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BBNBA: Anthony Davis leads Lakers to victory as other Wildcats struggle

Kassidy Stumboby:Kassidy Stumbo•02/03/22•

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Anthony Davis
Photo by Tim Nwachukwu | Getty Images

Happy Wednesday, BBN. What better way to spend an ice storm than with some exciting NBA highlights, right? Several Wildcats are dealing with the injury bug right now, but others are leading their teams to victory. Let’s find out who together.

Isaiah Jackson exits early as Pacers fall to Magic

Just days after earning his first career NBA start, Isaiah Jackson has caught the injury bug. Jackson, who scored 26 points against the Clippers on Monday, left Wednesday’s game in the first 30 seconds with a right ankle sprain and did not return. His Pacers went on to lose 119-118 in Indy.

Caris LeVert led the Pacers with 26 points to along with five rebounds and five assists. It was Terry Taylor who was the big story for Indiana, though. Taylor came off the bench to score 24 points for the Pacers, along with 16 rebounds. It was only his sixth game with the team, as he spent the majority of this season in the G League.

Indiana led by 17 points halfway through the third quarter, but a furious Magic comeback cut that lead to two by the start of the fourth. Orlando went on to outscore the Pacers 33-21 in the final period, led by 22 from Gary Harris off the bench. Harris scored 10 points in the fourth, pushing his team just past Indiana. Wendell Carter Jr. added 19 points and 18 rebounds.

Neither of these teams are sitting particularly pretty in the NBA standings. Despite the victory, the Magic are currently last in the Eastern Conference at 12-41. The Pacers are a whole two spots ahead of them at 19-34.

Memphis gives New York a scrappy game at The Garden

More trouble for the Knicks, folks. This time, it came in the form of a name growing more and more familiar — Ja Morant. Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies marched into Madison Square Garden last night and beat a struggling Knicks team 120-108.

Despite the victory, Morant wasn’t happy with his performance. “Tonight, I felt like I played terrible,” Morant said. “If you ask me, this was one of the worst games I’ve played in my career…” Many fans would dream of this being their best player’s off game. Morant ended with 23 points and nine assists, going 9 of 27 overall and 0 of 6 from the 3-point line. Jaren Jackson Jr. led Memphis with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Ziaire Williams added a season-high 21.

The Knicks had another tough night, marking their seventh loss over the last nine games. Evan Fournier led with 30 points while RJ Barrett came next with 23 of his own. Former Wildcat Julius Randle has been criticized for inconsistency this season, but seemed to find his groove last night. Randle ended *just* shy of a triple-double with 18 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.

That didn’t stop his recent frustrations, though. Randle was ejected in the final seconds of the game after receiving his second technical foul. The first came after he got into a scuffle with Desmond Bane and the Grizzlies huddle during a timeout.

Immanuel Quickley added 11 points and five assists for the Knicks off the bench.

Davis leads Lakers to first victory in last four games

The Los Angeles Lakers played their fourth-straight game without LeBron James last night, but this one was a little different. After losing three straight, they finally found the ‘W’ column after defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 99-94 at home.

Anthony Davis scored 30 points in the victory. He also snagged 15 rebounds, dished out two assists and swatted three Blazer shots. Carmelo Anthony stepped up big time as well. He was 5-6 from the 3-point line, ending with 24 points and eight rebounds. Malik Monk has had some monster games this season, but has been relatively quiet lately. He was just 2 of 10 last night (1-6 3PT).

After the game, Davis emphasized how badly he wanted to end the Lakers three-game skid — and it was clear to all those who watched. The Lakers entered the fourth quarter down three points, but battled back thanks largely in part to 19 points from Davis in the final quarter. The All-Star forward is averaging 29.3 points over his last three games.

Portland put up a good fight. Norman Powell led with 30 points while Anfernee Simons had 19. Jusuf Nurkic and CJ McCollum added 16 and 15, respectively. Nurkic also snagged 13 rebounds in the effort. The Trailblazers are currently sitting at No. 10 in the West, giving them the final play-in spot as of now.

Full stats from last night’s games:

PlayerResultPointsFG (3PA)ReboundsAssistsStealsBlocksTurnoversMinutes+/-
Anthony Davis (LAL)99-94 W over Trailblazers3010-1815203337+2
Tyrese Maxey (PHI)106-103 L to Wizards229-16 (2-4)8710038+9
Julius Randle (NYK)120-108 L to Grizzlies187-18 (1-6)12910237-9
P.J. Washington (CHA) 113-107 L to Celtics166-11 (4-9)7120342-2
Immanuel Quickley (NYK)120-108 L to Grizzlies113-11 (2-7)2500227-6
Malik Monk (LAL)99-94 W over Trailblazers72-10 (1-6)4101131+11
Rajon Rondo (CLE)115-104 L to Rockets20-2 (0-1)4510315-9
Nick Richards (CHA)113-107 L to Celtics00-0200018-13
Nerlens Noel (NYK)120-108 L to Grizzlies00-02110016-15

Tonight in the NBA:

7:00 p.m. – Timberwolves (Towns, Vanderbilt) at Pistons (Diallo, Lyles)

7:00 p.m. – Heat (Adebayo, Herro) at Spurs (Johnson)

7:30 p.m. (TNT) – Suns (Booker) at Hawks

7:30 p.m. – Bulls at Raptors

10:00 p.m. – Kings (Fox) at Warriors

10:00 p.m. (TNT) – Lakers (Davis, Monk) at Clippers (Bledsoe, Boston)

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2025-05-01