BBNBA: Guard play reigns supreme in Sacramento and OKC
What would the BBNBA be without its high-flying, scoring-crazy guards? It wouldn’t be nearly as interesting that’s for sure. On Wednesday night, the solid play from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and De’Aaron Fox led the Oklahoma City Thunder and Sacramento Kings, respectively, to wins at home.
Two nights removed from his buzzer-beater that sent Portland home, SGA delivered yet again. The Thunder were back at home playing Portland for the second time in three nights and Gilgeous-Alexander gave the Trail Blazers nightmares yet again. This time it was a crisp 27 points, six rebounds, and three assists that cemented OKC’s 101-98 win over the Trail Blazers.
SGA must be Portland’s king as he sunk two free throws down the stretch to give the Thunder their third win in a row. As clutch as the Canadian-born guard may be, his game-winners don’t all have to be buzzer-beaters. Wednesday night marked the fifth game of a seven-game homestead for OKC before they travel to Charlotte to take on the struggling Hornets on December 29.
The Thunder are 14-18 now and Gilgeous-Alexander realizes it’s a process getting better every night.
Superior Purple
The Battle of Purple, Battle of California, or whatever you want to call it, went one way last night. The Sacramento Kings took down the Los Angeles Lakers 134-120. With the win, Sacramento moves to 17-13 on the season and sits at sixth place in the Western Conference. The Kings have won three of their last four and are making the right strides as we reach Christmas.
De’Aaron Fox added 22 points in the win, which sees him averaging 23.1 PPG on the season so far. Fox’s biggest struggle last night… the refs. He was ejected after arguing over a foul call with the officials, which resulted in his second technical foul of the night.
“Worse things are said to refs and guys aren’t getting kicked out of games… If the game was closer, I would have been hot, but it is what it is,” said Fox after the game about his second technical.
The Kings look the part of a complete team that has no trouble scoring across their lineup. Four of the five starters finished with 20 points or more. Fellow BBNBA member, Malik Monk, had a quiet night with two points in 18 minutes of action.
The Southern California side continues to miss Anthony Davis, who is sidelined with a right foot injury. Wenyen Gabriel posted seven points in 15 minutes of play. The Lakers may need more from him as they look to fill a Davis-sized hole in their starting lineup.
BBNBA positives from Madison Square Garden
The 113-106 Toronto Raptors win over the Knicks wasn’t a positive BBNBA result, but there were still great takeaways from a mediocre night in New York. Julius Randle continued his recent tear, this time with 30 points and 13 rebounds. Randle is averaging a double-double over his last five games with 24.0 PPG and 12.8 RPG. Dual-threat Orange Julius, ladies and gentlemen.
Elsewhere for the Knicks, a man who has been relatively quiet this season came to play on Wednesday night.
Immanuel Quickley earned his first start of the year on Wednesday night and definitely made the most of it. Quickley dropped 20 points in the loss, but is beginning to show just what he’s capable of after the Knicks gambled on him in the first round of the 2020 NBA Draft. It may have been a night where Quentin Grimes was resting, but Quickley delivered. As long as he keeps contributing, head coach Tom Thibodeau will have a headache about whether to go with Quickley or Grimes in the starting five.
The Knicks look like a deep squad that can score from all over. As long as they don’t run into Pascal Siakam again, who thrashed them for 52 points on Wednesday, they should be dangerous going forward.
Other BBNBA notes
- The Los Angeles Clippers cruised to a win over the Charlotte Hornets, 126-105. PJ Washington scored 11 points while Nick Richards added seven for Charlotte. John Wall had a quiet night, only posting four points for LAC.
- In Philadelphia, the Detroit Pistons lost by 20 to the 76ers. Hamidou Diallo dropped seven points while Kevin Knox II added two points in the loss.
12/21/2022 Statistics
| Player | Score | PTS | FG (3PT) | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | MIN | +/- |
| Julius Randle (NYK) | 113-106 L vs. TOR | 30 | 13-17 (0-3) | 13 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 40 | +7 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) | 101-98 W vs. POR | 27 | 8-19 (0-3) | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 35 | -1 |
| De’Aaron Fox (SAC) | 134-120 W vs. LAL | 22 | 7-13 (0-3) | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 30 | -3 |
| Immanuel Quickley (NYK) | 113-106 L vs. TOR | 20 | 7-10 (6-9) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 34 | +2 |
| PJ Washington (CHA) | 126-105 L @ LAC | 11 | 2-7 (1-3) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 32 | -24 |
| Shaedon Sharpe (POR) | 101-98 L @ OKC | 8 | 3-5 (2-3) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | +1 |
| Nick Richards (CHA) | 126-105 L @ LAC | 7 | 3-3 (0-0) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | -2 |
| Wenyen Gabriel (LAL) | 134-120 L @ SAC | 7 | 3-4 (0-0) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 0 |
| Trey Lyles (SAC) | 134-120 W vs. LAL | 7 | 3-8 (1-5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | -4 |
| Hamidou Diallo (DET) | 113-93 L @ PHI | 7 | 2-4 (0-0) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | -14 |
| John Wall (LAC) | 126-105 W vs. CHA | 4 | 2-6 (0-3) | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 19 | +2 |
| Malik Monk (SAC) | 134-120 W vs. LAL | 2 | 1-3 (0-1) | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | +6 |
| Kevin Knox II (DET) | 113-93 L @ PHI | 2 | 1-5 (0-4) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 17 | -19 |
| Nerlens Noel (DET) | 113-93 L @ PHI | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Isaiah Jackson (IND) | 117-112 W @ BOS | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| TyTy Washington Jr. (HOU) | 116-110 L vs. ORL | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Anthony Davis (LAL) | 134-120 L @ SAC | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Brandon Boston Jr. (LAC) | 126-105 W vs. CHA | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Tyrese Maxey (PHI) | 113-93 W vs. DET | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) | 104-99 L vs. DAL | DNP | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Tonight in the NBA
8:00: Spurs (Johnson) @ Pelicans
9:00 (NBA TV): Wizards @ Jazz (Vanderbilt)
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