BBNBA: Devin Booker, Suns surge past Nets
There are good teams, there are great teams, and there are the Phoenix Suns. That’s not a sentence I would have predicted in 2019, but here we are. Led by Devin Booker’s squad, the BBNBA had a nice night for itself on Tuesday — now, let’s talk about it.
Booker shoots Suns to 11th straight win
Watching last night’s TNT feature matchup between Devin Booker‘s Suns and the star-powered Brooklyn Nets, it hit me just how bizarre today’s NBA really is. Not too long ago, the thought of one team featuring Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Blake Griffin would have seemed truly preposterous. Now that very team is taking lumps left and right, including a 121-111 loss to Phoenix last night that wasn’t anything resembling an upset.
The Suns (41-9) are the best team in the NBA this year, plain and simple. It’s a travesty that they didn’t earn any All-Star starters, but we’re not getting into that here. Tuesday’s win marked 11 straight for the reigning Western Conference champions, who already have a W18 to their name this season.
Booker was phenomenal in this one, racking up 35 points and six rebounds in 41 minutes. He’s averaging 33.6 PPG over his last five games, and has seven 30-point efforts since January 1. Again, this man is not an All-Star starter… but I’m not bitter about it or anything.
Book had a bit of fun with the TNT crew after the game, ribbing Dwyane Wade for doubting him:
I’m telling you, these games are must-see TV for Shaq’s wardrobe choices alone. If you missed this one, the Suns are back on TNT Thursday, putting their streak to the test in Atlanta.
Adebayo, Herro total 50 in loss
After peaking at first place in the East with a 32-17 record a few days ago, the Miami Heat have lost some steam. They’ve lost three straight to fall into third, including two losses to the Raptors, with the latest coming last night.
Miami led for much of Tuesday’s contest, building a 12-point advantage at the half. But Gary Trent Jr.’s hot shooting down the stretch gave Toronto the boost they needed, as they outscored the Heat by seven in the final quarter to pull out a narrow 110-106 win.
Still, they weren’t able to stop Bam Adebayo from having his best game of the year. The big man dropped a season-high 32 points on 13-17 shots, along with 11 rebounds and two steals. A lot of them looked like this:
He was feeling so good, he even decided to expand his range. It didn’t work out so well, but you gotta respect the shooter’s mentality:
Speaking of shooters, Tyler Herro had another excellent game with 18 points off the bench. The recent birthday boy has rebounded nicely after his bout with the COVID-19 protocols, averaging 15 per game since returning.
Miami is now two games into a six-game, two-week road trip that continues in San Antonio on Thursday, where they’ll try to get back to their winning ways.
Towns out-duels Jokic, Wolves snap Nuggets win streak
While we’re, ahem, *not* talking about All-Star snubs, the league did Karl-Anthony Towns dirty. Andrew Wiggins? Really? Anyhow, KAT put up yet another stellar performance in Tuesday’s decisive 130-115 win over the Nuggets. He put the moves on MVP front-runner Nikola Jokic all night:
Meanwhile, Jarred Vanderbilt looked motivated to put away his former team, which entered the night on a five-game win streak. Vando had his second-highest scoring night of the year with 18 in the victory:
It was a big win for the Wolves, which is jockeying with Denver for sixth place out West. Minny also moved back over .500 (26-25) with eight games left before the All-Star break.
News & Notes:
- After a brilliant game on Monday, Tyrese Maxey was officially named to the NBA’s Rising Stars Challenge roster. Go ‘Rese!
- ICYMI, Alex Weber broke down rookie Isaiah Jackson‘s opportunity to make an impact down the stretch for the depleted Pacers.
- Last night’s Warriors-Spurs duel was a showcase for Keldon Johnson, who scored 21 points. We also got an up close & personal look at his contact lens.
Here are the full stats from Tuesday night:
| Player | Result | Points | FG(3P) | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | Turnovers | Minutes | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devin Booker (PHX) | 114-109 W @ PHI | 35 | 11-23 (3-8) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 37 | +13 |
| De’Aaron Fox (SAC) | 134-114 L vs. MIN | 29 | 11-22 (4-6) | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 35 | -17 |
| Julius Randle (NYK) | 132-115 L @ DEN | 28 | 11-22 (3-8) | 10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 34 | -8 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) | 134-114 W @ SAC | 25 | 10-14 (2-3) | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 28 | +13 |
| Anthony Davis (LAL) | 131-116 L vs. MIL | 22 | 8-10 (0-0) | 9 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 37 | -8 |
| Malik Monk (LAL) | 131-116 L vs. MIL | 20 | 7-16 (3-10) | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 32 | -6 |
| Hamidou Diallo (DET) | 116-86 L @ DAL | 18 | 6-14 (1-4) | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 26 | -3 |
| Tyrese Maxey (PHI) | 114-109 L vs. PHX | 14 | 5-16 (0-4) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 34 | -1 |
| Trey Lyles (DET) | 116-86 L @ DAL | 12 | 5-8 (0-2) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 | -19 |
| Jarred Vanderbilt (MIN) | 134-114 W @ SAC | 9 | 4-7 (0-0) | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 21 | -1 |
| Enes Freedom (BOS) | 126-91 W @ BKN | 7 | 3-6 (1-1) | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | +9 |
| Immanuel Quickley (NYK) | 132-115 L @ DEN | 5 | 2-9 (0-5) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | -11 |
| Brandon Boston Jr. (LAC) | 135-109 L @ MEM | 4 | 2-6 (0-2) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | +4 |
| Kevin Knox (ATL) | 133-112 W vs. IND | 2 | 1-3 (0-1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | -5 |
| Nerlens Noel (NYK) | 132-115 L @ DEN | DNP – Knee | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jamal Murray (DEN) | 132-115 W vs. NYK | DNP – ACL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Isaiah Jackson (IND) | 133-112 L @ ATL | DNP – Ankle | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Eric Bledsoe (POR) | 113-95 L vs. ORL | DNP – Achilles | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| John Wall (HOU) | 110-97 L @ NOP | DNP – Personal | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Today in the NBA:
7:00 – Magic @ Pacers (Jackson)
7:00 – Wizards @ Sixers (Maxey)
7:30 – Hornets (Washington, Richards) @ Celtics (Freedom)
7:30 (ESPN) – Grizzlies @ Knicks (Randle, Quickley, Noel)
8:00 – Cavs (Rondo) @ Rockets (Wall*)
8:30 – Thunder (SGA, Sarr) @ Mavericks
10:00 – Nuggets (Cousins, Murray*) @ Jazz
10:00 – Nets @ Kings (Fox)
10:30 – Trail Blazers @ Lakers (Davis, Monk)
* – inactive
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