BBNBA: Anthony Davis, Tyler Herro each score 26 in big Thursday night wins

Anthony Davis had yet another big night as the Los Angeles Lakers cruised past the Charlotte Hornets 133-112 in LA. Davis scored 26 on 11-19 shooting to put the Lakers two games above .500 at 17-15. The former consensus All-American also recorded eight rebounds and four blocks on the night. We got a look at vintage AD on Thursday night.

And just like vintage AD, he put the man matched up against him on a poster. However, the man being dunked on in this case was another former Kentucky big man, Nick Richards. Unfortunately for Nick, it was a pretty nasty dunk too, but at least it made for a signature highlight play. Plus, another former ‘Cat, Jarred Vanderbilt, got the assist on the play. Vanderbilt finished the night with seven points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. A solid outing from another UK guy.

AD put Richards on a poster 😳@SportingTrib #Lakeshow pic.twitter.com/RmdkH5wvDm

— Lauren Jones (@LoJoMedia) December 29, 2023

With LeBron James only putting up 17 points, the Lakers needed Davis to have a huge night if Los Angeles wanted to successfully defend home court. A 17-point night is no bad game by any means, but it doesn’t come close to the 25.4 PPG that the Lakers are accustomed to getting from James. After all, that’s why the Lakers made the move to pick up AD in the first place. They needed another superstar to carry some of the load, and that’s what they got.

Tyler Herro’s team-high 26 points leads to frustrating defeat for Warriors

The Golden State Warriors have been quite the circus for a long time now, and that’s still the case this season. Whether it’s a controversial statement from head coach Steve Kerr or Draymond Green making his audition for the UFC, there’s always something going on with the Warriors. To add fuel to the fire, Golden State is just 15-16 with their latest loss coming to Tyler Herro and the Miami Heat.

Herro went 10-18 (3-7 from three) in his 26-point effort on Thursday. He also snagged seven rebounds in the 114-102 win. With his performance, Herro further cemented his case for his first ever NBA All-Star selection. Following his Thursday night effort, Herro is now averaging 24 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game on the year. He’s also shooting 42.7% from beyond the arc. Absolute deadeye.

Herro’s performance was simply too much for the Miami Heat’s Twitter/X account to handle. At this point, Herro is doing such incredible things on the court, that the Heat have just resorted to posting Herro’s highlights with a link to vote for him for an NBA All-Star selection.

We're just gonna drop Tyler's highlights here and remind you that #NBAAllStar voting is open – https://t.co/KwUxqYEMkT ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/L1NmNIOyAi

— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) December 29, 2023

Herro wasn’t the only former ‘Cat that had a great night for the Heat. Bam Adebayo had 17 points, six assists, and five rebounds against the Warriors. Oh, and back to the Warriors’ struggles. Stephen Curry’s 13 points led the team, and he and Klay Thompson were visibly upset after the loss. Is this the end of the dynasty? Well, that’s a discussion for another day, but Herro and Adebayo probably made that question just a little bit closer to being a reality.

Other BBNBA Notes:

• Jamal Murray‘s 23 points, nine assists, and two steals were more than enough to help guide the Nuggets to a 142-105 win over the Grizzlies, ending their four-game winning streak.
• The Hornets fell to the Lakers 133-112, but Nick Richards (11 points, 10 rebounds) and PJ Washington (nine points, six rebounds) got their fair share.
• The Minnesota Timberwolves squeezed by the Mavericks 118-110 as Karl-Anthony Towns scored 10 points and grabbed eight rebounds behind Anthony Edwards’ 44-point night.
• The San Antonio Spurs got just their fifth win of the season as Keldon Johnson scored nine points in a 118-105 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Shaedon Sharpe was ruled out with an adductor injury for Portland.
• Kevin Knox scored six points in 18 minutes of action as the Detroit Pistons lost their record 28th straight game as they fell to the Boston Celtics in overtime 128-122.
• Isaiah Jackson contributed to the Pacers’ 120-104 win over the Chicago Bulls with three points off the bench.

12/28/23 Statistics:

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Anthony Davis (LAL)	133-112 W vs CHA	26	11-19 (0-1)	8	2	2	4	2	6	26
Tyler Herro (MIA)	114-102 W @ GSW	26	10-18 (3-7)	7	2	1	0	2	11	31
Jamal Murray (DEN)	142-105 W vs MEM	23	9-12 (4-6)	3	9	2	0	1	19	26
Bam Adebayo (MIA)	114-102 W @ GSW	17	7-13 (0-0)	11	4	0	0	0	8	36
Nick Richards (CHA)	133-112 L @ LAL	11	5-5 (0-0)	10	1	1	2	0	-6	26
Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN)	118-110 W vs DAL	10	3-12 (2-6)	8	3	0	0	5	14	27
PJ Washington (CHA)	133-112 L @ LAL	9	4-11 (0-4)	6	0	0	0	3	-15	25
Keldon Johnson (SAS)	118-105 W @ POR	9	4-11 (1-6)	3	2	1	0	2	1	31
Jarred Vanderbilt (LAL)	133-112 W vs CHA	7	3-8 (1-2)	4	3	2	0	0	2	24
Kevin Knox II (DET)	128-122 L @ BOS	6	3-9 (0-6)	2	0	1	0	0	9	18
Isaiah Jackson (IND)	120-104 W @ CHI	3	1-1 (0-0)	0	1	1	0	1	-5	11
Oscar Tshiebwe (IND)	120-104 W @ CHI	DNP (G-League)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Shaedon Sharpe (POR)	118-105 L vs SAS	DNP (Adductor)	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Tonight in the NBA:

• 7:00 EST | Nets @ Wizards
• 7:00 EST | Knicks (Quickley, Randle, Toppin: 2Way) @ Magic
• 7:30 EST | Raptors @ Celtics
• 7:30 EST | Kings (Fox, Lyles, Monk) @ Hawks
• 7:30 EST (NBA TV) | Bucks (Livingston, Washington Jr.: 2Way) @ Cavaliers
• 8:00 EST | 76ers (Maxey) @ Rockets
• 9:00 EST | Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander, Sarr: 2Way, Wallace) @ Nuggets (Murray)
• 9:00 EST | Hornets (Richards, Washington) @ Suns (Booker)
• 10:00 EST | Spurs (Johnson) @ Trail Blazers (Sharpe)
• 10:30 EST (NBA TV) | Grizzlies @ Clippers (Boston Jr.)