Jalen Williams and Luguentz Dort are also out due to hip injuries while Isaiah Hartenstein (back) and Cason Wallace (shoulder) are listed as questionable.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

• Speaking of Dort, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault told The Oklahoman’s Joel Lorenzi (Twitter link) that he deserves consideration for the All-Defensive Team as well as Defensive Player of the Year. “I think his time has come for that. I think he’ll get that recognition this year. … we have the best defense in the league statistically and he’s anchored that the entire season,” Daigneault said. “The amount of 30 point games we’ve given up is the lowest in the league by any metric. He’s guarding most of those guys.” Dort has appeared in 62 games and needs to play three more games to qualify for those awards.
• Forward Deni Avdija admits he was blindsided when Washington traded him to the Trail Blazers. “It was nighttime at my place (in Israel), and I woke up. I saw I got traded, and it was very hard for me,” he told Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “All the friendships that I had with the guys there, the city, the fans — it all just disappeared in a second. But everything’s for the good. I feel like I found a nice home in Portland.” Avdija has ramped up his production this month,  averaging 20.9 points, 9.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists. “We’ve let him have a lot more responsibility with the ball, and he keeps proving to get better and better at it,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said. “He’s like a one-man fast break when he gets the ball. Some of these things, I didn’t even know about when we got him, because we only played him twice a year, so I didn’t know that much. But he’s been a pleasant surprise. The fire that he plays with, I think, takes our team to another level.”
• Jazz coach Will Hardy has given Walker Kessler the green light to shoot 3-pointers. “I’m very, very appreciative of him to give me the opportunity to work on it,” Kessler told Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune. “And I know, and I believe in myself to know that I can do that. I need to get back in the rhythm of how to do it, because it’s been a long time since I’ve really done it in volume.” Kessler, who will be rested against the Wizards on Wednesday, has taken 11 in his last two appearances but knocked down just one.

“If we’re going to be a team that is serious about making the postseason and being a team that can win a round, win another round,” Malone said, “if we don’t start defending for four quarters, we’re never gonna get that opportunity.”

The Nuggets are averaging the third-most points in the league. However, they rank in the bottom 10 — 24th overall — in points allowed at 116.7 per game. They’re in the middle of the pack in defensive field goal percentage and 21st in defensive 3-point percentage. They’re also in the bottom 10 in turnovers forced.

We have more on the Nuggets:

• Their outing on Monday was encouraging. The Nuggets sat three starters — Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Christian Braun — but still ended the Warriors’ winning streak, 114-105. Aaron Gordon poured in 38 points and Russell Westbrook was solid all-around with 12 points, 11 rebounds, 16 assists and three steals. Malone had high praise for the veteran guard afterward, Tim MacMahon of ESPN relays. “I felt from the get-go Russ’ tenacity, his intensity, what he brings every single night,” Malone said. “Just being a leader in the huddles, getting on guys, uplifting guys, whatever is needed at the time. That’s why Russ has been such a great addition to us all season long.” Westbrook could be a free agent after the season — he holds a modest $3,468,960 option on his contract for next season.
• They have banked 44 victories but they’ve been on a win one-lose one rut most of this month. In the last three games, they sandwiched victories over the Lakers and Warriors with a home loss to the lottery-bound Wizards. “I think the entire season has pretty much been like this,” Jokic told Tony Jones of The Athletic. “We kind of don’t know what team is going to go out there. Some nights have been good, and some nights have been bad. I think the good thing is that we have actually won most of the games.”
• Gordon is listed as probable to play against the Lakers on Wednesday due to right calf injury management and a left ankle sprain, the team’s PR department tweets. Jokic (right elbow contusion/left ankle impingement), Murray (right ankle sprain) and Braun (left foot inflammation) are all listed as questionable.

“We trust these guys and we don’t live game by game, we give guys an opportunity to build a track record,” Bickerstaff told Omari Sankofa II of the Detroit Free Press. “We give guys an opportunity to play with freedom and confidence. And we know Simo’s capable of knocking down shots. It never wavered from our end. We know we’re going to need all of them and I thought (Monday) was a great night for him, to go 9 of 10 from the field and 5 of 5 from 3. It was great to see it.”

Fontecchio is appreciative that Bickerstaff has continued to rely on him.

