BBNBA: Devin Booker takes battle of NBA's best with win over 76ers
Did we miss anything last night? Instead of watching the slap heard around the world, some were glued to their TVs or laptops to see Devin Booker and some of the league’s best come together with just a couple of weeks left in the regular season.
Battle of MVP candidates leaves Book victorious
Phoenix already has the best record in the NBA locked up heading into the postseason. Still though, it never hurts to embarrass an MVP candidate and his team twice in one week. After dropping 49 points and grabbing a win against the Nuggets earlier in the week, Booker came back home and put up 35 on 13-22 shooting from the field on Sunday
The superstar guard put up 22 points after the first quarter on a perfect 3-3 from deep. He’s trying to make a late MVP push that he should’ve been a part of this whole time. Booker averaging 26.5 points, five rebounds and five assists while on pace to win 65+ games should probably do that.
The 76ers were led by Joel Embiid who still had a great night, leading all scorers with 37 points while grabbing 15 boards. Tyrese Maxey had another difficult shooting night, putting up 18 points on 7-21 shooting with an ugly 3-10 mark from behind the arc.
Monk and LeBron not enough as LA continues to slide
The idea of the Lakers flat-out missing the playoffs in its entirety is starting to become more and more possible every single day. LeBron James is trying to carry a starting lineup that includes not NBA 75 worthy Dwight Howard, Austin Reaves and Wenyen Gabriel. Yes… Wenyen Gabriel started and played 18 minutes for the Lakers on Sunday night in their 116-108 loss in New Orleans.
LeBron continued to do his thing, severely beating down father time at any given moment. James finished with 39 points, nine boards and five assists while shooting 7-13 from deep and over 50% overall on the night. Say what you want about the Lakers as a whole, but he has been absurdly good this year and you can’t really blame him for a lot of the misfortunes.
Malik Monk came off the bench on Sunday, leading all players from the pine with 23 points on 9-17 shooting. He had an off-night from deep, going 2-8 from behind the arc, but was still impactful dishing out six assists in 29 minutes.
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The Lakers face an absolute gauntlet for the rest of the season. They’ll play the Suns, Jazz, Warriors, and Nuggets twice before the end of the season. Sitting one game ahead of San Antonio for the 10th seed, it’s going to be must see basketball down the stretch.
P.J. Washington and co. spoil Kyrie’s return to Brooklyn
Following months of constant banter and talk about Kyrie Irving never being allowed to play in his own building despite practicing with the team and watching unvaccinated players from around the country come into Brooklyn and do as they please, they could’ve at least put up a little better showing.
Irving disappointed in his return to Barclays. The star point guard put up 16 points and 11 assists but it came on 6-22 shooting from the field with a 1-9 mark from deep. Who knows, maybe he’s gotta adjust to the depth perception in one of the strangest stadiums in the league. Either way, the story should be focused more on who spoiled the night.
LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges led the Hornets as usual during the 119-110 over the Nets. P.J. Washington, however, had one of his better shooting nights in a while, going 8-12 from the floor with a 2-3 mark from deep. The forward finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in the win.
Also, he also embarrassed Kevin Durant, which we’re always here to see.
Statistics
| Player | Result | Points | FG (3PA) | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | Turnovers | Minutes | +/- |
| Devin Booker (PHX) | 114-104 W vs. PHX | 35 | 13-22 (3-5) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 35 | 7 |
| Malik Monk (LAL) | 116-108 L @ NOP | 23 | 9-17 (2-8) | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 29 | 7 |
| Julius Randle (NYK) | 104-102 W @ DET | 20 | 7-18 (2-5) | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 31 | -1 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) | 134-112 W @ BOS | 19 | 8-15 (1-3) | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 35 | -16 |
| Tyrese Maxey (PHI) | 114-104 L @ PHX | 18 | 7-21 (3-10) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | -25 |
| Immanuel Quickley (NYK) | 104-102 W @ DET | 18 | 6-15 (4-9) | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 31 | 9 |
| P.J. Washington (CHA) | 119-110 W @ BKN | 18 | 8-12 (2-3) | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 17 |
| Jarred Vanderbilt (MIN) | 134-112 L @ BOS | 11 | 5-7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | -2 |
| Wenyen Gabriel (LAL) | 116-108 L @ NOP | 4 | 2-3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 5 |
| Nick Richards (CHA) | 119-110 W @ BKN | DNP – Coach’s Decision | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Nerlens Noel (NYK) | 104-102 W @ DET | DNP – Foot | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Hamidou Diallo (DET) | 104-102 L vs. NYK | DNP -Finger | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Anthony Davis (LAL) | 116-108 L @ NOP | DNP – Foot | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Tonight in the NBA
7:00 p.m. Hawks (Knox) @ Pacers (Jackson)
7:00 p.m. Magic @ Cavaliers (Rondo)
7:00 p.m. Nuggets (Cousins) @ Hornets (Washington, Richards)
7:30 p.m. Celtics @ Raptors
7:30 p.m. Kings (Fox, Lyles) @ Heat (Adebayo, Herro)
7:30 p.m. Bulls @ Knicks (Randle, Quickley, Noel)
8:00 p.m. Spurs (Johnson) @ Rockets
8:00 p.m. (NBA TV) Warriors @ Grizzlies
10:00 p.m. Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander) @ Trail Blazers (Bledsoe)
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