Bahamian NBA Roundup: Buddy Gets Buckets

Ayton Dominates the Paint, Jones Dunks All Over Wolves, Klay Continues Hot Shooting

USA – Four NBA teams won on Friday night, thanks to the effort of Bahamian NBA players.

Buddy Hield had 26 points for the Pacers, Deandre Ayton put up 28 and 12 for Phoenix, Klay Thompson scored 20 points for Golden State and Kai Jones played a career-high 28 minutes for the Charlotte Hornets, grabbing 12 rebounds and dunking everything he touched. 

Buddy Hield Flames Up The Nets

Buddy Hield led the Indiana Pacers to a 128-117 victory over the Brooklyn Nets thanks to his lights-out shooting. 

https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1596364270928769027

The Grand Bahama native let his team with an efficient scoring night against the struggling nets, scoring 26 on 9 of 15 shots and making 5 of his 8 three-point attempts. He also added 3 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 assists. The Pacers withstood a 36-point barrage from Kevin Durant and 20 apiece from Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons. 

Center Myles Turner had 23 and 8, guard Tyrese Halliburton had 21 and a jaw-dropping 15 assists and Ben Mathurin had 20 off the bench.

The Pacers are putting it all together after a shaky start and now sit at an 11-7 record, good for 4th in the east. 

“DOMINAYTON”  in The Paint Against the Pistons

Center Deandre Ayton scored 28 and pulled down 12 rebounds and blocked 2 shots to help the Suns defeat the Pistons 108-102. 

The 24-year-old center controlled the paint all night, making an absurd 11 of his 13 shots to lead his team in scoring and rebounding in the win.

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1596370412862144512

Thompson Continues His Efficient Scoring 

Shaking off a rough shooting start to begin the season, Klay Thompson had 20 points to help his Warriors beat the Utah Jazz, 128-118. 

His points came on 7 of 13 shooting and he made 6 of his 12 three-point attempts. 

Klay went on a personal run to help put the Jazz away, making 4 of his threes to close the 4th quarter. 

https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1596366525837070337

Steph Curry added 33 points and  Andrew Wiggins scored 20 while Jordan Poole added 19 off the bench. 

Kai Jones Grabs 12 Rebounds off the Bench for the Hornets

Conventional wisdom tells us that when you have an uber-athletic 7-footer on your roster and your team is bad, you play him because chances are he’ll help you get better. But the woebegone Hornets aren’t conventional, so they kept Kai Jones nailed to the bench to start the season. 

Going up against the Minnesota Timberwolves, however, they changed course playing Jones for a career-high 28 minutes.

This course correction paid immediate dividends, with Kai Jones scoring 9 points on 3-5 shooting while grabbing a career-high 12 rebounds, blocking 1 shot to help them beat Los Lobos. Most importantly, he dunked all over any poor soul with the misfortune of being under the rim when he got there. 

https://twitter.com/UsherNBA/status/1596310007317819393

Kai is one of the most athletic players in the NBA and the Hornets are slowly starting to recognize it. As the season progresses, look for him to dunk on a lot of people.