BBNBA: Jamal Murray nails game winner; Keldon Johnson drops 32 in win
Thursday night wasn’t packed with NBA games, but it was packed with entertainment.
With nearly a third of the NBA season in the rearview mirror, former Kentucky players continue to impress. Despite only three NBA contests in action on Thursday night, eight former Wildcats played. More specifically, they performed. Let’s break down the action.
Bam Adebayo explodes in Heat’s win over the Clippers
If you’re a fair-weathered Kentucky fan wondering if things turned out okay for that Bam Adebayo guy, let us inform you: they did. Adebayo led all scorers in the Miami Heat’s 115-110 win with 31 points on impressive 14-21 shooting from the field. Moreover, he added 10 rebounds and four assists in the effort.
Adebayo has scored 30 or more points four times this season through just 26 games. For reference, the 6-foot-10 big only recorded one 30-point game through 50 contests last season. Of course, his highlight performance was full of highlight plays.
Adebayo wasn’t the only former ‘Cat on the Heat to contribute, though. Tyler Herro added 19 points and nine rebounds to the winning effort while shooting 4-8 (50%) from beyond the arc. The hot hand is nothing new for Herro, who already has the ninth-most made 3-pointers in franchise history.
Although the Clippers were on the losing side of this one, a couple of ‘Cats still made winning plays. Particularly, John Wall put up a near-double-double with nine points and eight assists. Brandon Boston Jr. squeaked into the box score, as well. The 6-foot-6 combo guard scored seven points in 14 minutes.
Miami desperately needed a win after losing two straight. The victory increases their record to a subpar 12-14.
Keldon Johnson leads BBNBA in scoring
The San Antonio Spurs’ 118-109 victory over the Houston Rockets was the least exciting game of the night. Nonetheless, it had the most thrilling individual performance. In the win, Keldon Johnson dropped 32 points and seven rebounds while shooting 14-21 from the field.
Johnson’s elite night put him in elite company. The performance was his fifth time recording 30 points and five rebounds in a contest. The only other player to do that in franchise history? Tim Duncan; not bad for a kid who narrowly escaped falling into the second round of the NBA Draft.
The ‘Cat wearing the opposing uniform didn’t have as much to brag about, although he did record his first career NBA points. TyTy Washington Jr. finished with two points in a mere five minutes played. However, Washington did have an impressive +/- of +11 while in the game. Despite the positive statistic, Washington is averaging just 4.5 minutes per game in his rookie season while spending most of his time in the G League.
Jamal Murray hasn’t lost a step
For my money, Jamal Murray is the most interesting BBNBA storyline this year, and last night his story reached a climax. In the Denver Nuggets’ 121-120 triumph over the Portland Trailblazers, Murray put up 21 points, eight assists and five rebounds.
Most importantly though, Murray hit the game-winning shot.
With 6.1 seconds left in the game and down 120-118, Murray got the ball. A short five 5.2 seconds later, a smooth Murray 3-ball was sinking through the net. After the game, he revealed the play wasn’t even for him.
“It was a play for Jokic to get space and let him work. He fumbled it a little & he told me to come get it. I turned and looked at the clock, saw that I didn’t have to rush and I just went into my move.”
His “move” was a checkmate and Shaedon Sharpe was the one left scratching his head. In 14 minutes on the hardwood, Sharpe recorded seven points and three rebounds. The highly-touted rookie struggled to contribute, finishing with a +/- of -16.
12/8/22 statistics
| Player | Score | PTS | FG (3PT) | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | +/- | MIN |
| Keldon Johnson (SAS) | 118-109 W vs. HOU | 32 | 14-21 (3-6) | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 35 |
| Bam Adebayo (MIA) | 115-110 W vs. LAC | 31 | 14-21 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 36 |
| Jamal Murray (DEN) | 121-120 W @ POR | 21 | 8-21 (3-10) | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 35 |
| Tyler Herro (MIA) | 115-110 W vs. LAC | 19 | 6-17 (4-8) | 9 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 39 |
| John Wall (LAC) | 115-110 L @ MIA | 9 | 2-8 (2-3) | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 20 |
| Brandon Boston Jr. (LAC) | 115-110 L @ MIA | 7 | 2-5 (0-1) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6 | 14 |
| Shadeon Sharpe (POR) | 121-120 L vs. DEN | 7 | 3-8 (1-4) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -16 | 14 |
| TyTy Washington Jr. (HOU) | 118-109 L @ SA | 2 | 1-2 (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 5 |
Tonight in the NBA
7:00: Raptors @ Magic
7:00: Knicks (Randle, Quickley) @ Hornets (PJ Washington, Richards)
7:00: Wizards @ Pacers (Jackson)
7:30: Hawks @ Nets
7:30: Kings (Fox, Monk) @ Cavaliers
7:30 (ESPN): Lakers (Davis, Gabriel: Out) @ 76ers (Maxey)
8:00: Pistons (Diallo, Knox, Noel) @ Grizzlies
8:30: Suns (Booker) @ Pelicans
9:00: Timberwolves (Towns) @ Jazz (Vanderbilt)
10:00 (ESPN): Bucks @ Mavericks
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