Good afternoon, folks. Without a miserable UK basketball game to watch yesterday, I hope you tuned in to watch some of our former ‘Cats take the floor. Whether you did or didn’t, we’ll have you covered.

RECAP

Anthony Davis shines in prime time

After missing a few games with a right knee contusion, Davis returned for a big matchup against the Boston Celtics. Last night, it was Davis who carried the load for the Lakers, scoring 27 of the team’s total of 96; and he pulled down 14 rebounds.

Facing a Celtics team that likes to occasionally play Jayson Tatum at center — and has no one over 6-foot-10 to play the position — they were woefully undermanned against a dominant paint force like AD.

Check out the clips from his big night in the TD Garden:

The 2016-17 team showed out

The highest-scoring Wildcat on Saturday night was De’Aaron Fox, who netted 30 points on 12-26 shooting as he single-handedly tried to will his tumultuous Kings roster to a win against the struggling Heat — and he couldn’t quite pull it off. On a team full of unhappy role players and dysfunctional off-the-court issues, Fox has been the only consistent performer, someone who can reliably be counted on to lead the team night in and night on. Hopefully, things improve for Fox and Sacramento at some point.

Across the court from Fox, Bam Adebayo had another impressive performance for Miami in Jimmy Butler’s return. The All-Star wing, returning after a lengthy absence, matched Fox’s 30 while adding seven rebounds and eight assists. His running mate at center, Mr. Adebayo, notched 18 points on 7-11 shooting and grabbed 13 boards, helping eke out a Heat victory.

Perhaps the most surprising game of the night featured the forgotten member of the ’17 super-trio. Malik Monk’s Charlotte Hornets, led by LaMelo Ball’s career-night, defeated the Milwaukee Bucks. Monk far surpassed his previous season-high of 10, going for 18 points on 7-16 shooting. He hasn’t played consistent minutes all year but hopefully, after an explosion like this, off the bench against the Bucks, he can secure a bigger role going forward.

OTHER NOTES

John Wall outduels Eric Bledsoe in a battle of the 2010 point guards. John Wall’s Houston Rockets sailed to victory Saturday night against Bledsoe and his discombobulated Pelicans. Since losing James Harden, this Rockets club has played the best defense in the NBA, and now their record since trading the former MVP is 6-3. Meanwhile, Bledsoe and the Pelicans dropped to 7-11 and are one of the worst defenses in the NBA. Wall and Bledsoe each scored 15 points, with Wall dishing nine assists to Bledsoe’s five.

Keldon Johnson gets 12 & five. It’s become an average boxscore for him at this point. When people think of the guys off the 2018-19 team that are now in the NBA, it’s probably P.J. Washington, Tyler Herro or Immanuel Quickley whose names are brought up. But Keldon Johnson is seeing very similar success. Like Tyler and P.J., Johnson has established himself as a consistent double-digit scorer and everyday starter for a young, up-and-coming Spurs team, even though you rarely hear his name mentioned. His potential is really interesting.

Big night for Willie! Even though his Mavs lost yet again, and their season has been entirely disappointing to date, Willie Cauley-Stein is finally finding stability after being shopped all around the West for the past few seasons. Last night, he went 7-8 from the field, scoring 14 points and adding nine rebounds. All he needs to be is a big, careful-handed roll target for Luka Doncic, and he’s figured out how to fill that role.

Check out the full stat sheet below:

STATISTICS

[table id=665 /]

TODAY IN THE NBA

1:00: Clippers (Patterson) @ Knicks (Knox, Noel, Randle, Quickley)

3:30: Jazz @ Nuggets (Murray)

7:00: 76ers (Maxey) @ Pacers

7:00: Magic @ Raptors

7:00: Nets @ Wizards

8:00: Cavaliers @ Timberwolves (Hagans, Towns-out, Vanderbilt)