The NBA Delivers On A Thursday!

Wow Wow Wow… That’s what Giannis was saying about Victor Wembanyama, and that’s what we’re all saying about Nikola Jokic.

Find out why as we breeze through a Friday write-up and send you one for a much-needed weekend after a long holiday season. Yeah, we know this was probably a 3 or 4-day work week for you, but you deserve some R&R.

Here we go.

Bucks vs Spurs aka Giannis vs Wemby

The Milwaukee Bucks, who have the 3rd best record in the NBA, were almost taken down by the San Antonio Spurs, who have the 2nd to worst record. This was a matchup between superstar super-freak Giannis Antetokounmpo and rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama.

Giannis finished with 44 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists. We know what he’s capable of in the spotlight, especially when he’s healthy.

Wemby has been restricted on his minutes this year as the Spurs try to keep him healthy and fresh so he can continue to grow. Wemby only played 26 minutes last night, which was also his 20th birthday, but had 27 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks.

After the Bucks got a big lead at the beginning of the game, The Spurs recovered, and we’d have a few lead changes in the 4th. Giannis would take over and outscore the Spurs 12-8 in clutch time*.

Check out some highlights from last night.

*Clutch time is defined as the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime when the score is within five points.

Nuggets Win on Jokic Half-Court Shot

I feel like these teams have played each other every other game since the season started, but in reality, they’ve only met three times. The Denver Nuggets have won all 3.

Last night’s matchup was looking better for the Warriors, who would grab a 13-point lead heading into the 4th quarter. This actually sounds crazy as I’m typing this up, but the Warriors had an even bigger lead with 7 minutes to go in the game when they were up 18 points.

The Nuggets would go on a 25- 4 scoring run to win the game, but it didn’t happen without a miracle.

🤯 Jokic would finish with 34 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds. Aaron Gordon helped out with 30 points, and Jamal Murray also scored 25.

🔫 Steph Curry would finish just around 50% on the night with 30 points. Klay Thompson was 4 for 10 from beyond the arc and finished with 24 points.

NHL All-Star Rosters Almost Set

The first 32 roster spots for the NHL All-Star Game have been selected. It’s up to the fans to vote on the final 12 players. Here are the players that have been selected so far by the NHL.

Goaltenders: Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg), Jake Oettinger (Dallas), Igor Shesterkin (N.Y. Rangers), Cam Talbot (Los Angeles)

Defenseman: Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo), Quinn Hughes (Vancouver)

Forwards: Sebastian Aho (Carolina), Mathew Barzal (N.Y. Islanders), Connor Bedard (Chicago), Oliver Bjorkstrand (Seattle), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh), Alex DeBrincat (Detroit), Jack Eichel (Vegas), Filip Forsberg (Nashville), Tomas Hertl (San Jose), Jack Hughes (New Jersey), Boone Jenner (Columbus), Kirill Kaprizov (Minnesota), Clayton Keller (Arizona), Travis Konecny (Philadelphia), Elias Lindholm (Calgary), Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado), Connor McDavid (Edmonton), Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay), Auston Matthews (Toronto), David Pastrnak (Boston), Sam Reinhart (Florida), Nick Suzuki (Montreal), Robert Thomas (St. Louis), Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa), Frank Vatrano (Anaheim)

👀 Looks like we won’t be seeing any defense in the All-Star Game !!

Ravens Add RB As They Have A 3-Week Vacation

The Baltimore Ravens don’t need to play their starters this weekend, so they’ve gotten a week off. The Ravens already locked up the 1 seed in the AFC so they also have next weekend off. It’s almost a long vacation for Ravens who don’t play again until January 20th or 21st.

Dalvin Cook gets to switch from walking off the plank of a sinking ship to now jumping off the diving board with a Ravens team who obviously isn’t actually a vacation.

Yup, Dalvin Cook was released by the Jets on Tuesday and the Ravens have scooped him up after being crushed by injuries at the runinback position. RB1 J.K. Dobbins tore his achilles in the season opener and then rookie sensation Keaton Mitchell tore his ACL a few weeks ago.

I’m sure Cook will get some action against the Steelers this weekend, so keep your eyes opens as I’ll be looking to see if he’s going to get more yards in a Ravens operation that is clearly > the Jets.

What’s On TV Today

NBA

🏀 NY Knicks @ Philadelphia 76ers, 7:30 pm ET on ESPN

🏀 Memphis Grizzlies @ LA Lakers, 10 pm ET on ESPN

College Basketball

🏀 #4 UConn @ Butler, 6:30 pm ET on FS1

🏀 #9 Illinois @ #1 Purdue, 8:30 pm ET on FS1

NHL

🏒 Chicago Blackhawks @ NJ Devils, 7 pm ET on ESPN+

🏒 Carolina Hurricanes @ Washington Capitals, 7 pm ET on ESPN+

🏒 Winnipeg Jets @ Anaheim Ducks, 10 pm ET on ESPN+

That’s all for today.

Enjoy those happy hours and we’ll be back tomorrow to chat about the NFL weekend.

Cheers!

-The Daily Breakroom