BBNBA: No Harden just yet, but Nets still beat Kentucky Knicks

[caption id="attachment_333709" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)[/caption] Good morning, folks. A new Big 3 era has arrived in Brooklyn. Let's talk BBNBA.

RECAP

Kentucky Knicks fall to depleted Nets

Even with half the roster unavailable due to the processing of the James Harden trade, the Brooklyn Nets overcome a short bench to beat the New York Kentucky Knicks by a final score of 116-109. The news of a blockbuster Harden-to-Brooklyn trade broke on Wednesday afternoon, as the Nets sent back four first-round draft picks and four pick swaps while losing Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, and Taurean Prince in the process. In reality, Houston might be the biggest winner of the trade--at least long term--considering they somehow managed to secure Victor Oladipo from the Pacers, who will now team up with John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins down in Houston. The Nets were essentially down to Kevin Durant, Joe Harris, and a slew of role players against the Knicks, but Kevin Durant is still Kevin Durant. He poured in 26 points for Brooklyn, who has been without its tertiary star in Kyrie Irving for a while now as he's been away from the team due to personal reasons (this is going to be one giant TV drama and I am all the way here for it). Julius Randle led the way for the Knicks and the BBNBA, scoring 30 points in addition to seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals on a 13-25 shooting mark. It was the fourth consecutive loss for the Knicks and just the first time since that losing streak began that they've hit the 90-point threshold. Immanuel Quickley was impressive again for New York, finishing with 19 points on 7-15 shooting to go along with two rebounds and three dimes. Kevin Knox finished in double-figures for the second consecutive outing, the first time he's done so all season. The former 'Cat dropped 13 points and two rebounds on an efficient 5-6 shooting clip in 24 minutes. Nerlens Noel added two points and three rebounds in 13 minutes for New York. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN1FD5Pgjkg

AD and Lakers cruise past SGA and OKC

The Los Angeles Lakers are literally toying with their opponents on a daily basis. Nothing changed on Wednesday night as the Lakers trounced the Oklahoma City Thunder by a final count of 128-99. Anthony Davis played sparingly, capping out at 24 minutes on the night as L.A. led by as many as 31 points. OKC never led for a single second. The one-time Wildcat still managed 18 points and seven rebounds for the Lake Show, who have now gotten off to a perfect 7-0 record on the road to start the season--although to be fair, road environments are slightly different now than in years past. They've won four straight overall and post a 10-3 record on the young season, tops in the entire league. LeBron James finished with 26 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. On the OKC sideline, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Hamidou Diallo continue to shine no matter how poorly the Thunder perform. SGA went for 17 points and two rebounds while Diallo's streak of double-digit outings came to an end at three after he contributed just nine points and five boards against the Lakers. All I'm going to say is this: LeBron James made one shot without watching it go in the basket and the NBA immediately had to go out and form a superteam up in Brooklyn. Coincidence? Hmm.... https://twitter.com/LakeShowHoopsPH/status/1349497515305889792 https://twitter.com/BleacherReport/status/1349171554362425344

P.J.'s double-double against Dallas

P.J. Washington recorded his second double-double of the year against the Dallas Mavericks, but it came in a losing effort, 104-93. The second-year pro finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Charlotte Hornets to go along with his six assists in 32 minutes, however, the Mavs were up 16 after the first quarter and never gave up the lead. Luka Doncic exploded for 34 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists while Kristaps Porzingis made his season debut for Dallas, adding 16 points in limited minutes. Dallas has now won four in a row after a rocky 2-4 start. Willie Cauley-Stein remained in the starting lineup as the primary center alongside Porzingis, going for four points, 14 rebounds, and two assists in nearly 30 minutes. Malik Monk saw a little over 60 seconds of garbage time down the stretch for Charlotte while Nick Richards was a DNP-Coach's Decision.

Other notes from across the BBNBA

De'Aaron Fox's 29 points, six rebounds, and six assists for the Sacramento Kings weren't enough to take down the Portland Trail Blazers, who squeaked out a 132-126 victory to close out Wednesday night. The Kings led by as many as 20 points in the second quarter but blew the lead away ahead of halftime before Damian Lillard (who finished with a season-high 40 points) took over down the stretch. Fox was efficient all night, shooting 9-18 from the floor and 5-8 from deep, but the Kings have now lost six of its previous eight outings. Enes Kanter contributed four points and five rebounds for the Blazers. Karl-Anthony Towns posted 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Minnesota Timberwolves, but a 14-0 run by the Memphis Grizzlies to open the fourth quarter with KAT on the bench eventually earned them the 118-107 win. It was just the second game that Towns has played in since returning from a wrist injury that sidelined him for six games. Jarred Vanderbilt added two points and four rebounds in 14 minutes for the Wolves. The matchup between Devin Booker's Phoenix Suns and Rajon Rondo's Atlanta Hawks was postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests and subsequent contact tracing. Check out the full stat sheet below.

STATISTICS

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TONIGHT IN THE NBA

7:00: Heat (Adebayo-out, Herro) @ 76ers (Maxey) 7:30: Hornets (Monk, Richards, Washington) @ Raptors 7:30 (TNT): Rockets (Cousins, Wall-out) @ Spurs (Johnson, Lyles) 10:00 (TNT): Warriors (Mulder) @ Nuggets (Murray) 10:00: Pacers @ Trail Blazers (Kanter)