“It’s important,” Fontecchio said. “They know I can shoot it in many ways, being a team player and locker room player, grabbing rebounds, playing defense and making the right play on offense.”

We have more from the Central Division:

• The Pacers got a monster game out of Obi Toppin on Monday. He scored 34 points and hit four 3-pointers in overtime in their victory over Minnesota. Toppin was signed to a four-year, $58MM contract last offseason to remain in an Indiana uniform. It was strong all-around effort from the Pacers unheralded players, Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star notes. They were missing four of their top five scorers, had to use two of their two-way players and another on a 10-day but still had eight players score in double figures.
• Matas Buzelis made his 17th straight start for the Bulls in their 111-97 road win over the Jazz on Monday, scoring 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting. He also had nine rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot in 30 minutes. The rookie forward is averaging 12.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 26.4 minutes as a starter. “With Matas, I think he’s got huge upside. I felt like Lauri (Markkanen) had huge upside even though he’s gone to Cleveland and he’s come (to Utah), but I think he’s constantly, each year, taken a step,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan told Darnell Mayberry of The Athletic. “I think Matas can do the exact same thing. I’m not saying they’re the exact same players, but I think he can make those kinds of steps.”
• The Bulls’ decision to hand power forward Patrick Williams a five-year, $90MM contract last summer doesn’t look like a wise investment at the moment. Williams is averaging a career-low 8.9 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 49 games, including 35 starts. There is one aspect of his game where he could show some progress the remainder of this season — his decision-making — before entering the offseason with a plan for how live up to that contract, Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times writes. “I think he’s a guy who, early in his career — and it’s still early in his career — had a hard time getting over mistakes,” Donovan said. “I think he’s gotten past that and he’s been better with that. The other part is the decision-making part of it. There’s times he’s got to get off [the ball]. There’s times he’s got to shoot. There’s times he’s got to drive it.”

“It’s cool,” Grimes told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “But I had a costly turnover that cost us the game late in the fourth. I have to be better in those situations, probably on the ball, try to get fouled. It’s cool and all, but we probably should have just ended the game, ended it with a win.”

We have more on the Sixers:

• While they have been decimated by injuries, big man Guerschon Yabusele has continued to play despite battling knee soreness. Yabusele sat out Monday’s game but he’s appeared in 62 of 68 games. “That’s just who I am,” he told Pompey. “I always try to keep playing no matter what. You know that’s just me. I just want to compete. I want to be out there and help the guys. I hate just being on the bench and looking at the guys over there, struggling or losing. It’s something I don’t like to be a part of.” Yabusele has some extra incentive to stay on the court — he will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.
• They had only nine players available on Monday, yet nearly knocked off one of the better teams in the Western Conference. “I think it’s just outside of our nature to go out there and try to lose,” guard Jared Butler said, per Pompey. ”I can’t see myself playing like that in any kind of way.”
• While some fans might be unhappy with Nick Nurse, he shouldn’t be the scapegoat for the team’s dismal season, Pompey argues. Nurse has been forced to juggle the rotation throughout the season due to the rash of injuries, using 44 different starting lineups, Pompey points out.
• Kelly Oubre Jr. is doubtful for Wednesday’s game against the Thunder due to a sprained right knee, Pompey tweets. Yabusele is questionable, while Tyrese Maxey, Andre Drummond, Adem Bona, Kyle Lowry and Lonnie Walker remain out.
• ICYMI, Paul George has been ruled out for the season. Get the details here.

“We’re all getting tested, including myself,” Spoelstra said. “No one’s absolved from this. I’ve not come up with enough answers for this team. I have to do a better job. Our group has to do a better job.

“We have to put our feet into the dirt and hold our ground at this point. You always have a choice. It doesn’t mean you’re going to win, necessarily. … But (you at least have) to make some strides. And you could see that in some of the losses over the last three weeks, where it felt like we were making strides. The last two games haven’t felt like that.”

The Heat have been one of the NBA’s most successful teams since Spoelstra’s arrival, so their recent slide has the team in unfamiliar territory. According to Herring, Miami is 10 games below .500 for the first time since 2017 and has been held below 100 points for three consecutive games for the first time since 2018.

“We’re going through the dark days right now,” forward Jaime Jaquez said on Monday. “As a team, right now we’ve got to come together and find a way to fight. It’s something we’ve been talking about. We just need to find something to rally around.”

