A nightmare season continues for Kevin Love and his fantasy owners. That “sprained” finger (X-rays were negative) is actually a broken metacarpal bone, an MRI revealed. He could miss several weeks, again. I grabbed Dante Cunningham (10 PTS, 12 REB, 3 BLK) in a couple of medium and deep leagues and the value of Derrick Williams (18 PTS in 18 minutes) is also on the rise. Nikola Pekovic (21 PTS, 15 REB in just 22 minutes) was troubled by a sore hip and normally-reliable rookie Alexey Shved missed ten of 11 shots.
While the Wolves rallied late to make the final score respectable, the Blazers were terrific. Playing their fourth game in five nights, with a very thin bench, they got 26 points apiece from Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum, who also blocked three shots. LaMarcus Aldridge added 14 PTS, 9 REB, 6 AST and 2 STL.
Other January 5 Games
NYK @ ORL: A huge fourth quarter brought the Knicks from behind to win. Carmelo Anthony (40 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST) has 16 in that decisive frame and the Magic have now lost eight in a row without Glen Davis ( shoulder), who is slightly ahead of schedule in his rehab. Nikola Vucevic (11 PTS, 18 REB) held his own vs. Tyson Chandler (14 PTS, 12 REB) while both Jameer Nelson and Arron Afflalo scored 29 points to no avail.
BOS @ ATL: It was a tale of two halves. Down 53-38 after 24 minutes, the Celtics came out smoking in the third. Rajon Rondo had a triple-double (14 PTS, 11 REB, 10 AST) and Paul Pierce (26 PTS, 9 REB, 5 AST) was brilliant. The Hawks wasted a 28-point night from Louis Williams and had no answer when Boston turned up the defensive pressure.
MIL @ IND: It’s about time, big guy. Roy Hibbert, an anchor on two of my fantasy teams all season, had 20 points, 15 boards and 5 blocks to lead the Pacers’ easy win. Milwaukee got 21 from Monta Ellis and Larry Sanders (12 PTS, 12 REB, 4 BLK) did his best, but they shot 37.8% as a team and ran out of gas in the second half.