**Drew Gooden** (Milwaukee Bucks) was the star of the show for the Bucks again on Saturday night as he led the team in scoring (23 points [for the second night in a row][1]) and rebounds (eight) in a 100-89 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Gooden made 9 of 15 shots in 35 minutes and added his fourth three-pointer in as many games (the first such stretch in his 10-year NBA career).
After the game, Gooden talked to reporters about his out-of-nowhere three-point shot (he’d hit just 7 of 65, or 10.7 percent, in the six seasons prior):
> “I’ve been working on that day-in and day-out, and the best thing I like about it is Coach is giving me the confidence to shoot it. Shooting percentages increase when you know you have the coach behind you and know that if you miss it you won’t come out of the game. So I have to thank my coach and my teammates for having the faith in me shooting that three, and it is helping our offense. It’s helping us spread the floor, and it’s helping us drive and penetrate and get it to the open man.”
Gooden was effective from inside the arc too, scoring 14 points in the third period alone, including six straight points in a two-minute span at the end of the quarter ([full stats here][2]).
[BrewHoop.com’s Alex Boeder wrote about Gooden after the game][3]:
>If nothing else, Gooden is wildly consistent in his tendency to amuse. In the best of times and in the worst of times, his play is uniformly evocative. Tonight he built on his comfortable league lead in passes off the backboard to himself (did not work out this time), and managed to pick up a technical for glaring down an official after cruising to the hoop for a basket.
And:
>Defensively, he was also game. Andrew Bynum is just massive, and not light on talent either, but Gooden gave it his all. On one play in the first quarter, Bynum had established strong position in the post, so Gooden tried to reach around to steal the entry pass. While he was not quick enough to get to the ball, he was quick enough to recover and deliver a hard, decisive foul that didn’t allow Bynum a good look at the basket and instead forced him to the stripe.
Highlights (at :59, 1:17, 1:56)
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More from Saturday
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– After starting five games in a row and not scoring double-digits in any of them, **Markieff Morris** (Phoenix Suns) came off the bench on Saturday against the Memphis Grizzlies and dropped 10 points in an 86-84 victory. Markieff added nine rebounds in his 20 minutes on the court but made just 5 of 12 shots, with a goose egg in the three-point column ([full stats here][4]). Markieff committed five fouls, but it was still an improvement for the rookie, who had been slumping while starting against some of the league’s best power forwards.
Good thing Markieff has one of the league’s most creative point guards on his team:
– **Josh Selby** (Memphis Grizzlies) went scoreless in 10 minutes against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, but grabbed three rebounds and a steal and passed out two assists to two turnovers ([full stats here][5]).
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Other Jayhawks-turned-pros
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– **Brady Morningstar** (NBA D-League – Tulsa 66ers) couldn’t quite find his stroke on Saturday as the Fort Wayne Mad Ants downed the 66ers, 94-82. Morningstar scored just four points (1 of 7 shots overall, 2-2 free throws) in 38 minutes and missed all five of his three-point attempts. He added two rebounds, two assists, two steals and a turnover ([full stats here][6]).
– **Darnell Jackson** (Ukraine-Superleague – BC Donetsk) was perfect from the field and scored seven points as his team eeked out a two-point win in a regular season game on Friday. Jackson also contributed five rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block in 20 minutes ([full stats here][7]).
– **Mario Little** (Ukraine-Superleague – SK Dnipro Azot Dniprodzerzhynsk) had 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists in an 84-78 victory on Saturday. Little made 7 of 12 shots, including 1 of 4 three-pointers. He also had a block and three turnovers in 31 minutes ([full stats here][8]).
– **Sherron Collins** (Turkish Basketball League – Hacettepe University) went scoreless on two three-point attempts in 20 minutes on Saturday as his team prevailed in overtime, 85-81. Collins passed had three fouls and three turnovers to go with two assists and a steal ([full stats here][9]).
– **Sasha Kaun** (Russia PBL – CSKA Moscow) hit 6 of 8 shots for 12 points in 20 minutes of a 91-58 blowout win on Saturday. Kaun also collected four rebounds and a steal in the regular season game ([full stats here][10]).
– **Russell Robinson** (Turkish Basketball League – Trabzonspor) scored eight points with five assists and four rebounds on Saturday in an 84-74 overtime loss. Robinson missed all six of his two-point attempts but scored once from beyond the arc and five times from the free-throw line. He also had five turnovers in 34 minutes ([full stats here][11]).
– **Aaron Miles** (Russia PBL – Krasnye Krylya) had two points (1 of 5 shooting), four assists, two (offensive) rebounds and two turnovers in 31 minutes on Saturday as his team lost 75-69 ([full stats here][12]).
– **Keith Langford** (Israeli Premier League – Maccabi Electra) sank 3 of 4 triples and added a healthy number of free throws (6 of 7) in an 18-point outing on Saturday. He added two rebounds, an assist and a steal as his team pulled out a comfortable regular season win, 84-69 ([full stats here][13]).
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Jayhawks in upcoming NBA games
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**[Sunday, Jan. 29][14]**
– 2:30 p.m., ABC, **Mario Chalmers** and the Miami Heat vs. the Chicago Bulls
– 5 p.m., **Paul Pierce** and the Boston Celtics vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers
– 6 p.m., **Kirk Hinrich** and the Atlanta Hawks vs. **Xavier Henry** and the New Orleans Hornets
[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/hawks_nba/2012/jan/28/thursday-and-friday-recap-paul-pierce-dr/
[2]: http://www.nba.com/games/20120128/LALMIL/gameinfo.html?ls=gt2hp0021100288#nbaGIboxscore
[3]: http://www.brewhoop.com/2012/1/28/2755768/bucks-lakers-score-kobe-bryant-brandon-jennings-andrew-bynum-andrew-bogut
[4]: http://www.nba.com/games/20120128/MEMPHX/gameinfo.html?ls=gt2hp0021100290#nbaGIboxscore
[5]: http://www.nba.com/games/20120128/MEMPHX/gameinfo.html?ls=gt2hp0021100290#nbaGIboxscore
[6]: http://www.nba.com/dleague/games/20120128/FWNTUL/gameinfo.html?ls=gt2hp2021100182
[7]: http://www.eurobasket.com/boxScores/Ukraine/2012/0127_4709_701.asp
[8]: http://www.eurobasket.com/boxScores/Ukraine/2012/0128_6795_4184.asp
[9]: http://www.eurobasket.com/boxScores/Turkey/2012/0128_14349_6781.asp
[10]: http://www.eurobasket.com/boxScores/Russia/2012/0128_4661_89.asp
[11]: http://www.eurobasket.com/boxScores/Turkey/2012/0128_191_327.asp
[12]: http://www.eurobasket.com/boxScores/Russia/2012/0128_1756_11690.asp
[13]: http://www.eurobasket.com/boxScores/Adriatic%20League/2012/0128_159_2588.asp
[14]: http://www.nba.com/gameline/20120129/
