While James Harden and Joel Embiid were predictably dominant on Thursday night in respective victories, the marquee performance of the slate was produced by journeyman Christian Wood. Waived by the Milwaukee Bucks back on March 18, the former G-League standout was signed by the depleted New Orleans Pelicans last week and has impressively compiled 48 points and 18 rebounds the past two games -- including a career-high 25 points in Thursday night's close win over the Kings.
Only former teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo and current teammate Julius Randle outscored Wood among power forwards on DraftKings on Thursday, further cementing this rangy forward's rising statistical stock. Wood isn't just getting it done in the scoring department and on the glass, he's also been a defensive dynamo with an amazing 13 combined blocks and steals during his past two outings with the Pelicans.
Rostered in fewer than 3 percent of ESPN leagues as of Friday morning, it's time to make room for Wood on your fantasy team, given the likelihood the Pelicans continue to feature him for the final two weeks of the season.
Thursday recap
Highlights
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers: 39 points (12-20 FG), 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 TO
Goran Dragic, Miami Heat: 23 points (9-17 FG), 12 rebounds, 11 assists, 3 TO
Khris Middleton, Milwaukee Bucks: 39 points (16-25 FG), 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 TO
Lowlights
Marc Gasol, Toronto Raptors: 2 points (0-4 FG), 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 TO
Tobias Harris, Philadelphia 76ers: 6 points (3-8 FG), 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 TO
Reggie Jackson, Detroit Pistons: 5 points (2-8 FG), 1 rebound, 4 assists, 1 TO
Thursday takeaways
• In the loss to the Pelicans, De'Aaron Fox produced his fourth game this season with at least 25 points and 10 assists, the most by a Kings player since Mike Bibby produced four such lines in 2005-06. Even as their skid continued, the Kings scored at least 100 points for the 26th straight game on Thursday, which is the longest active streak in NBA and the longest streak by the team since Dec. 1979 to Jan. 1980. It will be exciting to see if this impressive young core in Sacramento can continue its ascent to contention next season.
• Dragic must have listened to some Ice Cube before last night's game, as he helped the Heat get back into a playoff spot last night by messing around and getting a triple-double, his first since April 2011 and just the second of his career. The Heat trailed by 10 at halftime to the visiting Mavericks, marking the largest halftime deficit they've overcome to win this season. Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki faced off for the 35th and final time in their storied careers, as Wade now leads the series 18-17.
• Antetokounmpo and Middleton combined to score 73 points, their most in a game as teammates (since 2013-14). The Bucks: have won four straight games and now their magic number to clinch the top seed and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs is just two. This is important because once the team secures the best record, we could see Antetokounmpo, Middleton and the team's other cast of vets rest the final week of the season. Young rotation players like Pat Connaughton and D.J. Wilson could become worthy streaming options once the Bucks clinch.
• Embiid delivered his 27th game of the season with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds, tied for the most by a 76ers player over the past 35 seasons (Charles Barkley also had 27 in 1987-88), per ESPN Stats & Info. The game also marked Embiid's 18th straight double-double, tied for the third-longest streak by a 76ers player over the past 35 seasons (only Charles Barkley had a longer streak). To speak to this guy's prodigious nature, he never scored more than 18 points nor took more than nine shots in a single game at Kansas.
• Harden finished last night one point shy of Embiid's point total and now has 2,606 total points this season, most in a season since Kobe Bryant in 2005-06. Harden is the third player since the NBA/ABA merger in 1976-77 to record at least 2,600 points, joining Bryant (once) and Michael Jordan (four times). Harden also netted his 52nd 30-point game in the win over the Nuggets on Thursday, tying him with Jordan and George Gervin for fourth most in a season since the merger.
Injuries of note
• Portland's CJ McCollum will miss another game due to a knee injury suffered a few weeks back that appears likely to keep him sidelined for the rest of the regular season. Seth Curry has been impressive as a scoring option in McCollum's place recently.
• LeBron James (groin) and Mike Muscala (knee tendinitis) are probable for the Lakers tonight.
Analytics advantage for Friday
While the Thunder's struggles since the All-Star Break have been the focus in Oklahoma City, it's worth noting that Russell Westbrook is approaching history once again. Assuming he plays every game the rest of the season, Westbrook needs just four rebounds and 44 assists to average a triple-double for a third straight season. Keep in mind, Oscar Robertson is the only other player in NBA history to do this once. The Elias Sports Bureau offered some perspective on how hard it truly is to average a triple-double. Entering this season, there have been 5,941 instances of a player averaging 10 PPG in a season, 742 instances of a player averaging 10 PPG and 10 APG in a season and 72 instances of a player averaging 10 PPG and 10 APG.
With Westbrook projected for 55 fantasy points (using DraftKings' scoring key) in what should be a playoff-like atmosphere against a Denver team on the second leg of a back-to-back, he's once again a viable building block in DFS play, even at such demanding pricing. With Steven Adams and Jerami Grant both found at reasonable pricing on DraftKings, stacking with this Thunder roster proves intriguing for Friday's slate.
Top players to watch tonight
The last time Kemba Walker played the Lakers he was held to his lowest-scoring output in the past three years, as Lonzo Ball hounded him throughout a four-point showing back in December. Recently, however, Walker has been prolific, with 30.0 PPG, 8.3 RPG and 9.8 APG in the past four games, all wins. The Hornets are fighting to keep their playoff hopes alive and enter the Staples Center as slight road favorites, even as LeBron is expected to suit up.
It's fitting that James will face Walker in a must-win moment for the Hornets, as the UConn product has never defeated a James-led team in his eight-year career, sitting at 0-27 in such contests entering Friday's matchup. James is one of just three NBA players averaging more fourth-quarter points than Walker this season, thus it will prove riveting if the two engage in a clutch showdown in the final minutes tonight.
