NBA Player News

Holmes (toe) won't play in Sunday's game against Miami.

Holmes will miss his second consecutive game due to a bruised left toe. Marvin Bagley delivered 15 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes while stepping into the starting five in place of Holmes in Friday's 96-87 loss to Detroit and should be in store for elevated playing time once again Sunday.

Jokic (hip/wrist) is available for Sunday's game against the Cavaliers.

As expected, Jokic has been upgraded from probable to available and will suit up for a fourth straight game despite battling hip and wrist inflammation. Over his last three appearances, Jokic has averaged 27.7 points, 10.0 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.0 blocks in 36.7 minutes per game.

Coach Michael Malone relayed that Jokic (hip/wrist) is expected to play in Sunday's game against Cleveland, Brendan Vogt of TheDNVR.com reports.

Jokic has missed just three games all season, and he's firmly trending toward being active Sunday. Denver trails Minnesota and Oklahoma City by 0.5 games for the top seed in the Western Conference with eight games remaining on the Nuggets' schedule.

Collins (back) is inactive for Sunday's game against Sacramento.

Collins will be sidelined by back spasms after starting Utah's previous four contests. His next opportunity to take the court comes Tuesday versus Cleveland. Walker Kessler is averaging 8.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in five contests without Collins this season, while Taylor Hendricks should retain a hefty rotation role amid a stretch of averaging 30.4 minutes across his last five games.

Valanciunas ended Saturday's 104-92 loss to the Celtics with two points (1-5 FG, 0-1 3Pt), five rebounds and two assists in 15 minutes.

Coming off a strong double-double performance against the Bucks on Thursday, Valanciunas saw just 15 minutes of playing time Saturday. He was not on the floor for the start of the second half, as Larry Nance joined the starting lineup. Valanciunas has seen his minutes wax and wane over the course of the regular season depending on matchups, though he should see the floor more Monday against the Suns.

Horford contributed nine points (4-7 FG, 1-3 3Pt), six rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal over 30 minutes during Saturday's 104-92 victory over the Pelicans.

Horford sat out of the Celtics' overtime loss to the Hawks on Thursday due to a toe injury, but he was back in the lineup Saturday. He came off the bench after starting in each of his last seven appearances, but the five-time All-Star still managed to log 30 minutes of playing time. He's been a pseudo-starter for the Celtics this season, though with Boston close to locking up home-court advantage throughout the postseason, the team could opt to rest the veteran forward over the last games of the regular season.

Porzingis closed with 19 points (6-14 FG, 1-6 3Pt, 6-6 FT), 10 rebounds, three assists, four blocks and two steals across 31 minutes during Saturday's 104-92 win over New Orleans.

Although Porzingis missed five of his six three-point attempts Saturday, he provided a reliable scoring presence inside the arc, as the Celtics consistently set the big man up against smaller defenders. He's now registered three or more blocks in each of his last three games and ranks ninth in the NBA by averaging 1.9 blocks per game this season. Porzingis finishes March averaging 20.4 points on 45.3 percent shooting, 7.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 2.0 blocks and 1.1 steals over 30.9 minutes per game.

The Trail Blazers recalled Brown on Saturday from the G League's Rip City Remix.

The Remix didn't reach the G League playoffs, so Brown will add depth in the frontcourt for a Portland team that's also eliminated from reaching the postseason at the NBA level. At the very least, the Blazers can see if Brown can deliver decent numbers in the final weeks of the campaign. The big man has recorded 19 appearances (four starts) with the Trail Blazers in 2023-24, averaging 2.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.4 blocks across 8.8 minutes per game.

Carter produced 15 points (4-10 FG, 3-7 3Pt, 4-4 FT), 13 rebounds, two assists, one block and two steals in 28 minutes during Saturday's 118-88 victory over Memphis.

Carter was immense on both ends of the court Saturday, limiting Jaren Jackson to a four-point, four-rebound effort while also recording his seventh double-double of the campaign. The 13 rebounds were Carter's second-best mark of the season, and he also snapped a six-game stretch with single-digit scoring figures.

Clarke registered 13 points (6-9 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 1-2 FT), four rebounds, three assists, one block and one steal over 20 minutes during Saturday's 118-88 loss to the Magic.

This was Clarke's second appearance of the season, as he's making his way back from an Achilles injury suffered in March last year, and while he might look a bit rusty due to the fact he spent almost an entire year without playing in The Association, the early signs have been quite encouraging. Clarke has scored in double digits in his two outings so far, shooting a combined 9-for-16 from the field while racking up nine rebounds, four assists and two steals across 41 total minutes.