Christian Wood will miss at least one week after the Dallas Mavericks announced on Thursday he had suffered a fractured thumb.
The injury occurred during Wednesday's loss against the Atlanta Hawks, which was Wood's 42nd appearance this season out of 46 possible opportunities.
In his 17 outings since being introduced into the starting line-up, the Mavericks' key offseason addition has averaged 20.4 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, functioning as his side's second option behind superstar Luka Doncic.
While primarily known for his offensive ability, Wood has begun to become a more imposing shot-blocking presence, tying his career-high with 1.3 blocks per game, while trending towards a career-best season.
He averaged 1.6 blocks during the month of December, and has taken it up another notch in the new year, averaging 2.3 blocks during his eight games in January.
That 2.3 blocks figure would have him fourth in the NBA if he could maintain it over a full season.
Out of the four games Wood has missed this season, the Mavericks have only won one, and their next week of action includes fixtures against playoff contenders the Miami Heat, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Phoenix Suns.
LeBron James remained the overall leader in the third fan returns of NBA All-Star Game voting announced Thursday.
In the Eastern Conference, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo passed Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant for the top spot.
Los Angeles Lakers talisman James has received 6,506,682 votes and Antetokounmpo is now up to 5,970,196, which is 132,014 votes ahead of Durant in the East.
Durant’s status for the All-Star Game on February 19 in Salt Lake City, Utah is unknown as he’s currently sidelined with an MCL sprain in his right knee.
The top three frontcourt players along with the top two guards in the East and West will be the starters in the All-Star Game. The overall leading vote-getters from each conference will be named captains and then pick their teams.
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (4,718,218) and the Lakers' Anthony Davis (3,838,171) are behind James in the West among frontcourt players. Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors leads all West guards with 5,151,822 votes, 246,167 ahead of the Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic.
In the East, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (4,521,414) trails Antetokounmpo and Durant among frontcourt players. Brooklyn's Kyrie Irving (3,968,041) and Donovan Mitchell of the Cleveland Cavaliers (3,851,233) lead in voting for guards.
Fan voting, which accounts for 50 percent in determining the starters, ends on Saturday. NBA players and a media ballot account for 25 percent each.
The captains and starters will be announced on January 26.
Nikola Jokic wants to be remembered as a "really good team player" after making franchise history in the Denver Nuggets' 122-118 triumph over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The two-time reigning NBA MVP contributed 31 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds as the Nuggets improved to 32-13 on the season to sit top of the Western Conference.
Jokic now has 3,686 career assists, surpassing the tally of Alex English who had 3,679 in Nuggets colours. Moreover, he has reached his tally in 568 games as opposed to English's 837.
English himself paid tribute to Jokic's achievement, intimating he foresees a third MVP accolade in the near future, posting on Twitter: "I knew that eventually my all-time assist record would be broken. I'm honored to see that it's 2 time, I mean 3 time MVP of the NBA do it. Congrats big fella."
Jokic was typically humble when asked what it meant to earn a piece of Nuggets history.
"When you have a lot of assists, it just shows that you're a good team player," he said.
"That's something I want to be. I want everybody to remember me as a guy who was a really good team player."
Team-mate Jamal Murray, who nailed a game-tying three-pointer with a little over two minutes remaining, then hit the bucket that put the Nuggets into a lead they did not let go of, said of Jokic: "We clapped a little bit. That's a lot of passes. That's pretty impressive."
The Nuggets are next in action against the Indiana Pacers, who are 23-23 and ninth in the Eastern Conference, on Friday.
LeBron James could do with a break, and Los Angeles Lakers coach Darvin Ham admits he fears he might be "running him into the ground".
James had 32 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in a 116-111 defeat to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, a third tight loss for the Lakers in their last four games.
They stand at 20-25 for the season, despite the impressive efforts of their talisman.
James has scored 30 points or more in 13 of his last 17 games, but the Lakers have only won nine of those contests.
He is taking on a heavy share of the burden in the injury-forced absence of Anthony Davis, who is expected back in action in February.
Only once in his last eight games has James spent less than 35 minutes on court, and Ham might have to do something about that.
