Around the Association: Pop makes history, 50-point Explosions and more headlines from the weekend

This article is part of our NBA Daily Recap series.

Welcome to Around the Association! Four days per week (Monday through Thursday), 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.

It was one wild weekend full of stand-out performances -- here is all you need to know:

Weekend Notables 

Pop becomes winningest coach in NBA history

• The Spurs were able to rally past the Jazz 104-102 on Friday night, although this was no normal win for San Antonio. This marked coach Gregg Popovich's 1,336th win, pushing him past Don Nelson for the most wins of all time.
• Dejounte Murray was key in Popovich's historic night as he paced San Antonio with 27 points (9-23 FG, 1-5 3Pt, 8-12 FT), nine rebounds, four assists and five steals over 37 minutes. The improved guard currently ranks as the seventh overall nine-category fantasy option this season.
  • I am starting to really like what I am seeing out of both Zach Collins and Jock Landale. The first-year Spur ended Friday's win a season-high 15 points (4-7 FG, 2-3 3Pt, 5-5 FT), five rebounds, three assists and one block across 19 minutes. He still appears to be on a minute restriction of about 20-minutes, but it is nice to see him perform well.
  • Landale went off in Saturday's 119-108 loss to the Pacers as he dropped in a career-high 26 points (12-15 FG, 1-4 3Pt, 1-2 FT), seven rebounds, two assists and two steals across 35 minutes.
    • Poeltl, Murray and Keldon Johnson were all held out of action Saturday on the second half of back-to-back.

Bron's historic weekend  

• LeBron James will not stop showing up for the Lakers. In Friday's win over the Wizards, James completely took over once again, leading LA to a 122-109 win behind 50 points (18-25 FG, 6-9 3Pt, 8-8 FT), seven rebounds, six assists and one block in 36 minutes . James has now recorded two 50-point outings in less than a week.
• Despite the Lakers continuing to struggle overall as a team -- the Lakers looked horrendous in a 140-111 blowout loss to the Suns on Sunday -- we are simply witnessing greatness out of the 37-year-old James.
  • Over the weekend, James also became the first player in NBA history to record at least 30,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 assists. Just another historic achievement in his illustrious career. 

Raptors roll strong

• The Toronto Raptors are starting to heat up as of late, winning their past three outings including weekend wins over both the Suns and the Nuggets. Gary Trent went off during Friday's impressive 117-112 win over Phoenix, tying a career-best with 42 points (13-21 FG, 8-11 3Pt, 8-8 FT), eight rebounds and one assist in 40 minutes. Trent can be streaky at times, but when he is on the Duke product is one of the deadliest scorers in the league. 
  • Scottie Barnes shined during Saturday's 127-115 win over the Nuggets. The young rookie neared a triple-double with 25 points (11-20 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 1-3 FT), eight rebounds, 10 assists, one block and two steals across 39 minutes. Barnes is posting 15.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in his first season and is clearly full of limitless potential for the future.
  • Overall, Pascal Siakam had a very strong weekend during Toronto's two strong wins over its Western Conference foes. The forward averaged 29.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game across the two outings and sits as the 25th ranked nine-category fantasy option of the past week of play. 

Klay explodes 

• The Warriors and Bucks squared off in San Francisco on Saturday, and the results of the contest should seriously frighten the rest of the league. Klay Thompson popped off for 38 points (15-24 FG, 8-14 3Pt), six rebounds, five assists, one block and one steal over 34 minutes while leading Golden State to a 122-109 win.
  • Thomspon is now averaging 25.3 points over 33.3 minutes per game over his last three outings. With the 32-year-old starting to evidently get back to his normal self, the Warriors are perfectly aligning themselves to make yet another deep post-season run. 
    • Stephen Curry had a major down-night during Thompson's big performance, totaling just eight points (3-7 FG, 2-4 3Pt), five rebounds, eight assists, one block and one steal in 33 minutes. This marked his second-time failing to reach double-digit scoring this season.
    • Jordan Poole bailed Curry out with 30 points (9-16 FG, 5-10 3Pt, 7-7 FT), six rebounds, five assists and one steal in 35 minutes.

Young carries the Hawks

• The Hawks ended the weekend with close wins over both the Clippers and the Pacers. Trae Young was absolutely incredible over the team's two outings and specifically in Sunday's 131-128 victory over Indiana. The All-Star guard dominated the Pacers with 47 points (13-20 FG, 7-10 3Pt, 14-14 FT), three rebounds, five assists and two steals in 35 minutes.
  • Young started the game out on fire, dropping 33 points in the first half during the win. Overall, the offensive machine averaged 37.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game over the weekend. Young currently ranks as the 14th overall nine-category fantasy asset this year.
    • Clint Capela over the weekend: 12.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocks per game.

Clarkson and Fox duel it out

• One of the most exciting outings of the weekend came in Utah during the Jazz's 134-125 win over the Kings which included multiple 40-point scorers. Jordan Clarkson erupted for a career-high 45 points (15-21 FG, 7-13 3Pt, 8-8 FT) and added two assists, one steal and one block across 35 minutes. This was a much-needed outing for the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, as he had been averaging 14.7 points over his last six appearances. Clarkson's points-per-game average is nearly three points lower than last year's figure, but he can clearly go off any given night. 
  • Donovan Mitchell: 25 points (11-22 FG, 1-6 3Pt, 2-5 FT), five rebounds, six assists and two steals in 36 minutes.
• While his team could not walk away with the road victory, De'Aaron Fox was also unstoppable in the outing. The Kentucky product shined with 41 points (15-32 FG, 5-11 3Pt, 6-6 FT), 11 assists, three rebounds, two steals and one block across 41 minutes. Fox has been unstoppable since the Tyrese Haliburton trade, averaging 29.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists per game over his last 14 appearances, while also failing to reach 25 points in just two of those showings. Fox ranks as the 32nd overall nine-category fantasy option over the past month. 

