BBNBA: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander outduels Jamal Murray in Thunder win
With Nikola Jokic sitting out due to a hamstring injury, Jamal Murray took center stage for the Denver Nuggets when they battled Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday. It was a tie game in the final minute, but with 10 seconds left, SGA scored the would-be game-winner, outdueling the Blue Arrow and propelling his team to a 101-99 win.
Gilgeous-Alexander put up another monster outing with 34 points, five rebounds, five assists, and two blocks. SGA is guaranteed All-Star, assuming the latest batch of voting stays firm, and alongside Josh Giddy, the Thunder keep turning these big performances into victories as of late.
Jamal Murray led the Denver Nuggets in scoring (sans Jokic) with 26 points. He also dished out a team-high nine assists, but it wasn’t enough for his first-place team to get by the surging Thunder, who have won seven of their last nine games.
Jokic entered the game as questionable, but hamstring injuries can be as nagging as your significant other. If he misses an extended period of time, look for Murray to continue to step up as the Nuggets’ primary playmaker.
Julius Randle was a beast, but the Knicks fall to the Raptors
In Julius Randle‘s previous 20 games, he has failed to reach double digits in rebounding only twice, and in those contests, he had eight and nine. On Sunday, Randle ripped down a season-high 19 rebounds, five of which were offensive.
On top of his glass dominance, Randle scored 23 points, but the New York Knicks fell to the Toronto Raptors, 116-125. Randle was a new addition to the aforementioned All-Star vote dump, and if there is a just NBA deity out there, he should most certainly make the team.
The Knickerbockers could have used Immanuel Quickley‘s defense and sharpshooting off the bench on Sunday, but the former Kentucky sniper sat out with a sore left knee. The Knicks currently sit 7th in the East, despite dropping their last four games.
Tyler Herro leads the Heat to win over New Orleans
Jack Harlow’s boy, who plays in South Beach, had a big game on Sunday. Tyler Herro scored 26 points on 10-22 shooting in his team’s win over the Zion-less New Orleans Pelicans. He also chipped in eight rebounds and four assists on the evening.
Herro’s former Kentucky teammate, Bam Adebayo, had a solid game of his own. Bam had 18 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals as the Heat pick up a win and keep hovering in the 6th seed bubble in the East.
Unlike Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, neither Adebayo nor Herro appear to be in contention for an All-Star bid this season, despite setting career-bests in scoring. In Bam’s case, he is averaging 21.4 points per game, nearly six more than when he earned an All-Star bid three years ago.
Evidently, the NBA All-Star teams can’t be all Kentucky players.
Other BBNBA Notes
- In yet another classic Big Blue Nation battle, Wenyen Gabriel and the Los Angeles Lakers took on Shaedon Sharpe and the Portland Trail Blazers. Each player scored four points for their respective team in a reserve role, but Gabriel’s Lake Show bested Sharpe and Rip City, 121-112.
1/22/2023 Statistics
| Player | Score | PTS | FG (3PT) | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | MIN | +/- |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) | 101-99 W vs. DEN | 34 | 13-21 (1-2) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 37 | +5 |
| Tyler Herro (MIA) | 100-96 W vs. NOP | 26 | 10-22 (4-10) | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 36 | +8 |
| Jamal Murray (DEN) | 99-101 L vs. OKC | 26 | 11-23 (1-6) | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 38 | -4 |
| Julius Randle (NYK) | 116-125 L vs. TOR | 23 | 8-14 (2-6) | 19 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 37 | -4 |
| Bam Adebayo (MIA) | 100-96 W vs. NOP | 18 | 7-12 (0-0) | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 35 | -2 |
| Wenyen Gabriel (LAL) | 121-112 W vs. POR | 4 | 2-2 (0-0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12 | -2 |
| Shaedon Sharpe (POR) | 112-121 L vs. LAL | 4 | 1-6 (0-4) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | -4 |
| Immanuel Quickley (NYK) | 116-125 L vs. TOR | DNP – Knee | ||||||||
| Devin Booker (PHX) | 112-110 W vs. MEM | DNP – Hamstring | ||||||||
| Anthony Davis (LAL) | 121-112 W vs. POR | DNP – Foot | ||||||||
| Brandon Boston Jr. (LAC) | 112-98 W vs. DAL | DNP | ||||||||
| John Wall (LAC) | 112-98 W vs. DAL | DNP – Abdominal |
Tonight in the NBA
7:00: Bucks @ Pistons (Diallo, Knox, Noel)
7:00: Celtics @ Magic
8:00 (NBA TV): Hawks @ Bulls
8:00: Timberwolves (Towns: out) @ Rockets (T. Washington)
9:00: Hornets (PJ Washington, Richards) @ Jazz (Vanderbilt)
10:00: Spurs (Johnson) @ Trail Blazers (Sharpe)
10:30 (NBA TV): Grizzlies @ Kings (Fox, Monk, Lyles)
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