Friday night was a real doozy. It was an action-packed night filled with scoring outbursts, big time injuries, and returns. LeBron James led the way with his big line but Tyreke Evans and Russell Westbrook also had some pretty fantastic showings as well. Anthony Davis and Derrick Favors went down while Carmelo Anthony and Isaiah Thomas returned to action. Let’s dive right in.

LeBron goes for 41

LeBron James tied his season-high with 41 points on Friday, adding five boards, five assists, two triples, and one block. He shot a blistering 17-24 from the field and was really on a roll but the Pelicans were able to outlast his onslaught and prevail. James, who was dealing with a sore knee, looked perfectly fine after missing his last game. More and more it appears as though the Cavaliers will struggle to find their groove this season which is good news for fantasy owners as James will be relied upon heavily to carry the Cavs.

Davis goes down, Evans steps up

Amazingly, the Pelicans defeated the Cavaliers despite the loss of Anthony Davis, who went down early on with a chest contusion. He appeared to suffer the injury while he was jostling with Kevin Love for a rebound and took an elbow to the chest. He went to the locker room and while x-rays were negative, he was not able to return. Although it doesn’t appear serious, this is certainly something to monitor over the next 24 hours. 

With Davis out, Tyreke Evans took hold of the team and led the club to victory behind a season-high 31 points and 10 assists. Evans shot 13-24 with two triples and was without question the second best player on the floor next to LeBron James. Ryan Anderson wasn’t too shabby either, scoring 30 points thanks to his season-high eight three-pointers. Both players were due for breakout games and they delivered. Evans has been terrific this year and while he may be a sell-high candidate he seems to have found his groove this season.

Swaggy P lights up Spurs

Nick Young nailed a game-winning 30-foot three-pointer in overtime to give the Lakers a win over the Spurs on Friday. It was just one of Young’s season-high six three-pointers and 29 points. Young was on the floor during all the key moments of the game and was a far better shooter than Kobe Bryant, who hit just 7-22 shots on his way to 22 points. However, in typical Bryant fashion, despite the poor shooting numbers, his supporting stats of nine assists, five boards, and four steals was solid. On the opposite end, Tim Duncan did everything he could to keep San Antonio close. Duncan finished with 19 points, 18 rebounds, and two blocks.

Westbrook piles it on

Russell Westbrook led the charge for the Thunder, helping his team win its fifth straight game on Friday. The point guard sliced up the Minnesota defense, shooting 12-19 from the field on his way to 34 points, six boards, six assists, two steals, and two three-pointers. It was a well-rounded effort by the entire squad actually as five players scored in double figures including Kevin Durant, who only needed to put up eight shots on his way to 16 points. Durant and Westbrook will likely trade or combine for big lines all season. Tonight was one for Westbrook.

Wade and Bosh tag team the Jazz

Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh each had productive games on Friday to lead the Heat over the Jazz. Wade scored a season-high 29 points on an efficient 10-16 shooting, adding seven assists for good measure. Wade scored just 26 over the previous two games so this was a nice showing from him. Bosh put up 22 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks and very solid throughout the game in picking his spots. Bosh, as expected, is having a great season, averaging over 21 points and eight rebounds. Keep plugging both of these studs into your lineup.  

Friday night was a real doozy. It was an action-packed night filled with scoring outbursts, big time injuries, and returns. LeBron James led the way with his big line but Tyreke Evans and Russell Westbrook also had some pretty fantastic showings as well. Anthony Davis and Derrick Favors went down while Carmelo Anthony and Isaiah Thomas returned to action. Let’s dive right in.

LeBron goes for 41

LeBron James tied his season-high with 41 points on Friday, adding five boards, five assists, two triples, and one block. He shot a blistering 17-24 from the field and was really on a roll but the Pelicans were able to outlast his onslaught and prevail. James, who was dealing with a sore knee, looked perfectly fine after missing his last game. More and more it appears as though the Cavaliers will struggle to find their groove this season which is good news for fantasy owners as James will be relied upon heavily to carry the Cavs.

Davis goes down, Evans steps up

Amazingly, the Pelicans defeated the Cavaliers despite the loss of Anthony Davis, who went down early on with a chest contusion. He appeared to suffer the injury while he was jostling with Kevin Love for a rebound and took an elbow to the chest. He went to the locker room and while x-rays were negative, he was not able to return. Although it doesn’t appear serious, this is certainly something to monitor over the next 24 hours. 

With Davis out, Tyreke Evans took hold of the team and led the club to victory behind a season-high 31 points and 10 assists. Evans shot 13-24 with two triples and was without question the second best player on the floor next to LeBron James. Ryan Anderson wasn’t too shabby either, scoring 30 points thanks to his season-high eight three-pointers. Both players were due for breakout games and they delivered. Evans has been terrific this year and while he may be a sell-high candidate he seems to have found his groove this season.

