.

Leonard had a mediocre game by his standards but still extended his streak of 20-point games to a career-best 34. The three-point shot was notably off, preventing him from posting better offensive numbers. But his lower scoring was more so a result of the guys around him stepping up and making contributions, specifically Bennedict Mathurin and his 38 points. Nonetheless, the Clippers will remain very reliant on Leonard moving forward. They’ll play the Lakers on Friday, the second night of a back-to-back.

Mathurin made quite the impression on Clippers fans in his home debut on Thursday, exploding for nearly 40 points off the bench while coming up big down the stretch to help secure victory. He shot very efficiently along the way to tying a career-high in points, and was great at the free-throw line as well. Mathurin also chipped in on the glass and tallied a few steals on the defensive end to round out what was a really good performance from him. He’ll take the floor again against the Lakers on Friday on the second game of a back-to-back.

Bane put together a solid final line in Thursday’s win. He shot the ball well on minimal attempts, made the majority of his three-point attempts, and was active on the defensive end of the floor. Despite the scoreboard being fairly one-sided, he still was able to log 32 minutes of game action, which was crucial to his overall production. He’ll have a chance to log another good performance on Saturday against the Suns.

Black was one of several Magic players to have success on both ends of the floor on Thursday. He finished as the team’s second-leading scorer, led all Orlando players in steals, and concluded with at least 20 points for the third time over his last four appearances. The third-year guard has reached another level of production this season. Still just 22 years of age, there’s potential for Black to make significant leaps over time to become a highly valued player in fantasy leagues.

Banchero’s first game back from the All-Star break was a productive one. Offensively, he lit it up from beyond the arc and tallied his most made three-pointers in a single game this season. He was also a contributor as a facilitator, and him picking up a couple stocks was a nice cherry on top. Banchero will likely need to perform at this level to keep Orlando in a good spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

Achiuwa did a little bit of everything for the Kings on Thursday. On offense, he shot well and finished as one of the team’s leading scorers. And on defense, he was all over the glass in his 34 minutes of game action, with his efforts leading to a double-double. Meanwhile, he was being versatile enough on that end of the floor to combine for six stocks. Thursday’s performance will go down as one of Achiuwa’s most productive of the season — he will have a chance to log another good performance against the Spurs on Saturday.