I missed this stat yesterday but Friday night was a big night for former Kentucky Wildcat big men. Four doubled up in NBA action:
76ers center Nerlens Noel scored 12 points on 5 of 12 shooting while hauling in 14 rebounds in his team's 91-86 loss to the Raptors Friday. Noel was probable to play Friday due to an illness and managed to log 33 minutes after drawing the start. The double-double was his sixth of the season and second of January. He also tallied two steals and one assist in the loss, his team's fourth straight.
Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis scored a team-high 21 points on 9 of 23 shooting while hauling in 12 rebounds in his team's 92-84 road win over the Timberwolves Friday. Davis, who came into the game shooting 56.3 percent from the field, has a rare off night with his shot, but the Pelicans were still able to pull out a win while the power forward turned in his fifth double-double of January. He also kicked in two steals and one block in 42 minutes.
Kings center DeMarcus Cousins scored a team-high 28 points on 9 of 19 shooting while hauling in 11 rebounds in his team's 126-101 loss to the Warriors Friday.
Cousins has strung together nine straight appearances with double-doubles, but the Kings are just 2-7 in those games, and the team owns a six-game losing streak overall. The center also chipped in three steals and two assists in 35 minutes.
Raptors power forward Patrick Patterson scored 14 points on 6 of 10 shooting while hauling in 13 rebounds in his team's 91-86 win over the 76ers Friday.
Patterson's double-double was his third of his season but his first since the end of November. The 14 points represent his highest scoring total since Dec. 8 and just his fourth double-digit scoring performance in 11 January games. Patterson also kicked in three assists and two steals in 30 minutes of action and wound up starting the second half due to his excellent play before halftime.
Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter's Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.