Covering Carolina sports beyond just men's basketball and football — with the most complete women's basketball coverage
Cameron Johnson and Harrison Barnes each scored 20 points, and Cole Anthony hit 16 as all three earned victories Friday night after Reggie Bullock scored 15 in a Thursday win. Johnson scored 17 points in the second half as Brooklyn rallied from a 28-point deficit for a surprising 115–105 road win over Boston on his 27th birthday.
Cameron Johnson and Cole Anthony had their best scoring games of the season on a night that they were one of the few bright spots in their teams’ blowout road losses. Both had season-highs for points and field goals and their second-best game scores, along with frustration over the results of their games.
Without Sacramento’s leading scorer De’Aaron Fox, Kings coach Mike Brown made Harrison Barnes the focal point of their offense on Tuesday night, and the 11-year veteran took advantage of the opportunity. Barnes came through with 29 points, four 3-pointers, nine rebounds, three assists and a 24.2 game score as Sacramento won at Oklahoma City 123–117 for the Kings’ fourth consecutive victory coming out of the All-Star break.
Cameron Johnson had his best game as a Brooklyn Net and hit a huge late 3-pointer, but it wasn’t enough to get a win at Atlanta. Johnson scored 27 points and tied the game on a 3-pointer with 7.8 seconds left, but Trae Young hit a buzzer-beating jumper to lift the Hawks to a 129–127 victory Sunday.
Nassir Little’s best game of the season wasn’t enough for his short-handed Portland team, as Harrison Barnes’ Sacramento Kings rolled to a 133–116 home victory on Thursday as the NBA returned from the All-Star break. Little started for the second time this season, scoring 26 points and five 3-pointers with four steals and a block.
With a lot of help from a teammate who was traded along with him from Phoenix, Cam Johnson finally got a victory for Brooklyn in his third game since joining the Nets. Meanwhile, Coby White scored a season-high 25 points in his best game of the season one day before his birthday. Johnson scored 18 points and three 3-pointers while dishing out three assists as Brooklyn headed into the NBA All-Star break with a 116–110 home victory over the Miami Heat.
Cameron Johnson joined the new-look Brooklyn Nets, and was one of four newcomers who started in Saturday night’s home game against Philadelphia. Johnson and Mikal Bridges, nicknamed “The Twins” by former Suns teammate Deandre Ayton because they spent so much time together, each started in the Nets’ 101–98 loss to the Sixers. Joining them in the lineup were Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney, who Brooklyn got in the Kyrie Irving deal with the Dallas Mavericks.
Danny Green is with Houston after the Rockets acquired him in a trade-deadline deal with Memphis on Thursday, but it appears unlikely that he’ll be there long. Justin Jackson’s stay with Oklahoma City Thunder lasted less than 24 hours as the Thunder waived him Friday. In Friday games, Reggie Bullock scored 13 points and his 800th career 3-pointer as Dallas beat Sacramento 122–114, and rookie Walker Kessler netted a season-high 23 points in Utah’s 122–116 win at Toronto.
When the trade deadline dust settled, three UNC alums changed teams. But Cole Anthony isn’t going anywhere and he showed why with his play in Orlando’s big home victory. Anthony collected 17 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three blocks as the Magic knocked off Western Conference-leading Denver for a 115–104 home victory Thursday night.
The bigger news for UNC alums was that the Phoenix Suns are reportedly trading Cameron Johnson to Brooklyn (more on that deal here), but the flurry of trades ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline has worked quite nicely so far for Reggie Bullock. After starting only 30 of the Dallas Mavericks’ 52 games, Bullock is back as a Mavericks starter and playing well. He scored 15 of 18 points and five of his six 3-pointers in the first quarter Wednesday as Dallas earned a 110–104 road victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Just when Cameron Johnson was settling into a groove with Phoenix after missing nearly three months with a knee injury, the Suns will reportedly trade him to the Brooklyn Nets as part of a blockbuster trade that will send star forward Kevin Durant to Phoenix. The NBA trade deadline is at 3 p.m. Thursday.
Cameron Johnson continues to consistently play well, which has helped turn the Phoenix Suns’ season around. He’s combined for 34 points and five 3-pointers in the last two wins. The Suns have gone from losing 11 of 13 games before he returned to 9–2 since then to move up to fifth place in the Western Conference at 30–26. Johnson tore the meniscus in his right knee and missed nearly three months.
Cole Anthony and Harrison Barnes both had big games Friday night, with Anthony trying to play peacemaker amid a brawl in an Orlando win and Barnes throwing down a highlight-reel dunk but missing a big shot at the end of a Sacramento loss. Anthony had his second-best game of the season with a 21.9 game score, collecting 20 points, two 3-pointers, eight rebounds, six assists and a steal in the Magic’s 127–120 win at Minnesota that included an ugly fight that led to five ejections.
It hasn’t been the most productive of Coby White’s four NBA seasons, but he has made a little Chicago Bulls history this week. And, according to one report, the Bulls have rejected multiple offers for him ahead of next Thursday’s trade deadline. White scored 20 points and three 3-pointers in their 114–98 home victory Thursday over the Charlotte Hornets. That effort came one game after he became the fastest player in franchise history to reach 500 3-pointers, with a pair of 3s Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers, needing only 237 games.
Friday will be Michael Jordan Day on ESPN and ACC Network as the channels will feature extensive programming that spotlights No. 23 on 2/3/23. Highlights of the Carolina and NBA great’s career will be part of multiple studio shows, while ACCN will air four Tar Heels games from the 1981, 1983 and 1984 seasons.
tarheeltribune.com 