Wolverines In The NBA: Burke Earns Heavyweight Belt For Defense On Curry

Former National Player of the Year (2012-13) and a Michigan Wolverines basketball star, Trey Burke has had a nice week for the Dallas Mavericks.

Monday night, the team disappointingly fell to the lowly Sacramento Kings, 113-106, but the score would've been quite lopsided if it weren't for Burke, who helped the Mavs climb back in the game after falling behind by 14 points at the end of the first quarter. He finished with 19 points — 15 of which came in the second stanza — two rebounds, five assists, and one steal on 8 of 14 shooting from the field.

Starting guard Josh Richardson was set to miss Tuesday night's game against the red-hot Golden State Warriors, who had won seven of their last nine games entering the night, so head coach Rick Carlisle tabbed Burke to start in his place (instead of fellow former Wolverine Tim Hardaway Jr., who had started the previous contest), and he performed admirably.

RELATED: Michigan Wolverine Basketball ITF EXTRA: The Latest On DeVante' Jones

RELATED: Michigan Basketball Transfer Target DeVante Jones Sets Decision Date

Burke, who was making his first start of the season, was matched up with All-Star Warriors guard Steph Curry for much of the night and was great defensively, coming up with four steals. The team's game plan to trap Curry — Burke was disruptive — on the perimeter paid off in a big day, helping lead to a 30-point victory, 133-103. The Mavericks went on a 28-0 run in the second quarter, with the Warriors not scoring for nine minutes and 38 seconds, which stands as the longest scoring drought in the NBA in over a decade.

Curry still scored 27 points and hit five threes on nine attempts, but he turned the ball over twice and wasn't as efficient, dishing out only two assists during the course of the game.

Because of his big night, Burke earned himself the team's heavyweight belt that is handed out to the best defender in each win. He was also solid on offense, scoring eight points and adding two assists.

Elsewhere in the NBA, D.J. Wilson is enjoying playing with his new team, the Houston Rockets. Wilson was buried on the depth chart in Milwaukee — one of the top teams in the NBA — before being traded to the Rockets ahead of the deadline. Ever since, he has taken on a more prominent role, albeit for the team with the worst record in the association.

Wilson is taking advantage of his newfound opportunity, with it all culminating with his career night on Saturday, when he dropped a career-high 25 points, while also adding eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in a loss to the Denver Nuggets.

Moe Wagner received some good news Tuesday when he was signed by the Orlando Magic for the rest of the season. The forward was waived by the Boston Celtics after a short stint with the organization. He was previously with the Washington Wizards at the beginning of the season before he was dealt to Boston. Terms of his contact have not been disclosed, other than the fact that he will be with the team — which has the worst record (18-43) in the Eastern Conference — through the end of the 2020-21 campaign.

Below is a complete update on every former Michigan Wolverine currently in the NBA.

Notched 19 points (8-14 FG, 3-7 3PT), five assists, two rebounds and two steals in a loss to the Sacramento Kings April 26 ... Made his first start of the season April 27 in a win over the Golden State Warriors in which he posted eight points, two assists, four steals and one block.

Missed six games with an ankle injury but returned April 26 ... Has appeared off the bench in 51 of the Mavericks' 61 games this season with one start, and is averaging 14.9 minutes per outing ... Posting 6.7 points and 1.4 assists per night, while shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 37.0 percent from three-point land ... The Mavericks sit at sixth in the Western Conference with a 34-27 record.

Scored 15 points and added one assist and one rebound in a win over the Detroit Pistons April 21 ... Put up eight points, four rebounds, three assists and one block in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers April 22 ... Notched eight points and four rebounds in a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers April 24 ... Registered 19 points, two assists and one rebound in a loss to the Sacramento Kings April 26 ... Contributed 13 points, seven rebounds and one assist in a win over the Golden State Warriors April 27.

Has seen action in 60 of the team's 61 contests with 22 starts ... Is averaging 15.6 points per game on 43.0 percent shooting from the field and 37.6 percent from long range, while also contributing 3.4 boards and 1.7 assists per tilt.

Registered 28 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals in a win over the Oklahoma City Thunder April 21 ... Put up 25 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block in a triumph over the Detroit Pistons April 24 ... Contributed 18 points, six assists, three rebounds and one steal in a win over the Orlando Magic April 25 ... Scored 16 points and added three rebounds, two assists and two blocks in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers April 27.

Averaging 18.7 points (third on team), 4.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game in 25 outings (all starts) with the Indiana Pacers, after returning from having surgery on his kidney (was previously with the Brooklyn Nets) ... Shooting 43.5 percent from the field and 27.2 percent from long range in those games ... The Pacers are ninth in the East with a 29-32 record.

Exploded for 22 points, three rebounds and two steals in a loss to the Washington Wizards April 21 ... Scored 15 points and added three assists, one rebound and three steals in a win over the Denver Nuggets April 23 ... Registered four points, five rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal in a win over the Sacramento Kings April 25 ... Put up 10 points, five rebounds and three assists in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks April 27.

Has appeared in 41 of the Warriors' 62 games this season with six starts, after having a stint in the G-League ... In the NBA, he's averaging 10.9 points, 1.9 assists and 1.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 41.8 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from beyond the arc ... The Warriors are 10th in the Western Conference with a 31-31 mark.

Registered 10 points, two rebounds and one assist in a win over the San Antonio Spurs April 21 ... Contributed 13 points, five rebounds and two assists in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks ... Went off for 23 points (7-15 3PT), six rebounds and one steal in a win over the Chicago Bulls April 24 ... Put up three points in a loss to the Chicago Bulls April 26.

Has started all 62 games for the Miami Heat ... Averaging 13.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game, while shooting 43.6 percent overall and 40.2 percent from long range ... His 3.5 made threes per game rank sixth in the association ... The Heat are 32-30 on the season and sit at seventh in the Eastern Conference standings.

Was signed by the Orlando Magic — his fifth NBA franchise in three seasons in the league — on Tuesday after recently being waived by the Boston Celtics ... Started the season with the Washington Wizards ... Has yet to play a game with his new club.

Put up six points, five rebounds and two assists in a loss to the Utah Jazz April 21 ... Posted three points, two rebounds and one block in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers April 23 ... Exploded for a career-high 25 points while adding eight rebounds, four assists and three steals in a setback to the Denver Nuggets April 24 ... Registered five points, two rebounds and two assists in a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves April 27.

Was traded from the Milwaukee Bucks at the trade deadline ... Played just 12 games with the Bucks but has seen action in 21 games now for the Rockets, averaging 5.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game with his new club ... The Rockets are 15-47 — the worst record in the league — and sit at 15th in the West.

---

• Talk about this article inside The Fort

• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel

• Listen and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine

• Sign up for our daily newsletter and breaking news alerts

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @AustinFox42, @JB_ Wolverine, Clayton Sayfie and @DrewCHallett

• Like us on Facebook