BBNBA: De'Aaron Fox, Kings beat down Lakers as Anthony Davis struggles

De’Aaron Fox is only a few days removed from being sidelined for over two weeks due to a right ankle sprain, but you wouldn’t be able to tell by watching him play. The Sacramento Kings All-Star guard played in his second game on Wednesday night after coming back from injury earlier this week, powering his squad to a 125-110 win over Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers during a primetime showdown on ESPN.

Unfortunately for Davis and the Lakers, Fox still looks like the exact same player he was all of last season.

In the blowout win, which was never truly close from start to finish, Fox went off for 28 points, five rebounds, and five assists in 38 minutes of action. The former Kentucky guard shot 10-22 from the floor and 3-9 from distance as Sacramento (6-4) won its fourth game in a row. Fox was aided by 29 points and 16 rebounds from Domantas Sabonis, along with 28 points from sharpshooter Kevin Huerter.

Also for the Kings, Malik Monk had a night to forget. He managed just three points on 1-8 shooting (1-5 3PT), although he still chipped in five rebounds and five assists in his 20 minutes played. Meanwhile, Kings forward Trey Lyles, who has yet to play this season due to a left calf strain, has been cleared to resume basketball activities, according to Sean Cunningham of Fox 40 News. There is no timeline for a return to play, but it’s a positive development nonetheless.

Anthony Davis also had a night to forget. The Lakers big man put together arguably his worst performance of the season so far. He finished with just nine points — tied for a season-low — while shooting 3-9 from the field in nearly 35 minutes of action. Davis scored four of those nine points in the game’s opening four minutes but failed to do so again until the fourth quarter.

“I just played bad,” Davis, who has been dealing with a minor hip injury, said. “I’m not going to put it on anything. It was just missed shots. … I’m still treating it every day. Obviously, you don’t get that day to really attack it (when playing) back-to-back. It was still bothering me a little bit, but I’ve still got to go out there and do my job.”

The Lakers remain without forward Jarred Vanderbilt as continues to ramp up for his season debut. Like Lyles, Vanderbilt was also recently cleared to resume basketball activities after recovering from a left heel injury. A timeline for a return has not yet been announced.

Booker, Suns blowout KAT, Wolves

The Phoenix Suns only needed 26 minutes from Devin Booker to make light work of Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Booker was in a groove on Wednesday night, pouring in a BBNBA-high 31 points on 12-22 shooting while also contributing four rebounds and five assists. This was just the third game of the 2023-24 season for the former Wildcat, who had been out since Nov. 2 with a calf issue. Booker didn’t skip a beat in his return though as Phoenix snapped Minnesota’s seven-game winning streak.

This game was expected to be the season debut of the Suns’ new “Big 3”, which features Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal, but unfortunately, Beal was ruled out at the last minute as he continues to rehab a back injury. Beal has still yet to make his Suns debut. But Booker and Durant, who went for 31 points of his own, were more than enough to beat the Wolves. Phoenix led by 22 at the half and by 28 going into the fourth frame.

Despite the loss, Towns performed well. He posted 25 points on 10-17 shooting (missing all four of his three-point attempts) to go along with seven rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes. As a team, the Wolves shot just 5-27 from long range.

Other BBNBA notes

• Julius Randle and Immanuel Quickley combined for 49 points in the New York Knicks 116-114 win over the Atlanta Hawks. Randle led the pair with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists on 12-24 shooting while Quickley wasn’t too far behind with 20 points and four assists on 6-11 shooting. Jalen Brunson hit a pull-up jumper with 18.8 seconds left in the game to lift the Knicks past the Hawks.
• Shaedon Sharpe had a poor shooting night in the Portland Trail Blazers’ 109-95 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The second-year wing finished with 11 points on a rough 2-11 (1-5 3PT) shooting mark, although he did add seven rebounds and five assists in 26 minutes.
• After dropping a 50-burger a few nights ago, Tyrese Maxey was brought back down to earth in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 117-107 loss to the Boston Celtics, which was without stars Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis. Maxey still managed 20 points, three rebounds, and four assists with three made three-pointers, but he shot just 6-15 overall as the Sixers struggled in the second night of a back-to-back.

11/15/23 statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Devin Booker (PHX)	133-115 W vs. MIN	31	12-22 (2-7)	4	5	0	0	2	0	26
Julius Randle (NYK)	116-114 W @ ATL	29	12-24 (3-5)	10	8	1	0	1	12	39
De’Aaron Fox (SAC)	125-110 W @ LAL	28	10-22 (3-9)	5	5	4	0	3	15	38
Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN)	133-115 L @ PHX	25	10-17 (0-4)	7	2	0	0	1	-14	31
Tyrese Maxey (PHI)	117-107 L vs. BOS	20	6-15 (3-7)	3	4	0	0	2	9	39
Immanuel Quickley (NYK)	116-114 W @ ATL	20	6-11 (3-5)	0	4	1	0	2	-12	28
Shaedon Sharpe (POR)	109-95 L vs. CLE	11	2-11 (1-5)	7	5	0	0	0	-27	26
Anthony Davis (LAL)	125-110 L vs. SAC	9	3-9 (0-1)	9	0	0	4	5	-13	34
Malik Monk (SAC)	125-110 W @ LAL	3	1-8 (1-5)	5	5	1	0	3	-6	20
TyTy Washington (MIL)	128-112 W @ TOR	0	0-1 (0-1)	1	0	1	0	1	-7	2
Jarred Vanderbilt (LAL)	125-110 L vs. SAC	DNP-Heel	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Trey Lyles (SAC)	125-110 W @ LAL	DNP-Calf Strain	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Chris Livingston (MIL)	128-112 W @ TOR	DNP-Ankle	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Tonight in the NBA

• 7:30 (NBA TV) | Nets @ Heat (Adebayo, Herro: out)
• 10:00 (NBA TV) | Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander, Sarr, Wallace) @ Warriors