BBNBA: Karl-Anthony Towns has historic night in San Antonio
What a night it was for several former ‘Cats. From rookies to veterans, our guys were putting on a show last night — some in historic ways. Let’s find out who.
KAT sets NBA season-high with 60 points
Karl-Anthony Towns. That’s really all you need to know about this game, but I’ll elaborate anyhow. Towns scored a franchise-record and career-high 60 points in last night’s Timberwolves-Spurs matchup, setting the NBA season-high along the way. The points, along with the 17 rebounds he grabbed, helped Minnesota outlast San Antonio 149-139.
It’s really difficult to describe just how incredible this performance was. Towns was 19 for 31 in the contest, including an impressive 7-of-11 from the 3-point line. He wasn’t kidding when he dubbed himself the greatest 3-point shooting big man of all time. Towns scored 32 points in the third quarter alone — already enough to make him Minnesota’s leading scorer. The performance marks the first time an NBA player has had 60 points and 17 rebounds in a game since Shaquille O’Neal did it in March of 2000. Not bad company to be in, KAT.
It came at a good time, too. The other half of Minnesota’s dangerous duo, Anthony Edwards, had only five points. Patrick Beverly and D’Angelo Russell went for 20 and 19, respectively. Minnesota now sits just 1 1/2 games behind Denver for the sixth place spot in the Western Conference.
Though it will be overlooked, Keldon Johnson had an impressive night for the Spurs in this one as well. Johnson led the team with 34 points, eight rebounds and four assists. He was 13 for 21 from the field and 5-of-9 from the 3-point line. The effort gave him his 1,000th point of the season. His career-high performance helped keep the Spurs from being totally run over by Towns and the Timberwolves.
Nuggets outlast Sixers in overtime
You’re probably expecting me to write about Joel Embiid or Nikola Jokic in this one…and don’t worry, I’ll get there. But the real story here is that of Bones Hyland — a 21-year-old rookie out of VCU with an inspiring story. Hyland scored 21 points off the bench as Denver outlasted the Philadelphia 114-110 in overtime.
The points were great and all, but that wasn’t what Hyland was most thankful for after the game. Almost four years ago, Hyland had to leap from a second-story window as his home was engulfed in flames. Last night, the firefighters and first responders who helped save his life that day in Wilmington, Delaware were able to watch him play in person.
“Every time I check into the game I do a cross across my chest just to be thankful that I still am in this position…,” Hyland told reporters after the game.
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MVP-candidate Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 22 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two blocks. Will Barton added 20 of his own, pushing the Nuggets past a scrappy Sixers team. Philly’s Joel Embiid, also an MVP-hopeful, scored 34 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Former Wildcat Tyrese Maxey had a solid night too, ending with 19 points. James Harden added 24.
Speaking of James Harden, he and Denver’s DeMarcus Cousins shared an intense moment in the fourth quarter. Cousins, who is known for his angry reactions but has seemingly found control of them more recently, got a little chippy with Harden on a double-team. The play resulted in both players receiving a technical foul. Who would you bet on, BBN?
Fox and friends get impressive home win over Bulls
What do you know? Another former John Calipari standout carrying his team to victory. This time, it was De’Aaron Fox, whose big night pushed his team over the top. Fox had 34 points, six assists and six rebounds as the Sacramento Kings beat the Chicago Bulls 112-103 last night.
The effort earned him high praise from Kings interim coach Alvin Gentry after the game. “I think De’Aaron is playing so well right now and he’s doing an extremely good job of controlling the game,” Gentry said. “I think he’s playing as well as anyone in the league over the last month or so.”
Fox has been on fire as of late. He’s averaging 30.1 points over his last 10 games, well above his season average of 23.2 (good for 16th in the NBA).
Zach LaVine led Chicago with 27 points and six assists. Nikola Vucevic added 23 points and 10 rebounds while DeMar DeRozan had 21. Following the game, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said his team didn’t do a good enough job guarding Fox and Kings forward Domantas Sabonis, who scored 22. Chicago has lost six of their last eight games.
Full stats from last night’s games:
| Player | Result | Points | FG (3PA) | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | Turnovers | Minutes | +/- |
| Karl Anthony-Towns (MIN) | 149-139 W over Spurs | 60 | 19-31 (7-11) | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 36 | +16 |
| Keldon Johnson (SA) | 149-139 L to Timberwolves | 34 | 13-21 (5-9) | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | -18 |
| De’Aaron Fox (SAC) | 112-103 W over Bulls | 34 | 13-25 (3-8) | 6 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 42 | +16 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) | 134-116 L to Hornets | 32 | 12-20 (3-7) | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 36 | -3 |
| Tyrese Maxey (PHI) | 114-110 L to Nuggets | 19 | 7-13 (2-6) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | +1 |
| Brandon Boston Jr. (LAC) | 120-111 L to Cavaliers | 11 | 4-11 (2-4) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | +5 |
| Trey Lyles (SAC) | 112-103 W over Bulls | 9 | 3-4 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | +9 |
| Malik Monk (LAL) | 114-103 L to Raptors | 8 | 3-8 (1-4) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 24 | -28 |
| Demarcus Cousins (DEN) | 114-110 W over 76ers | 8 | 3-6 (2-5) | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 | +13 |
| Olivier Sarr (OKC) | 134-116 L to Hornets | 7 | 2-5 (0-1) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 32 | -6 |
| PJ Washington (CHA) | 134-116 W over Thunder | 6 | 3-9 (0-3) | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 30 | +25 |
| Nick Richards (CHA) | 134-116 W over Thunder | 2 | 1-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -2 |
| Wenyen Gabriel (LAL) | 114-103 L to Raptors | 2 | 1-8 (0-3) | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 19 | -5 |
| Kevin Knox (ATL) | 122-113 W over Trail Blazers | 0 | 0-3 (0-1) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | -3 |
Today in the NBA:
7:00 p.m. – Grizzlies at Pacers (Jackson)
7:00 p.m. – Nets at Magic (Mulder)
7:30 p.m. – Pistons (Diallo) at Heat (Adebayo, Herro)
8:00 p.m. (NBA TV) – Suns (Booker) at Pelicans
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