fBasketballBlog

Thornton's been an outright stud this season. (AP Photo/Steve Yeater)

Beast of the Night: Marcus Thornton finished with 31 points, seven boards, six assists, three steals and three three-pointers. He shot 55 percent (12-22) from the field and 67 percent (4-6) from the free-throw line, and had one turnover. Thornton has averaged 30.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 4.0 steals and 3.3 threes since a string of three consecutive bad showings earlier this month. For the season, he’s putting up top 25 numbers.

Lines for Discussion:
Nick Young: 5-13 FG (38%), 2-2 FT (100%), 1 three, 13 Pts, 5 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 TO; Young has a sure grip on that starting SG gig, so expect him to to be a decent source of points and threes, along with a poor field-goal percentage, from here on out

Roy Hibbert: 4-8 FG (50%), 5-5 FT (100%), 13 Pts, 7 Reb, 1 Blk, 3 TO; Hibbert’s habit of fading as a season progresses continues

Jeremy Lin: 6-10 FG (60%), 4-4 FT (100%), 2 threes, 18 Pts, 3 Reb, 10 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO; since Carmelo Anthony returned to the lineup, Lin has been a top 50 fantasy asset

Ramon Sessions: 6-9 FG (67%), 2-2 FT (100%), 14 Pts, 2 Reb, 4 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO; Sessions won’t truly realize his potential on the Lakers until he wrests the starting PG job from Steve Blake

Wesley Matthews: 6-13 FG (46%), 4-4 FT (100%), 5 threes, 21 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 TO; Matthews should benefit from the departure of Gerald Wallace

Waiver-Wire Watch (four stars = must add; one star = keep an eye on him):
Leandro Barbosa: 12 Pts, 1 three, 1 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 TO (**)

George Hill: 15 Pts, 3 threes, 4 Reb, 6 Ast (***)

Markieff Morris: 12 Pts, 1 three, 4 Reb, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO (*)

Courtney Lee: 23 Pts, 3 threes, 5 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 Stl, 4 TO (***)

Gordon Hayward: 11 Pts, 1 three, 8 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 TO (**)

Derrick Favors: 7 Pts, 9 Reb, 1 Stl, 3 Blk, 3 TO (**)

Isaiah Thomas: 18 Pts, 5 Reb, 7 Ast, 2 Stl, 3 TO (****)

Ekpe Udoh: 2 Pts, 6 Reb, 3 Ast, 4 Blk (**)

Injuries:
Richard Hamilton (shoulder): no target date for his return

Daniel Gibson (ankle): X-rays were negative; day-to-day

Andre Miller (shoulder): out tonight

Rudy Fernandez (back): questionable tonight

Rodney Stuckey (foot): game-time decision tonight

Kevin Martin (shoulder): day-to-day

Joel Anthony (ankle): day-to-day

Mike Miller (ankle): day-to-day

Baron Davis (hamstring): day-to-day

Earl Watson (ankle): day-to-day

Raja Bell (groin): game-time decision for Thursday’s game

Rashard Lewis (knee): experienced a setback; out indefinitely

Andray Blatche (conditioning, calf): shut down for the next few weeks

Andris Biedrins (groin): will travel with the team on their upcoming two-game road trip

Josh Howard (knee): will have surgery on his left knee, ending his season

Jerryd Bayless (hip): monitor his status

Daequan Cook (knee): day-to-day

For Tonight:
See if JaVale McGee makes his debut tonight for the Nuggets, who host the Pistons.