Joel Embiid is winning games before the fourth quarter begins

For all of the good that Andre Drummond has been doing lately with his crazy rebounding, it was still clear how big the difference between a strong role-player and an MVP candidate is. Joel Embiid absolutely torched Drummond and the Chicago Bulls and his stat line of 31 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists, one steal and two blocks in just 31 minutes of play was a thing of beauty.

The best part? Chicago outscored the Philadelphia 76ers 25-12 in the first half and STILL lost by double-digits.

Domantas Sabonis had a rough ‘cripple-triple’

The Sacramento Kings have had a largely positive season so far as shown by their ability to stay in one of the guaranteed playoff spots in the Western Conference even after absences from the likes of De’Aaron Fox, Keegan Murray, Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter. Unfortuantely, 2024 has started off quite badly for them as the Charlotte Hornets broke an 11-game losing streak by beating the Kings at Golden One Center.

Domantas Sabonis has 23 points and 19 rebounds but also had 11 turnovers, granting him an unfortunate ‘triple-double’ in a game that was still within striking distance in the final minute of the game.

The Kings, with a 104-103 lead, ended up with a terrible three-point attempt from Monk with 1:02 left on the clock that led to a Hornets basket, and then turned it over with 44.2 seconds left to let them get ahead further. The Hornets went on an 8-0 run to close out the game, which is terrible for the Kings and their fans considering that Charlotte were -16 underdogs and missing LaMelo Ball.

The Thunder just keep winning

We’ve shown plenty of love to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander the the Oklahoma City Thunder this season and they keep giving us more reasons to praise them. Gilgeous-Alexander was on a tear against the league-leading Boston Celtics in their matchup today and had 36 points, six rebounds, seven assists and a steal while shooting 14 of 22 from the field. 

He also got enough help from his teammates to overcome 64 points, 23 rebounds and 10 assists from Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis combined, which led to a 127-123 Thunder victory. OKC have ridden a five-game winning streak to the second seed in the Western Conference and are looking more and more like a serious title contender as each month of the season passes.