Good morning BTP fam! Hope everyone had an amazing Wednesday and lets follow it up with an even better Thursday! It was a scrappy Wednesday night in the NBA as we had multiple fights break out in different games. We even saw a player get... knocked out?! In college football we had a crazy 3 OT game between Arkansas & Kansas and a last second TD win for Oregon over UNC. Whatever it may be, we have it all!

Today, we break down Devin Booker's injury holding him out for at least four weeks, Zion's incredible performance last night that resulted in a new career high, and a little throwback Thursday story for you guys as we look back at the time Bobby Portis broke Nikola Mirotic's face!

Stay safe and healthy!

INJURY BUG

Devin Booker to Miss Another Month with Injury

Devin Booker’s career season has been put on hold for at least the next four weeks as he recovers from a left groin strain. Booker has been on fire this year, averaging 27.1 points per game while dropping not one, but two 50-pieces. However, Booker has already missed six of the past nine games due to a combination of hamstring and groin ailments, and despite his best efforts, he needs to take time off.

While four weeks might seem like a long time, most groin injuries take between four and eight weeks to heal, so the Suns will be lucky if he’s good to go after just four. Suns coach Monty Williams echoed this sentiment, saying: “I'm actually grateful, you know, that it wasn't worse.''

Booker tried to play through it during the Suns' Christmas Day matchup against the Nuggets but only managed four minutes of game time, much to the outrage of his overs bettors. Side note, at least one sportsbook caved to the betting public's outrage and refunded people who wagered on Booker and lost.

The Suns are hanging around with a 20-15 record, good for fifth in the Western Conference, but they need Booker back ASAP if they’re going to have any shot of re-claiming their spot atop the West.

ASTONISHING PERFROMANCE

Pelicans Complete Comeback Win behind Zion's Career Night

Another young superstar did the unthinkable! Last night, Zion Williamson not only set a new career-high with 43 points (on a tidy 14-21 shooting, mind you), but he scored the team’s final 14 points en route to a one-point victory. If that wasn’t impressive enough, you should also know that that is the most consecutive points ever scored by a Pelicans player to end a game, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Williamson’s career night started slowly, scoring just 10 points through the first two quarters, but something must have clicked during halftime because he was a new man in the second half. The Pels could tell Zion had heated up, and when the game mattered most, it was a no-brainer who they wanted taking the shots. In the joking words of CJ McCollum, the game plan became: "Get the ball to Z and get the f--- out the way." Zion ended up scoring 33-second half points, which tied a Pelicans record set by none other than Anthony Davis.

Zion told reporters after the game that CJ told him: “If you wanna be great, this is the time to step up.” Safe to say, the message was received. In just the final forty seconds of this game, Zion did the following: stole the ball from Dlo and took the lead off a fast break dunk, drew a foul on Rudy Gobert to make him foul out, and hit a free throw to re-take the lead. Just another day in the life of Zion Williamson.

THROWBACK THURSDAY

TBT: Bobby Portis Destroys Nikola Mirotic's Face

Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic weren’t the first teammates to get in a fight in practice, but their story might be the craziest. The year was 2017, and according to reports, Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic had been battling back and forth during practices, with each man trying to establish themselves as the Bulls' opening-day starter. Tensions had been gradually building and came to a head in a big way after a heated argument turned physical. Sources confirmed that Mirotic instigated the fight, reportedly charging Portis twice, before Portis, in an act of self-defense, straight-up leveled Mirotic.

One punch to the face later, Mirotic was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with a concussion and two fractures to his upper jaw. He missed 23 games as he recovered from injury, while Portis missed eight as he served an internal suspension. As you can imagine, this led to some tense moments in the locker room, and less than a year later, Mirotic was traded to the Pelicans.

Portis has since apologized both publicly and privately, and while the two men have moved on, don’t expect them to be hanging out anytime soon. Thankfully, this incident didn’t come to define either of their careers. Portis became a key contributor on the 2021 Milwaukee Bucks championship team, while Mirotic has been building a successful European career since 2019, even winning the EuroLeague MVP award last year.

THE RUMOR MILL

Lakers Rumors: NBA Insider Proposes Blockbuster Win-Now Trade for LA

Trade Rumor: Bulls Star Zach LaVine 'Has Fans' in Mavs Front Office

THIS DAY IN SPORTS HISTORY

December 29, 2007: Tom Brady sets a then-NFL record, throwing his 50th TD pass, and the New England Patriots become the first team in NFL history to finish the regular season 16-0

MEDIA SPOTLIGHT

Killian Hayes really knocked out Mo Wagner 

Zion Williamson went on a 13-0 run by himself last night

DeMar DeRozan was not happy with Grayson Allen after this play

Arkansas wins the Liberty Bowl over Kansas in 3 OT

The Oregon Ducks doink it in for the win!

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