Ham said: "I feel bad about that. He's playing at an amazing level, but we can't run him into the ground. That was one of my main goals coming into this season. Here he is with 36 and a half [minutes] again tonight.
"We just have to manage him and have clarity in terms of scaling back his minutes some. And with the non-game days, being smart. His preparation is always on point, but we can still hold him out of some things that we may do on the court.
"He's a high-IQ basketball player, so he understands he can sit there and watch something and have it all figured out defensively and offensively.
"It is a concern. My staff and I, we talk about it all the time. It's just tough because he's such a competitor. We're in these games and he wants to win and we want to win, so you kind of lose sight of the minutes until you come back and see the stats sheet after the game.
"You're like, 'Oh hell'. We're going to figure it out. We have a team of very smart people – our medical and training staff and our coaching staff.
"We all put our heads together and see what the best course of action is to give him whatever rest can be gained, not just going forward in the short term, but the long term as well."
De'Aaron Fox led the Kings with 31 points against the Lakers, and Sacramento have now won five successive games to improve to 25-18 for the season.
The Lakers will be back in action against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, with Ham looking for more from his team.
Ham said: "It sucks to lose these close games, but I still feel wholeheartedly at some point we're going to break all the way through. We're competing in my opinion at a very high level."
LaMelo Ball is confident his latest ankle injury will not keep him out long despite exiting the Charlotte Hornets' 122-117 win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
Ball hurt his left ankle for the third time this season in the third quarter when team-mate P.J. Washington landed on him as both jumped to block a Jabari Smith shot.
The Hornets point guard and 2020 NBA Draft third pick overall remained on the ground in pain and appeared unable to bear weight on his left leg as he was helped to the locker room. He was ruled out with a "left ankle sprain".
"I can walk and everything, so I'll just take it day by day and see what it is," Ball told reporters.
"I feel a little better. It don't feel like them other ones so I think I'll be straight."
The game was only Ball's 21st this season, enduring an interrupted campaign where he is averaging 24.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 8.4 assists.
Ball said he would not require an MRI scan while Hornets head coach Steve Clifford was a bit more circumspect.
"We'll see how he feels tomorrow and that's really it," Clifford said.
The Memphis Grizzlies' achieved a franchise record 11th straight win with Desmond Bane and Ja Morant starring in a thrilling 115-114 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
Darius Garland had a three-point shot on the buzzer blocked by Dillon Brooks, after Steven Adams tipped in with 16 seconds left after Morant's miss.
Bane top scored for the Grizzlies with 25 points, including five-of-eight three-point shooting. Morant added 24 points with eight assists for Memphis, who improved to 31-13, along with 20-3 at home.
Morant had spent time in the locker room in the first quarter after copping a knee to his neck, but re-entered the game in the second quarter.
Game-winner Adams scored 13 points with 10 rebounds and four assists, while Jaren Jackson Jr had an excellent all-round game with 15 points, seven rebounds, two steals and four blocks.
Memphis also managed an 11th consecutive game with 115 or more points.
The Cavs were missing Donovan Mitchell due to a groin strain, with Garland top scoring with 24 points on five-of-11 three-point shooting along with 14 assists.
Caris LeVert added 23 points with four rebounds and six assists, with power forward Evan Mobley scoring 18 points and bringing down 15 rebounds with two blocks. The Cavs are now 28-18.
Trae downs Doncic as Hawks win fourth straight
The Atlanta Hawks continued their run of momentum with their fourth straight win in a 130-122 victory over Luka Doncic's Dallas Mavericks.
Dejounte Murray scored 30 points, making four-of-six three-pointers, while John Collins added 19 along with 18 from Trae Young plus 12 assists, as the Hawks secured a season-best four-game winning streak to move above .500 at 23-22.
Doncic, who was traded as a top-five pick for Young at the 2018 NBA Draft, scored 30 points for the Mavs, but only 11 after quarter-time, while he gave up seven turnovers.
Jokic adds another franchise record in Nuggets win
Nikola Jokic recorded his 14th triple-double of the season as he surpassed Alex English for the most assists in franchise history in the Denver Nuggets' 122-118 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The MVP candidate finished with 31 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists, going past English's 3,680-assist franchise record with a dime for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Jamal Murray added 28 points for the Nuggets, who secured their eighth straight win and 15th successive victory at home to remain top in the west, at 32-13.
