BBNBA: Johnson, Maxey help propel respective teams to wins
Another day, another opportunity for former Wildcats to help grab a victory in the association. Just the usual over here. Last night, Keldon Johnson and Tyrese Maxey stood out as each of their teams grabbed a win. Let’s take a look.
Keldon Johnson grabbed the flamethrower
The San Antonio Spurs are one of the more enjoyable rebuilding teams to watch in the NBA. Loaded with young talent and now an All-Star with Dejounte Murray, San Antonio is exciting to watch play. It’s that much more fun when Keldon Johnson has it going to compliment Murray.
Oh boy, did he have it last night.
In the 136-121 win, Keldon Johnson finished with 26 points on 13 shots, including an incredible 6-8 mark from behind the arc. He also added five rebounds and five assists to go with the scoring. Keldon Johnson has one of these nights every once in a while so it’s not uncommon. But, who knows if Johnson steps up to fill the void and production that they saw leave with Derrick White being traded.
And though he’s still only averaging just over 15 points per game, he’s been able to sustain a 43.8% from deep all season. Those are elite numbers. The media is still a little too quiet about Keldon Johnson. If he keeps up his shooting numbers, though, it’s not going to be long before people start to notice.
Tyrese Maxey shows his value after the deadline
It seems like the smartest thing about the whole James Harden-Ben Simmons trade this week was that Daryl Morey was able to keep Tyrese Maxey in Philadelphia. James Harden is immediate help that helps you get a championship this season, I get that. But at least they also understand that they have another budding star at point guard who they want to prioritize. Tyrese Maxey literally played so well that it made him impossible to trade, and that didn’t change on Friday.
Everyone in Lexington knew he would take this news in stride. Which is exactly what happened. In the 100-87 win over the Thunder last night, Tyrese Maxey finished with 24 points on 9-14 shooting from the floor. He added five steals and two rebounds as well.
What Tyrese’s role will be once Harden comes on board is a mystery. If we have any reason to believe though from the Philadelphia basketball organization, Maxey will still be an essential part of this team when the playoff run starts.
Karl-Anthony Towns’ 27 not enough in Chicago
Points were wildly abundant in Chicago’s 134-122 win over Minnesota last night. Anthony Edwards had 31 on over 50% shooting. Karl-Anthony Towns dropped 27, eight and eight on 12-19 shooting. Even D’Angelo Russel put in 18 points on efficient numbers.
Alas, it still wasn’t enough to stop DeMar DeRozen as he continues to be the best player in the NBA for some reason. DeRozen poured in another 35 point performance as Chicago outlasted the Timberwolves.
Though it was a tough loss, Minnesota got good performances out of all of their significant pieces and still sits two games above .500 as the all-star break approaches.
Statistics
| Player | Result | Points | FG (3PA) | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | Turnovers | Minutes | +/- |
| Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) | 134-122 L @ CHI | 27 | 12-19 (1-3) | 8 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 37 | -3 |
| Keldon Johnson (SAS) | 136-121 W @ ATL | 26 | 8-13 (6-8) | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 18 |
| Tyrese Maxey (PHI) | 100-87 W vs. OKC | 24 | 9-14 (2-4) | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 20 |
| Rajon Rondo (CLE) | 120-113 W @ IND | 17 | 6-7 (2-3) | 7 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 33 | 10 |
| Hamidou Diallo (DET) | 141-119 L vs. CHA | 16 | 8-14 (0-2) | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 27 | -10 |
| P.J. Washington (CHA) | 141-119 W @ DET | 13 | 5-7 (3-5) | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 29 | 23 |
| Isaiah Jackson (IND) | 120-113 L vs. CLE | 11 | 5-7 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 9 |
| Jarred Vanderbilt (MIN) | 122-134 L @ CHI | 6 | 3-4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 | -10 |
| Kevin Knox (ATL) | 136-121 L @ SAS | 2 | 1-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 |
| Nick Richards (CHA) | 141-119 W @ DET | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | -3 |
| DeMarcus Cousins (DEN) | 108-102 L @ BOS | DNP- Coach’s Decision | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) | 100-87 L @ PHI | DNP- Knee | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Today in the NBA
5:00 p.m. Knicks (Randle, Noel, Quickley) @ Trail Blazers (Bledsoe)
7:00 p.m. Grizzlies @ Hornets (Washington, Richards)
7:00 p.m. Kings (Fox, Lyles) @ Wizards
7:00 p.m. Spurs (Johnson) @ Pelicans
7:30 p.m. Cavaliers (Rondo) @ 76ers (Maxey)
7:30 p.m. Nuggets (Cousins, Murray*) @ Raptors
8:00 p.m. Nets @ Heat (Herro, Adebayo)
8:00 p.m. Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander*) @ Bulls
8:30 p.m. Clippers (Boston) @ Mavericks
8:30 p.m. (ABC) Lakers (Davis, Monk) @ Warriors
9:00 p.m. Magic @ Suns (Booker)
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