BBNBA: Anthony Davis, Devin Booker both drop 40-plus

Devin Booker has understandably stolen recent headlines after his 51-point performance on Wednesday night turned into a Western Conference Player of the Month recognition on Thursday. The former Kentucky Wildcat continued his red-hot scoring stretch for the Phoenix Suns on Friday night, exploding for 41 points in a 122-121 loss to the Houston Rockets, his third consecutive game with at least 40 points.

Booker finished with a 15-25 overall shooting clip, including a 4-6 mark from distance, to go along with four rebounds and eight assists in just 34 minutes played. Unfortunately, his Suns dropped a shocker to the Rockets, breaking Phoenix’s six-game win streak in the process. Regardless, Booker is on an absolute tear right now and proving why he’s a strong MVP candidate as the 2022-23 NBA season hits the quarter mark of the schedule.

But there’s another Western Conference player with John Calipari ties also establishing himself as an MVP leader. Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers is currently playing arguably the best basketball of his decorated career. Against a now-healthy Milwaukee Bucks team that is ranked second in the Eastern Conference, Davis exploded for a BBNBA-high of 44 points (18-27 shooting; 2-3 from deep) in addition to 10 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks with zero turnovers in a huge 133-129 victory.

The win moves Los Angeles to 9-12 on the season (still just barely in the playoff hunt) and drops Milwaukee to 15-6. Wenyen Gabriel went for five points and six rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench for the Lakers.

According to Basketball-Reference’s MVP tracker, Booker and Davis hold the fifth- and ninth-best percentages, respectively, at this stage in the season to win the league’s top individual honor. Davis is one of just two players (Luka Doncic) among the top 10 names on the tracker with a losing record.

Heat, Hornets pick up tight wins

Up in Boston, the Miami Heat picked up a significant win in overtime over the NBA-leading Celtics (18-5) by a final score of 120-116. Miami was carried by a pair of former ‘Cats: Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, who combined for 54 points, with 22 of them coming from Adebayo in the second half and overtime.

Adebayo finished with 28 points (10-18 shooting), seven rebounds, and three assists in 38 minutes played for Miami. He was aided by 26 points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals, and five turnovers from Herro in 39 minutes of action. Herro shot 10-19 from the field overall, including an efficient 6-10 mark from long range. Jimmy Butler returned for the Heat after missing seven games due to injury, adding 25 points and 15 rebounds.

Boston needed a desperate, banked-in triple from Jaylen Brown just before the regulation buzzer to send the game into an extra period. But a poor performance from his Celtics co-star, Jayson Tatum, contributed to the loss.

Meanwhile, in Charlotte, the Hornets won just its seventh game of the season (7-15) after beating the Washington Wizards 117-116. The Hornets were outscored 28-10 in the fourth quarter and failed to score for nearly the final four minutes of game time, but found a way to fend off Bradley Beal’s 33 points and the Wizards’ comeback effort.

It took 21 points, three rebounds, and five assists from PJ Washington plus an additional 12 points (5-6 shooting) and nine rebounds from Nick Richards to help Charlotte edge out the win. Washington (the player, not the team) finished with a 5-11 shooting mark from downtown as the Hornets poured in a season-high 74 points across the first half. Richards managed his near double-double in just 12 minutes of play. The Wizards have now lost five of its last six outings.

Other BBNBA notes

• Jamal Murray continues to round back into form for the Denver Nuggets after being sidelined for 18 months with an ACL injury. The 25-year-old point guard went for 20 points, three rebounds, and seven assists in 33 minutes played, although it came in a 117-109 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Murray is averaging 24.5 points and 5.8 assists per game over his last four outings on a shooting split of 53.7/46.4/81.3.
• Keldon Johnson, on the other hand, continues to slump. He finished with 15 points, six rebounds, and three rebounds in a 117-99 loss for the San Antonio Spurs to the New Orleans Pelicans, doing so on just 7-23 shooting, including a 1-8 clip from deep. Johnson is averaging 14.7 points over his last seven games while shooting a terrible 27.9 percent overall and even worse 19.3 percent from 3-point land.
• Jarred Vanderbilt‘s Utah Jazz got the better of Isaiah Jackson‘s Indiana Pacers by a final score of 139-119. Vanderbilt contributed eight points and six rebounds on 4-5 shooting in 20 minutes while Jackson also added eight points to go along with four rebounds in his 12 minutes.

12/2/22 statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Anthony Davis (LAL)	133-129 W @ MIL	44	18-27 (2-3)	10	4	0	3	0	5	39
Devin Booker (PHX)	122-121 L vs. HOU	41	15-25 (4-6)	4	8	0	0	3	8	34
Bam Adebayo (MIA)	120-116 (OT) W @ BOS	28	10-18	7	3	1	1	2	7	38
Tyler Herro (MIA)	120-116 (OT) W @ BOS	26	10-19 (6-10)	5	3	3	0	5	7	39
PJ Washington (CHA)	117-116 W vs. WAS	21	6-15 (5-11)	3	5	1	1	1	2	37
Jamal Murray (DEN)	117-109 L @ ATL	20	7-14 (2-5)	3	7	1	0	2	-1	33
Keldon Johnson (SAS)	117-99 L vs. NOP	15	7-23 (1-8)	6	3	0	0	2	-19	35
Nick Richards (CHA)	117-116 W vs. WAS	12	5-6	9	0	0	0	0	1	12
Jarred Vanderbilt (UTA)	139-119 W vs. IND	8	4-5	6	2	1	0	3	11	20
Isaiah Jackson (IND)	139-119 L @ UTA	8	3-5 (1-1)	4	2	0	1	2	-1	12
Wenyen Gabriel (LAL)	133-129 W @ MIL	5	2-4 (1-1)	6	1	1	0	1	14	14
Tyrese Maxey (PHI)	117-109 L @ MEM	DNP-Foot	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Today in the NBA

12:30: Mavericks @ Knicks (Quickley, Randle)
4:00: Kings (Fox, Lyles, Monk) @ Clippers (Boston, Wall)
6:00: Bucks @ Hornets (Richards, PJ Washington)
8:00: Magic @ Raptors
8:00: Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander: questionable) @ Timberwolves (Towns: out)
8:30: Rockets @ Warriors
9:00: Trail Blazers (Sharpe) @ Jazz (Vanderbilt)