BBNBA: Kevin Knox drops 30 on penultimate day of regular season

With just one day left in the NBA’s 2022-23 regular season, we aren’t exactly witnessing the best that the league has to offer. The majority of teams have already locked in Playoff/Play-In spots at this late stage, allowing star players to rest ahead of the postseason, which begins in the middle of this coming week. On the flip side, the last few days of the regular season are also an opportunity for bad teams to look even worse in the standings with hopes of improving draft odds.

But Saturday — the second to last day of the regular season — actually featured some thrilling basketball from the perspective of the Big Blue Nation. We’ll start with Kevin Knox, who has been playing his best ball of the year over the last few days.

The former Wildcat poured in a season-high 30 points (10-15 FG; 5-8 3PT) on Saturday, although it came in a losing effort as the Portland Trail Blazers fell to the LA Clippers, 136-125. Knox also grabbed 11 rebounds (just his second double-double of the year) to go along with two assists and one steal in 36 minutes played. He did this coming off a 24-point performance on Thursday, which set a then-season-high that only lasted two days.

The Blazers have been in full-on tank mode for a couple of weeks now, shutting down the majority of the team’s starters, most notably All-Star point guard Damian Lillard. Portland is currently 33-48 on the season, third-worst in the Western Conference, presenting plenty of opportunities for someone like Knox to shine.

It’s also opened up the door for rookie guard Shaedon Sharpe, who continues to shine in place of the Blazers’ starters. The 19-year-old has been on an absolute tear since the middle of March, and Saturday was no different. The “former” Wildcat dropped 26 points on 10-20 shooting (3-9 from deep) in addition to four rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 37 minutes. Sharpe has scored at least 20 points in five straight games now. Over his last nine outings, he’s averaging 24.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.1 assists while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from distance.

He’s going to be pretty good, folks.

KAT, Murray both drop at least 20

Karl-Anthony Towns and Jamal Murray both led their respective teams on Saturday, but only one came out with the win.

Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves had zero issues taking care of the Keldon Johnson-less San Antonio Spurs, scoring 151 points as a team to win by 20. KAT went for 22 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists on 10-19 shooting overall in just 28 minutes of action. But even with the win, the Wolves will still participate in the Play-In and can finish no worse than ninth in the Western Confernce standings. Johnson was sidelined with a foot injury for the Spurs.

Meanwhile, Murray contributed 20 points, four rebounds, and five assists on 7-13 overall shooting, also suiting up for 28 minutes. Murray’s Denver Nuggets ultimately fell to the Utah Jazz, 118-114, which mostly played its reserves. Denver, still the owner of the Western Conference’s top seed with a 52-29 record, has now lost five of its six last games. Former Kansas star Ochai Agbaji poured in a career-high 28 points for the Jazz.

Other BBNBA notes

• Sunday is the final day of the regular season and the NBA has loaded up the schedule. All 30 teams will play throughout Easter, with half the games beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST and the rest at 3:30 p.m. EST — NFL-style TV watching. Two games will be on ESPN, as well. Check out the current playoff bracket below as of Sunday morning and enjoy some pre-postseason hoops.

4/8/23 statistics

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	+/-	MIN
Kevin Knox (POR)	125-136 L @ LAC	30	10-15 (5-8)	11	2	1	0	2	-4	36
Shaedon Sharpe (POR)	125-136 L @ LAC	26	10-20 (3-9)	4	4	2	0	3	-12	37
Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN)	151-131 W @ SAS	22	10-19 (2-6)	8	8	0	2	2	30	28
Jamal Murray (DEN)	114-118 L @ UTA	20	7-13 (4-10)	4	5	1	1	3	1	28
Johnny Juzang (UTA)	114-118 L vs. DEN	2	1-9 (0-4)	2	0	0	0	0	-18	15
Brandon Boston Jr. (LAC)	136-125 W vs. POR	0	0-1	1	1	0	0	0	-2	1
Keldon Johnson (SAS)	131-151 L vs. MIN	DNP-Foot	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Today in the NBA

1:00 (ESPN): Hawks @ Celtics
1:00: 76ers (Maxey: out) @ Nets
1:00: Hornets (Richards, PJ Washington: out) @ Cavaliers
1:00: Magic @ Heat (Adebayo: probable, Herro: questionable)
1:00: Pacers (Jackson) @ Knicks (Quickley, Randle: out)
1:00: Bucks @ Raptors
1:00: Rockets @ Wizards
1:00: Pistons (Diallo: out) @ Bulls
3:30: Spurs (Johnson) @ Mavericks
3:30: Pelicans @ Timberwolves (Towns: questionable)
3:30: Grizzlies @ Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander: out, Sarr)
3:30: Kings (Fox, Lyles, Monk: questionable) @ Nuggets (Murray: questionable)
3:30 (ESPN): Jazz @ Lakers (Davis: questionable, Gabriel, Vanderbilt)
3:30: Clippers (Boston) @ Suns (Booker: out)
3:30: Warriors @ Trail Blazers (Knox, Sharpe)