BBNBA: AD's 27 Pushes Lakers to 7th Straight Win

[caption id="attachment_276261" align="aligncenter" width="600"] (Scott Cunningham | Getty Images)[/caption] Good afternoon, folks. If the Knicks ever win three straight games we should cancel the season. Let's talk NBA.

RECAP

Lakers win 7th straight game

Anthony Davis refuses to relent, even against subpar competition. Against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night, AD posted a BBNBA-high of 27 points in addition to 13 rebounds, three assists, one steal, and two blocks while shooting 11-23 from the field. He was an unusual 0-6 from 3, but was dominating inside. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbFPRA24Uuc At one point near the end of the game, Davis was seen grabbing at his right ankle, although he would stay in and finish the game. Rajon Rondo stuffed the stat sheet, recording 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals on 4-10 shooting in 26 minutes.

Charlotte struggles without P.J.

In the Charlotte Hornets' first game without rookie P.J. Washington, who is out for two weeks with a fractured finger, they were trounced by the Indiana Pacers, 107-85, in Indy. The Hornets failed to top 25 points in any of the four quarters and shot just 30.6 percent from the field for the entire game while knocking down just five of its 32 shots from beyond the arc. Malik Monk did manage 14 points, five rebounds, and three assists, but on just 5-13 shooting. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was in the Hornets rotation for the fifth consecutive game, recording one point and three rebounds on 1-6 shooting in 17 minutes.

Knicks give Nuggets a scare

If I told you that the New York Knicks (yes, the very ones) were only a single quarter of professional basketball away from a three-game winning streak, would you believe me? Yeah, me neither. The Knicks did have a shot to break down the offensively challenged Denver Nuggets, but Nikola Jokic poured in 11 of his 25 points in the final period to seal the deal. New York actually stormed back from a double-digit deficit to take a 91-89 lead with under 10 minutes left in the game, but that was as close as it would get. Julius Randle dropped 20 points and nine rebounds on 8-19 shooting (and just 1-6 from 3) while Kevin Knox played 22 minutes, registering 10 points and four rebounds on 5-8 shooting from the field. After putting up just 14 points on 5-16 shooting on Sunday, Jamal Murray's bad stretch of games in December continues. Through eight games this month, the former Kentucky guard is averaging just 13.4 points per game while shooting 40.8 percent from the field and an abysmal 28.1 percent from deep.

Other notes

Willie Cauley-Stein posted 14 points, five rebounds, two assists, and a season-high six steals in the Golden State Warriors blowout loss to the Sacramento Kings, 100-79. WCS shot 7-9 from the field against his former team. Check out the full stat sheet below.

STATISTICS

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TONIGHT IN THE NBA

7:00: Wizards (Wall-out) @ Pistons 7:30: Cavaliers (Knight) @ Raptors 8:00: Spurs (Lyles) @ Rockets 8:00: Heat (Adebayo, Herro) @ Grizzlies 8:00 (NBATV): Mavericks @ Bucks (Bledsoe-out) 8:00: Bulls @ Thunder (Diallo-out, Gilgeous-Alexander, Noel) 9:00: Trail Blazers (Labissiere) @ Suns (Booker)