Seven of the 16 Duke basketball products who saw playing time in the NBA on Wednesday scored at least 20 points, led by clear MVP candidate Jayson Tatum’s season-high 49 (his third 40-point performance through his 21 outings for the league-leading Boston Celtics). The night’s 16 NBA Blue Devils totaled 283 points.
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But perhaps the No. 1 feel-good story of the night among former Blue Devils was a single-digit scorer in Wendell Moore Jr., who went No. 26 at the 2022 NBA Draft after his three seasons at Duke. He earned the first start of his pro career for the Minnesota Timberwolves, helping them to a 109-101 home win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
Sure, Moore finished with only seven points, three boards, two assists, one steal, and one block in his 20 minutes on the floor. That said, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound wing’s lockdown defense on Grizzlies star Ja Morant, who scored 24 points but shot only 8-for-20 from the field and committed seven turnovers, had folks singing his praises.
One such admirer of Wendell Moore Jr.’s play was the Timberwolves’ leading scorer, third-year guard Anthony Edwards.
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“Man, give all shouts out to Wendell Moore,” Edwards responded to a question about the key to Minnesota’s impressive defensive effort. “He did everything he needed to do. The rookie got his first start tonight. He was big for us. Shoutout to him.”
Moore has seen action in only five NBA games and had never played more than five minutes in a contest entering the bout against Memphis.
His first points didn’t come until Monday night when he drained two free throws in the Timberwolves’ loss at the Washington Wizards. And his first made field goal didn’t come until Wednesday night.
However, by all accounts, the 21-year-old former Duke basketball captain made a strong case for more playing time moving forward via his intelligent play and defensive energy against the Grizzlies.
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