Wednesday’s NBA slate provided a blend of history and standout fantasy performances. Dan Titus has the top takeaways from the slate.
Wednesday’s NBA slate provided a blend of history and standout fantasy performances. The league’s top teams clashed as the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder battled to the wire. Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks triumphed over Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs. Across the league, players such as Jarrett Allen, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jared Butler delivered performances that fantasy managers couldn’t overlook.
Here’s what went down last night in the Association.
Cavs outlast Thunder in crunch time
The Cavs’ and Thunder’s matchup on Wednesday was just the third time in league history that two teams with a .850 winning percentage or better have met this late in the season. In a contest where the top-ranked offense (CLE) and top-ranked defense (OKC) amounted for 30 lead changes and zero double-digit leads, this game was everything fans and fantasy managers hoped for — and more. Cleveland secured a 129-122 win, extending its win streak to 11 games (and the second win streak of more than 10 games this season), while the Thunder’s win streak ended at 15 games (tied for the longest this season).
Jarrett Allen (59.2) and Evan Mobley (46.5) combined for 105.2 fantasy points, scoring over 20 points with at least 10 rebounds and six assists. The last time a big-man duo produced those numbers in the same game was in 1998 with Tim Duncan and David Robinson. Darius Garland sealed the game with a massive layup in the final minute and finished with 27.7 fantasy points. At the same time, OKC’s defense got to Donovan Mitchell, limiting him to just 23.20 fantasy points — more than 14 below his average per game. Fortunately for the Cavs, depth played a critical role, with seven players scoring in double figures, including Max Strus (17 points) and Ty Jerome (15 points).
On the flip side, Jalen Williams was the most dominant fantasy performer for the Thunder, amassing 53.5 fantasy points — just edging out real-life and fantasy MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who produced 53 fantasy points. Isaiah Hartenstein was effective in scoring, rebounding and facilitating in the post, netting 18 points and pulling down 11 boards with eight assists. Sadly, he didn’t secure any stocks. Fantasy managers can’t hate on 41.2 fantasy points despite him being outmatched by the Cavs’ beastly frontcourt.
Fantasy takeaways
Max Strus had his best night since returning to the lineup in late December, putting up a season-high 17 points, three boards and five assists with exceptional efficiency. He tied his season-high in minutes (26), but he’s best left on waivers until he moves to a starting role. Aside from Strus, the Thunder’s Cason Wallace played 31+ minutes in three straight games, reaching double-figures in his last two games. He didn’t register a steal in this one, but the minutes and production are creeping up enough that he’s worth adding in 12+ team leagues. The rest of the star power is covered, with the Cavs and Thunder having eight players in the top 50 — SGA, Jalen Williams, Jarrett Allen, Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren (when he’s healhty).
Giannis is 2-0 versus Victor Wembanyama
Many looked forward to Victor Wembanyama locking horns with Giannis Antetokounmpo in the second marquee matchup on Wednesday night. However, the Bucks emerged victorious in a 121-105 rout of the Spurs. Milwaukee neutralized Wemby, producing 10 points (4-10 FG, 2-6 3PT, 0-0 FT), 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals for 35.50 fantasy points — 20 less than his per-game average. He did have a ridiculous layup on Giannis, one of the slate’s top plays, and a one-legged 3-pointer.
Wemby goes up and under on Giannis 😮💨
(via @NBA)
pic.twitter.com/s0S4AUknph
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) January 9, 2025
The Greek Freak was a force to be reckoned with, finishing with 55.2 fantasy points and a 25/16/8 line. Giannis also became the Bucks’ franchise leader in double-doubles, surpassing the legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. His signature “meet-me-at-the-rim block” on Devin Vassell really shifted the momentum for the Bucks before halftime.
WHAT A BLOCK FROM GIANNIS 😤 pic.twitter.com/J2UE8qO6AG
— ESPN (@espn) January 9, 2025
Wednesday night felt like light work for Damian Lillard, scoring 26 points with eight assists and five boards for 42 fantasy points on an efficient 8-for-13 from the field. Brook Lopez went off, too, delivering 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks for 40.9 fantasy points.
Keldon Johnson led the way for the Spurs, dropping 24 points and tied a season-high with 11 rebounds in Wednesday’s blowout loss, with Chris Paul providing 18/5/7 for 40.5 fantasy points. This two-game stretch is the first time Paul’s tallied at least 38 fantasy points in consecutive games this season. Vassell just missed a double-double with 11 points and nine boards, but that was the extent of the fantasy contributions on the Spurs side.
Fantasy takeaways
There is not much on the Spurs front besides Vassell’s inefficiency killing fantasy managers. Despite the near double-double, he shot 4 for 17, and has shot under 40% from the field and 70% from the line over the past month and has committed turnovers at the highest rate of his career — not good.
For the Bucks, Khris Middleton has been removed from the starting lineup. He’s on a minutes restriction, plus his poor shooting is hampering his fantasy value. Middleton shot 2 for 7 on Wednesday night, scoring eight points with five rebounds and three assists. Middleton and those ankles can’t be trusted. Also, Bobby Portis salvaged a poor shooting night by grabbing 11 rebounds, but this was the second time in three games that he’s been held to under 10 points. Lastly, AJ Green is steadily becoming a Duncan Robinson-like fantasy asset for those needing 3s in deep leagues.
Other noteworthy performances
Wizards G Jared Butler scored a career-high 26 points off the bench in just 20 minutes. He also added seven assists and four rebounds in a performance that left me wondering if its time to stream Butler (2% rostered) with Jordan Poole and Malcolm Brogdon out. That’s three straight games with at least 14 points and five dimes in 20 minutes of action.
Tyrese Maxey (46.60 fantasy points) did his thing to help secure the win over the Wizards sans Joel Embiid and Paul George. Still, popular streamer Guerschon Yabusele posted 21 points with eight rebounds, three assists and three stocks, totaling 43.1 fantasy points.
The Pistons have quietly won five straight games and Malik Beasley (23 points) is averaging 20 points, four rebounds and three assists in six games without Jaden Ivey this season. He’s still available in 60% of Yahoo leagues.
Tyrese Haliburton notched his 14th double-double of the season in a win over the Bulls.
The Knicks snapped their three-game losing streak with four New York starters scoring over 32 fantasy points. Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart led the way, combining for 105.3 fantasy points in a win over the Raptors.
Noah Clowney scored a career-high 29 points in a loss to Portland. He also became the youngest player in franchise history to record 25-plus points, 5-plus rebounds and 5-plus 3-pointers made in a game.
James Harden threw up a dud, but Norman Powell dropped an efficient 30-piece in a blowout loss to the Nuggets. With Kawhi Leonard away from the team due to fires in Los Angeles, he should continue to be a top-50 player in fantasy.
