Fantasy Basketball-Starting 5-January 21

Last night’s full slate of NBA games had plenty of drama and excitement. From the very beginning, with a slamfest in Washington, to the very end, with Kevin Love’s heroics to close out the night, there were multiple players who rose to and shrank from the spotlight.

As you head into a full Saturday with another 10 games, make sure you’ve got your rosters set for the weekend and check back Monday morning for the latest on all the significant fantasy injuries in the Injury Ward.

Here’s 9 lists of 5 to get you caught up on all the stat-lines from last night’s action.

Kevin Love and the Wolves knocked off the Clippers at the Staples Center for their 3rd consecutive win. His double-double and game-winner earned him our MVP-for-a-day.(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

5 shining stars

1. LaMarcus Aldridge-Por: Aldridge had 33 points and 23 rebounds in Portland’s win in Toronto. He added 5 assists and 2 steals for good measure as Portland moved to 9-6.

2. Brandon Jennings-Mil: Jennings led the Bucks to their first road win by dominating in Madison Square Garden scoring 36 points on 15-26 shooting, hitting 6 3-pointers, and adding 5 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals. The Bucks are now 5-9 overall and 1-8 on the road.

3. Dwitght Howard-Orl: Howard had 21 points and 23 rebounds while adding a steal, block, and 2 assists. The victory over the visiting Lakers gets Orlando to 11-4.

4. Carmelo Anthony-NY: Anthony continues to do all he can to get his team W’s but again the Knicks fell short dropping their record to 6-9. ‘Melo had 35 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, and a steal.

5. Kobe Bryant-LAL: Bryant went for 30 points in a losing effort as the Lakers fell to 10-7 and a woeful 1-5 away from the Staples Center.

5 dominating double-doubles

1. Kevin Love-Min: Love finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds to go with 3 assists and a steal. He made 2 3-pointers including the game-winner as the Wolves won their 3rd in a row and moved to 7-8.

2. Blake Griffin-LAC: Griffin had 21 points and 10 boards with 2 assists and a steal, but K-Love’s shot dropped the Clips to 8-5.

3. Jrue Holiday-Phi: Holiday led the Sixers to a big win at home over the Hawks to run their record to 11-4. He finished with 16 points, 11 assists, 6 boards, and 3 steals.

4.  Tyreke Evans-Sac: Evans had 23 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal to lead the Kings over the Spurs.

5. DeMarcus Cousins-Sac: Cousins helped the Kings get by the Spurs and get their 6th win of the season. He had 17 points, 4 stelas, 13 rebounds, and 2 assists.

5 big’s playing big

1. Greg Monroe-Det: Monroe’s shot was far from on last night (4-12) but he still put up 10 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block. Detroit again failed to win at home and their record overall fell to an abysmal 3-13.

2. Elton Brand-Phi: Brand hauled in 16 boards while blocking 3 shots to go with 10 points, 2 assists, and 2 steals against Atlanta.

3. Marcin Gortat-Phx: Gortat continued his recent roll finishing last night with 24 points, 12 boards, 2 blocks, and a steal.

4. Darko Milicic-Min: Milicic had 22 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, and 2 blocks against the Clippers on 10-15 shooting.

5. Roy Hibbert-Ind: Hibbert had 10 points, 4 assists, and 2 blocks. His real contribution last night though was the 16 rebounds he pulled down in 34 minutes.

5 fantastic forwards

1. Danny Granger-Ind: Granger led the Pacers to a big win in Oakland as they reached 10-4 on the season. He had 26 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a rebound.

2. Carlos Boozer-Chi: Boozer played well against his former team the Cavs and finished with 19 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. The Bulls get to 14-3 with another Derrick Rose-less performance.

3. Rudy Gay-Mem: Gay helped the Grizz get to  8-6 by beating the Pistons in Detroit. He totaled 24 points and 4 boards while making 10-17 fromt the field and 2 3-pointers.

4. Luol Deng-Chi:Deng hit 8-13 from the field and finished with 21 points, 8 bords, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals.

5. James Johnson-Tor: Johnson shot 10-17 and scored a career-high 23 points to go with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 blocks, and 2 steals. Despite his career night the Raptors lost and fell to 4-12.

5 great guards

1. Ty Lawson-Den: Lawson scored 21 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, ans dished 6 assists to help the Nuggs get to 11-5 by beating Washington on the road.

2. Monta Ellis-GS: Ellis poured in 25 points on 11-20 from the field while adding 6 assists and 3 rebounds. Not even his efforts and the surprise return of Stephen Curry could save the Warriors, though, as they fell to 5-10.

3. Mike Conley-Mem: Conley played 38 minutes against Detroit, by far a team high. His final line had 14 points, 11 assists, 4 steals, and 4 rebounds.

