Kevin Knox scored 31 points as the young Knicks gave the 76ers a scare on Sunday in a lively matinee at Madison Square Garden. The rookie from Kentucky became the sixth-youngest player in NBA history to score at least 30 points; only Kobe Bryant, Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Jaren Jackson, and LeBron James were younger when reaching this scoring milestone. As for his place in Knicks lore, Knox became the youngest player in franchise history with a 30-point game, per Elias.
Knox started the season decidedly slowly, which is understandable for a player roughly 18 months removed from high school, averaging only 7.5 PPG on just 32.5 percent from the field in 18 MPG. Back on Dec. 9, Knox scored a then-career-high 26 points thanks to a leap in minutes and usage due to injuries to veterans ahead of him in the rotation. Knox has started the past 15 games since for the Knicks and is averaging 17.8 PPG, thanks to hitting nearly 40 percent of his 3-pointers in more than 36 MPG during these past 16 games.
A scoring force who is also averaging more than five rebounds the past six weeks, Knox is still available in free agency in approximately half of all ESPN leagues as of Monday morning.
With an eye on notable fantasy performances and relevant statistical trends, let's delve into the weekend that was in the NBA.
Saturday and Sunday recap
Highlights
Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards: 43 points (17-36 FG), 10 rebounds, 15 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 4 TO
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors: 48 points (17-32 FG), 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets: 40 points (15-23 FG), 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 TO
Kawhi Leonard, Toronto Raptors: 41 points (15-29 FG), 11 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 3 TO
Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers: 20 points (10-13 FG), 22 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 TO
Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves: 27 points (10-23 FG), 27 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks, 3 TO
Lowlights
D.J. Augustin, Orlando Magic: 7 points (2-7 FG), 1 assist, 3 TO
Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors: 4 points (2-6 FG), 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 TO
Gordon Hayward, Boston Celtics: 8 points (3-9 FG), 2 rebounds, 3 assists
Jeff Teague, Minnesota Timberwolves: 2 points (1-5 FG), 1 rebound, 10 assists
Weekend takeaways
The Eastern Conference version of the epic battle between the Spurs and Thunder from this past Thursday broke out in Washington on Sunday with the Raptors downing the Wizards in a double-overtime thriller that included 278 total points. Leonard and Beal combined for 84 points in the duel, with Beal registering his second career 40-point triple-double (both have come this season). Leonard tallied his third career 40-point game, notably the second this month, and became just the second player in Toronto history with at least 40 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in a game.
Apologies to Detroit's Blake Griffin, as he didn't make the highlights cut based solely off this being a ridiculously deep and dynamic weekend of big games. Griffin delivered 44 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 dimes against the Clippers on Saturday in a needed win for the Pistons. This marked the second-most points by a player in the first road game versus his former team behind only John Williamson of the New Jersey Nets dropping 50 on the Indiana Pacers in April of 1978. Griffin now has five games with at least five 3-pointers this season after having one such game in his previous eight seasons.
Curry delivered just the 27th game ever with as many 48 points with zero turnovers on record, per Basketball-Reference. Curry now has seven career games with as many as 11 made 3-pointers, while all other players in NBA history have combined for eight such games. Curry made his ninth go-ahead 3-point FG in the final minute over the last five seasons, the most in the NBA. While Curry and the Warriors took the road victory in Dallas, it was another big game full of big moments for Luka Doncic, who produced 26 points for his fourth straight 25-point game, the longest streak by a rookie since, well, Curry in April of 2010 (five straight), per ESPN Stats & Info.
Towns pulled a career-high 27 boards in a rousing win over the Anthony Davis and the Pelicans. Speaking of Davis, he's the only other player this season with a 25-25 game (back on Jan. 2). Towns finished four rebounds shy of the franchise record set by Kevin Love back in November of 2010. A meeting with Joel Embiid, Simmons and, more relevantly, Jimmy Butler looms for Minnesota in Philly on Tuesday.
