BBNBA: Kanter Drops 18 in Blazers Debut as NBA Returns From All-Star Break

[caption id="attachment_256735" align="aligncenter" width="600"] (Photo via Bruce Ely / Trail Blazers)[/caption] Good morning, folks. The NBA is back. Let's talk about it.

RECAP

[30-28] Kings - 123 @ [42-16] Warriors - 125

• Despite 18 points and eight assists from De'Aaron Fox, the Sacramento Kings couldn't hit a shot at the buzzer to send this game into overtime. Buddy Hield had a chance to tie it up, but his free-throw line jumper fell short just as time ran out. Fox also added three rebounds and three steals to his total while his teammate Willie Cauley-Stein contributed 10 points, five rebounds, and three steals.
• And who did WCS have the pleasure of guarding whenever they were in the game simultaneously? A revitalized DeMarcus Cousins. Boogie dropped 17 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes after having the week off, but he was getting completely tapped out of energy way too quickly. A lot of that had to do with the Kings and Warriors wasting zero time pushing the ball down the floor and chucking up jumpers before the shot clock could hit 20, forcing the former Kentucky center to sprint along with them. After recovering from an Achilles injury, Thursday night proved that Cousins has a ton of conditioning to do if he wants to be ready to compete come playoff time. But in the halfcourt, he was a tank.

Other notes

• In Cleveland, Devin Booker scored a BBNBA high 30 points on 10-20 shooting to go along with seven assists (and nine turnovers) as his Phoenix Suns fell on the road to the Cavaliers in a battle of "who wants to lose this game more" (the answer was apparently the Suns). Brandon Knight recorded nine points, three rebounds, and four assists for the Cavs.

• Enes Kanter played his first game for the Portland Trail Blazers since he was waived by the New York Knicks before the All-Star break. In his debut, Kanter shined, shooting an efficient 8-9 from the field for 18 points while also pulling in nine rebounds in only 19 minutes. The Blazers beat the Nets in Brooklyn, 113-99.

• Check out the full stat sheet below.

ICYMI

• Terrence Jones is signing a 10-day contract to return to the Houston Rockets.

STATISTICS

[table id=289 /]

TONIGHT IN THE NBA

7:00: Wizards (Wall-out) @ Hornets (Kidd-Gilchrist, Monk) 7:00: Pelicans (Davis, Miller, Randle) @ Pacers 7:00: Bulls @ Magic (Briscoe) 7:00 (ESPN): Spurs @ Raptors (Meeks) 7:30: Pistons @ Hawks (Poythress) 7:30: Timberwolves (Towns) @ Knicks (Kanter) 8:00: Clippers (Gilgeous-Alexander) @ Grizzlies 8:30: Nuggets (Lyles, Murray, Vanderbilt) @ Mavericks 9:30 (ESPN): Jazz @ Thunder (Diallo, Noel, Patterson)