NBA Player News

Allen (rest) did not take the floor during Sunday's 138-107 preseason loss to Boston.

Allen's absence resulted in Larry Nance drawing a spot-start. Allen should be back in action for Tuesday's preseason finale against the Pistons, which should shift Nance to the second unit.

Lopez scored 15 points (6-10 FG, 3-6 3Pt) while adding three blocks, a rebound and an assist in 17 minutes off the bench during Sunday's 102-94 preseason loss to the Nuggets.

The veteran center appears to be nearly in midseason form as he supplied his usual strong production at the rim and from beyond the arc. Lopez will back up Ivica Zubac in the Clippers' frontcourt this season, which means he's highly unlikely to see the 30-plus minutes a game he grew used to getting in Milwaukee, but a shift to the second unit should allow the 37-year-old to prolong his career while still being effective on a per-minute basis.

Zubac contributed 11 points (5-6 FG, 1-4 FT), 10 rebounds, two assists and two steals in 23 minutes during Sunday's 102-94 preseason loss to the Nuggets.

Matched up against Nikola Jokic in exhibition action, Zubac held his own and produced the game's only double-double. The 28-year-old center is coming off a breakout 2024-25 season, but his career-high 32.8 minutes a contest may get scaled back after the Clippers bolstered their frontcourt with John Collins and Brook Lopez over the summer.

Valanciunas delivered 10 points (5-7 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 0-1 FT), nine rebounds and an assist in 18 minutes off the bench during Sunday's 102-94 preseason win over the Clippers.

He also committed four turnovers and five fouls, but it was still an effective performance from Valanciunas. Having the 33-year-old big man on the roster could allow the Nuggets to ease up on Nikola Jokic's workload a bit during the regular season, but after Valanciunas averaged a career-low 18.8 minutes per game over 81 regular-season contests last season between Washington and Sacramento, he isn't likely to see his usage increase in Denver.

Jokic produced 12 points (6-9 FG, 0-2 3Pt), nine rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block in 22 minutes during Sunday's 102-94 preseason win over the Clippers.

The perennial MVP candidate came within sniffing distance of a triple-double even with a reduced preseason workload. This season, Jokic has perhaps the best backup he's seen in a long while in Jonas Valanciunas, which could allow the Nuggets to scale back his regular-season workload a bit after he averaged a career-high 36.7 minutes a contest in 2024-25. Even if his minutes drop back into the 33-34 range, Jokic should remain a nightly triple-double threat and the clear top fantasy asset in the game.

Sarr amassed 12 points (4-5 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 3-4 FT), eight rebounds, two blocks and one steal in 17 minutes during Sunday's preseason loss to Toronto.

Sarr impressed on both ends of the floor, scoring efficiently while adding three combined steals and blocks. Coming off a solid rookie campaign, Sarr will be hoping to continue his ascension, as will the Washington coaching staff. Poor efficiency has always been a talking point when it comes to Sarr's upside, so this was an encouraging effort on the offensive end.

Horford will play in Tuesday's game against the Trail Blazers, Anthony Slater of The Athletic reports.

Horford missed Sunday's contest against the Lakers for rest purposes, but he will return to the lineup Tuesday. Horford has averaged just 1.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 12.5 minutes per game through two preseason appearances.

Turner logged 19 points (5-8 FG, 5-8 3Pt, 4-6 FT), six rebounds, one assist and one block in 24 minutes of Sunday's 127-121 preseason win over the Bulls.

This was Turner's first appearance alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the duo couldn't have looked better. Antetokounmpo's presence in the paint opened things up nicely for Turner, who proceeded to have a field day from beyond the arc with five made triples.

Ware finished with 24 points (9-17 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 4-4 FT), 10 rebounds, one assist and two steals over 25 minutes during Sunday's 120-104 preseason loss to the Magic.

Ware took full advantage of his opportunity to start, needing only 25 minutes to turn in a double-double. He led the Heat in both points and rebounds, but it wasn't quite enough to secure a victory. Even so, Sunday's performance is a clear indication that the big man is ready for the 2025-26 regular season.

Collins will start Sunday's preseason game against the Nuggets, Joey Linn of SI.com reports.

Collins will enter the starting lineup due to Bogdan Bogdanovic (back) being out of the lineup. Collins played well in the team's exhibition game against the Guangzhou Loong-Lions on Thursday, logging 15 points, four rebounds and a steal in 17 minutes.