Here’s more on the Heat:

• Terry Rozier, who is averaging just 11.2 points per game on .396/.300/.857 shooting through 59 outings, is disappointed by his performance this season, but after missing the end of the 2023/24 campaign due to a serious neck injury, he’s thankful to have made it through this year without any major health issues, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “Do I wish I played better all season? Of course,” Rozier said. “But I’m just thankful that I can still put a jersey on and play, and I’m still hopeful that things can turn around for me and the team.” The veteran guard will be on an expiring $26.6MM contract in 2025/26.
• While his first six weeks with the Heat haven’t gone as planned, veteran forward Kyle Anderson – who has a guaranteed 2025/26 salary and a non-guaranteed salary for ’26/27 – sees himself as a fit for Miami moving forward, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. “I feel like I can fit anywhere,” he said. “I’ll be able to figure it out and I think I’m smart enough to see how things are done and be able to do them at a high level.”
• Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald considers how much lower the Heat’s season could go, noting that a fall to 11th place in the East is unlikely because they have a 5.5-game cushion on the 11th-place Raptors. However, it’s not impossible, Jackson acknowledges, since Toronto has the easiest remaining schedule of any NBA team. For what it’s worth, Miami’s rest-of-season schedule is the league’s fifth-easiest.
• It’s worth keeping an eye on where things stand with the Heat’s 2025 first-round pick, which will be sent to the Thunder if it’s not in the top 14. If the team finishes strong and earns the final Eastern Conference playoff spot, that pick will land at No. 15, making it the best possible choice that could be sent to Oklahoma City this season. However, if Miami misses the playoffs and keeps its pick, the club would instead owe the Thunder its unprotected 2026 first-rounder, which could end up being even more favorable than No. 15 if the Heat can’t upgrade their roster in the next year.

10:42 am: After Stephen Curry made just 6-of-21 shots from the floor and turned the ball over a season-high seven times in Monday’s loss to Denver, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told reporters, including Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN, that the star guard is “tired.”

“Steph’s been carrying us for a month,” Kerr said. “He’s been amazing. He’s tired, so we got to get him some rest. Just, you can see it. He doesn’t have his energy right now.”

Curry played some of his best basketball of the season coming out of the All-Star break last month, averaging 30.1 points per game on .521/.437/.963 shooting during a stretch of eight wins in nine games. However, his output lately has been less consistent — in Golden State’s past four games, he has put up 20.8 PPG with a .375/.341/.952 shooting line.

“He’s exhausted right now,” Kerr said. “So we’ve got to absolutely consider giving him a night and getting him rejuvenated for the sake of him and the remainder of our games. But we’ll see. I think he’s been tired the last few games, and so we’ve got to find a way to get him his juice back.”

Kerr said the team would consider “potentially” resting Curry on Tuesday vs. Milwaukee in the second game of a back-to-back set. The Warriors were holding Curry out of one game when they played on consecutive days earlier in the season, but he has appeared in both ends of each of the team’s three most recent back-to-backs.

For his part, the two-time MVP said he feels “fine,” though he admitted that his back has been bothering him since last Thursday. He was listed as questionable before Monday’s game due to a right lower back strain.

“Obviously I didn’t play great at all (vs. Denver), so everybody including Coach is going to try to figure out why,” Curry said. “Mostly the turnovers, dumb plays all night, but I had a really good run. You expect to have a level of consistency and whatnot, so when it doesn’t happen it becomes a question. I feel like (it’s) more so my back I was dealing with the last couple of days, see how that responds tomorrow, but otherwise feel pretty solid.”

Star forward Jimmy Butler, who has been playing a complementary role since arriving in Golden State at the trade deadline, suggested he and the team will make an effort to reduce take some of the pressure off Curry.

“It’s OK to be tired, and that’s on myself and on us as a unit to pick up the slack for him,” Butler said. “Everybody wants to think that he is superhuman. He is not. He is our leader, and we must protect him at all times.”

According to the Wizards, Kispert is expected to make a full recovery from the injury – which he sustained in the third quarter on Saturday vs. Denver – prior to the start of next season.