KD handles the Knicks 

• Kevin Durant must have seen LeBron James go off for 50 on Friday because Brooklyn's leading-scorer had a huge "hold my beer moment" during the Nets' 110-107 cross-town win over the Knicks. Durant was unguardable all-game long as he ended with a season-best 53 points (19-37 FG, 4-13 3Pt, 11-12 FT) to go with nine assists, six rebounds and two steals in 43 minutes.
• Since returning to Brooklyn's lineup, Durant is averaging 32.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 7.0 assists over 37.8 minutes per game. 
  • One of the more absurd scenes in recent sports history took place in this outing as Kyrie Irving watched his teammates battle the Knicks as a fan on the sidelines due to his unvaccinated status. Irving was even able to join the Nets in the locker room at halftime.
• Julius Randle was solid in the tough loss to the Nets, putting up 26 points (9-17 FG, 3-7 3Pt, 5-6 FT), four rebounds, four assists and one steal in 37 minutes. The forward has improved his play as of recent, averaging 24.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game since the All-Star break.

Minnesota is for real 

• The Timberwolves continue to be one of the biggest pleasant surprises of the season. Minnesota may have had its most impressive win of the year as it walked away from Miami with a 113-104 win to mark its seventh win out of its last eight appearances.
  • It was an absolutely beautiful team effort out of the Timberwolves, with no player topping 16 points, yet nine of the 10 Minnesota players to see the court reached double figures.
  • Anthony Edwards had a solid outing with 15 points (4-10 FG, 3-8 3Pt, 4-4 FT), eight rebounds, five assists, one block and three steals over 36 minutes. The Timberwolves now sit at 39-30, good for seventh in the West and just 1.5 games back of Denver for the Northwest Division lead.

Luka leads the Mavs

• Similar to the Timberwolves, the Mavericks have also emerged as one of the hotter teams since All-Star weekend, going 7-2 since the break. Dallas remained on fire over the weekend starting with an easy 113-100 win over the Rockets in Houston. The Mavericks' next contest, which came against the Celtics on Kevin Garnett's jersey retirement, was much more exciting. Spencer Dinwiddie was able to drill a go-ahead triple in the final minute and after a three-point shooting foul was overturned, Dallas walked away with a 95-92 road win. 
  • Luka Doncic keeps on rolling for the Mavericks. The young star averaged 28.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists as he helped keep Dallas perfect over the weekend. Doncic sits as the 13th ranked nine-category fantasy option over the past two weeks.  

Here comes Cade 

• The Pistons may have lost both of their contests over the weekend, but Cade Cunningham continues to make a strong late-season rookie of the year push.  The No. 1 overall pick averaged an incredible 25.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game over the weekend and has now scored at least 20 points in seven straight outings.
  • Since the All-Star break, Cunningham is averaging 22.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. After a bit of a slow start to his career, the Oklahoma State product is starting to look like the real deal for Detroit. 

Quick hitters

• Josh Hart balled out for the short-handed Trail Blazers on Saturday, finishing with a career-best 44 points (15-21 FG, 6-9 3Pt, 8-8 FT), eight rebounds, six assists and four steals across 36 minutes during a 127-118 victory over Washington.
• Trey Murphy came out of nowhere for the Pelicans with 32 points (12-20 FG, 7-12 3Pt, 1-2 FT), nine rebounds and two assists over 28 minutes during a Friday loss to the Hornets.
  • New Orleans is currently without both CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram.
• Ja Morant shined with 37 points (14-33 FG, 1-4 3Pt, 8-10 FT), four rebounds, eight assists, one block and two steals across 38 minutes during Friday's 118-114 win over New York as he led the Grizzlies to a perfect 2-0 weekend.
• Alex Caruso made his return to the Chicago Bulls after missing 22 games due to the Grayson Allen incident, finishing with 11 points (4-8 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 2-2 FT), four assists, four steals, one rebound and one block across 29 minutes during a 101-91 win over Cleveland.
• The Magic took the 76ers to OT on Sunday, but Philadelphia was still able to walk away with a 116-114 win behind 27 points (5-17 FG, 2-3 3Pt, 15-19 FT), 12 rebounds, two assists and one block over 30 minutes out of Joel Embiid.

Best and Worst of the Weekend 

• Best of the Weekend: Trae Young - 37.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game while going 2-0 over the weekend.
• Worst of the Weekend: De'Anthony Melton - 5.0 points, 1.0 rebound and 2.5 assists across just 16.2 minutes per game.
• Rookie of the Weekend: Cade Cunningham - 25.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game over the weekend.

A Look Ahead to Monday Night 

• Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic square off in Denver in a massive game for the MVP race.
• The Timberwolves look to stay hot when the Spurs come into town.
• The Jazz and Bucks are set to duel in Milwaukee.
• Will LeBron James play on the second night of a back-to-back when the Lakers take on the Raptors?