BBNBA: Bam Adebayo's near triple-double helps Heat eclipse the Suns

My guess is that you did not watch much NBA yesterday. There was some other excitement going on elsewhere in the world of Kentucky sports in the form of the best neutral site regular season in program history. So, let’s get you caught up on the ‘Cats of yesteryear who are still playing basketball at a high level, and it starts with Bam Adebayo.

Channeling the cartoon baby from whom he drew his nickname, Bam clubbed the Phoenix Suns on Saturday in the Heat’s 121-111 win. Bam was just two assists shy of a triple-double, finishing with 25 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists. He also led his team in plus/minus at +22. The performance marked the 15th time in his career Adebayo has had at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists.

It may not have been as good of a night as Big Blue Nation had yesterday, but a solid outing nonetheless for basketball’s version of a five-tool player.

Tyler Herro flirted with a triple-double himself, as he wrapped up the game with 17 points, nine boards, and seven assists. While the Heat have been just kind of fine all season, the real story of the night is with the Suns.

Devin Booker got his, scoring 21 points on the night, but without Kevin Durant, Phoenix is just 1-8 this year. When Durant is in the lineup, they are 11-2. Sure, KD is one of the best players ever to touch a basketball, but Book and company will need to find ways to be successful without him, as the oft-injured superstar routinely misses multiple games in the season with one ailment or another.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a ho-hum 31 points in another OKC win

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander makes scoring 30-plus points and leading his team to victory in the NBA look too easy. It is to the point that it feels somewhat cheap to make him the feature of the KSR BBNBA post because it is borderline boring how often he does it.

Anyway, he did it again last night. SGA’s 31 points (10 of which came from the free-throw line) led the way for the Oklahoma City Thunder over the New Orleans Pelicans. The Thunder sit atop the Western Conference standings at 18-5, proving their SGA-driven dominance over the league this season.

He also has a newly-released official logo from Converse, so that’s cool.

Cason Wallace chipped in five points, seven rebounds, two assists, and three steals for the Thunder in a starting role.

Other BBNBA Notes:

• Brandon Boston Jr., who has found new life with the Pelicans this season, scored double figures in the loss with 11 while Antonio Reeves did not dress. Reeves is doing a stint in the G-League where, for what it is worth, he is excelling. On Friday, the former Kentucky sharpshooter had 29 points for the Birmingham Squadron.
• Out of the seven former ‘Cats to play on Saturday, six of them scored at least 10 points. PJ Washington was the only one not yet mentioned as he had 13 in the Mavericks’ win over the Raptors.
• Several other members of the BBNBA continue to deal with all sorts of injuries as Karl-Anthony Towns, Jamal Murray, Immanuel Quickley, and Nick Richards all sat out on Saturday.

BBNBA Statistics for 12/7/2024

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	P/M	MIN
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)	119-109 W vs. NOP	31	10-18 (1-3)	2	4	0	0	4	-2	34
Bam Adebayo (MIA)	121-111 W vs. PHX	25	9-16 (1-4)	12	8	1	0	4	+22	34
Devin Booker (PHX)	111-121 L vs. MIA	21	6-16 (1-6)	4	7	0	0	5	-9	37
Tyler Herro (MIA)	121-111 W vs. PHX	17	8-12 (1-4)	9	7	1	0	3	+11	34
PJ Washington (DAL)	125-118 W vs. TOR	13	4-12 (0-6)	5	1	1	1	2	+1	34
Brandon Boston Jr. (NOP) [Two-way]	109-119 L vs. OKC	11	5-10 (1-4)	2	1	1	0	1	-6	22
Cason Wallace (OKC)	119-109 W vs. NOP	5	2-6 (1-4)	7	2	3	0	4	+3	27
Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK)	111-120 L vs. DET	DNP-Knee
Jamal Murray (DEN)	113-122 L vs. WAS	DNP-Hamstring
Antonio Reeves (NOP)	109-119 L vs. OKC	DNP-G League
Immanuel Quickley (TOR)	118-125 L vs. DAL	DNP-Elbow
Jacob Toppin (NYK) [Two-way]	111-120 L vs. DET	DNP-CD
TyTy Washington (PHX) [Two-way]	111-121 L vs. MIA	DNP-CD
Nick Richards (CHA)	102-116 L vs. CLE	DNP-Ankle

Today in the NBA

1:00 | 76ers (Maxey, Edwards) @ Bulls
3:30 | Bucks (Livingston) @ Nets
5:00 | Hornets (Richards) @ Pacers (Jackson: out)
6:00 | Nuggets (Murray) @ Hawks
6:30 | Suns (Booker, T. Washington) @ Magic
7:00 | Grizzlies @ Wizards
7:00 | Pelicans (Boston, Reeves) @ Spurs (Johnson)
8:30 | Timberwolves (Randle, Dillingham) @ Warriors
9:00 | Rockets (Sheppard) @ Clippers
9:00 | Jazz (Juzang, Tshiebwe) @ Kings (Fox, Monk, Lyles)
9:30 | Trail Blazer @ Lakers (Davis, Vanderbilt: out)