BBNBA: Jamal Murray Puts Up 28 In Overtime Loss to Suns

The Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns battled it out on Tuesday night in the Mile High city. Although former Kentucky star Jamal Murray put up big numbers, his performance was not enough to get the Nuggets over the hurdle that they created for themselves in the first half.

Phoenix came out on top despite missing former Wildcat Devin Booker due to an ankle injury that he suffered against Houston after stepping on one of his teammate’s feet. The Suns won 117-107 in an overtime thriller.

Murray had a big first half as he went for 15 points in the first 24 minutes of play. The Canadian guard finished the game with 28 points total but had a drought from the field in the fourth quarter until the very end. He was able to pull down seven rebounds and was one assist shy of a double-double.

A Booker-less Phoenix squad outscored the Nuggets 37-18 in the second quarter as Murray was held to four points. At the start of the fourth quarter, the Suns led 90-81 after gaining a large 65-50 lead going into halftime. Luckily for Denver, Murray stepped it up late in the fourth as he took the 102-99 lead with 46 seconds left. Although the star guard clutched up in the final minutes, it was not enough to stop Kevin Durant from draining the step-back three to tie things up and send the game into overtime.

Phoenix got off to a hot start in OT and took a 114-104 lead. After having a solid game, Murray was quiet in the final five minutes and Booker’s Suns got the 117-107 overtime dub.

PJ Washington Scores 20 In Mavs’ Defeat

Dallas faced off against the Pacers at home. The Mavericks came into the game with a 34-27 record while Indiana was 35-27. Former Kentucky forward PJ Washington Jr. has been putting up big numbers since he was traded from Charlotte to the Mavs. Tuesday night was nothing new for Washington as he dropped 20 in Dallas’ 137-120 defeat.

Washington was 7-12 from the field and went 4-8 from behind the arc. Two out of his four made threes came in the first quarter alone as he dropped eight. Fifteen of his 20 total points came in the first half but after halftime, it was a downhill slope for the Louisville native.

Going into halftime it was a 74-70 game in favor of Indiana. However, the Mavs only scored four points in the first five minutes coming out of the locker room. The team’s deficit heading into the fourth quarter was 106-88 and Washington scored no points in the third. After getting down by a large margin in the third it was too difficult for Dallas to find the comeback and they fell by almost 20 points in the end.

There are two former ‘Cats on Indiana in Isaiah Jackson and Oscar Tshiebwe. However, neither player was a part of the battle on Tuesday night due to their coach’s decision to sit the big men out. Even though they were out it did not seem to mess up the Pacers’ flow as they cruised in the second half to the high scoring dub.

Herro-less Heat Glide Past Detroit In Second Half

Miami had been on a five-game winning streak in February but the run was broken by Denver on the last day of the month. At the start of March, the Heat have been on a red-hot streak. Their first win came against the Utah Jazz on March 2, and their second of the new month came against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night.

Kentucky’s former big man Bam Adebayo got the start against the Pistons on Tuesday and dropped 18 points in Miami’s 118-110 win. Adebayo was a beast on the boards as he led the team in rebounds with seven by the end of the game. The big man also had one block, one steal, and one assist in the victory.

Adebayo’s fellow former Wildcat teammate Tyler Herro has been out with a foot injury. Before his ailment, Herro was averaging 20.8 points, 5.3 boards, and 4.4 assists per game. The shooting star has also been shooting 43.7 percent from the field.

Fortunately for the Heat, they did not seem to need Herro in their 118-110 win over Detroit as they held a comfortable lead throughout the game. Miami will face off against PJ Washington and the Mavericks on Thursday, March 7, at 7:30 pm EST on TNT.

Other BBNBA Notes:

• Injuries plague former ‘Cats as Tyrese Maxey was out as Philadelphia took on the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night. Maxey has been averaging 26 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists while shooting 44.9 percent from the field. After stepping out of his previous game against Dallas with a head injury, Maxey was ruled out of the 76ers game against the Nets due to a mild concussion.
• Keldon Johnson came off the bench for San Antonio in their game against the Rockets on Tuesday night. Johnson put up 18 points and six rebounds in the Spurs 114-101 loss to Houston.
• Julius Randle and Jacob Toppin were both out for the Knicks on Tuesday night against Atlanta. Randle is still out with a shoulder injury while Toppin was ruled out due to a coach’s decision to sit him out. New York fell to the Hawks 116-100 on Tuesday night.
• Immanuel Quickley and the Raptors fell 139-98 to New Orleans in Toronto on Tuesday night. The New York native had 17 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in the defeat.

BBNBA 3/5/24 Statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Jamal Murray (DEN)	117-107 L vs. PHX	28	12-25 (2-6)	7	9	1	0	3	0	42
PJ Washington Jr. (DAL)	137-120 L vs. IND	20	7-12 (4-8)	7	3	1	1	0	-10	37
Keldon Johnson (SA)	114-101 L @HOU	18	5-12 (3-5)	6	2	0	0	1	-4	34
Bam Adebayo (MIA)	118-110 W vs. DET	18	8-17 (0-0)	7	1	1	1	1	8	35
Immanuel Quickley (TOR)	139-98 L vs. NO	17	6-14 (4-7)	7	7	1	0	1	-21	33
Nick Richards (CHA)	101-89 L vs. ORL	2	1-2 (0-0)	4	0	0	1	2	5	27
Tyrese Maxey (PHI)	112-107 L @BKN	DNP-concussion	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Jacob Toppin (NYK)	116-100 L vs. ATL	DNP-CD	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Julius Randle (NYK)	116-100 L vs. ATL	DNP-shoulder	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Tyler Herro (MIA)	118-110 W vs. DET	DNP-foot	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Isaiah Jackson (IND)	137-120 W @DAL	DNP-CD	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Oscar Tshiebwe (IND)	137-120 W @DAL	DNP-CD	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Devin Booker (PHX)	117-107 W @DEN	DNP-ankle	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Tonight in the NBA

• 7:00 | Magic @ Wizards
• 7:30 | Cavaliers @ Hawks
• 7:30 (ESPN) | Clippers (Boston) @ Rockets
• 7:30 | Grizzlies @ 76ers (Maxey: out)
• 9:00 | Bulls @ Jazz (Juzang: 2-Way)
• 10:00 | Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander, Sarr: 2-Way, Wallace) @ Trail Blazers (Sharpe: out)
• 10:00 (ESPN) | Bucks (Livingston: 2-Way, TyTy Washington: 2-Way) @ Warriors
• 10:30 | Kings (Fox, Lyles, Monk) @ Lakers (Davis: probable, Vanderbilt: out)