BBNBA: Tyrese Maxey boosts 76ers over Knicks; Tyler Herro pops off
Well well well, quite a loaded Wednesday of terrific performances from our ‘Cats in the NBA. Sixers fans couldn’t be happier and Knicks fans are ready to storm MSG. Also: Tyler Herro and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander came thru with big performances. Let’s go!
Sixers take down Knicks behind huge second half from Maxey
With John Calipari in attendance for the nationally televised Knicks @ 76ers game, Kentucky’s trio of players shined in the first quarter:
Julius Randle and the Knicks held the early advantage and led for the entire first half. But as Knicks fans have come to learn, no lead is safe with this New York group. Down seven at the break, Philly immediately started their comeback out of the second half gate.
In the second half of the quarter, Tyrese Maxey took over after being told to “wake up” by James Harden at halftime. Boy did he. Maxey hit a pair of free throws and nailed a three to cut the lead to one at 70-69. The Sixers turned the one-point deficit into a seven-point lead a few minutes later when Maxey went on an other spurt. A step-back three pushed the lead to 10 for the first time. And in the fourth quarter, another step-back three gave Philly its largest lead once again at 13. Then two Maxey free throws pushed it to 15.
Unsurprisingly, New York failed to comeback despite decent performances from Randle and Quickley.
Maxey totaled 25 in the win, amassing 21 points following Harden’s orders to wake up. I originally assumed Harden would slice a big chunk out of Maxey’s piece of the pie when he joined Philly. No, I was dead wrong. Instead, Maxey is even more productive next to The Beard. In three games since suiting up next to Harden, Maxey is averaging 24.7 points while shooting exactly 64.3% from the field and from three.
How can a Maxey fan (and Philly fans) not be totally giddy about the start of the new Big Three? I highly suggest you all check out every possible 76ers game you can the rest of the way. These guys are fun.
Check out Maxey “making it rain” last night.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ends DeMarcus’ Cousins undefeated record
The Denver Nuggets acquired a superpower a few weeks ago. DeMarcus Cousins signed on as Nikola Jokic’s backup and Denver started out 10-0 with Boogie in uniform. But Shai Gilegous-Alexander decided 11 in a row was not to be accomplished. SGA ascended to the mile-high city with his band of misfit Europeans, dropped 29 points, came away with a 12-point win and absconded back to Oklahoma.
The Thunder are tricky. On paper, it’s Gilgeous-Alexander and a bunch of lanky draft picks that aren’t of legal drinking age. But they have a way of picking teams off on the road. Despite owning the second-worst record in the West, OKC is 5-7 on the road since the turn of the year. The encouraging stats end there. Because at home, the Thunder are just 1-7 since the start of the calendar year.
As for DeMarcus Cousins, his undefeated streak is over, but after bouncing around teams for the last four years, he finally has a role and a home in Denver. Considering his talents, it’s a perfect fit for him backing up Jokic. Before darting to Charlotte, Mason Plume served as Jokic’s backup — and more or less, a cheap version of the Joker. A big, plodding body whose key to playing time was his ability to pass out of the post.
Cousins’ athleticism has almost completely deteriorated but he’s always been a good passer as a big. So his job is the same as Plumlee’s: a big body that gets in the way on defense and crashes the glass, and gives the second unit some of the passing ability Jokic provides on a team that’s built around his playmaking in the paint. I really like this spot for Boogie.
Bucks comeback downs Heat despite 30 from Herro
The game of the night occurred in Milwaukee as two Eastern Conference Playoff rivals squared off. Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson poured in jumpers in the first half and combined for 32 at the break to give Miami the advantage.
Herro didn’t cool off in the second half, either, but the rest of the Heat did, especially down the stretch. The Bucks stormed back into the game at the end of the fourth after trailing for much of the second half, but a Herro bucket kept Miami narrowly in the lead.
However, the Bucks kept clawing back and outscored Miami 21-6 over the final minutes to erase a 14-point fourth-quarter lead at home to win by one point, 120-119.
A heartbreaking loss for the Heat and Herro — who led all scorers with a 30-piece. In the grand scheme, it’s just one game against the defending champs on the road. Obviously, Miami proved they can with these guys on a big stage. Something most were not sure of following Milwaukee’s 4-0 sweep of Miami last summer.
Oh how the Kings have fallen
What do the Kings and Lakers have in common? Two underachieving Californian teams that were blown out by the Pelicans in important games. Yep. That sums it up.
Last night, Sacramento failed to reach 100 points as New Orleans wiped the floor with another one of their pathetic performances in a 125-93 rout. Broken record alert! Despite the loss…De’Aaron Fox played incredible! Fantastic, even! He scored 25 points and is on an absolute tear since returning from injury last month. In nine games throughout February and March, Fox has scored 20+ in every single outing and is averaging 26.8 points.
The team just isn’t winning. Frankly, that’s all I have on the Kings. Fox is brilliant, the Kings keep losing. This time in embarrassing fashion against their primary competition for the final play-in spot.
Statistics
| Player | Result | Points | FG(3PA) | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | Turnovers | Minutes | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler Herro (MIA) | 120-119 L @ MIL | 30 | 11-21 (6-10) | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 35 | +8 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) | 119-107 W @ DEN | 29 | 10-23 (3-5) | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 36 | +22 |
| Tyrese Maxey (PHI) | 123-108 W vs. NYK | 25 | 7-12 (4-6) | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | +22 |
| De’Aaron Fox (SAC) | 125-93 L @ NOP | 25 | 9-18 (1-6) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 37 | -23 |
| Julius Randle (NYK) | 123-108 L @ PHI | 24 | 9-21 (0-2) | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 32 | -19 |
| Bam Adebayo (MIA) | 120-119 L @ MIL | 18 | 8-17 (0-0) | 12 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 37 | -3 |
| Isaiah Jackson (IND) | 122-114 W (OT) @ ORL | 16 | 8-8 (0-0) | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 22 | -9 |
| PJ Washington (CHA) | 119-98 W @ CLE | 12 | 5-5 (2-2) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | +11 |
| Immanuel Quickley (NYK) | 123-108 L @ PHI | 11 | 4-7 (1-3) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | -2 |
| Olivier Sarr (OKC) | 119-107 W @ DEN | 6 | 3-5 (0-0) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13 | -11 |
| DeMarcus Cousins (DEN) | 119-107 L vs. OKC | 6 | 2-5 (0-1) | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 | +15 |
| Trey Lyles (SAC) | 125-93 L @ NOP | 4 | 1-5 (1-3) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | -12 |
| Nick Richards (CHA) | 119-98 W @ CLE | 2 | 1-1 (0-0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | +0 |
| Willie Cauley-Stein (PHI) | 123-108 W vs. NYK | 0 | 0-0 (0-0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 |
| Nerlens Noel (NYK) | 123-108 L @ PHI | DNP – CD | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Rajón Rondo (CLE) | 119-98 L vs. CHA | DNP – Toe | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Devin Booker (PHO) | 120-90 W vs. POR | DNP – Health Protocol | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Today in the NBA
7:00 p.m. Bulls @ Hawks (Knox)
7:30 p.m. (TNT) Grizzlies @ Celtics
7:30 p.m. Heat (Herro, Adebayo) @ Nets
7:30 p.m. Pistons (Diallo) @ Raptors
8:30 p.m. Warriors @ Mavericks
8:30 p.m. Kings (Fox) @ Spurs (Johnson)
10:00 p.m. (TNT) Lakers (Davis, Monk) @ Clippers (Boston)
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