The Memphis Grizzlies will get a chance to tie their longest winning streak in franchise history when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.
Monday's 30-point demolition of the Phoenix Suns extended the Grizzlies' streak to 10, and they are now one victory away from tying the 11-game streak from the 2014-15 campaign starring Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, which was matched last season.
Over their last 10 fixtures, the Grizzlies have been a juggernaut on both ends of the court, scoring 119.9 points per 100 possessions to sit third in offensive rating, while also boasting the best defense in the NBA, allowing just 106.5.
Meanwhile, the team the Grizzlies overtook to snatch top spot in the defensive rankings was the Cavaliers, who still sit second for the season.
Another key indicator for the true contenders is net rating – which measures how much better a team's offensive rating is compared to their defense – and both of these sides have excelled through the first half of the season. The Grizzlies sit second overall with a net rating of 5.8, while the Cavaliers are third at 4.7.
Two very similar teams, both the Cavaliers and the Grizzlies utilise two defensive anchors in their starting line-up, leaning away from the more prevalent "small ball" roster constructions seen around the league.
For the Grizzlies, Steven Adams is arguably the strongest rebounder in the league while Jaren Jackson Jr leads the NBA in blocks per game at 3.3. On the Cavaliers' side, All-Star Jarrett Allen and defensive prodigy Evan Mobley roam the interior.
While these sides are almost identical defensively, the way they attack on offense, particularly through their star players, could decide their fate.
Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant is, without a doubt, one of the best guards in league history when it comes to finishing at the rim. He is averaging five makes per game within five feet of the basket – the only guard in the league to do so – while converting at a terrific 61 per cent clip.
The problem with that is how well both of these teams protect the basket, as it creates the question of what happens when an unstoppable force – Morant – meets an immovable object – the rim protection of Allen and Mobley.
On the other hand, the combination of Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell for the Cavaliers are far more malleable with the way they create their offense.
Garland excels in 'floater range' from five-to-nine feet away from the hoop, sitting 15th in the league with 1.3 makes per game at an efficient 50 per cent, while Mitchell provides the long-range assault.
Mitchell is averaging 3.1 makes per game on deep threes (greater than 25 feet), which trails only the Golden State Warriors' Splash Brothers, Stephen Curry (3.8) and Klay Thompson (3.2).
It should be a mouthwatering clash between the league's best two defensive teams, who both have all their young stars healthy and ready to go as they look to strengthen their playoff positions.
PIVOTAL PERFORMERS
Cleveland Cavaliers – Jarrett Allen
It is no secret that Morant is the driving force behind the Grizzlies' success, and for him to dominate games, he needs to control the paint.
Allen is the Cavaliers' primary rim protector and will be tasked with preventing Morant from producing more of his highlight-reel finishes, and if he can turn Morant into a jump-shooter for the night, Cleveland will consider that a massive win.
Memphis Grizzlies – Desmond Bane
Desmond Bane is the perfect counterbalance to Morant, providing the Grizzlies with a dynamic shooting threat who holds the defense's attention at all times.
Through three seasons, Bane owns a ridiculous career three-point percentage of 43.3. It is not just a strong number, it is the seventh-best career figure of all-time, and places him in the absolute top echelon of shooters in today's game.
If he can hit a couple early and force the Cavaliers' defense to divert some of their attention away from Morant, Bane could open up everything for the Grizzlies' offense.
KEY BATTLE – Can the Cavaliers figure out how to win on the road?
Heading into this contest, both the Grizzlies (19-3) and the Cavaliers (19-4) sit top-three in the NBA's best home records.
The Grizzlies will get the honour of hosting this time, leaving the Cavs as the underdogs as they try to figure out what is behind their disappointing 9-13 record away from home this campaign.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
This will be the first time this season these two teams meet, although the Grizzlies have won each of the past three matchups.
The Cavaliers defeated the Grizzlies once during Morant's rookie season in 2019, but the former Rookie of the Year has not lost to them since.
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