Swaggy P lights up Spurs

Nick Young nailed a game-winning 30-foot three-pointer in overtime to give the Lakers a win over the Spurs on Friday. It was just one of Young’s season-high six three-pointers and 29 points. Young was on the floor during all the key moments of the game and was a far better shooter than Kobe Bryant, who hit just 7-22 shots on his way to 22 points. However, in typical Bryant fashion, despite the poor shooting numbers, his supporting stats of nine assists, five boards, and four steals was solid. On the opposite end, Tim Duncan did everything he could to keep San Antonio close. Duncan finished with 19 points, 18 rebounds, and two blocks.

Westbrook piles it on

Russell Westbrook led the charge for the Thunder, helping his team win its fifth straight game on Friday. The point guard sliced up the Minnesota defense, shooting 12-19 from the field on his way to 34 points, six boards, six assists, two steals, and two three-pointers. It was a well-rounded effort by the entire squad actually as five players scored in double figures including Kevin Durant, who only needed to put up eight shots on his way to 16 points. Durant and Westbrook will likely trade or combine for big lines all season. Tonight was one for Westbrook.

Wade and Bosh tag team the Jazz

Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh each had productive games on Friday to lead the Heat over the Jazz. Wade scored a season-high 29 points on an efficient 10-16 shooting, adding seven assists for good measure. Wade scored just 26 over the previous two games so this was a nice showing from him. Bosh put up 22 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks and very solid throughout the game in picking his spots. Bosh, as expected, is having a great season, averaging over 21 points and eight rebounds. Keep plugging both of these studs into your lineup.  

Favors hits the deck

Derrick Favors went down with a right ankle injury on Friday and did not return. Favors has been very productive this season so if he were to miss extended time it would certainly be a blow to the Jazz and fantasy teams. Rudy Gobert filled in and finished with nine points, 11 rebounds, and five blocks. Gobert is definitely worthy of an immediate pick-up, at least until we know the full extent of Favors’ injury. Meanwhile, with the paint a bit more accessible, Enes Knater blew up for a season-high 25 points and eight rebounds. Kanter has been very good this season and if Favors misses extended time, he’ll likely see a nice scoring boost.

Drummond beats up on Phoenix

Andre Drummond looked powerful on Friday, racking up 23 points on 10-14 shooting, with 14 rebounds and one block. He even hit 3-4 from the charity stripe. After a slow start, December has been Drummond’s best month thus far. He’s averaging 15 and 12 this month and should continue improving as the season rolls along.

In other news, Isaiah Thomas returned for the Suns after an extended absence with an ankle injury. The diminutive guard shot just 3-11, finishing with 10 points, two boards, and two assists. Thomas was struggling prior to his ankle injury so it’s going to be tough for owners to ride out his cold streaks and wacky playing time. He has huge potential so he’s certainly not someone to cut loose but his fantasy leash will shorten as the season progresses.

Lillard and Aldridge light up the scoreboard  

LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard combined for 70 points on Friday night but it wasn’t enough as the Blazers fell to the Bulls. From a fantasy perspective, the Blazers’ franchise players brought it. Aldridge had a huge first half and finished with 35 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and a three-pointer. Lillard did most of his damage in the second half, also finishing with a season-high 35 points, five boards, six assists, and a whopping seven triples. While both of these stars put up huge lines, they weren’t the only ones. Derrick Rose led the Bulls with a season-high 31 points and five assists. For Rose it was arguably his best game of the season and the fact that the Bulls beat the Blazers without the services of banged up big man Joakim Noah is even more impressive and should serve as a confidence booster for Rose.

The Beal Deal

The Wizards took down the Clippers on Friday night thanks largely in part to the play of Bradley Beal, who scored a season-high 29 points on 9-17 shooting including 4-7 from downtown. He added four assists and three steals to round out a very tasty fantasy line. Beal has been sluggish so far this season, averaging just under 14 points per game but hopefully this is the start of a productive and consistent run.

Melo looks good in return

Despite only missing Wednesday’s contest, there were some concerns that Carmelo Anthony might shut it down temporarily to heal his knee, however, the All-Star forward suited up on Friday and poured in 22 points, five boards, and three blocks as the Knicks defeated the Celtics. Anthony’s knee is certainly a concern for fantasy owners so if you’re looking to deal him, do it while he’s still looking like his normal self.

In other Knicks news, Iman Shumpert left the game after dislocating his left shoulder. He looked to be in a lot of pain and will likely miss several games. Tim Hardaway Jr. and J.R. Smith are sure to see extra minutes.

Watson starts but Lou Will has final say

C.J. Watson got the starting nod at point guard for Indiana on Friday and finished with 13 points, four assists, two triples, and one steal in 30 minutes. He’ll likely keep the starting gig until George Hill returns which is still at least a few more weeks away. Watson is a solid speculative add but his upside is limited. On the other side of the floor, Raptors sixth man Lou Williams lit up the Pacers for 26 points including five three-pointers. Williams led the team in minutes and was a key cog in leading the Raptors to victory. It’s been feast or famine for the guard as of late. Williams has scored 26, 6, 26, and 5 over his last four contests so it’s tough trotting him out there nightly but he’s still worth owning for the time being in deeper leagues.