BBNBA: Brandon Boston Jr. drops season-high in Clippers loss

The 2022-23 NBA season has been highlighted by several former Kentucky Wildcats stepping into superstardom. Most notably, Devin Booker, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and De’Aaron Fox have all taken a significant leap forward this year, while multi-time All-Star Anthony Davis is playing the best basketball of his life for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Those one-time ‘Cats have deservedly been showered with praise, but today we’re going to spend some time focusing on a rising BBNBA role player: Brandon Boston Jr. of the LA Clippers.

On Saturday against Fox’s Sacramento Kings, Boston went for a season-high 18 points on 6-13 shooting (including a 4-6 mark from deep) in addition to his three rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes played. The Clippers were without All-Star wings Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in the 123-96 blowout loss, but their absences opened up an opportunity for players such as Boston. John Wall also stepped in to play 12 minutes for LA, registering 12 points and one assist.

Up until Nov. 30, Boston had only appeared in six games for the Clips and failed to play more than five minutes in any of them. But over his last two outings, Boston has clocked at least 20 minutes of action in both. He dropped 10 points and two rebounds on 4-12 shooting earlier this week in a 13-point loss to the Utah Jazz. Boston was a regular rotational piece for LA throughout last season as a rookie but is only now finding his fit in year two.

Let’s hope he sticks.

Meanwhile, on the winning side, Fox went for 14 points, six rebounds, and four assists on a 5-12 shooting clip for the Kings, which move to 12-9 on the season and among the Western Conference’s top six seeds. Sacramento has won back-to-back games since their three-game losing streak followed a seven-game win streak. Malik Monk added 13 points and two rebounds in 16 minutes off the bench for the Kings while Trey Lyles chipped in three rebounds and one assist in his seven minutes.

SGA drops 30-plus for 6th straight game

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander simply cannot be stopped right now. In a 135-128 win for his Oklahoma City Thunder over the Minnesota Timberwolves, SGA popped off for 33 points on 10-17 shooting to go along with six assists and three steals in 34 minutes. The former Wildcat has now recorded at least 30 points over his last six games played. His shooting numbers haven’t exactly been efficient over that stretch — 44.3 percent from the field and 20.0 percent from long range — but he’s getting to the free-throw line at will.

Over his last six outings, Gilgeous-Alexander has attempted 79 shots (or 13.1 per game) from the charity stripe, knocking down 75 of them for an impressive 94.9 percent mark. He went a perfect 12-12 on Saturday against Minnesota, which was without Karl-Anthony Towns once again as he continues to recover from a calf strain he suffered earlier this week. Towns’ timetable was initially set as a four-to-six-week absence.

Other BBNBA notes

• Something got into Utah Jazz forward Jarred Vanderbilt in a 116-111 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. Vando finished with a stuffed stat line of 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals for the Jazz, but the shocking part was his clean 4-4 mark from downtown. Four makes and four attempts from deep are both career highs for Vanderbilt, who is up to 12-26 from 3-point land this season after being a nonfactor from that area throughout most of his basketball life. For the Blazers, Shaedon Sharpe put up six points and four rebounds on 3-11 shooting in 17 minutes.
• In a 121-100 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the New York Knicks still received a combined 47 points from its pair of former Wildcats. Julius Randle poured in 24 points, five rebounds, and three assists on 8-15 shooting for the Knicks while Immanuel Quickley added 23 points and six rebounds on a 7-11 shooting mark.
• In Charlotte, PJ Washington posted one of the weirder stat lines you’ll ever see in an NBA game. The one-time ‘Cat did not score a single point and missed all 13 of his field goal attempts, but he still managed eight rebounds, five assists, three steals, and three blocks (with three turnovers) for the Hornets in a 105-96 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Washington’s teammate, Nick Richards, contributed nine points and five rebounds in 17 minutes.

12/3/22 statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)	135-128 W @ MIN	33	10-17 (1-2)	1	6	3	1	4	-6	34
Julius Randle (NYK)	100-121 L vs. DAL	24	8-15 (3-8)	5	3	0	0	3	-11	30
Immanuel Quickley (NYK)	100-121 L vs. DAL	23	7-11 (2-5)	6	0	0	0	4	-13	29
Bradon Boston Jr. (LAC)	96-123 L vs. SAC	18	6-13 (4-6)	3	2	1	0	2	-10	20
Jarred Vanderbilt (UTA)	111-116 L vs. POR	16	6-8 (4-4)	7	4	2	0	1	5	31
De’Aaron Fox (SAC)	123-96 W @ LAC	14	5-12 (1-4)	6	4	0	1	2	17	28
Malik Monk (SAC)	123-96 W @ LAC	13	5-11 (3-5)	0	2	0	0	0	-2	16
John Wall (LAC)	96-123 L vs. SAC	12	3-6 (1-1)	0	1	0	0	2	-10	12
Nick Richards (CHA)	96-105 L vs. MIL	9	3-7	5	0	0	0	2	-11	17
Shaedon Sharpe (POR)	116-111 W @ UTA	6	3-11 (0-1)	4	0	1	0	0	9	17
Trey Lyles (SAC)	123-96 W @ LAC	0	0-1 (0-1)	3	1	0	0	0	-2	7
PJ Washington (CHA)	96-105 L vs. MIL	0	0-13 (0-3)	8	5	3	3	3	-5	33
Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN)	128-135 L vs. OKC	DNP-Calf	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Today in the NBA

3:30: Nuggets (Murray) @ Pelicans
4:00: Suns (Booker) @ Spurs (Johnson)
6:00: Celtics @ Nets
6:00: Grizzlies @ Pistons (Diallo, Knox, Noel)
6:00: Cavaliers @ Knicks (Quickley, Randle)
6:00: Lakers (Davis: probable, Gabriel) @ Wizards
6:00: Bulls @ Kings (Fox, Lyles, Monk)
9:00 (NBA TV): Pacers (Jackson) @ Trail Blazers (Sharpe)