NBA Player News

Thomas closed Friday's 139-118 victory over the Pelicans with 27 points (11-17 FG, 1-6 3Pt, 4-6 FT), three rebounds and one assist in 21 minutes off the bench.

In his fourth game with the Bucks, Thomas tied for the team lead in scoring with Ryan Rollins. Thomas is heaving up a huge shot volume right now and doing it incredibly efficiently -- over the last three contests he's averaging 24.3 points on 16.7 field-goal attempts while shooting 56.0 percent from the floor in only 22.0 minutes. The 24-year-old guard is unlikely to be able to maintain that pace, especially once Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) is back as the focal point of the offense.

Hartenstein (calf) posted 10 points (4-6 FG, 2-4 FT), eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal across 24 minutes during Friday's 105-86 win over the Nets.

Hartenstein made his return to the lineup after missing the Thunder's final game before the All-Star break due to right soleus injury management. The veteran center has been a big piece for Oklahoma City, and it's been his passing of late that's shining brightest. Friday marked his fifth consecutive showing with four or more assists. Over that stretch he's averaging 8.8 points and 9.8 boards to go with his 7.4 assists per game.

Porter contributed 25 points (10-15 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 5-6 FT), two rebounds, seven assists, one block and two steals across 32 minutes during Friday's 139-118 victory over the Pelicans.

The 25-year-old topped 20 points for the third time in five contests since returning to the starting lineup after recovering from an oblique injury. Over that five-game stretch, Porter is averaging 21.2 points, 8.0 assists, 5.2 boards and 1.8 steals, but his usage figures to decline once Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) is back on the court.

Holmgren recorded 15 points (3-6 FG, 2-2 3Pt, 7-7 FT), seven rebounds and two assists across 26 minutes during Friday's 105-86 victory over the Nets.

Coming off his first All-Star appearance, Holmgren impressed by scoring 15 points on only six field-goal attempts. Roughly half of his points came from the free-throw line. He also sank both three-point attempts as his team won comfortably against the Nets.

Harkless (hamstring) played seven minutes and finished with two points (1-1 FG, 0-1 FT), two rebounds and one assist in Friday's 123-114 loss to the Grizzlies.

The two-way player hadn't made an appearance at the NBA or G League level since Jan. 3 while he recovered from a left hamstring injury before he was cleared to play coming out of the All-Star break. With Utah down five players due to injury Friday, Harkless ended up cracking the rotation, but he played just one shift in the first quarter before remaining on the bench for the final three periods. Expect Harkless to drop out of the rotation if the Jazz get one or more of Keyonte George (ankle), Jusuf Nurkic (nose) and Lauri Markkanen (illness) back in action for their next game Monday in Houston.

Wallace accumulated eight points (4-13 FG, 0-5 3Pt), four rebounds, six assists and four steals in 30 minutes during Friday's 105-86 victory over Brooklyn.

Wallace continues his campaign to make an All-Defensive team with a four-steal effort against the Nets. He could have had a much better scoring tally if he had sunk any of his five three-point attempts, but his team cruised to victory nonetheless. Wallace also dished out six assists. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Ajay Mitchell both out due to abdominal strains, Wallace will have a few more games of being the lead guard in OKC.

Tshiebwe (concussion) tallied two points (1-2 FG) and six rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench in Friday's 123-114 loss to the Grizzlies.

Tshiebwe exited the Jazz's final game before the All-Star break Feb. 12 against the Trail Blazers and landed in the concussion protocol, but he passed all testing and was cleared in advance of the team's first contest of the second half Friday. Though the two-way player has seen scarce action at the NBA level this season, he ended up serving as the primary backup to starting center Kyle Filipowski while the Jazz were without Lauri Markkanen (illness) and Jusuf Nurkic (nose) in the frontcourt. If Utah gets one of those two big men back for its next game Monday in Houston, Tshiebwe could fall back out of the rotation.

Sharpe recorded 12 points (6-8 FG, 0-2 FT), eight rebounds, two assists, one block and two steals across 27 minutes during Friday's 105-86 loss to Oklahoma City.

Sharpe was in the starting lineup for the sixth time this season and looked like he belonged on Friday. The fifth-year big man finished with 12 points and eight boards in 27 minutes. He was one of only three Nets players in double figures. He also had a block and two steals. Furthermore, he's accumulated 10 steals in his past seven games.

Porter (coach's decision) went unused off the bench in Friday's 118-113 win over the Hornets.

Porter didn't end up playing for non-injury-related reasons for the first time since Dec. 25, as the Cavaliers opted to go with Nae'Qwan Tomlin and Thomas Bryant as the ninth and 10th men in the rotation rather than using the 25-year-old guard. Cleveland should get Evan Mobley (calf) back for its next game Sunday in Oklahoma City, and Max Strus (foot) could also be cleared to make his season debut at some point further down the road. With that in mind, it's difficult to envision Porter reclaiming regular minutes anytime soon while the Cleveland roster is at close to full strength.

Demin closed with three points (1-10 FG, 1-8 3Pt), five rebounds, three assists, two blocks and one steal across 28 minutes during Friday's 105-86 loss to the Thunder.

Demin was ice cold against the reigning champs, finishing with only three points and missing seven of his eight three-point attempts. He averages 2.5 made threes per game, which is second best among rookies behind only Kon Knueppel (3.4). Hopefully he gets back on track in Brooklyn's next game Sunday against the Hawks.