We were treated to the game of the year (so far) on Wednesday night. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder traveled to face the Cleveland Cavaliers in a matchup that was being pushed heavily by the NBA and ESPN. For good reason too. Both teams entered with at least 30 wins and five or fewer losses while riding double-digit win streaks. That kind of head-to-head battle is very, very rare.
It more than lived up to the hype, as well. Neither team led by more than 10 points. The lead changed sides THIRTY times. Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field and nailed a combined 26 three-pointers. It was beautiful, tough basketball from both benches. However, Cleveland came out with the 129-122 win.
But Gilgeous-Alexander was excellent for OKC. The former Wildcat (and a top-two candidate for MVP) dropped 31 points (13-27 FG), five rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks in 38 minutes, although he turned the ball over five times. He was helped by second-year guard Cason Wallace, who posted 15 points, three assists, and two rebounds in 31 minutes. Wallace shot 6-8 from the field and made all three of his shots from deep.
The loss for OKC snapped a 15-game winning streak while Cleveland extended its winning streak to 11. But the real winner of this game was the fans. That was some fun basketball on display.
Other BBNBA notes
Since our last BBNBA recap on Sunday, we’ve seen several big performances from Kentucky alums across the league. Gilgeous-Alexander had another impressive showing on Sunday night on top of his game from Wednesday night. In a 13-point win over the defending champion Celtics, SGA finished with 33 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, three steals, and two blocks in 39 minutes. The dude just stuffs the stat sheet until it’s belt buckle snaps.
But what about the rest of the former ‘Cats this week?
No De’Aaron Fox, no problem for Sacramento. The Kings All-Star point guard has not played in his team’s last two games due to a hip injury. But Malik Monk filled that role nicely in a pair of Sacramento wins this week. The Kings beat the Warriors by 30 and needed two overtime periods to take down the Heat, but Monk was great in both. He dropped 26 points and 12 assists against the Warriors before chipping in 23 points, six assists, and five rebounds one night later against the Heat.
PJ Washington stepping up in place of Luka Doncic. Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic hasn’t played since late December, which has opened up more opportunities for Washington. He’s been solid in two games so far this week, one a loss to the Grizzlies and the other a huge win over the Lakers. Washington went for 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and three steals against the Grizz before contributing 22 points and eight rebounds the very next night against the Lakers. That being said, Dallas is just 2-5 since losing Doncic to injury.
Anthony Davis posts back-to-back double-doubles. It came in a pair of losses, but Los Angeles Lakers big man Anthony Davis was hardly the reason for those defeats. The big man went for 30 points and 13 rebounds against the Rockets and then for 21 points and 12 rebounds against the Mavericks.
Tyler Herro‘s All-Star campaign. Continues to be in good shape as we inch closer to the league’s annual midseason break. It’s been a mostly disastrous season for the Miami Heat, but not for Herro, who has once again played well through two games this week. He saw 49 minutes of action in the double-overtime loss to the Kings, pouring in 26 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals. He was less productive in a win over the Warriors — 14 points, eight rebounds, and three assists — in just 26 minutes during the 16-point blowout victory.
Welcome back, Devin Booker. The Phoenix Suns All-Star hasn’t played like his usual self the last few games, even scoring just 10 points against the 76ers on Monday. But he finally responded well on Tuesday by scoring 39 points in addition to 10 assists and six rebounds in a loss to the Hornets. Booker missed five games due to injury in late December, so he’s still looking to get back in the groove.