Kispert made 61 appearances off the bench for the Wizards this season, averaging 11.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in 26.3 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .451/.364/.852. A talented outside shooter, the former Gonzaga standout has knocked down 38.2% of 5.2 three-point attempts per game over the course of his four-year NBA career.

Kispert was one of 11 players to sign a rookie scale extension during the 2024 offseason, having finalized a four-year, $54MM deal that will go into effect in 2025/26. He’s the second of those 11 rookie extension recipients to be ruled out with a season-ending injury in the past 24 hours — Pelicans swingman Trey Murphy sustained a shoulder injury on Monday that will prevent him from suiting up again in ’24/25.

With Kispert sidelined for the rest of the season and Bilal Coulibaly likely in the same boat due to a hamstring injury, there will be more playing time open on the wing in D.C. for players further down on the depth chart.

AJ Johnson, Jaylen Martin, and Colby Jones are among the players who should be in line for increased roles. All three established new career highs in minutes on Monday in Portland with Kispert on the shelf — Johnson played 35 minutes, Martin played 28, and Jones logged 25.

According to Udoka, Thompson will travel with the team on its two-game road trip to Orlando on Wednesday and Miami on Friday and has “one more hurdle to pass” before he’s cleared to return — he’s still not taking full contact.

“If he does that, could be Miami, could be when we get back (from the road trip),” Udoka said. “Swelling has gone down, pain’s gone down. Flexibility, mobility has gone up, and he’s just got to go through a contact portion. Once he does that we’re going to see how he reacts to that and he’ll be good to go after. So hopefully, sooner than later.”

Thompson, who has missed Houston’s past five games, is enjoying a second-year breakout, with averages of 14.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game in 60 outings (33 starts) this season.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

• In an in-depth feature story for ESPN.com, Ramona Shelburne and Michael C. Wright take a behind-the-scenes look at Gregg Popovich‘s recovery from the stroke he suffered in the fall, noting that it remains up in the air whether the longtime Spurs head coach will return to the sidelines next season. “It’s Pop’s decision,” a source close to the situation told ESPN. “He’s earned that.”
• The Grizzlies fell to Sacramento on Monday despite getting 44 points from Desmond Bane, just three days after losing to Cleveland in a game in which Ja Morant scored 44 of his own. As Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal writes, the team’s top three offensive scorers – Morant, Bane, and Jaren Jackson Jr., who had 31 in Saturday’s win – are all playing well recently, but the challenge for the Grizzlies will be to have them all available and get them all going at the same time. Morant has missed the past two games due to shoulder and hamstring issues.
• Mavericks assistant coach Alex Jensen, who has been hired as the University of Utah’s new head coach, explained on Monday that he feels like finishing the season in Dallas is “the right thing to do,” even though it might make it “a little more difficult” to build out his Utes staff. John Coon of The Associated Press has the story and the quotes from Jensen.

11:37am: The Kings and forward Terry Taylor have agreed to a 10-day contract, agent Darrell Comer tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).

Tayor, 25, has appeared in a total of 95 NBA regular season games for the Pacers and Bulls since 2021, but hasn’t been on an NBA roster since last fall, when he was in camp with Sacramento. He was cut just before the regular season began.

The 6’4″ forward has spent the year in the G League with Sacramento’s affiliate, the Stockton Kings, averaging 16.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.0 block in 33.9 minutes per game across 44 total appearances in the Tip-Off Tournament and the regular season. He has posted a shooting line of .443/.364/.708.

Taylor seems unlikely to enter the Kings’ rotation at the NBA level, but will provide depth as the team continues its push for a postseason berth.

Sacramento had been carrying just 13 players on standard contracts and was required to get back to 14 this week, as we explained on Sunday. Taylor will fill that 14th spot for at least the next 10 days. When his deal expires, the Kings will have the option of signing him to another 10-day deal, signing him for the rest of the season, or letting him go. If Taylor isn’t re-signed, the club would have to add a new 14th man.

Taylor will earn $124,288 over the course of his 10-day deal, while the Kings carry a cap hit of $119,972. He’ll be eligible to appear in up to six games for Sacramento during those 10 days.

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Less than three minutes into the game, Sabonis took an inadvertent shot to the face from Luke Kennard while the Grizzlies guard was battling for defensive position (video link). Sabonis was left with a bloody gash over his left eye and received stitches before returning to the court in the second quarter.

