In a big surprise, Stephen Curry started on his sore ankle, contributed (20 PTS, 7 AST, 4 STL) and led the tired, shorthanded Warriors — David Lee (ankle) sat out — over a fully-rested Hornets team that had been playing extremely well. Klay Thompson (29) picked up the scoring slack for D-Lee, Carl Landry (11 PTS, 11 REB) played 37:33 as the starting PF, and Jarrett Jack (25 PTS, 11 AST) was brilliant off the bench. For New Orleans, Eric Gordon (23 PTS) hit three 3-pointers, and Anthony Davis (20 PTS, 12 REB, 4 AST, 4 BLK) had a big night, though he missed five of seven from the free-throw line. Al-Farouq Aminu (14 PTS, 10 REB, 2 STL) continues to play well and is a FA in 75% of Yahoo leagues.
Other January 19 Game Recaps
SAS @ ATL: Typical Spurs. They rested Tim Duncan in a back to back and dusted off Matt Bonner, who was 100% ready despite a total of 15 minutes in the last five games. The Red Rocket hit 7-of-8 shots, 3-of-3 from deep, for 17 points in 23 minutes. Tony Parker (23 PTS, 12 AST) and Tiago Splitter (14 PTS, 7 REB) were also instrumental in the road victory. Atlanta has lost Louis Williams (knee surgery) for the season, so Kyle Korver (19 PTS, 8 REB) is now locked in as the starting SG. Devin Harris (13 PTS in 17:27) was the only backup PG behind Jeff Teague (16 PTS, 8 AST, 4 REB) but when Harris sprained an ankle, rookie John Jenkins got extra minutes.
SAC @ CHA: A pair of tired, mediocre teams went back and forth for 48 minutes, with no major fantasy breakthroughs. Gerald Henderson (15 PTS, 5 REB) played after being doubtful all day with a sore back and Ramon Sessions (16 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST) was Charlotte’s high scorer. Five Kings hit double figures, led by sixth man Marcus Thornton (18) and DeMarcus Cousins (17 PTS, 10 REB) as Sacramento bounced back from a humiliating loss in Memphis the night before.
MEM @ CHI: Yesterday we called this “a low-scoring affair and a test of both teams’ resilience” with little opportunity for fantasy owners. Given the final score (85-82 Grizz in overtime) I’d say that was accurate, but Jimmy Butler (18 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL) won me 50 bucks on DraftStreet, in a fine start for Luol Deng (hamstring.) The other Bulls, playing their third OT game in four nights, were exhausted; Joakim Noah (10 PTS, 5 REB, 2 BLK) gave way to Taj Gibson (10 PTS, 12 REB, 4 BLK) for most of the second half and the extra frame. The return of Zach Randolph (13 PTS, 19 REB) from back spasms helped Memphis deal with Carlos Boozer (17 PTS, 14 REB) and Marc Gasol (19 PTS, 8 REB) was strong in the middle.