BBNBA: Tyrese Maxey drops 31 points on his 22nd birthday
Last week, Devin Booker dropped 30 points on his birthday, but his fellow Kentucky alumni, Tyrese Maxey, one-upped him on Friday night by scoring 31 on the anniversary of his 22nd time around the sun. Who needs Mrs. Cal’s brownies when you can put up huge numbers in the NBA?
It was almost an even more memorable night, as the third-year player nearly hit the would-be go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute. With the Philadelphia 76ers down two, Maxey had a wide-open 3-point opportunity fall into his hands off a back tap with less than 30 seconds left, but he was too strong on the shot, and the New York Knicks held on for the win.
Maxey also handed out seven assists to go along with his big scoring night.
Dropping 31 points is always impressive, but it wasn’t Maxey’s most efficient outing. Absent both Joel Embiid and James Harden, the Sixers relied heavily on the former ‘Cat to score, and it resulted in a whopping 29 shots. No matter how old you are, hoisting up seven more shots than your age is a lot and it equated to just 34.5% (30% from behind the arc).
Despite one night of low-percentage shooting, Maxey has been on a tear recently, averaging 30 points per game over his last six contests. As long as Philly’s other two stars are out, Maxey will continue to have the green light.
For the Knicks, Julius Randle had a routine double-double, with 17 and 10 boards, while Immanuel Quickley struggled from the field, ending the night with just four points. On Wednesday, Quickley set an NBA record for most rebounds (16) for a player 6’3″ or under but managed just six on Friday.
Tyler Herro almost hit another game-winner
Tyler Herro was the Miami Heat’s hero on Wednesday night when he hit the game-winner in the closing seconds to beat the Sacramento Kings. He attempted to duplicate those heroics on Friday against the Indiana Pacers, but came up a little bit short, as his would-be game-winning 3-pointer caught side-rim at the buzzer.
Still, it was a good night for the Kentucky bucket. With no Jimmy Butler in the lineup, Herro scored 29 points, pulled down five boards, and dished out five assists. He shot 4-10 from deep, but unfortunately for the Heat, his final attempt couldn’t find the bottom of the net.
Herro’s teammate, Bam Adebayo had a casual double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Devin Booker and the Suns lose at the buzzer
On a night of near-game winners for former Kentucky guys, Devin Booker’s Phoenix Suns lost at the buzzer on a horrible no-call. Jerami Grant of the Portland Trail Blazers took four steps backward with one second left on the clock but somehow the refs swallowed their whistles and allowed the jumper to count.
It should have never come down to that, though. Booker had the ball with the shot clock turned off and the game tied but passed out of a double-team to Mikal Bridges who turned the ball over. Those are the kinds of moments where Booker has excelled but he gave up his opportunity to secure a win for his team and it cost them.
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Book finished with 25 points, five rebounds, and five assists on the night.
For the Trail Blazers, Shaedon Sharpe started off hot, but early foul trouble limited his playing time and he never really got going in the second half. Every Kentucky fan’s favorite NBA rookie scored 10 points in the win, eight of which were in the first quarter.
KAT and the Brow lose; Vando is the new Steph Curry
Elsewhere around the league, Karl-Anthony Towns did what he could to give the Milwaukee Bucks their first loss of the season, but 22 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists were not enough and the ferocious deer remain undefeated.
In another late game, Anthony Davis’s 22 points, eight boards, and two blocks were not enough to get the Los Angeles Lakers by the Utah Jazz. This year, the Lakers look less like Hollywood and more like a bunch of Eastern Kentucky boys filming themselves backyard wrestling. Cringy, but also super entertaining.
For Utah, Jarred Vanderbilt had nine points including another 3-pointer. That makes him 6-11 on the year, good for 54.5%, a whopping 13 percentage points better than the likes of Steph Curry. Numbers don’t lie. The Vandalorian can shoot. Pew, pew.
Finally, the Nets and Bulls game had no former Kentucky players in it, but I would be remiss not to comment on the insanely disrespectful crossover Kevin Durant put on Daniel Gafford. Poor Gafford looked like a newborn giraffe trying to walk for the first time. The Brooklyn Nets are a dumpster fire inside porta-potty inside an even larger dumpster fire this year, but at least they have this.
11/4/2022 Statistics
| Player | Score | PTS | FG (3PT) | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | MIN | +/- |
| Tyrese Maxey (PHI) | 104-106 L vs. NYK | 31 | 10-29 (4-13) | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 39 | +2 |
| Tyler Herro (MIA) | 99-101 L vs. IND | 29 | 8-20 (4-10) | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 38 | -2 |
| Devin Booker (PHX) | 106-108 L vs. POR | 25 | 8-2 (3-7) | 5 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 38 | +3 |
| Anthony Davis (LAL) | 116-130 L vs. UTA | 22 | 9-17 (1-2) | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 35 | -8 |
| Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) | 102-115 L vs. MIN | 22 | 9-19 (3-9) | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 37 | -17 |
| Bam Adebayo (MIA) | 99-101 L vs. IND | 18 | 7-14 (0-1) | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 34 | +3 |
| Julius Randle (NYK) | 106-104 W vs. PHI | 17 | 6-13 (1-5) | 10 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 37 | + |
| Keldon Johnson (SAS) | 106-113 L vs. LAC | 16 | 7-19 (2-9) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | -12 |
| John Wall (LAC) | 113-106 W vs. SAS | 15 | 6-14 (2-6) | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | +6 |
| Shaedon Sharpe (POR) | 108-106 W vs. PHX | 10 | 4-8 (2-3) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | -10 |
| PJ Washington (CHA) | 99-130 L vs. MEM | 10 | 2-15 (1-7) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 27 | -29 |
| Nick Richards (CHA) | 99-130 L vs. MEM | 9 | 2-9 (0-0) | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19 | -9 |
| Jarred Vanderbilt (UTA) | 130-116 W vs. LAL | 9 | 4-7 (1-1) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 25 | +1 |
| Isaiah Jackson (IND) | 101-99 W vs. MIA | 6 | 2-5 (0-0) | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 17 | +5 |
| Wenyen Gabriel (LAL) | 116-130 L vs. UTA | 5 | 1-1 (0-0) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | -4 |
| Immanuel Quickley (NYK) | 106-104 W vs. PHI | 4 | 1-7 (1-4) | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 21 | -5 |
| Kevin Knox (DET) | 88-112 L vs. CLE | 3 | 1-3 (1-3) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 0 |
| Nerlens Noel (DET) | 88-112 L vs. CLE | 2 | 1-3 (0-0) | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 19 | -10 |
| Hamidou Diallo (DET) | 88-112 L vs. CLE | 0 | 0-3 (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | -9 |
| Olivier Sarr (POR) | 108-106 W vs. PHX | DNP – Knee | ||||||||
| Brandon Boston Jr. (LAC) | 113-106 W vs. SAS | DNP – CD |
Tonight in the NBA
5:00: Kings (Fox, Monk) @ Magic
7:00: Nets @ Hornets (Richards, PJ Washington)
7:30: Pelicans @ Hawks
7:30 (NBATV): Celtics @ Knicks (Randle, Quickley)
8:00: Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander) @ Bucks
8:00: Rockets (T. Washington) @ Timberwolves (Towns)
9:00: Spurs (Johnson) @ Nuggets (Murray)
10:00 (NBATV): Trail Blazers (Sharpe) @ Suns (Booker)
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