NBA Player News

Jones recorded one rebound over six minutes during Monday's 144-107 win over the Jazz.

The 23-year-old saw the floor for the fifth consecutive outing in the blowout victory, during which he has averaged 1.8 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.8 steals across 8.8 minutes per game. Jones will likely continue to see minimal playing time buried behind Ivica Zubac, Nicolas Batum and Mo Bamba.

Ayton (illness) practiced Tuesday, Sean Highkin of Rip City Radio 620 Portland reports.

After missing two straight games due to an illness, it appears Ayton is trending in the right direction ahead of Thursday's matchup against the Nuggets. The Trail Blazers will release an official injury report Wednesday. If Ayton is cleared, he may face restrictions but is expected to replace rookie Donovan Clingan in the starting lineup.

Claxton totaled eight points (4-7 FG), four rebounds, two assists and one steal in 22 minutes during Monday's 130-101 loss to Cleveland.

After scoring in double figures and grabbing at least eight rebounds in three straight games, Claxton has failed to reach either of those plateaus in two consecutive contests. His 22 minutes played tied his fewest since Oct. 25. Since moving into the starting lineup to begin December, Claxton has averaged 12.2 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks in 26.7 minutes across six games, but he's certainly trending in the wrong direction after his latest performances.

Boucher provided 11 points (4-9 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 3-5 FT), 10 rebounds and one block in 21 minutes during Monday's 122-121 loss to the Bulls.

Despite being healthy, Boucher didn't appear in any of Toronto's previous three games. However, he was thrust into an expanded role late in Monday's loss to the Bulls after Jakob Poeltl (groin) left the contest. Poeltl is set for an MRI to determine the severity of the injury, but if he misses time, Boucher should have a consistent role in the frontcourt, sharing time with Kelly Olynyk and Jonathan Mogbo. When Boucher has played 20-plus minutes this season (10 games), he's averaged 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals-plus-blocks in 22.3 minutes per game.

Zubac accumulated 19 points (8-11 FG, 3-4 FT), 12 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal across 26 minutes during Monday's 144-107 win over Utah.

James Harden and Norman Powell might have been the stars of the show in this huge blowout win over the Jazz, but Zubac certainly left his mark on both ends of the court. He notched his third consecutive double-double, and the big man continues to have a career-best season while enjoying a bigger role on offense. Zubac is averaging 14.9 points and 12.2 rebounds per game this season, notching career-best figures in both categories by a wide margin.

Sabonis accumulated 28 points (12-20 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 3-3 FT), 14 rebounds, six assists and three steals across 41 minutes during Monday's 130-129 loss to the Nuggets.

Sabonis had to deal with the nightmarish matchup of Nikola Jokic but still posted an impressive stat line across the board. Sabonis has started a new streak of double-doubles that is up to five games now, and he's averaging a robust 23.6 points, 15.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.2 steals per game in that stretch while shooting 63.4 percent from the floor.

Jokic amassed 20 points (8-19 FG, 1-6 3Pt, 3-4 FT), 14 rebounds, 13 assists, one block and two steals across 38 minutes during Monday's 130-129 win over the Kings.

Jokic was coming off a 16-point, seven-rebound effort in the Dec. 13 win over the Clippers, and while that was a subpar line for his standards, the star big man didn't waste time bouncing back and delivering the numbers we've grown accustomed to seeing this season. This was his 10th triple-double of the season, and Jokic should be in line for another loaded stat line Thursday in a favorable matchup against the Trail Blazers.

Poeltl was scheduled to undergo an MRI after exiting Monday's 122-121 loss to the Bulls with a left groin injury in the fourth quarter, Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca reports.

The Raptors are expected to provide a prognosis for Poeltl once the results of the MRI are available, likely at some point Tuesday. Poeltl recorded six points (3-7 FG), five rebounds, three assists and one steal in 22 minutes before checking out of the game with 10:12 remaining in the contest due to the injury. If Poeltl isn't available for Thursday's game against the Nets, the Raptors would likely lean on Kelly Olynyk and Jonathan Mogbo to cover most of the minutes at center, with Chris Boucher presumably getting more playing time at power forward.

Vucevic finished Monday's 122-121 win over Toronto with 24 points (10-17 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 2-2 FT), five rebounds, three assists and two blocks over 32 minutes.

With Zach LaVine (back) sidelined, Vucevic embraced a more significant role on offense Monday, and the big man responded by posting his 14th appearance with at least 20 points in the current campaign. Vucevic has been very efficient of late and shows no signs of slowing down. Over his last five appearances, Vucevic is averaging 22.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 63.2 percent from the floor in that span.

Sharpe finished with 15 points (5-10 FG, 1-3 3Pt, 4-4 FT), seven rebounds, one assist and three steals in 20 minutes off the bench during Monday's 130-101 loss to Cleveland.

The backup center produced his best game yet since making a belated season debut Dec. 2 due to a hamstring injury he suffered in training camp. The Nets are in sell mode and may try to find a taker for Nic Claxton's contract, which runs through 2027-28. If he does get moved, Sharpe -- who is in the final year of his rookie deal and will be a restricted free agent this offseason -- could see his fantasy value soar in a starting role.