This article is part of our NBA Observations series.
Here are 10 NBA stories from over the weekend you might have missed, including Tyrese Haliburton's injury and an insane game between the Mavericks and Thunder that was dominated by Mavs headlines but somehow won by the Thunder.
It's going to be another weird schedule week for the Association with just two In-Season Tournament games on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, a ton of non-tourney games on Wednesday and Friday, and the championship tourney game on Saturday, which won't count for fantasy purposes. Sunday will mark the second straight week without an NBA game on Sunday, which makes me sad.
Luka Doncic posts monster line, Mavs go on a 30-0 run and still lose to OKC: Doncic celebrated the birth of his daughter by racking up a ridiculous 36 points, 15 rebounds and 18 assists (along with two steals, two blocks and five triples) on Saturday night against the Thunder, but the Mavs still fell into a 16-point hole at halftime. The OKC lead was extended to 23 points after three quarters, but the Mavericks turned it on in the fourth, going on an unheard of 30-0 run to take a 117-111 lead. Dallas eventually ran out of gas, winning the fourth quarter 36-19, but lost the game by a final score of 126-120 after the Thunder scored the final eight points of the game. Luckily, the Mavs' loss didn't show up in fantasy box scores for managers who had Luka in their lineups on Saturday night.
Dereck Lively has career night in loss to Thunder: Lost in all the Luka and game drama on Saturday was a breakout performance from Mavs' rookie center Dereck Lively. He had a career-high 20 points, a career-high 16 rebounds, a steal and a career-high seven blocks, hitting all nine of his shots in the process. He's shown flashes all season and finally crossed the breakout threshold in this one. Maybe this will be the spark he needed to keep it going forward, and congratulations are in order if you had him in a lineup on Saturday. Lively is rostered in just 13.4 percent of ESPN leagues.
Derrick Jones Jr. coming on: Derrick Jones Jr. went off for 24 points, four rebounds, a steal, a block and six 3-pointers on Saturday and has scored at least 15 points in three straight games. Over that three-game stretch, he's averaging 18.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 4.0 3-pointers in 33 minutes per game. If the minutes stick going forward, DJJ is going to be a hot pickup and is currently rostered in just 1.0 percent of ESPN leagues.
T.J. McConnell shines without Haliburton for Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton (knee/illness) was out Saturday, and McConnell came off the bench to hit 10-of-11 shots for 20 points, 11 assists and just one turnover in an easy win over the Heat. McConnell will probably crawl back under a rock when Haliburton returns, but he helped a lot of folks win money if he was used in DFS or other formats on Saturday. You have to think Haliburton is a go on Monday when the Pacers host the Celtics to see who will advance to the Final Four in the In-Season Tournament.
Obi Toppin is feeling it for the Pacers: Toppin hit 7-of-8 shots for 22 points, two rebounds, two assists, a steal, four blocks and four 3-pointers against the Heat on Saturday night. And in another game against Miami, he hit 10-of-15 shots and three triples for 25 points, two rebounds, three assists and a block Thursday. That's a two-game run with averages of 23.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.5 blocks and 3.5 3-pointers for the big man. Not bad for a guy rostered in just 9.2 percent of ESPN leagues. He's worth a pickup right now, but keep in mind he's likely a game-time call for Monday due to a sprained left ankle, and the Pacers don't get the Heat again until April.
Mikal Bridges explodes for 42 points on Saturday: Bridges hit 12-of-20 shots, three 3-pointers and 15-of-18 free throws for 42 points, five rebounds, three assists, a steal, three blocks and three 3-pointers in an easy win over the Magic on Saturday. He scored 45 against the Hawks on Nov. 22 but needed overtime to do it. Bridges hasn't been a scoring dynamo on most nights and is a bit of an ADP disappointment, but still has a chance to get better. He was drafted late in Round 2 in most 12-team leagues but is returning fourth-round fantasy value thus far.
Coby White scores season-high 31 points with eight 3-pointers: White hit 10-of-17 shots and eight triples for a season-high 31 points, nine rebounds, six assists and a steal in Saturday's win over the Pelicans. White has scored in double figures in eight straight games and is returning 10th-round fantasy value on the season thanks to his inefficient ways. Maybe Saturday's monster game will get him going as the Bulls prepare for the Hornets on Wednesday and the Spurs on Friday.
Anthony Edwards (hip) misses second straight game on Saturday: Edwards missed his second straight game Saturday at Chicago after a scary fall that caused his hip injury Tuesday. The good news is that the Wolves are off until Wednesday, which means he'll be eight days removed from suffering the injury. If i'm in a weekly league, I'm rolling the dice on Ant this week.
Joel Embiid (illness) sits against Celtics on Friday: Embiid missed his second straight game due to an illness on Friday and the Sixers don't play again until Wednesday, which should give him plenty of time to recover. They need him back, losing to both the Celtics and Pelicans last week without Embiid. Tyrese Maxey (illness) missed his first game on Friday but should be back at it on Wednesday, as well.
Victor Wembanyama (hip) likely to play on Wednesday: Wemby's two-game week turned into a one-game week when he sat for precautionary reasons in the second game of a back-to-back on Friday, and it ruined the week for many of his fantasy managers, including this one. Every team in the league plays twice in Week 7, and Wemby is scheduled at Minnesota on Wednesday and at home against the Bulls on Friday. Here's to hoping we get to see him in both of those games.
Kyrie Irving (foot) sits out on Saturday: Irving's been bothered by a sore right foot for most of the season but has been playing through it, appearing in 15 of 19 games thus far. He'll likely continue to get some maintenance days off, and fantasy managers just have to hope he's good to go for Wednesday's game against the Jazz. After a hot start, the Mavs are struggling, winning just three of their last nine games.
