Mo Dioubate delivers a 'Christmas Miracle' on his birthday to spark Kentucky

The last month has crawled for Mo Dioubate. Every disappointing loss knowing he could not step out on the court with his brothers.

A high-ankle sprain suffered in the blowout loss to Michigan State forced him to sit and watch while Kentucky slogged through a rough stretch. For a guy whose whole game is energy and physicality, being stuck in sweats might’ve been worse than the injury itself.

Seeing the team get physically dominated against UNC and Gonzaga had to sting, especially for a guy who prides himself on being physical.

Saturday, all of that changed, and the best thing was it was on his birthday, in a rivalry game, in front of a desperate fan base.

Dioubate came off the bench and immediately changed the temperature of the building, finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds in 22 minutes. He didn’t float to the perimeter. He lived in the paint, on the floor, and at the free-throw line, hitting 6-of-10 from the stripe and 4-of-7 from the field. He dove for lose balls, and did all he could to help the Cats in the paint.

‘It was a Christmas miracle’ as Dioubate changes the game’s tone

Mark Pope had already joked earlier in the week that getting Dioubate back into practice was a “Christmas miracle.” It looked like one again against Indiana. Just look at this photo:

The answer was Mo Dioubate, that's who got that rebound.

“His physicality and doing it legal was elite,” Pope said. “He was great on the glass… it was awesome to have him back.”

Dioubate admitted afterward how painful it was to watch the losing streak from the sideline.

“It feels great. There is nothing like playing with my brothers,” he said. “It sucks, I’m not going to lie… There were games that we lost that I feel like I could have helped change the results, but I couldn’t do anything about it. I just hope to keep this same energy going forward.”

Before the game, he had one request.

“I told the guys before the game, don’t get me a gift, let’s just win the game for my birthday. We got it done. Every game day is going to be my birthday.”

If this is the version of Dioubate Kentucky gets the rest of the year, flying around, swallowing rebounds, punishing teams at the stripe, BBN will happily buy him candles before every tip.