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Welcome to the RotoBaller NBA Recap. In this feature, we highlight three fantasy basketball takeaways from March 27's slate of NBA games. There were only five games on last night's docket with just one contest being decided by five or fewer points. Which was the Washington Wizards overcoming Devin Booker's 50-point and 10-rebound effort to defeat the Phoenix Suns 124-121.
Booker, who has scored 109 points over the last two games, is the youngest player in NBA history to top the 50-point plateau in back-to-back games. The 22-year-old drained 19 of 29 shots from the field, three of nine from beyond the arc, as well as nine of 10 from the charity stripe in the game against the Wizards. He has now scored at least 20 points in 17 straight games, and the double-double was his 10th of the campaign.
In other action, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry each poured in 28 points to lead the Warriors to a 118-103 victory over the Grizzlies. Durant had the best shooting game of his career as he made 12 of 13 shots from the field. He added nine rebounds, five assists, and two steals as the Warriors won their second straight game. With the victory, the Dubs move a half-game ahead of the Nuggets in the race for the top spot in the Western Conference.
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Seth Curry continues to stroke the ball well
Curry has made the most of his increased playing time recently. The 6-foot-2 shooting guard sank eight of 11 shots, including four of seven attempts from beyond the arc, to finish with 20 points in a Trail Blazers' 118-98 over the Bulls. It was his third 20-point game in his last four outings. He added three rebounds and two assists, although the 28-year-old did commit two turnovers as well.
The fifth-year pro has taken advantage of starting shooting guard C.J. McCollum's (knee) absence, garnering at least 24 minutes on the floor in each of the Blazers’ last five games. He is averaging 17.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists, three trifectas, and one steal during this period. Curry is also shooting 52.7 percent (30 of 57) from the floor and 50 percent (15 of 30) from long distance over this five-game stretch.
With the victory, Portland is has won five straight and is 8-2 over its last 10 games. The Trail Blazers are currently third in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of the Rockets.
With McCollum in Portland for the team's remaining three games of their four-game road stint, Curry should continue to see plenty of court time and is worth a waiver wire pickup in competitive leagues. Curry is a streaky shooter but can fill up the scoreboard when he is hot. The Duke product is also a cheap DFS option.
Joe Ingles just misses a triple-double on Autism Awareness Night
What a night for the 6-foot-8 Australian. Six weeks ago, Ingles went public that his two-year-old son was diagnosed with autism. Since then he has been busy shooting videos with Jacob (his son), meeting with other families affected by autism and generally doing all he could to promote the Jazz's Autism Awareness Night. The Jazz and their partners donated $1.2 million to Autism Awareness.
Ingles didn't only make contributions off the court for the event, he also made valuable contributions on the court in Utah's 115-100 victory over the Lakers. The 31-year-old put up 11 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and doled out a career-high 14 dimes. He was 4-for-10 from the field, although three of his makes were from beyond the arc.
Ingles has scored in double-figures in each of his last six outings, draining multiple treys in each of those games. He also has registered five or more assists in five of the six contests. Overall, the fifth-year small forward is averaging 11.8 points, 7.6 assists, 2.5 triples, and 4.6 rebounds in March.
Wizards frontcourt dominates the Suns
A big reason that the Wizards were able to withstand Booker’s 50-point effort was because of the play of their frontcourt. Washington dominated the action up front as the Wiz pounded the offensive boards and controlled the paint. The Wizards made 34 of 65 shots (52.3 percent) from two-point range with 58 of their points coming in the paint. They also outrebounded the Suns 52-48, including 15-11 on the offensive glass, and shot 43 free throws compared to only 26 for Phoenix.
Jabari Parker led the way with 28 points, tying Bradley Beal for the team lead, to go along with 15 rebounds and three assists. Thomas Bryant, who converted a three-point play with 2.5 seconds remaining, contributed 18 points along with 19 caroms and three assists. Bobby Portis added six points and nine rebounds as well as two assists. Those three combined for 52 points as well as 43 rebounds and eight assists which were considerably more productive than the Suns got from their front-court (33 points and 20 rebounds).
The problem with the Wiz’s trio is that they have been inconsistent. But when all three are playing well, the Wizards have a good core of youngsters on their front line. Parker is an explosive scorer who also can rebound and distribute. Bryant is an excellent rebounder and rim protector while Portis can do a little bit of everything.