4. John Wall-Was: Wall had another solid game finishing with 13 points and 10 assists, with 9 rebounds, 3 blocks, and a steal. He struggled shooting, hitting on just 4-17. The Wizards broke 100 points but still lost by 4 to the Nuggets and fell to 2-13.

5. Brandon Knight-Det: Knight had to put up 18 shots but finished with 22 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound, and 1 assist.

5 bench boosters

1. Al Harrington-Den: Harrington let the Nuggets with 29 points in 30 minutes with 5 made 3-pointers, 7 boards, 2 assits, and a steal.

2. Mo Williams-LAC: Williams again had a big game off the bench. Last night he led the Clippers with 25 points and added 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and a steal.

3. Thaddeus Young-Phi: Young came off the bench but still led the Sixers with 20 points on 8-11 from the field with 3 boards and a steal.

4. Tiago Splitter-SA: Splitter had 10 points, 2 assists, and 7 rebounds in 25 minutes off the Spurs bench.

5. Jared Dudley-Phx: With the return of Steve Nash, Dudley has slid to the bench while Ronnie Price has continued to start. Back in Boston where he went to college (BC), He finished last night with 12 points, 2 3′s, 4 boards, and 4 assits.

5 solid starts

1. Nick Young-Was: Young led the Wizards with 25 points on 12-22 from the field and 4-10 from deep. He played 40 minutes while adding 4 assists and 4 steals.

2. Tony Parker-SA: Parker had 24 points, 2 steals, 6 assists, and 2 rebounds in the Spurs first loss in San Antonio this season. The loss drops them to 10-6 on the young season and 9-1 at home.

3. Jameer Nelson-Orl: Nelson had 17 points, 9 assists, 2 boards, and a steal in his best game of the year to help the Magic beat LA.

4. Jose Calderon-Tor: Calderon continued his high assist rate last night by dishing 13 while scoring 7 points and adding 3 steals and 2 rebounds.

5. Ricky Rubio-Min: Rubio shot miserably and finished 1-11. His 1 shot was an important one though tying the game late and setting up K-Love for the game-winner. He finished with 6 boards, 6 assists, 3 steals, and a block. His numbers weren’t great, but he saved his night with that gutsy shot

5 letdown lines

1. Josh Smith-Atl: Smith has been tearing it up lately but his shot was woefully off last night as hi finished just 5-15 for 10 points with 6 boards, 4 assists, and 2 blocks.

2. Paul Pierce-Bos: Pierce had a tough night shooting when the whole Celtics offense just bogged down with no Rondo. He finished with nice peripheral stats (2 steals, 2 blocks, 6 assists, and 3 rebounds) but only shot 5-12 and finished with 12 points. The Celtics slid to 5-9 on the year.

3. Iman Shumpert-NY: Shumpert played 30 minutes but missed all 5 shots he took. He finished with 5 assists, 4 steals, 3 rebounds, and 4 points.

4. Darren Collison-Ind: Collison played 39 minute and hoisted 12 shots but could only make 1 and finished with only 6 points. He added 9 assists, 2 steals, and 4 rebounds; but his owners (real and fantasy) were expecting more.

5. Jamal Crawford-Por: Crawford shot just 3-10 from the field and finished with only 10 points, 1 rebound, and 2 turnovers.

5 to watch on the waiver wire

1. CJ Watson-Chi: Watson played excellent in the absence of Derrick Rose once again last night. He finished with 15 points, 7 assists, 2 stelas, and 3 rebounds in 31 minutes. He’s owned in just 2.6 percent of leagues. His long-term valus is limited by Rose’s return, but until then he’s a great option.

2. Jason Thompson-Sac: Thompson again started and played big minutes last night. In those 30 minutes he had 10 points, 10 boards, an assist, and a block. He’s owned in just .2% of leagues but can get you solid boards, blocks and shooting % for as long as he’s getting starters minutes.

3. Avery Bradley-Bos: As long as Rondo is out, Bradley will get the start at PG. His line last night was 10 points, 3 steals, an assist, and 4 rebounds. Bradley won’t go off with a ton of points, but should be useful for around 10 a night, good steals numbers, and decent rebounds and assists for as long as Rajon is sidelined with his injured wrist. Bradley is available in 99.9 percent of leagues.

4. George Hill-Ind: George Hill won the game for the Pacers by stealing the ball from Monta Ellis and hitting the game-winning layup at the other end. He’d had a good night even before that and finished with 14 points, an assist, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. He’s shown flashes and is only owned in 24 percent of leagues, so keep an eye on him since if the Pacers start using him more he could be great.

5. Drew Gooden-Mil: Gooden played well off the bench and got a double-double in just 22 minutes. He finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. He’s owned in less than 1 percent of leagues.