NBA Player News

Bitadze closed Thursday's 105-99 loss to the Thunder with 15 points (6-9 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 3-4 FT), 10 rebounds, three assists and one block across 27 minutes.

Bitadze notched his third double-double over his last four appearances, and he continues to make the most of his opportunities on the offensive end, hitting 55.8 percent of his tries from the field over this brief hot stretch. He's putting together a solid month of December, averaging 11.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 blocks over seven games. While Bitadze isn't a sure thing to log 30-plus minutes on a nightly basis, he's shown that he only needs 20-to-25 minutes to be productive across the board.

Hartenstein produced 12 points (5-9 FG, 2-2 FT), 12 rebounds, four assists, one block and four steals across 33 minutes during Thursday's 105-99 win over Orlando.

Hartenstein secured his fifth double-double of December by turning in an efficient scoring performance and continuing to make his presence felt on the glass. He also played well on the defensive end, tying Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with a team-high four steals, which marks Hartenstein's best showing of the season in this category.

Sabonis registered 18 points (8-12 FG, 1-1 3Pt, 1-4 FT), 12 rebounds, nine assists and two blocks over 38 minutes during Thursday's 113-100 loss to the Lakers.

Sabonis is a big reason why the Kings have 13 wins, but he lost the battle inside against Anthony Davis on Thursday night. Sabonis currently leads the league with 23 double-doubles, and he was very close to notching his fifth triple-double. He currently ranks fourth in that category behind Nikola Jokic, LeBron James and Cade Cunningham.

Davis contributed 21 points (7-20 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 7-9 FT), 20 rebounds, four assists, six blocks and three steals over 35 minutes during Thursday's 113-100 win over the Kings.

Although Davis (shoulder) exited the game briefly, he turned in a masterful total in a key victory over the Lakers' intrastate rival. His 20 rebounds were a season high by a wide margin, and he easily won the interior duel with Domantas Sabonis, who managed a lesser 18/12 total. Davis and LeBron James both have lingering injuries but are managing to play through them, although James' injury appears to be more serious. Despite being a regular on the injury report, Davis has missed only one game this season, a significant achievement for the veteran.

Jokic closed with 34 points (13-18 FG, 4-6 3Pt, 4-4 FT), five rebounds, eight assists and one steal in 37 minutes during Thursday's 126-124 loss to Portland.

Jokic had an excellent shooting night, but the Nuggets were solidly outclassed off the glass in the loss, mostly due to Jokic's poor result in the category. Jokic has dipped below 10 rebounds only five times this season, and his inability to reach a double-double should be considered an outlier event. He currently ranks fifth in the league with 18 double-doubles, but he leads the league with 10 triple-doubles.

Ayton (illness) notched 15 points (7-14 FG, 1-2 FT), 13 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and one steal in 35 minutes during Thursday's 126-124 win over the Nuggets.

Ayton returned after missing the Trail Blazers' last two games with a non-COVID-related illness. He seemed to be operating at 100 percent Thursday, as he saw ample minutes while matching his third-highest rebound total of the season. Ayton began the season with a five-game double-double streak, and he could be on his way to building another run now that he's back in action.

Kleber (rib) tallied zero points (0-1 FG) and two rebounds in 13 minutes in Thursday's 118-95 loss to the Clippers.

Kleber had missed the Mavericks' previous three games with a fractured rib and an illness, but he was given the green light to play Thursday after putting in a full practice earlier this week. The 32-year-old has logged fewer than 20 minutes in each of his last three appearances and will likely struggle to see meaningful playing time so long as Dereck Lively, Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington are all available in the frontcourt.

Vucevic racked up 16 points (7-9 FG, 2-3 3Pt), 14 rebounds, four assists and one block across 33 minutes during Thursday's 117-108 win over the Celtics.

Vucevic notched his 15th double-double of the season Thursday, cleaning the glass for a game-high 14 boards and supplying an efficient 16 points. The 34-year-old star big man has reached double-digit scoring figures in each of his last 13 games, a stretch in which he's averaging 21.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists 0.9 blocks, 0.8 steals and 2.6 three-pointers per contest. Vucevic has long been a dependable fantasy asset due to his strong production across the board, but he's taken a big leap in efficiency during his 15th season, shooting a career-high 59.2 percent from the field and 48.0 percent from deep in 2024-25.

Porzingis provided 20 points (7-17 FG, 2-7 3Pt, 4-4 FT), eight rebounds and three blocks over 36 minutes during Thursday's 117-108 loss to the Bulls.

Porzingis made his usual impact on the boards and in the scoring column while also blocking a game-high three shots, but it wasn't his best night shooting the ball. The All-Star big man is now averaging an efficient 19.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.5 blocks, 0.8 steals and 2.1 three-pointers in 27.5 minutes per game through eight appearances so far this year. Perhaps Thursday's most important takeaway is that Porzingis played a season-high 36 minutes, which is an encouraging sign for the Celtics and fantasy managers as the center becomes further removed from offseason foot surgery this past summer.

Davis (shoulder) has been cleared to return to Thursday's game against Sacramento, Jovan Buha of The Athletic reports.

Davis made a quick visit to the locker room during the second quarter of Thursday's matchup but was quickly given the green light to continue. The team will undoubtedly monitor his shoulder injury closely moving forward.