The Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks attempted 116 3-pointers on Sunday afternoon in an overtime win for the Hawks. If this sounds like a record, it is, as this is the most 3-pointers ever attempted in an NBA game. This isn't an April Fools' joke, but just further confirmation of the space race underway in the NBA.
Trae Young made two shots in the final six seconds of the game, including a buzzer-beating put-back from the paint to secure the win for Atlanta. This marked the first Hawks buzzer-beater since Jeff Teague against the Cavaliers in Dec., 2013. Young has now hit four game-tying or go-ahead shots in the final five seconds of regulation or overtime this season, breaking a tie with Nikola Jokic and Evan Fournier for most in the NBA.
Young dished out 16 dimes, but was countered by journeyman Tim Frazier's 15 assists, as the Penn State product amazingly played all 53 minutes for the Bucks. With Giannis Antetokounmpo and multiple other starters sitting this one out, the Bucks' skeleton crew gave the Hawks a fun run on Sunday.
Frazier becoming fantasy relevant for this final chaotic stretch of the season isn't so surprising when you consider the Bucks' magic number for home court throughout the playoffs is just two wins. With some fantasy leagues still undecided amid the fantasy finals for these last games of the season, working the wire and streaming productive plug-in players is key to gaining an edge. So many superstars, stars and starters will rest in the coming days that the proactive manager will be rewarded with star performances from otherwise fringe rotation players such as Frazier.
For instance, Antetokounmpo remains questionable for tonight's matchup with the Nets with an ankle injury. If the MVP candidate sits this one out, it's worth noting Bonzie Colson tallied 15 points and collected 16 rebounds in 41 minutes of play against Atlanta on Sunday.
Saturday and Sunday recap
Highlights
Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns: 48 points (19-29 FG), 3 rebounds, 11 assists, 6 TO
James Harden, Houston Rockets: 50 points (13-31 FG), 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 3 TO
Jose Valanciunas, Memphis Grizzlies: 34 points (16-28 FG), 20 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 3 TO
Lowlights
Al-Farouq Aminu, Portland Trail Blazers: 0 points (0-9 FG), 7 rebounds, 1 TO
Robin Lopez, Chicago Bulls: 2 points (1-4 FG), 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 TO
Lance Stephenson, Los Angeles Lakers: 0 points (0-7 FG), 2 rebounds, 2 assists
Weekend takeaways
The Lakers shut LeBron James down for the remainder of the season, putting a disappointing season to rest. To be clear, however, much of the disappointment stemmed from James' significant groin injury and not his statistical output when active, as James' 27.4 PPG scoring average is the second highest by a player in his first season with the Lakers, while James' 1,505 points this season are the third most by a player with 55 games played or fewer in a season in NBA history. Rajon Rondo has thrived recently sans James from the lineup, delivering two 20-point, 10-assist games in March. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is also producing strong offensive rates sans James, while JaVale McGee is averaging 20 PPG and 14 RPG over his past six games. Even G League standout Alex Caruso netted a career-high 23 points on Sunday -- he had never scored more than 16 entering the day.
The Wizards' Thomas Bryant produced 20 points and 14 rebounds in a win over the Nuggets on Sunday. The unheralded center has become a fantasy force of late and remains worthy of much more attention from managers for this final leg of the season.
Speaking of unheralded assets in the fantasy sense, combo guard Delon Wright has been productive across multiple categories for Memphis and is still available in free agency in more than 90 percent of ESPN leagues. Just this past week, Wright has slashed for 13.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 6.3 APG and an incredible 3.8 SPG.
Miami's Dion Waiters tallied a season-best 28 points against the Knicks on Saturday and is averaging 23.7 PPG during the past week. Waiters is available in free agency in more than 90 percent of ESPN leagues.
Harden delivered his fifth career 50-point triple-double while facing the Kings on Saturday. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, that's the most in NBA history. It was also Harden's fourth game with at least 50 points and 10 assists this season. Again, per Elias, this put Harden past Tiny Archibald in 1972-73 and Russell Westbrook in 2016-17 for the most in a season in NBA history.
Injuries of note
Dallas' Luka Doncic missed Sunday's win over the Thunder with a thigh contusion, and from what coach Rick Carlisle told reporters before the game, it appears he's truly a game-time decision for tonight's tilt with the visiting Sixers.
Blake Griffin will miss yet another game with a knee ailment, setting up Andre Drummond for even greater scoring and rebounding upside against the Pacers tonight.
The Bulls will be without Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and Otto Porter Jr. for tonight's lottery-bound showdown with the Knicks. Chicago's Shaquille Harrison was a premier endorsement in this week's fantasy free agency column, given the likelihood the Bulls shut down these ailing vets for the rest of the season.
Joel Embiid isn't on this mini road trip for the Sixers that still has stops in Dallas tonight and in Atlanta on Wednesday, instead, he's staying back in Philly to rest his knee and to manage his workload. Jonah Bolden exploded with a career-best shooting night on Saturday in place of Embiid and was even impressive in defending Karl-Anthony Towns. Bolden is rostered in less than one percent of ESPN leagues.
Analytics advantage for Monday
With Doncic on the dubious side of questionable, rising rookie guard Jalen Brunson proves intriguing against a Philly defense that has struggled at the point of attack against playmaking guards all season. The Villanova product has been somewhat stellar since becoming a full-time starter shortly after the All-Star break, averaging 15.6 PPG and 7.4 combined assists and rebounds during his past 16 games. When Doncic is off the court, Brunson's usage rate jumps 2.8 percent, second highest among active players on the current roster.
Trey Burke posted 41.5 fantasy points on DraftKings on Sunday in a win against the Pelicans and enjoys the team's highest leap in usage (3.2 percent) with Doncic off the floor. If we get official word that Doncic is ruled out later today, securing streaming shares of Burke in redraft competition and also investing in reasonably priced shares in DFS could prove rewarding.
Top players to watch tonight
The Suns' Booker has averaged 52.3 points the past three games. No really. Tonight, Booker faces the Cleveland Cavs, a team without much defensive acumen on the roster at the moment (Cleveland ranks 29th in defensive rating and has allowed the sixth-most points in the paint this season). If your redraft season has concluded or if you missed out on acquiring Booker on any of your teams this season, it's a fun night to play Booker in daily fantasy competition, given he's reasonably priced on DraftKings and has a very reasonable path to 60 fantasy points in this plus-matchup.
On the Cleveland side of things, Kevin Love also comes in with a reasonable price on DraftKings and should feast on a Phoenix team that has a defensive rebounding rate of just 66.4 percent, which is the worst rate in the NBA by two percentage points. Booker and Love sound like a buddy cop duo, but tonight this combo makes for an elite DFS pairing in a game that could prove high-scoring.
