Villanova in the Pros
Villanova in the Pros: Brunson’s Big Game Drops Denver

The Villanova Knicks were back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 29, picking up a 122-112 home victory over the Denver Nuggets for their fifth straight win.
2018 Wooden Award winner and two-time national champion Jalen Brunson led the charge with 30 points and 15 assists, also mixing in four rebounds, two steals and a block. Brunson committed just two turnovers, good for a glimmering 7.5-to-1 assist to turnover ratio. For comparison, Spurs point guard Chris Paul leads the league in that category this season with an average of 5.1 assists for every turnover committed.
Brunson scored his points on an efficient 10-of-16 shooting, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. The eighth year point guard, who recently earned his second straight All-Star nod and received starting honors for the first time in his career, currently ranks ninth in the NBA with an average of 25.9 points per game, while his 7.5 assists rank eighth.
Fellow Villanova alumni Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges got in on the action too. Hart did a bit of everything with 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Mikal Bridges endured a rough shooting night, sinking just five of 16 shots (although a respectable 3-of-7 clip from three helped his final line) on the way to 13 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Elsewhere in the NBA, former Villanova Wildcat Kyle Lowry is back in action after missing the better part of a month with a hip injury. At 38 years old, he’s nearing the end of his career but enjoyed one of his best performances of the season on Wednesday, putting up 13 points in 26 minutes off the bench… both his best marks since mid-November.