BBNBA: Booker & Diallo score 30+, Immanuel Qucikley debuts
Whaddya know, another whacky night of NBA hoops amidst a deluge of absences across the league. Hamidou Diallo and Devin Booker balled out along with several other noteworthy ‘Cat performances last night. Check it out.
Diallo has 30-point double-double in wild Knicks-Pistons game
Wednesday’s Knicks-Pistons game in Detroit will baffle basketball historians for decades to come.
New York actually had most of its lineup intact while Detroit started Derrick Walton Jr., Hamidou Diallo, Frank Jackson, Saddiq Bey and Luka Garza. However, Knicks stars Kemba Walker and Julius Randle combined to go 2-16 from the field, equaling a grand total of seven points.
No worry, New York’s bench unit of Alec Burks and Immanuel Qucikley led the way. Burks led all scorers yesterday with 34 as Qucikley — whose name was spelled incorrectly on his jersey — went for 18.
Further to the point of the Knicks’ dominance off the bench, every Knick substitute ended the game with a plus/minus of +27 or larger. While every starter was -`17 or worse despite the Knicks winning by nine, 94-85.
Now let’s get to the fun part. Hamidou Diallo powered the Pistons’ effort by making 13 of 19 shots to tally 31 points along with 13 rebounds. He also added four steals and four assists in what was likely his best performance as an NBA player. Heck, he scored 36% of Detroit’s points and led the game in rebounding at 6-foot-5.
Give it up for Hami!
Suns back in win column behind Booker’s 38
The Phoenix Suns hadn’t experienced a single loss with Devin Booker on the court in nearly two months, then lost two straight to the Warriors on Christmas and the surging Grizzlies the other day.
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Yesterday they leaped back into the green with a snoozefest victory over the depleted Thunder. Booker scored 38 — 14 more than any other player on the court — as Phoenix was somehow able to outlast Olivier Sarr, Scotty Hopson and the rest of the current OKC squad to tighten the race back up between them and Golden State atop the NBA standings.
Other NBA Notes
Fox dishes game-winning assist. In a low-scoring bout between Dallas and Sacramento, the Mavericks led by two on the final possession of the game. But De’Aaron Fox broke into the lane and then found Chemezie Metu for a corner three at the buzzer to win it for the Kings. Maybe not the shot you want down two at the horn, but hey, it went in and the Kings won.
Bledsoe, Clippers prevail in historic shooting night for Boston. The Celtics attempted 42 threes in their 91-82 loss to LAC last night, but made just four (9.5%). That marks the lowest percentage ever for a team that threw up over 40 threes. Meanwhile, Eric Bledsoe chipped in 17 in lieu of Paul George to help keep the Clippers on track.
Monk scores 15 in another Lakers defeat. The Los Angeles Lakers can’t stop producing bad headlines. Whether it’s COVID, injuries, Russell Westbrook or more bad losses, LAL can’t get out of its own way. But quietly, Malik Monk has been alright this season. Yesterday he had 15 points and on the season he’s scoring a tick over 10 a game while shooting 36.8% from deep.
Statistics
| Player | Result | Points | FG(3P) | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | Turnovers | Minutes | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devin Booker (PHX) | 114-109 W @ PHI | 35 | 11-23 (3-8) | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 37 | +13 |
| De’Aaron Fox (SAC) | 134-114 L vs. MIN | 29 | 11-22 (4-6) | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 35 | -17 |
| Julius Randle (NYK) | 132-115 L @ DEN | 28 | 11-22 (3-8) | 10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 34 | -8 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) | 134-114 W @ SAC | 25 | 10-14 (2-3) | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 28 | +13 |
| Anthony Davis (LAL) | 131-116 L vs. MIL | 22 | 8-10 (0-0) | 9 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 37 | -8 |
| Malik Monk (LAL) | 131-116 L vs. MIL | 20 | 7-16 (3-10) | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 32 | -6 |
| Hamidou Diallo (DET) | 116-86 L @ DAL | 18 | 6-14 (1-4) | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 26 | -3 |
| Tyrese Maxey (PHI) | 114-109 L vs. PHX | 14 | 5-16 (0-4) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 34 | -1 |
| Trey Lyles (DET) | 116-86 L @ DAL | 12 | 5-8 (0-2) | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 | -19 |
| Jarred Vanderbilt (MIN) | 134-114 W @ SAC | 9 | 4-7 (0-0) | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 21 | -1 |
| Enes Freedom (BOS) | 126-91 W @ BKN | 7 | 3-6 (1-1) | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | +9 |
| Immanuel Quickley (NYK) | 132-115 L @ DEN | 5 | 2-9 (0-5) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18 | -11 |
| Brandon Boston Jr. (LAC) | 135-109 L @ MEM | 4 | 2-6 (0-2) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | +4 |
| Kevin Knox (ATL) | 133-112 W vs. IND | 2 | 1-3 (0-1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | -5 |
| Nerlens Noel (NYK) | 132-115 L @ DEN | DNP – Knee | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Jamal Murray (DEN) | 132-115 W vs. NYK | DNP – ACL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Isaiah Jackson (IND) | 133-112 L @ ATL | DNP – Ankle | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Eric Bledsoe (POR) | 113-95 L vs. ORL | DNP – Achilles | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| John Wall (HOU) | 110-97 L @ NOP | DNP – Personal | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Today in the NBA
7:00 p.m. (NBATV) 76ers (Maxey) @ Nets
7:00 p.m. Bucks (Cousins) @ Magic (Mulder)
7:00 p.m. Cavaliers @ Wizards
9:30 p.m. (NBATV) Warriors @ Nuggets (Murray*)
* — Inactive
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