During the first minute of the second half, Sabonis badly turned his right ankle as he drove toward Memphis’ basket, falling to the floor in pain (Twitter video link via Jake Gadon of CBS Sacramento). He had to be helped to the locker room and was ruled out for the rest of the night.

Asked after the game about Sabonis’ status, Kings head coach Doug Christie couldn’t offer any updates, but he said he was “hoping for the best,” a sentiment expressed by the big man’s teammates.

“It sucks,” Zach LaVine said. “Obviously, getting hit in the head early on with the stitches. He gets bumped and bruised because he plays so damn hard. I haven’t been able to talk to him, but Domas wants to be out there as much as anybody.”

“It looked pretty bad,” Malik Monk added. “But Domas (is) strong. He’ll probably be back sooner than we think.”

Another Sabonis absence would obviously be bad news for the 34-33 Kings, who are battling for a playoff spot and currently hold the No. 9 spot in the Western Conference. They’re just 3-6 in games Sabonis has missed this season and have a -3.8 net rating when he’s not on the court (compared to a +3.8 mark when he is).

While it’s less important from a team perspective, it’s worth noting that another extended absence could cost Sabonis a shot at end-of-season award consideration. Sacramento has just 15 games left in the season and the 28-year-old must play at least 20 minutes in seven of those contests to meet the requirements for the 65-game rule. He’s considered a strong candidate for an All-NBA spot.

Beal exited Sunday’s loss to the Lakers after playing just 15 minutes. The team initially referred to his injury as left hamstring soreness but has since changed the diagnosis to a strain.

The veteran guard subsequently sat out Monday’s blowout win over Toronto and will also miss games on Wednesday vs. Chicago and Friday vs. Cleveland before having his injury reassessed ahead of next Monday’s matchup with Milwaukee.

It has been a challenge for Beal to stay healthy this season. While he has appeared in 48 of Phoenix’s 69 regular season games to this point, the 31-year-old has also missed time over the course of the year due to calf, toe, ankle, knee, and elbow issues.

“I feel bad for Brad,” Budenholzer said on Monday. “We’ve just got to find a way to try to keep him healthy. Hopefully, get him right.”

In his 48 appearances (33 starts), Beal has averaged 17.3 points, 3.6 assists, and 3.4 rebounds in 32.2 minutes per game, with a strong shooting line of .505/.395/.813.

Two-way player Collin Gillespie took Beal’s place in the lineup on Monday, making the first start of his NBA career. Gillespie logged 23 minutes on Sunday and 16 on Monday, well above his season average of 8.0 MPG, and appears poised to continue playing a rotation role this week.

The injury occurred less than one minute into Monday’s blowout loss to Detroit. Murphy had a pass knocked away by Pistons wing Ausar Thompson on the Pelicans’ opening possession and dove on the floor trying to corral the loose ball (video link). He stayed down in obvious pain, grabbing at his shoulder, which was dislocated on the play, per the club.

Murphy will miss the remainder of the 2024/25 season as a result of the injury.

The Pelicans are well out of postseason contention at this point, so Murphy’s absence for the final few weeks of the season won’t compromise their ability to contend. Still, it’s the latest setback in what has been a brutal, injury-plagued year for the franchise.

Virtually all of New Orleans’ key players missed significant time as a result of some sort of health issue this season, with Murphy the third starter to suffer a season-ending injury — Dejounte Murray tore his Achilles tendon in late January, while Herbert Jones underwent surgery in February to address a shoulder injury similar to Murphy’s.

The Pelicans didn’t offer any additional updates on Murphy’s treatment plan or recovery timeline, so it’s unclear if and when he’ll undergo surgery and how much time it might take him to get back to 100%. The club stated that further updates will be shared as appropriate.

Although it has been a forgettable season in New Orleans, it was a career year statistically for Murphy, who increased his scoring average to 21.1 points per game while also setting career highs in rebounds (5.1) and assists (3.5) per game. The fourth-year swingman started 51 of the 53 games he played in ’24/25, posting a shooting line of .454/.361/.887.

Murphy signed a four-year, $112MM rookie scale extension with the Pelicans last offseason. That contract will go into effect for the 2025/26 league year.

