Around the Association: Thunder Storm Back (Again), Cade's Shooting Struggles Continue

This article is part of our NBA Daily Recap series.

Welcome to Around the Association!  Five days per week (Monday through Friday), this article will serve as a comprehensive recap of the previous night's NBA action, taking you through all of the biggest performances, notable box scores, injury updates and any other fantasy-relevant headlines from around the league.

Nightly Notables

No Mitchell, No Problem

• With Donovan Mitchell (ankle) out of the lineup, the Jazz were still able to beat the Hawks 116-98 in Atlanta. The game was close throughout before Utah pulled away late. Without their star guard, it was Jordan Clarkson who stepped up in his absence. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year poured in a season-high 30 points (10-19 FG, 4-10 3Pt, 1-3 FT) to go with four rebounds and three assists in 31 minutes of action.
  • Mike Conley was also very efficient in the team's victory as well. The veteran point guard tallied 13 points (5-13 FG, 3-9 3Pt), 11 assists, two steals, one rebound and one turnover in 29 minutes. This marked Conley's first double-double of the season
• Despite the losing effort, Trae Young was solid in the loss. The All-Star guard recorded 21 points (8-20 FG, 0-4 3Pt, 5-5 FT), seven assists, four rebounds, one steal, one block and two turnovers in 34 minutes. It has been a pretty rough shooting stretch for Young as he is just 20 percent from deep over his last six outings
  • De'Andre Hunter was also able to produce another solid game for Atlanta. Just one day after going for a season-high 26 points against Brooklyn, Hunter scored an efficient 14 points (7-9 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 0-3 FT) to go with two rebounds, two assists and one steal in 31 minutes of action. The Virginia product is starting to look more comfortable in Atlanta's offense as the season moves along.

Celtics Pull Away Late

• The Heat entered Thursday's contest against Boston 6-1 and looked like one of the best teams in the league. Boston entered the contest sitting at 2-4 and desperately needed a win to get things going. The Celtics ended up getting that win in a solid team effort with six players reaching double figures, but no one scoring over 20 points. Jaylen Brown scored a team-high 17 points (5-14 FG, 3-5 3Pt, 4-5 FT) while grabbing five boards as well.
  • The Celtics may have gotten the win Thursday, but Jayson Tatum's ice-cold shooting stretch did unfortunately not end. The forward recorded 10 points (3-13 FG, 2-5 3Pt, 2-3 FT) to go with eight rebounds, two assists and one steal in 29 minutes. Tatum ranks as the 158th ranked player overall in nine-category leagues on a per-game basis to start the season.
• Jimmy Butler was essentially the only Heat player that had an offensive pulse Wednesday night. The wing finished with 20 points (8-18 FG, 0-4 3Pt, 4-8 FT) , four rebounds, two assists, one steal and two turnovers in 38 minutes. Butler is averaging what would be a career-high 24.4 points per game this season.

Thunder Storm Back Once Again

• The Los Angeles Lakers were hit with the news Thursday that LeBron James will be out for at least one week with an abdominal strain. To make matters even worse, the Lakers then proceeded to surrender a 19-point lead to the Thunder on Thursday night en route to 107-104 OKC victory.
  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was incredible in the comeback win, posting 28 points (9-17 FG, 4-7 3Pt, 6-6 FT), six assists, three rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot over 39 minutes. The Thunder now have two wins on the season and both of them come against the Lakers.

• Without James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook once again had big games for Los Angeles. AD was dominant throughout, recording 29 points (11-20 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 7-9 FT), 18 rebounds, five assists, two blocked shots and one steal over 38 minutes. Davis did end up spraining his thumb but was able to remain in the contest. Hopefully, the injury remains nothing serious as the forward has been incredible without James this season. In three games without James, Davis has averaged 31.3 points and 14.3 rebounds per game.
  • It was not the most efficient shooting night for Westbrook, but the star guard was able to produce a big line in the loss. Westbrook posted 27 points (10-23 FG, 3-6 3Pt, 4-4 FT) to go with six rebounds, five assists and four turnovers over 35 minutes. After a slower start, the UCLA product is starting to find his groove with the Lakers, averaging 24.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 7.8 assists in 36.0 minutes per game over his last six contests.
  • Westbrook was once again horrendous down the stretch, however, committing an egregious turnover on the Lakers' second-to-last possession before following up with a bricked three-pointer in an attempt to tie the game.
  • The Lakers have now blown 19-point and 26-point leads to the Thunder in a matter of eight days.

Best and Worst of the Night

• Stud of the Night: Anthony Davis- 29 points (11-20 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 7-9 FT), 18 rebounds, five assists, two blocks, one steal and three turnovers in 38 minutes.
• Dud of the Night: Tyler Herro -- Xix points (3-11 FG, 0-4 3Pt), seven rebounds, one rebound, one steal and one turnover in 29 minutes.
• Rook of the Night: Jalen Green: -- 16 points (3-14 FG, 2-7 3Pt, 8-8 FT), three rebounds, three assists and two turnovers over 32 minutes.

