BBNBA: Tyler Herro comes up one assist short of triple-double in Heat win

It was a night of near triple-doubles in the BBNBA, but Tyler Herro got the closest. He was just one assist shy of what would have been his second-career triple-double. He finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists as the Miami Heat handled the Brooklyn Nets comfortably 110-95.

One of Herro’s nine assists was an impressive ally-oop to Kel-el Ware, a one-time transfer portal target for Kentucky. After the game, Herro said, “I love playing with Kel’el,” while wearing futurist-looking glasses. Yes, the glasses were much more click-worthy than the quote itself.

Bam Adebayo had 23 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists in the game as well.

Tyrese Maxey also just missed out on a triple-double, coming up two assists shy. He did, however, have 32 points and 10 rebounds to go along with his eight assists. Oh, and three steals too, for good measure.

Elsewhere, Karl-Anthony Towns fell just three assists short of a triple-double, as he poured in 31 points, grabbed 10 boards, and handed out seven assists. The Knicks took care of an Immanuel Quickley-less Raptors team 139-125.

Julius Randle joined KAT in the three-assists shy of a triple-double club, finishing out the night with 19 points, 13 boards, and seven assists in the Timberwolves’ loss to the Hawks.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scores 41 in OKC win over Wizards

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is probably fine with getting Christmas Day off, but it is criminal the NBA did not showcase him and the Oklahoma City Thunder on one of their most celebrated days of the season. It isn’t as if the Thunder are surprisingly good this year. They finished first in Western Conference standings last year and Gilgeous-Alexander came in third place in MVP voting. How is that not a resume for a Christmas Day game?

I’m not sure if Monday served as SGA’s protest for the atrocity or if it was simply another day in the office, but the former Kentucky guard scored a BBNBA-high 41 points against the Wizards. But, as usual, he wasn’t just spectacular on offense, he was tremendous on the defensive side of the ball as well, coming away with three steals and three blocks as well.

I don’t know what NBA schedulers need to see differently from SGA (save for him playing in a bigger market than Oklahoma City) but MVP candidates on one of the league’s best teams should be showcased more often.

Other BBNBA Notes:

• Herro and several former Kentucky players came up three assists or fewer short of a triple-double, and Anthony Davis came up just four shy. He had 19 points, 10 boards, and six assists in a Lakers’ loss to the Pistons.
• Reed Sheppard played a whopping 19 minutes on Monday but had an off-shooting night, connecting on just 1-7 from the field and 1-6 from behind the line.
• Both Devin Booker and Jamal Murray sat in the Suns-Nuggets game, but there is a chance both could be back when the two teams face each other again on Christmas Day.

BBNBA Statistics for 12/23/2024

Player	Score	PTS	FG (3PT)	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	P/M	MIN
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC)	123-105 W vs. WAS	41	14-25 (3-6)	9	3	3	3	3	+25	35
Tyrese Maxey (PHI)	111-106 W vs. SAS	32	12-25 (5-11)	10	8	3	0	1	+7	41
Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK)	139-125 W vs. TOR	31	11-15 (1-3)	10	7	1	0	1	+17	32
Bam Adebayo (MIA)	110-95 W vs. BRK	23	8-12 (0-2)	7	7	1	0	2	+8	31
Anthony Davis (LAL)	114-117 L vs. DET	19	7-14 (1-3)	10	6	2	2	3	+15	39
Julius Randle (MIN)	104-117 L vs. ATL	19	6-15 (2-7)	13	7	0	1	8	-5	36
Tyler Herro (MIA)	110-95 W vs. BRK	17	5-13 (2-7)	12	9	0	1	1	+13	39
Shaedon Sharpe (POR)	108-132 L vs. DAL	13	6-14 (1-4)	2	3	3	0	1	-16	24
PJ Washington (DAL)	132-108 W vs. POR	12	5-8 (2-3)	4	2	1	0	1	+27	24
Cason Wallace (OKC)	123-105 W vs. WAS	9	4-6 (1-2)	4	4	2	1	0	+22	28
Nick Richards (CHA)	101-114 L vs. HOU	6	1-3 (0-0)	4	0	0	0	3	-11	13
Keldon Johnson (SAS)	106-111 L vs. PHI	4	2-6 (0-4)	1	2	0	0	1	+10	22
Johnny Juzang (UTA)	113-124 L vs. CLE	3	1-2 (1-2)	1	0	0	0	2	-5	14
Reed Sheppard (HOU)	114-101 W vs. CHA	3	1-7 (1-6)	4	2	1	1	0	-3	19
Jacob Toppin (NYK) [Two-way]	139-125 W vs. TOR	0	0-0 (0-0)	0	0	0	0	0	-1	1
Rob Dillingham (MIN)	104-117 L vs. ATL	0	0-0 (0-0)	0	0	0	0	0	+4	2
Devin Booker (PHX)	90-117 L vs. DEN	DNP-Groin
Justin Edwards (PHI) [Two-way]	111-106 W vs. SAS	DNP-G League
Chris Livingston (MIL)	112-91 W vs. CHI	DNP-G League
Oscar Tshiebwe (UTA) [Two-way]	113-124 L vs. CLE	DNP-G League
TyTy Washington (PHX) [Two-way]	90-117 L vs. DEN	DNP-G League
Jarred Vanderbilt (LAL)	114-117 L vs. DET	DNP-Foot
Immanuel Quickley (TOR)	125-139 L vs. NYK	DNP-Elbow
Jamal Murray (DEN)	117-90 W vs. PHX	DNP-Ankle
Isaiah Jackson (IND)	111-105 W vs. GSW	DNP-Achilles

Christmas in the NBA

There are no games on Christmas Eve but teams featuring 13 former ‘Cats will play on Christmas Day:

12:00 | Spurs (Johnson) @ Knicks (Towns, Toppin)
2:30 | Timberwolves (Randle, Dillingham) @ Mavericks (PJ Washington)
5:00 | 76ers (Maxey, Edwards) @ Celtics
8:00 | Lakers (Davis, Vanderbilt: out) @ Warriors
10:30 | Nuggets (Murray) @ Suns (Booker, Washington)