BBNBA: Timberwolves defeat hot-handed Curry, Rockets handle Bucks after Antetokounmpo leaves with injury.

[caption id="attachment_338036" align="alignnone" width="1444"] (@Timberwolves)[/caption] The Kentucky Derby is almost upon us--just one more day. But before that, here is a look at how some of the former Kentucky players fared in last night’s NBA action.

RECAP

TOWNS, TIMBERWOLVES DEFEAT HOT-HANDED CURRY, WARRIORS

Two of the Timberwolves' top-five picks, Ricky Rubio and Anthony Edwards helped avoid a series sweep against Steph Curry’s Warriors, winning 126-114 at home with Rubio and Edwards scoring 26 and 25 points, respectively. Now on a four-game winning streak, Karl-Anthony Towns’ Timberwolves outrebounded the Warriors 57-34, but is still the second-worst team in the Western Conference, and teams are wondering about Towns’ future, who only made the playoffs once, with Jimmy Butler. https://twitter.com/TheNBACentral/status/1388134439356706816?s=20 Jarred Vanderbilt grabbed six rebounds in 16 minutes of action from the bench, while Towns logged 33 minutes, finishing the game with 22 points, seven assists, and 11 rebounds, along with this posterizer to close out the first half. https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/1387938904334946304?s=20 The guy who was drafted two picks after Rubio, Steph Curry finished the game with 37 points, eight assists, and two steals. Overcoming early shooting struggles in the first half, Curry scored 16 points in the 3^rd quarter, helping the Warriors take a 91-89 lead with this 4-point play heading into the 4^th quarter. https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/status/1387949043511300097?s=20 Curry now has 13 30-point games in April, most by any player aged 33 or older, passing Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone. Former #1 pick Andrew Wiggins scored 27 points to go along with two blocks, while Draymond Green added 11 points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals, and three blocks. Curry has continued to be the only scoring threat on the Warriors, double-teamed on every possession, but is still hitting circus shots like these. https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1387947881244594177?s=20

KEVIN PORTER JR. SCORES CAREER-HIGH, ROCKETS DEFEAT BUCKS 143-136

Only five days away from his 21^st birthday, Kevin Porter Jr. became the youngest NBA player at 20 years and 360 days to have a 50-point 10-assist game. With two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo logging only one minute before leaving with a sprained ankle, Porter took full advantage of the situation, scoring a career-high 50 points with 11 assists, while going 9-15 from beyond the arc, including this step-back to get to 50. https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1387956023735078913?s=20 Snapping a five-game losing streak, Houston managed to cut down a 14-point deficit, leading at the start of the 4^th quarter 104-98, with significant contributions from players outside or Porter Jr. Christian Wood had 31 points and nine rebounds, while Kelly Olynyk notched a double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds. The Rockets just seemed to have a hot hand, shooting above 50 percent from both the field and the 3-point line. https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1387973873795227649?s=20 For the Bucks, Khris Middleton was the scoring leader with 33 points, while former Spurs guard Bryn Forbes scored 30 points off the bench. Jrue Holiday had a double-double as well, scoring 29 points with 10 assists, but could not keep KPJ in check. The Bucks are now only 3.5 games ahead of the Knicks and the 4^th spot in the Eastern Conference, while the Rockets look to add the presumptive #1 pick, Cade Cunningham, to their young core of KPJ and Wood. https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1387964843098087428?s=20

NETS DEFEAT CARIS LEVERT AND PACERS 130-113 BEHIND DURANT’S SEASON-HIGH 42

Scoring 22 of his 42 in the 3^rd quarter, Durant finished the game shooting 16-24 from the field while also dishing out 10 assists. With both Kyrie Irving and James Harden out, Durant made sure to get everyone some touches, with all starters scoring in double digits. Alize Johnson, who made his debut with the Nets a month ago on a 10-day contract, had a 20-20 game off the bench, with 20 points and 21 rebounds along with two blocks, getting a shoutout from KD himself on Twitter. https://twitter.com/KDTrey5/status/1387943800136511491?s=20 LeVert was the only scoring option for Indiana, with the former Nets guard finishing the game with 36 points and five assists while going 14-24 from the field. The rest of the Pacers shot 37 percent from the field and a horrendous 20 percent from 3. The Pacers and Caris LeVert now drop to 11-19 at home, sitting as the 9^th seed in the play-in tournament with 29-33 record, only three games ahead of the 11^th seeded Bulls. The Nets have the best record in the NBA, going 29-8 since February 10^th. https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1387935111665098753?s=20

Here are the full stats from last night:

[table id=768 /]

TONIGHT IN THE NBA:

7:00 - Hawks at 76ers (Maxey) 7:30 - Spurs (Johnson, Lyles) at Celtics 7:30 - Wizards at Cavaliers 8:00 - Trail Blazers (Kanter) at Nets 8:00 - Magic at Grizzlies 9:00 - Bucks at Bulls 10:00 - Jazz at Suns (Booker) 10:30 - Kings (Fox) at Lakers (Davis)