BBNBA: Heat go to triple-OT, Isaiah Jackson & Tyrese Maxey play well

College Basketball rightfully had the attention of the sports world on Saturday. But there were some noteworthy performances at the professional ranks by a few former Kentucky guys. Let’s talk NBA.

Heat outlasted by Raptors

Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat both played 45 minutes in a marathon 124-120 loss to the Toronto Raptors, but they barely broke a sweat compared to the starters on the other side of the court.

Nick Nurse did his best Adolph Rupp impersonation. (Legend has it Rupp would frequently play all five starters the entire game back in the day). Every Raptor starter played 54 minutes or more as the entire bench combined for just 37 minutes.

this is insane. pic.twitter.com/R4Jl4co1Pi

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) January 30, 2022

Worked out for Toronto, though, as they were the ones barely standing and victorious at the end. Like Rocky Balboa in his rematch with Apollo Creed.

As for Bam and Tyler, they combined for 11 turnovers and 10-34 shooting from the field. Not their best nights although Adebayo managed to pull down 16 boards and control the paint defensively. Just not enough offense in a 63-minute game for the Heat.

Tyrese Maxey continues solid play

The Philadelphia 76ers beat a Sacramento Kings team that was missing De’Aaron Fox on Saturday as Tyrese Maxey turned in a solid day of work. Maxey led Philly in minutes played (41) while scoring 13 points and dishing out seven assists.

Nothing electric, but I wanted to highlight how impressive Maxey has been in his second season. 16.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists on 46.3% field goal shooting and (here’s the kicker) 40.5% from three. He’s the third-leading scorer on a Philly team that’s third in the East as of Sunday morning, and he has the exact same effective field goal percentage (51.7%) as second-leading scorer Tobias Harris.

Maxey also leads the team in minutes (35.5) and assists (4.7) per game while serving as the Sixers’ second-most productive three-point shooter. He’s a guy that doesn’t get a ton of attention nationally or even from Kentucky fans, but he’s on the same developmental trajectory as guys such as De’Aaron Fox and Jamal Murray.

Isaiah Jackson in double figures again

Isaiah Jackson played sparsely and contributed very little in the Indiana Pacers’ first 40 or so games. Now that Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner are missing from the lineup, a window opened for Jackson to step in. Over his last five games, he’s reached double figures three times after not doing so up until that point.

He set a season-high in Indiana’s best win of the season with 15 points at Golden State, then one-upped that outing with 17 against Charlotte the other day. Last night, he finished with 12 points and three blocked shots while also knocking down his second three in as many games.

Despite the uptick in production from Jackson, Indiana hasn’t built on the momentum since beating the Warriors. During these last two Jackson performances, the rest of the Pacers dropped the ball as Indiana fell by 32 and 27 points in two losses.

Here’s to Isaiah Jackson though! Making his way in the NBA.

Statistics

Player	Result	Points	FG(3PA)	Rebounds	Assists	Steals	Blocks	Turnovers	Minutes	+/-
Bam Adebayo (MIA)	124-120 L vs. TOR	14	5-12 (0-0)	16	1	3	2	6	45	-8
Tyler Herro (MIA)	124-120 L vs. TOR	13	5-22 (3-14)	6	4	0	0	5	45	+9
Tyrese Maxey (PHI)	103-101 W vs. SAC	13	6-12 (1-3)	2	7	1	0	2	41	+5
Isaiah Jackson (IND)	132-105 L @ DAL	12	5-8 (1-1)	6	1	1	3	2	18	-9
De’Aaron Fox (SAC)	103-101 L @ PHI	DNP – Ankle	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Enes Freedom (BOS)	107-97 W @ NOP	DNP – CD	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Today in the NBA

1:00 p.m. Lakers (Monk, Davis) @ Hawks

1:00 p.m. Clippers (Bledsoe, Boston) @ Hornets (Washington, Richards)

3:30 p.m. Trail Blazers @ Bulls

6:00 p.m. Cavaliers (Rondo) @ Pistons (Lyles, Diallo)

7:00 p.m. Mavericks @ Magic

7:00 p.m. Nuggets (Cousins, Murray*) @ Bucks

8:00 p.m. Jazz @ Timberwolves (Towns, Vanderbilt)

8:00 p.m. Spurs (Johnson) @ Suns (Booker)

* — Inactive