Quick Hitters

• Seth Curry continues to drop buckets for the 76ers. The sharpshooting guard scored a team-high 23 points (9-14 FG, 4-8 3Pt, 1-1 FT) to go with two assists and three turnovers in 36 minutes during Philadelphia's 109-98 win over Detroit. Curry is averaging what would be a career-high 17.8 points per game to start the year.
  • Tyrese Maxey had one of his best performances in the win as well. The second-year guard scored 20 points (8-12 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 2-2 FT) while also recording five assist, four rebounds, two steals and one turnover in a team-high 44 minutes. The Kentucky product continues to fill in nicely for the 76ers as Ben Simmons (personal) remains out
• Jerami Grant had one of his best games of the season despite the loss. The veteran wing recorded 27 points (11-22 FG, 2-6 3Pt, 3-3 FT), six rebounds, four assists, one steal, one block and four turnovers in 37 minutes of action. It has not been the best fantasy season for Grant to start the year, as he ranks as the 80th best nine-category fantasy option to start the season.
• Devin Booker was unguardable for the Suns during their 123-111 win over Houston. The shot-creating guard scored  27 points (8-18 FG, 4-8 3Pt, 7-8 FT) to go with nine rebounds, five assists, one steal and one blocked shot over 34 minutes. Booker has scored over 20 points in all but two contests this season, but his season average of 22.6 points per game is nearly three less points than last year's figure
  • Chris Paul continues to dime up for the Suns. The Point God recorded nine points (3-10 FFG, 1-5 3Pt, 2-2 FT), to go with 13 assists, five rebounds, five steals, two blocks and two turnovers in 34 minutes of action. Paul has reached double-digit assists in all but one showing this season and his 12.0 assists per game lead the NBA by nearly three dishes. Age is truly just a number for the 36-year-old.
• Despite the losing effort, Christian Wood stuffed the stat sheet for Houston. The dynamic big posted 18 points (6-15 FG, 2-6 3Pt, 4-7 FT), 15 rebounds, five assists, three blocked shots and three turnovers over 37 minutes. Wood Is proving himself to be one of the best rebounders in the entire league, grabbing at least 13 boards in four out of his last five showings. The 6-foot-9 forward ranks fifth in the league with 12.5 rebounds per game to start the year
  • It was not the most pretty outside shooting day for Kevin Porter, but the athletic guard led Houston in scoring during the loss. Porter posted a season-high 20 points (7-17 FG, 0-5 3Pt, 6-6 FT), six rebounds, three assists and two turnovers across 36 minutes.  However, The 21-year-old's fantasy value continues to be hampered by his league-leading 4.9 turnovers per game.
• I feel as if I would be missing out if I did not mention that we had our biannual Bogdanovic battle Thursday night. The veteran performed better than the younger guard as Bojan Bogdanovic finished with 23 points (7-16 FG, 2-7 3Pt, 7-7 FT) and five rebounds compared to Bogdan Bogdanovic's eight points (3-6 FG, 2-4 3PT) and five rebound showing.
• Aaron Nesmith saw some decent minutes for Boston during their bold win over Miami. The second-year pro finished with 13 points (5-8 FG, 3-5 3Pt), three rebounds and one assist over 18 minutes. This was the first time all season that Nesmith scored over three points in a game and this could potentially indicate that more opportunities may be coming to the young sharpshooter's way.

Rookie Report

• Cade Cunningham: 10 points (4-17 FG, 1-7 3Pt, 9-10 FT), 10 rebounds, four assists, one steal and three turnovers in 31 minutes
  • Well, there is a few ways to look at Cunningham's performance Thursday night. The No. 1 overall pick certainly had the best game of his short career thus far, but Cunningham still struggled with his shot. The Oklahoma State product's rebounding and facilitating have stood out, but he needs to shoot better to have real fantasy relevance.
• Jalen Green: 16 points (3-14 FG, 2-7 3Pt, 8-8 FT), three rebounds, three assists and two turnovers over 32 minutes
  • The No. 2 overall pick also struggled with his shot during Houston's loss. Green has reached double-figure scoring in five of his last six contests, but his 36.8 percent field goal percentage is not pretty.
• Josh Giddey: Five points (2-9 FG, 0-1 3Pt, 1-2 FT), eight rebounds, eight assists, three steals, one block and four turnovers in 31 minutes
  • The Australian rookie continues to prove himself as a facilitator in the league. Giddey has averaged 7.8 assists per game over his last four contests. The rookie ranks as the 94th-best nine-category option on a per-game basis to start the season
• Alperen Sengun: 10 points (4-10 FG, 1-2 3PT, 1-2 FT), five assists, four rebounds, one steal and two turnovers in 22 minutes
  • Sengun only saw 22 minutes of action in his second start of his career, but that could be attributed to foul trouble as he ended the game with five fouls. The rookie continues to be productive for Houston and is someone to be monitoring in fantasy leagues if Daniel Theis (toe) remains out
• Jeremiah Robinson-Earl: One turnover in nine minutes
  • Well, at least JRE got his cardio in as he was essentially running wind sprints for the Thunder on Thursday. The Villanova product moved back to the bench for the game and did not register any productive stats. Robinson-Earl is not start-able in most fantasy formats for now
• Austin Reaves: Eight points (3-6 FG, 2-5 3Pt), two rebounds and one steal in 22 minutes.
  • The rookie out of Oklahoma continues to see solid minutes for the Lakers to start his career. With LeBron James (ankle) out for at least one week, it would not be a surprise to see Reaves see around 20 minutes a night. Regardless, the undrafted rookie is not someone to trust in fantasy lineups just yet.

Look Ahead to Friday Night

• The New York Knicks take on the Milwaukee Bucks in an Eastern Conference showdown
• LaMelo Ball and the Hornets take on De'Aaron Fox and the Kings
• The Pacers take on the Trail Blazers in a cross-conference duel.