BBNBA: Heat & Timberwolves roll, Lakers fall to Clippers

It was a packed Thursday night of action around the NBA featuring some big performances from our Kentucky guys. Let’s talk Anthony Davis, Devin Booker and the Miami Heat.

AD’s 30 & 17 not enough in Lakers loss

Three of the four superstars among the Lakers and Clippers sat out in last night’s Battle of LA teams as LeBron James, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard were missing from the lineup. Anthony Davis played though and turned in his best performance since returning from injury.

AD scored 30 and grabbed 17 rebounds — his second 30 & 15 stat line in a row — and finished an alley-pop that should have taken the lead for good.

The Lakers' best play of the night was this set that resulted in an Anthony Davis lob dunk. They cleared out Ariza to prevent a strong-side defender from being able to tag Davis when he rolls to the basket, and Russ timed it perfectly. @Sean_Davi broke it down for @LakersNation pic.twitter.com/jrLgalCuEM

— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) February 4, 2022

However, following the Davis slam, the Clippers went straight down and re-took the lead. That set up another chance for AD to take the lead (and win the game) at the buzzer, but his floater rimmed in and back out to give the Lakers the L.

Anthony Davis misses the game winning shot for the Lakers. Wow. pic.twitter.com/cl3YtpYu9P

— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) February 4, 2022

Despite the loss, Malik Monk also filled up the stat sheet. Monk started and joined Davis and Russell Westbrook as the only Lakers to play more than 30 minutes. He scored 21 points and made three 3-pointers while recording seven rebounds and seven assists.

The fifth-year spark-plug is averaging over 12 points per night and, more importantly, is shooting a sliver over 40% from three (40.6%). He’s settled in as a regular starter and reliable offensive contributor over the last couple of months.

He will certainly be a factor in the postseason and we can’t wait to see him get to shine in the brightest lights.

Herro, Heat breeze by Spurs

The Miami Heat were playing as well as any team in the NBA before Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo returned. Since welcoming their All-Stars back, they’ve just kept winning. The Spurs were the latest victim of the recent Heat Wave, with the former ‘Cats leading the way.

Tyler Herro has all but locked up Sixth Man of the Year assuming he continues not to start. He was good for 24-5-5 off the pine yesterday and was second on the team with a +20 plus/minus in his 32 minutes of play.

First place? +26 from Bam Adebayo. Bam finished with an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double while also recording four steals in the win.

I want to single out Heat coach Eric Spoelstra. Most teams in the NBA are dealing with rampant injuries and COVID-19 absences. However, I’m not sure many teams saw their two best players go down at the same time for over a month, and yet continued to win. And not just win, but climb the standings and remain top-5 in the NBA in offense.

Unreal job this year by Spoelstra. Coach of the Year worthy in my eyes. He was able to improve Miami’s position in the East standings with Herro and a practice squad. Now that he has Adebayo and Butler in the lineup, the one-seed is definitely in play for the Heat as the season winds down. They’re only a half-game out as of this morning.

Timberwolves spectacular month

Finally, the month Minnesota has always needed! As of January 3rd, the T-Wolves were sliding towards the back of the playoff chain and were several games below .500. In the last 30 days, Karl-Anthony Towns and co. caught fire and turned in the fourth-best record in the NBA since Jan. 3 at 11-5.

They also have the fourth-best net rating, outscoring opponents by seven points per 100 possessions over the past month. Using that same metric, Minnesota is the No. 1 in the NBA in offense over that span. Just a heck of a recent run for the Timberwolves.

Last night’s win over Detroit is the third in a row for Minnesota and they now occupy the seventh seed out West — and increasingly look like a lock to at least make the play-in round of a depleted Western Conference bottom half.

It sure looks like the combination of Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and De’Angelo Russell is coming together in terrific fashion on offense. Throw in tough defensive-minded role players such as Jarred Vanderbilt and Patrick Beverley, and Minnesota might just have themselves a really solid basketball team.

Now please, T-Wolves, don’t wash away all this goodwill with an equally disappointing February.

Phoenix finally falls

The Suns second double-digit win streak of the season met its demise yesterday in Atlanta against a surging Hawks club. Devin Booker still played elite basketball with 32 points on 13-27 shooting, but his 1-8 mark from three didn’t help the Suns down the stretch. It happens.

On to the next huge winning streak for the Suns, who remain in the driver’s seat to secure the No. 1 seed in the West. By the lay of the land, it looks like Phoenix is nearly a shoo-in to finish with the top record in the entire NBA so long as they fend off Golden State.

With fans back in seats in full force, home-court advantage throughout the postseason will be a significant advantage.

Player	Result	Points	FG(3PA)	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks	Turnovers	Minutes	+/-
Devin Booker (PHO)	124-115 L @ ATL	32	13-27 (1-8)	0	3	1	0	2	38	-6
Anthony Davis (LAL)	111-110 L @ LAC	30	12-24 (0-2)	17	2	2	2	1	38	-6
Tyler Herro (MIA)	112-95 W @ SAS	24	11-20 (0-5)	5	5	2	0	1	32	+20
Malik Monk (LAL)	111-110 L @ LAC	21	8-19 (3-8)	7	7	0	0	0	33	-7
Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN)	128-117 W @ DET	21	6-15 (0-4)	14	4	0	2	5	36	+4
Bam Adebayo (MIA)	112-95 W @ SAS	18	7-13 (0-1)	11	3	4	0	1	31	+26
Jarred Vanderbilt (MIN)	128-117 W @ DET	13	5-6 (0-0)	6	0	2	1	2	24	+8
Trey Lyles (DET)	128-117 L vs. MIN	13	4-6 (1-2)	0	0	0	0	2	18	-10
Hamidou Diallo (DET)	128-117 L vs. MIN	9	1-3 (0-1)	3	0	1	0	0	15	-8
Eric Bledsoe (LAC)	111-110 W vs. LAL	7	3-8 (0-2)	3	7	1	0	1	20	-5
Keldon Johnson (SAS)	112-95 L vs. MIA	7	3-12 (1-8)	3	3	0	0	1	24	-11
Brandon Boston Jr. (LAC)	111-110 W vs. LAL	2	1-4 (0-2)	0	1	0	0	0	10	-8
Kevin Knox II (ATL)	124-115 W vs. PHO	DNP – CD	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
De’Aaron Fox (SAC)	126-114 L @ GSW	DNP – Ankle	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Today in the NBA

7:00 p.m. (NBATV) Cavaliers (Rondo) @ Hornets (Washington, Richards)

7:00 p.m. Celtics (Freedom) @ Pistons (Lyles, Diallo)

7:00 p.m. Bulls @ Pacers

7:30 p.m. Hawks (Knox) @ Raptors

8:30 p.m. Rockets @ Spurs (Johnson)

9:00 p.m. Nets @ Jazz

9:00 p.m. Pelicans @ Nuggets (Murray*)

10:00 p.m. (ESPN) 76ers (Maxey) @ Mavericks

10:00 p.m. Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander) @ Trail Blazers