Justise Winslow leads the Heat in passes per game by a sizable margin the past 10 games in his new role as the team's point forward. This has led to Winslow averaging 5.8 dimes and 5.6 boards to go with 16.4 PPG, 1.6 SPG, and 1.5 3PG. That is a sweet blend of numbers and signals Winslow as arguably the best free-agent acquisition you can make this week.
I was at MSG yesterday to watch the 76ers take on Knox's Knicks. It was my dad's first time to the "Mecca" since Thursday, March 9, 1967, when, from the student section, he saw his Villanova Wildcats lose by two points in overtime in the first round of the NIT to the Thundering Herd of Marshall. Walt "Clyde" Frazier was the MVP of the tournament leading eventual champion Southern Illinois to the title. Frazier wore a brown checkered suit to the game on Sunday. The atmosphere was excellent, with dimmed lights cast over the seats, so the spotlight remains on the play. Since I went nostalgic in this section, it makes sense to share that Simmons made some history in the victory, becoming the first player since Chris Webber in 1999 to produce as many points, rebounds and assists with two-or-fewer turnovers. This unique line has been constructed just four times in NBA history, with Charles Barkley and Chamberlain joining Webber and Simmons, as all four played for the 76ers at some point. As ESPN Stats & Info found, Simmons is the first point guard (at least by starting designation) to produce at least 20 points and 20 rebound since Fat Lever in 1990.
James Harden has now matched Kobe Bryant's streak of 16 straight games with at least 30 points set in 2003. Wilt Chamberlain has the longest streak of 30-point performances back in 1964 with 20, while Larry Jones secured 23 straight such performances in the ABA in 1969. Harden continues to flirt with history on a near nightly basis. It's also worth sharing Harden went 1-of-17 on 3-point attempts on Sunday in Orlando, with his 16 missed 3-pointers tied for the most in a game in NBA history with Damon Stoudamire, who went 5-of-21 in 2005. Harden has averaged 40.3 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 9.7 APG, 2.1 SPG, 5.8 3PG in 39 MPG his past 16 games amid one of the best individual offensive stretches in league history.
Injuries of note
Kyrie Irving is considered questionable for Monday's meeting with the Nets due to a right quad injury. If Irving sits, we can expect Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart to emerge as strong streaming assets.
Denver's Gary Harris missed his fourth straight game on Sunday due to a hamstring injury. On the positive end of the injury spectrum, Will Barton returned to action after a long absence and played 16 minutes Saturday and 14 minutes on Sunday in a win over Portland, his former team.
Analytics advantage for Monday
This far into the marathon season, it takes a sizable point total to leap off the screen for me. For example, the total for the contest featuring Davis and his Pelicans at Staples Center to face the Clippers opened at a massive 240 points, signaling this could be a uniquely fertile fantasy situation. For measure, this is one of the biggest point totals we've seen this season.
With a high-scoring game set to unfold, we can look to build around Davis and Jrue Holiday from New Orleans and Tobias Harris and Danilo Gallinari from Los Angeles with our high-end DFS decisions, while streaming the likes of Elfrid Payton could also pay off in this encouraging environment.
On the other side of the speculation spectrum, fading a Memphis and Houston contest that opened at 203 with the Rockets on the second leg of a back-to-back appears prudent. This game's total is 18.2 percent lower than that of the Pelicans versus Clippers number. Finding paths to Harden in DFS always can make sense, but loading up on this game is generally unwise given modest expectations.
Top players to watch tonight
I'm excited to see the speedy brilliance De'Aaron Fox brings to the floor for the Kings tonight, as they host the Trail Blazers on Monday evening in Sacramento. Damian Lillard sits second among all point guard-eligible players on the Player Rater behind only Harden, while Fox is impressively seventh, just ahead of Ben Simmons and just behind Kemba Walker in this index of value. The Vegas ingredients in this game (227.5-point total) are encouraging, while the Kings, the league leader in pace, tend to help drive optimal fantasy environments. The shot-making savvy of Lillard and the Iversonian speed of Fox make for a particularly compelling matchup on Monday.