BBNBA: De'Aaron Fox, Kings come up short against Warriors

Up 2-1 in the series, De’Aaron Fox had the ball in his hands with the Kings down by one with less than 10 seconds to play in the game. This is the ideal scenario for Sacramento, considering Fox earned the NBA’s inaugural Clutch Player of the Year award for his uncanny ability to produce in crunch time.

Unfortunately, Golden State knew this about him, too. They brought a double-team, forcing him to pass, but Fox found a wide-open Harrison Barnes for a shot to win the game and give the Kings a commanding 3-1 series lead, but the ball caromed off the back iron giving the Warriors the victory and tying the series 2-2.

For what it is worth, Malik Monk was open on the play too. Not saying. Just saying.

WARRIORS GET THE STOP.
SERIES TIED AT 2-2. pic.twitter.com/S1jkecKq0y

— NBA (@NBA) April 23, 2023

Despite not getting a chance to hoist up a potential game-winner himself, Fox had a monster game, finishing with 38 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. Monk, who made a few key buckets in the fourth quarter, had 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists.

After the game, ESPN’s Mike Greenberg said, “A lot of people probably saw Malik Monk play more in his one year at Kentucky than his five years in the NBA, but he can really score.”

He’s not wrong.

Rounding out the Kentucky trio, Trey Lyles played 12 minutes and scored five points.

So far, teams playing on their home court have held strong this series. The Kings will now venture back to Sacramento with the series tied and attempt to light the beam there.

Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves stave off elimination for now

For the first two-and-half quarters, the Minnesota Timberwolves did not play like a team trying to avoid a sweep, but similarly, the Denver Nuggets were just kind of going through the motions as well. It wasn’t until later in the third quarter before the Timberwolves turned it on and held a 12-point lead with just over two minutes to go.

The Timberwolves, however, seem incapable of not collapsing.

With Karl-Anthony Towns out of the game due to fouling out, the Nuggets scored 12 straight points to force overtime. If it weren’t for a Nikola Jokic missed free throw (who finished with 43 points), it would have been a win.

To the Wolves’ credit, however, despite all the momentum being on Denver’s side, a banked-in 3-pointer from Mike Connley spurred a run and an Anthony Edwards 3-pointer sealed the win. The series now shifts back to Denver for Game 5 with the Nuggets up 3-1.

Towns was in foul trouble most of the game, but still managed 17 points and 11 boards in his team’s 114-108 overtime victory. Jamal Murray finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in 40 minutes for Denver.

Julius Randle benched in New York Knicks Game 4 win

Julius Randle was the talk of the New York sports media after the Knicks’ Game 4 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, but unfortunately, not for the best reasons. The Knicks’ sole All-Star was benched for much of the 4th quarter as his struggles from Game 3 carried over into Sunday.

Randle had just seven points, two rebounds, and an assist in 27 minutes of action. That brings his last two-game total to 18 points on 6-25 shooting including just 2-14 from behind the arc.

Similarly, the should-have-been Sixth Man of the Year, Immanuel Quickley, finished with a goose egg in the scoring column. The Kentucky duo has certainly seen better games.

Knick fans can’t complain too loudly, though, as their team defeated the Cavaliers, led by former Lousiville Cardinal, Donovan Mitchell, to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. Randle and Quickley look to get out of their slump in Game 5 on Wednesday back in Cleveland.

4/23/2023 Statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	MIN	+/-
De’Aaron Fox (SAC)	125-126 L vs. GSW	38	14-31 (4-11)	9	5	1	0	3	40	-4
Jamal Murray (DEN)	108-114 L vs. MIN (OT)	19	8-21 (2-7)	7	5	0	0	3	41	-3
Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN)	114-108 W vs. DEN	17	5-9 (0-2)	11	2	1	1	2	36	-7
Malik Monk (SAC)	125-126 L vs. GSW	16	5-14 (2-5)	5	5	2	0	3	28	+12
Julius Randle (NYK)	102-93 W vs. CLE	7	3-10 (0-4)	2	1	0	1	1	27	-2
Trey Lyles (SAC)	125-126 L vs. GSW	5	2-5 (1-3)	2	4	2	0	0	12	+6
Immanuel Quickley (NYK)	102-93 W vs. CLE	0	0-4 (0-2)	2	1	0	0	0	19	+11

Tonight in the NBA

7:30 (TNT): Bucks @ Heat (Herro-out, Adebayo) | MIA leads series 2-1
10:00 (TNT): Grizzlies @ Lakers (Davis, Vanderbilt, Gabriel) | LAL lead series 2-1