BBNBA: John Wall exacts his revenge on the Washington Wizards

Good morning, folks. John Wall is holding a grudge and I am here for it. Let’s talk BBNBA.

RECAP

John Wall exacts revenge on Wizards

John Wall took it personally when the Washington Wizards traded him away for Russell Westbrook.

He perceived it as a slight to his talent–like they never believed he could capably overcome a two-year hiatus from playing NBA basketball. Wall loves the city of D.C. more than most and is never shy about the connections he made with the community, but he wants to prove to the Wizards that they made the mistake of choosing Westbrook over him. Roughly 15 games into the 2020-21 season, Wall has his Houston Rockets looking like the clear winners of the point guard swap.

On Tuesday night, Wall faced off against the Wizards for the first time since the deal went down on Dec. 2. The former Wildcat is currently on a minutes restriction as he rehabs a sore knee, but that didn’t stop him from posting 24 points in just 24 minutes to go along with two boards and five dimes. Even more impressive was the final score, with the Rockets blowing the Wizards out, 107-88.

“I just feel like their organization thought I was done. … That’s why I came out here and did what I did.”

John Wall took the Wizards-Rockets game personal. pic.twitter.com/Xh7JRB0YDF

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 27, 2021

Leading by six points midway through the fourth quarter, Wall re-entered the game and immediately put his finishing touches on the victory. Nine of his 24 points came in the final frame, including a quick five-point solo run the moment he returned to the floor.

”I was itching to get back in in the fourth quarter,” Wall said after the game. ”I wanted to play, especially against my old team. And we kind of separated ourselves right there.”

Wall and Westbrook even got into a little verbal exchange of pleasantries while Westbrook went to shoot free-throws.

Wall and Westbrook doing some barking ? pic.twitter.com/RzI8ylSSzw

— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) January 27, 2021

Joining Wall in the route of his old team was his one-time Kentucky teammate, DeMarcus Cousins, who was excellent for the second game in a row. Starting his third consecutive outing for the Rockets, Boogie finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, five steals, and one block on a 6-11 shooting clip that included a 4-8 mark from deep. Over his last two outings, Cousins is averaging 23.5 points and 14.0 rebounds on 57.7 percent shooting.

Wall will make his first return to D.C. on Feb. 15.

Kentucky Knicks fall by 14 in Utah

The Kentucky Knicks are riding another three-game losing streak after falling to the league’s hottest team, the Utah Jazz.

Immanuel Quickley followed up his 31-point performance from the other day with a horrendous 1-11 shooting mark on Tuesday night. He finished with six points and four rebounds in his 23 minutes, missing all four of his 3-point attempts, as well. The Knicks actually led by 13 at the half and by as many as 15 throughout the course of the night, however, they would register just 13 fourth-quarter points as the Jazz rallied down the stretch to put the game out of reach, winning 108-94. Utah opened up the final period on a 20-3 run that set the tone the rest of the way.

Julius Randle recorded 18 points, 10 rebounds (his 13th double-double on the season), and four assists for the Knicks while Nerlens Noel added two points, four rebounds, one assist, three steals, and two blocks in his 17 minutes. Kevin Knox only saw seven minutes of action, failing to score a point on just one shot attempt.

Check out the full stat sheet below.

STATISTICS

Player	Result	Points	FG (3FG)	Reb.	Ast.	Steals	Blocks	TOs	+/-	Mins.
John Wall (HOU)	107-88 W vs. WAS	24	9-21 (1-6)	2	5	1	0	3	+11	24
DeMarcus Cousins (HOU)	107-88 W vs. WAS	19	6-11 (4-8)	11	2	5	1	2	+6	33
Julius Randle (NYK)	94-108 @ UTA	18	6-16 (2-4)	10	4	0	0	2	-14	35
Immanuel Quickley (NYK)	94-108 @ UTA	6	1-11 (0-4)	4	1	1	0	2	-5	23
Rajon Rondo (ATL)	108-99 W vs. LAC	2	1-1 (0-0)	0	0	1	0	2	0	6
Nerlens Noel (NYK)	94-108 @ UTA	2	1-2 (0-0)	4	1	3	2	0	+1	17
Kevin Knox (NYK)	94-108 @ UTA	0	0-1 (0-0)	1	0	0	0	1	-7	7
Patrick Patterson (LAC)	99-108 L @ ATL	DNP-Coach's Decision	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--

TONIGHT IN THE NBA

7:00: Pacers @ Hornets (Monk, Richards-probable, Washington)

7:00: Pistons @ Cavaliers

7:00: Kings (Fox) @ Magic

7:30: Nets @ Hawks (Rondo)

7:30: Nuggets (Murray) @ Heat (Adebayo, Herro-questionable)

7:30 (ESPN): Lakers (Davis-questionable) @ 76ers (Maxey)

7:30: Bucks @ Raptors

8:30: Celtics @ Spurs (Johnson, Lyles)

9:00: Wizards @ Pelicans (Bledsoe, Gabriel)

9:00: Thunder (Diallo, Gilgeous-Alexander, Miller) @ Suns (Booker-out)

9:00: Mavericks (Cauley-Stein) @ Jazz

10:00 (ESPN): Timberwolves (Hagans, Towns-out, Vanderbilt) @ Warriors (Mulder)

Bulls @ Grizzlies: POSTPONED