BBNBA: Karl-Anthony Towns goes for 29 in blowout win over Lakers
The fortunate thing about having so many former Kentucky kids being in the association is that more often than not, someone is going to go off that night. As usual, we saw some of our former ‘Cats have impressive performances out on the court on Friday night, led by Karl-Anthony Towns against the Lakers. Let’s dive in.
Karl-Anthony Towns leads Timberwolves in impressive victory
Things haven’t been very simple during KAT’s years in Minnesota. From constant turmoil within the organization to Jimmy Butler bullying the Wolves with a bunch of team managers in practice. The Minnesota Timberwolves have been a walking disaster for decades now, sans the one year they didn’t decide to hate Tom Thibodeau.
After clinching the 107-83 victory in LA last night, the Timberwolves moved to 4-7 on the season. It’s hard to tell what the real issues up north really are. In the past it was due to a lack of talent. Then they went and got good players and a good coach and somehow made the playoffs. Thinking that just a sniff at the postseason was enough to satisfy their fanbase and having uncertainty with success, they went straight back into rebuilding. Now, D’Angelo Russell and Anthony Edwards are legit ballers, It’s time to fully commit to finding a way to win around Towns before he decides to force a trade elsewhere.
Towns dropped in 29 points on 11-17 shooting from the floor and 4-8 from deep. He had 18 of those in the third quarter. Jarred Vanderbilt also got the starting nod last night for the Wolves, going for four points and six rebounds in 18 minutes of action.
Anthony Davis did his best to help carry a Lebron-less Lakers team last night. When he’s not trying to fight with Russell Westbrook to see who can take the most shots, Davis put on an efficient stat line despite the loss. AD dropped 22 points and eight rebounds on a 7-13 clip from the floor last night in LA.
We also got a Rajon Rondo sighting after Frank Vogel decided to bench him for a week or two. Rondo almost dished out a triple-double in 24 minutes of action. The point guard had seven points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Malik Monk cooled off a little after being blazing hot the past week. Monk played 29 minutes, but was 3-11 from the floor and only ended up with seven points for the now 7-6 Lakers.
De’Aaron Fox and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander battle it out in Oklahoma City
I must say, it seems like a bad idea to try and enter the Dorture Chamber on the last possession of the game. I know it was against our baby boy De’Aaron, but Lu Dort stealing the ball with five seconds left and then going the length of the court for the game winner was pure entertainment. Defense still wins championships?
De’Aaron was, and still is, in his early season shooting woes as the team starts to falter, sitting at 5-8 on the year now. Fox only had 16 points and five assists on the night and was abysmal from the field; 5-14 from the floor, 2-7 from three for De’Aaron in the 105-103 loss.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the other hand didn’t particularly shoot well either, but that doesn’t matter since he got the win. He still lead the Thunder with 22 points even though it came on inefficient numbers: 9-24 from the floor and 2-8 from deep. Regardless though, Shai is still a walking highlight and a leader for a team with more draft picks than the U.S. Military in the ’40s.
Julius Randle and Kentucky Knicks fall flat against Hornets
Things have been falling pretty fast for New York ever since they got off to the best start in the league. Sitting at 7-6 now after a 104-96 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Julius Randle and New York better figure out what is going wrong.
The simple answer is that their starting unit is playing like one of the worst in the league. Every single starter this year is at a significant loss when it comes to their plus-minus numbers. They’ve shown flashes of brilliance and cohesion, but often find themselves just getting run up on by the other team’s offense. On the other hand, New York far and away has the best bench squad in the NBA. Led by Derrick Rose and Immanuel Quickley, the Knicks bench is what is keeping this team in games and winning them. So far this year they’ve won in spite of their starting lineup, not because of it.
Following the theme of this year, Randle struggled in 33 minutes against the Hornets. Randle ended up with 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists on 4-15 shooting. Quickley provided another spark from the bench. He only had nine points on the night, but that came on a 3-7 clip from deep.
Tom Thibodeau is going to figure out the defensive issues and correct them, we know that. Julius Randle and the rest of the starters are going to have to become more consistent though if they want a chance to reach the potential that everybody at the Mecca knows they can.
Statistics
| Player | Result | Points | FG (3PA) | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | TOs | Mins | +/- |
| Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) | 107-83 W @ LAL | 29 | 11-17 (4-8) | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 19 |
| Anthony Davis (LAL) | 107-83 L vs. MIN | 22 | 7-13 (0-1) | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 31 | -16 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) | 105-103 W vs. SAC | 22 | 9-24 (2-8) | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 35 | -8 |
| Devin Booker (PHX) | 119-94 W @ MEM | 17 | 6-12 (0-2) | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 26 | 31 |
| Keldon Johnson (SAS) | 123-109 L vs. DAL | 15 | 5-14 (3-6) | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 29 | -11 |
| De’Aaron Fox (SAC) | 105-103 L @ OKC | 16 | 5-14 (2-7) | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 35 | 2 |
| Julius Randle (NYK) | 104-96 L @ CHA | 10 | 4-15 (1-5) | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 33 | -18 |
| Immanuel Quickley (NYK) | 104-96 L @ CHA | 9 | 3-8 (3-7) | 9 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 3 |
| Malik Monk (LAL) | 107-83 L vs. MIN | 7 | 3-11 (1-7) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 29 | -18 |
| Rajon Rondo (LAL) | 107-83 L vs. MIN | 7 | 3-8 (1-4) | 8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 17 |
| Nick Richards (CHA) | 104-96 W vs. NYK | 5 | 2-3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | -8 |
| Trey Lyles (DET) | 98-78 L @ CLE | 2 | 1-4 (0-2) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 4 |
| Willie Cauley-Stein (DAL) | 123-109 W @ SAS | 0 | 0-0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 16 |
| Kevin Knox (NYK) | 104-96 L @ CHA | DNP – CD | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Nerlens Noel (NYK) | 104-96 L @ CHA | DNP – Knee | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| P.J. Washington (CHA) | 104-96 W vs. NYK | DNP – Elbow | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Hamidou Diallo (DET) | 98-78 L @ CLE | DNP – CD | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Enes Kanter (BOS) | 122-133 W (OT) vs. MIL | DNP – CD | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Today in the NBA
5:00 (NBA TV): Heat (Adebayo, Herro) @ Jazz
7:00: 76ers (Maxey) @ Pacers (Jackson)
7:00: Grizzlies @ Pelicans
7:00: Wizards @ Magic (Mulder)
7:30: Pistons (Lyles, Diallo) @ Raptors
8:00 (NBA TV): Celtics (Kanter) @ Cavaliers
10:30: Timberwolves (Towns, Vanderbilt) @ Clippers (Bledsoe)
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