BBNBA: KAT, Wolves roll to third straight W
We’re officially a full month into the NBA season, and nothing makes sense. The Warriors are good again, the Lakers are bad again, and by some freak accident, the Wizards and Bulls are tied for second place in the East. But one thing that never changes in the league is a hearty presence of former ‘Cats, and Saturday night was no exception.
Let’s get to it.
Towns shows off in blowout win
Less than a week ago, the Minnesota Timberwolves had lost eight of nine, tied for the third-worst record in the West. It’s a familiar pattern that Wolves’ faithful has taken to calling “November.” Since then they’ve won three in a row, and the vibes are certainly on the uptick.
Will it stick that way? Probably not. But regardless, last night’s thorough 43-point dismantling of the Grizzlies was certainly a high point. Everybody got in on the fun, including our boy Karl-Anthony Towns, who got fancy with it on a breakaway in the third quarter:
It was pretty clear the big man was having fun, even before he busted out his best Rajon Rondo impression on this pass:
KAT finished the night with 21 points and five rebounds in just 24 minutes, as Minnesota’s starters all sat out the final quarter. One of those fellow starters was Jarred Vanderbilt, who has quietly carved out a really nice role with the Wolves; he put up a robust stat line in this one with five points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks.
Keep up the good work, fellas. I want to believe, I really do.
Maxey goes off again, Sixers fall in Portland
The Sixers have been a disappointment of late, but you wouldn’t know from watching Tyrese Maxey‘s stats — and that’s pretty much all I do, after all. The second-year hooper is averaging 25.7 points over his last six games and shooting 48% from three, all while Joel Embiid sits out for COVID safety protocols. Is this the birth of a star we’re watching?
Smart people seem to think so. There’s no denying he’s putting himself in elite company so far this year:
Unfortunately, last night’s 28-point, nine-assist effort wasn’t enough to get the job done on the road, as Philly fell 111-118 to Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers. Maxey’s 28 — 15 of which came in the fourth quarter — were second only to Lillard’s 39 for game-high.
He also did this, somehow:
The future is very, very bright for that young man.
Herro, Heat come up short in D.C.
One team that has lived up to expectations this year is the Miami Heat. They’ve been terrific so far, sitting at 11-6 overall behind an offense that centers around Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro. The Boy Wonder is averaging a career-high 21.6 PPG this fall and shooting nearly 40% from three as well.
On Saturday, he chipped in another solid effort with 20 points on 8-16 shooting (3-6 3pt), but like Maxey, it wasn’t quite enough. The Heat ended up losing 103-100 to the Washington Wizards, who have been bizarrely good this year with Bradley Beal and Kyle Kuzma running the show. Herro had it going, though:
The game was close the rest of the way, but the Wizards took the lead for good with just under two minutes to go. Still, a pair of missed free throws by Kuzma gave Miami one last desperate chance, down three with 0.6 on the clock… and Bam Adebayo‘s game-tying heave almost went in!
Alas, it goes in the books as just another miss. Adebayo finished with 15 points and six rebounds in the loss, which snapped a four-game winning streak for Miami. The Heat will be back in action against the Pistons on Tuesday.
News & Notes from across the NBA:
- The Knicks managed to hold off the lowly Rockets, 106-99, thanks to a near-triple-double by Julius Randle. A win is a win, I guess?
- Mychal Mulder had easily his best game since joining the Magic with 13 points in a loss to the Bucks. Attaboy Mike!
- Isaiah Jackson looked good in his first rehab game with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, producing four points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Hopefully we’ll be seeing his handsome face back in the league soon.
Today in the NBA:
3:30 – Mavericks (WCS) @ Clippers (Bledsoe, Boston)
6:00 – Lakers (Davis, Monk, Rondo) @ Pistons (Lyles, Diallo)
8:00 – Knicks (Randle, Quickley, Noel, Knox) @ Bulls
8:00 – Nuggets (Murray*) @ Suns (Booker)
8:30 – Raptors @ Warriors
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard