BBNBA: Anthony Davis explodes for 55 in Lakers' 3rd straight win

Anthony Davis dropped a double nickel on Sunday night, the second-most of any player in the NBA so far this season, helping lead the Los Angeles Lakers to the franchise’s third consecutive victory and eighth of its last 10. The former Kentucky Wildcat is firmly in the mix for the league’s Most Valuable Player award as we hit the quarter mark of the 2022-23 regular season.

Davis shot an impressively efficient 22-30 from the floor to reach 55 points, just shy of his career-high 59-point outburst against the Detroit Pistons in 2016. He also added 17 rebounds and three blocks to his stat line while turning the ball over just twice in 37 minutes. Davis, who went 2-3 from downtown and a perfect 9-9 from the free throw line, was a +17 during his time on the floor, which lifted the Lakers to a 130-119 win over the Washington Wizards. Over his last nine games, Davis is averaging 35.3 points per contest.

Los Angeles is still just 10-12 on the year, which ranks 12th in the Western Conference, but the team is trending in the right direction with Davis playing the best basketball of his career. His Lakers teammate, Wenyen Gabriel, contributed two rebounds and one block in his eight minutes of action. LeBron James is still really good, too.

Keldon Johnson’s 27 not enough to down Booker, Suns

Keldon Johnson had arguably his best performance in weeks on Sunday for the San Antonio Spurs, but it came in a 133-95 blowout loss to Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns.

Johnson finished with 27 points — his most since scoring 29 on Nov. 11 — to go along with five rebounds and two assists. He still needed 23 shots to reach that total, converting on 11 of those attempts, but it was a step in the right direction for a player who has been in a slump. Johnson’s 47.8 percent shooting mark against the Suns was his first time shooting that well since the same game he dropped 29 points nearly one month ago. The Spurs have now lost 11 straight games.

Meanwhile, Booker needed only 27 minutes of on-court action to lead the Suns’ blowout. The future 2022-23 NBA All-Star dropped 20 points and eight assists with just two turnovers while shooting 7-16 overall from the field against San Antonio. Phoenix recorded a season-high in assists with 38 despite starting point guard Chris Paul missing his 13th game in a row due to a heel injury. The Suns’ 16-7 record leads the Western Conference.

Knicks, Kings back to winning ways

The New York Knicks needed a win in the worst way on Sunday when they hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers at Madison Square Garden — and that’s exactly what they got. The Knicks ground out an ugly 92-81 victory over the Cavs, powered by a combined 30 points from a duo of former Wildcats.

Julius Randle went for 18 points, nine rebounds, four assists and just one turnover for the Knicks on 7-19 shooting (including a 1-7 mark from distance) in 35 minutes played. He was aided by Immanuel Quickley, who chipped in 12 points (6-8 shooting), five rebounds, and two assists of his own in just 24 minutes of action. New York came into this matchup losing six of its previous eight outings and now sit on an 11-13 overall record.

On the other side of the country in Sacramento, the Kings earned its third consecutive win, jumping to 13-9 on the year with a 110-101 victory over the Chicago Bulls. Malik Monk led the Kings’ trio of one-time ‘Cats, recording 20 points, two rebounds, five assists, and two steals on 8-16 shooting. His backcourt counterpart, De’Aaron Fox, finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals, but was an inefficient 5-14 shooting the ball. Trey Lyles was a DNP-Coaches Decision for the Kings.

Other BBNBA notes

• A pair of former Wildcats saw the court for the Detroit Pistons, but they couldn’t do much damage. Hamidou Diallo went for 10 points on 4-6 shooting while Kevin Knox added six points and five rebounds. Nerlens Noel was a DNP-Coaches Decision for the fourth game in a row after only appearing in six games this season for the Pistons so far. Detroit is now 6-19 on the season and ranks 14th out of 15 in the Eastern Conference.
• Jamal Murray contributed 18 points, four rebounds, five assists, and two blocks with three turnovers in the Denver Nuggets’ 121-106 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. It was his 19th game back after missing 18 months due to an ACL injury.
• Finally, rookie Shaedon Sharpe and the Portland Trail Blazers came away with a 116-100 win over Isaiah Jackson and the Indiana Pacers. Sharpe recorded six points and three rebounds in 17 minutes while Jackson added seven points (2-7 shooting) and three rebounds in 16 minutes.

12/4/22 statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Anthony Davis (LAL)	130-119 W @ WAS	55	22-30 (2-3)	17	1	0	3	2	17	37
Keldon Johnson (SAS)	95-133 L vs. PHX	27	11-23 (1-5)	5	2	1	0	1	-24	33
Devin Booker (PHX)	133-95 W @ SAS	20	7-16 (1-3)	0	8	0	0	2	26	27
Malik Monk (SAC)	110-101 W vs. CHI	20	8-16 (3-9)	2	5	2	0	3	10	24
Jamal Murray (DEN)	106-121 L @ NOP	18	6-17 (3-8)	4	5	0	2	3	-7	32
Julius Randle (NYK)	92-81 W vs. CLE	18	7-19 (1-7)	9	4	0	0	1	0	35
De’Aaron Fox (SAC)	110-101 W vs. CHI	16	5-14 (2-7)	7	4	2	0	4	8	32
Immanuel Quickley (NYK)	92-81 W vs. CLE	12	6-8	5	2	0	0	3	13	24
Hamidou Diallo (DET)	112-122 L vs. MEM	10	4-6	1	1	0	0	0	8	12
Isaiah Jackson (IND)	100-116 L @ POR	7	2-7	3	1	0	2	0	-8	16
Kevin Knox (DET)	112-122 L vs. MEM	6	2-4 (1-2)	5	0	0	0	0	11	12
Shaedon Sharpe (POR)	116-100 W vs. IND	6	2-4 (1-3)	3	1	1	0	1	-11	17
Wenyen Gabriel (LAL)	130-119 W @ WAS	0	0-1 (0-1)	2	0	0	1	0	-14	8
Nerlens Noel (DET)	112-122 L vs. MEM	DNP-CD	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Trey Lyles (SAC)	110-101 W vs. CHI	DNP-CD	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Tonight in the NBA

7:00: Clippers (Boston, Wall) @ Hornets (Richards, PJ Washington)
7:00: Bucks @ Magic
7:30: Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander) @ Hawks
7:30: Celtics @ Raptors
8:00: 76ers (Maxey: out) @ Rockets (TyTy Washington)
8:00: Heat (Adebayo, Herro: probable) @ Grizzlies
8:30 (NBA TV): Suns (Booker) @ Mavericks
10:00: Pacers (Jackson) @ Warriors