“The goal for him is to continue to get better every day and I think try to work on his leadership,” Lee said. “But outside of the leadership, just being a great two-way player on both sides of the court. I think that goes into how he can continue to lead by example with his daily defensive preparation. I think that I’ve seen a lot more on-ball pressure, shift activity and multiple efforts from him over the last couple of weeks, which has been great for himself, for our team.

“And I think offensively he continues to take what the game is giving him, which was a big part of our success last game (in San Antonio). If they are going to put two on the ball, he’s trusting the pass, he’s trusting his teammates. If they don’t put two on the ball, it’s a great opportunity for him to be able to score. There’s so many elements that he can continue to add to his game, certainly with the ball. He’s getting better off the ball and that’s all we can ask of him, is to continue to compete and trust his teammates and keep building his leadership.”

In 44 starts, Ball is averaging a career-best 25.4 points, 7.2 assists and 5.1 rebounds. He’s considered a player to monitor going forward as a possible trade candidate, though at least one report suggested the Hornets have no interest in moving him.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

• The Pacers have struggled recently, dropping four of their last six games. Big man Myles Turner feels Indiana can still make a deep run in the postseason, as it did last spring. “We just have all the pieces we need. I think that at times, sometimes teams are like, ‘If only we had this, if only we had that.’ That’s not really the case for us,” Turner told Grant Afseth of Sportskeeda.com. “I think we have everything we need to compete. It’s just a matter of making all the pieces fit and just get hot at the right time.”
• The Bulls currently hold the last play-in spot in the East. Center Nikola Vucevic, a prime trade candidate this offseason as his contract expires after next season, says he remains focused on the postseason. “I’m totally focused on being here and trying to help the team make this push,” Vucevic told Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times. “Regardless of what’s going on, I try to stay professional. I want to be a teammate that brings it every day, works hard. You don’t want to be the guy where everybody is locked in, and you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing. Totally locked in. Trying to find my rhythm with the [calf] injury. I think if we get healthy, we have a shot, and we’ll see where that takes us.”
• Raptors wing Ochai Agbaji returned on Sunday after missing seven games due to an ankle sprain. He made a significant impact, Michael Grange of Sportnet notes. Agbaji finished with 19 points in a three-point loss to the Trail Blazers while displaying his usual defensive work ethic and athleticism. Toronto has already exercised its $6,383,525 option on Agbaji for next season. He’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension beginning in July.
• Any efforts the Raptors have made to go into tank mode are being neutralized by some of the other teams aiming for the lottery, Eric Koreen of The Athletic writes. Toronto won games against Washington, Philadelphia and Utah last week.

“It was fun,” Thybulle said. “My head was spinning a bit, got tired a lot faster than I was expecting, but felt like I fit in well. Felt like I was able to contribute early, which was something I was hoping to be able to do. And then, was able to recover from a mistake late in the game and save it.”

Head coach Chauncey Billups was thrilled to have the defensive stalwart back in action. Thybulle had been sidelined by knee and ankle injuries for most of the 2024/25 season.

“Obviously, you saw how he hadn’t played all year, and game’s on the line, you see, I trust him,” Billups said. “Just throw him out there.”

We have more from the Northwest Division:

• The Thunder‘s big man pairing of Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren was particularly effective in a win over Milwaukee on Sunday. Hartenstein had 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Holmgren had 16 points and eight rebounds. They also combined for six assists. “It’s improved over the course of games we’ve done it. … I think early on, when we were playing that lineup, it was against perimeter oriented teams, which can skew your impression of it,” head coach Mark Daigneault said, per Joel Lorenzi of The Oklahoman (Twitter link). “(Sunday) we used it against a team it was impactful against.”
• The Jazz were fined $100K last week for holding out a healthy Lauri Markkanen, so they tried a new tanking strategy against the Raptors on Friday, Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune reports. Instead of making Walker Kessler inactive, the Jazz chose to dress the rotation center but not play him. Markkanen sat the entire second half while Collin Sexton played only 20 minutes and was held out during crunch time. That trio started against a much better opponent, the Timberwolves, on Sunday and the Jazz lost by 26 points.
• Anthony Edwards, who was named Western Conference Player of the Week, has improved as a facilitator and The Athletic’s Fred Katz details his development in that aspect. Edwards has especially gotten better in reading defensive coverages and exploiting its weaknesses, Katz notes.