NETS-SPURS
To say the Nets experienced nightmares in San Antonio for most of their existence is an understatement. Monday’s overtime thriller was only the fifth time they won there in the regular season and the first since Jan. 22, 2002.
An example of how difficult it had been, the Nets only scored more than 100 points three times in San Antonio since the 2002 win and those games were only when the Nets started playing at a higher pace in 2016 under Kenny Atkinson.
The 124 points were the Nets’ second-most in San Antonio. The previous mark was 127 in a three-point loss on Jan. 29, 1985 when George Gervin scored 47.
Individually it starts with James Harden, whose 30 points, 15 assists and 14 rebounds were the second time he produced that kind of line. The other was a 53-point, 17-assist and 16-rebound showing against the Knicks on Dec. 31, 2016.
Getting 30 points, 15 assists and 14 rebounds also is fairly rare as this was the 22nd time in NBA history. Before Harden got his first such game and Nikola Jokic did it in 2018 and Luka Doncic did it twice on Aug. 8 and Jan. 17, it was last achieved by Larry Bird (44 points, 15 assists and 17 rebounds)
A 30-point, 15-assist game is fairly rare and this was the second time Harden did it. He also had 31 and 15 in an overtime win over Atlanta on Jan. 27. The Nets have done this seven times and this was the second time against San Antonio with the other being Kenny Anderson getting 31 and 17 on Dec. 4, 1992 in New Jersey.
This also was the sixth time someone produced 30 and 15 assists on the Spurs. Anderson’s game was the most recent before Stephen Curry produced 30 and 15 on Dec. 19, 2015.
Perhaps even more impressive was zero turnovers. It is the fourth time this happened. The other instances were John Stockton vs. Portland (33 points, 15 assists) on Dec. 28, 1989, Chris Paul on Jan. 6, 2009 at the Lakers (32 points, 15 assists) and LeBron James on March 21, 2018 vs. Toronto (35 points, 17 assists.
MAVERICKS-MAGIC
Whatever was plaguing the Mavericks Thursday in Philadelphia may have been an aberration as their ninth win in 12 games was another offensive showcase, highlighted by Luka Doncic’s 33 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
It was Doncic’s 28th game with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds and sixth this season. It is also the 11th instance of a Dallas guard getting at least 30 and 10 boards.
Doncic’s big night occurred when the Mavericks scored 133 points, their second-most in any game against Orlando. The most Dallas ever scored on Orlando was a 135-108 win on Feb. 17, 1990.
Jalen Brunson added 24 and that was among fourth-most points by a Dallas reserve on Orlando. The most was Trey Burke’s 29 points last month in Dallas, eclipsing the 26 Maxi Kleber had last season and Jonathan Gibson had in 2016.
PACERS-SIXERS
The best way to rebound from an underwhelming overtime loss to a losing team is do some things like score 130 points and make 56.8 percent of your shots.
Those were the numbers the Sixers produced against Indiana in a game they led by 31 at some point. It is among their best offensive numbers ever against the Pacers.
It marked the sixth time the Sixers got 130 on Indiana and the first time since April 11, 1986 when Terry Catledge, Charles Barkley, Julius Erving combined for 86 points. Philadelphia’s field goal percentage was its 11th-best against Indiana and the highest since Allen Iverson scored 39 in a 114-110 win on March 17, 1999.
Joel Embiid did his usual things but let’s talk about Shake Milton’s 26 points. Milton’s were not a career-high but they were the fourth-most by a Sixer reserve against Indiana. The last time a Sixer reserve dropped more than 25 on Indiana was Jumaine Jones on April 17, 2001.
PELICANS-JAZZ
When you are going as well as the Jazz, two losses in three games constitutes a slump.
The Jazz experienced a five-point loss in New Orleans when they allowed a 70-point second half and took a five-point loss.
The 129 points New Orleans scored were its most in a regulation game against Utah, eclipsing the 126 from Jan. 6, 2020. New Orleans shot 56.5 percent and that was its second-best percentage with the best being a 59.5 percent showing on Dec. 16, 2014.
Perhaps even more interesting is the Pelicans were only 7 of 11 from 3-point range. The “only” emphasizes the lack of attempts and this was the first time the Pelicans attempted 11 or less 3-pointers since going 5 of 10 in a 108-103 win over San Antonio on April 15, 2015.
NUGGETS-BULLS
It was another night at the office for Nikola Jokic in a four-point win at Chicago with 39 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists on 17 of 28 shooting.
It was the second time any center produced a stat line that good against Chicago. The other was Dec. 18, 1979 when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar produced 39 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists at Chicago Stadium during the third month of Magic Johnson’s career.
Jokic also matched Carmelo Anthony for the most points by a Nugget against the Bulls. Anthony scored 39 on Jan. 16, 2006, breaking the previous mark of 37 that Dan Issel set on Jan. 26, 1984.
TRAIL BLAZERS-HORNETS
If you didn’t stay up late, you missed the Blazers setting a team record with 24 3-pointers and it was appropriate that Carmelo Anthony hit the record-breaker since he scored 62 points against the Hornets in 2014.
Before Monday, the Blazers hit 23 twice on Aug. 6 against Denver and Jan. 13 at Sacramento. It is the 11th time they hit at least 20 3-pointers and the first time was Dec. 14, 2013 at Philadelphia.
Anthony matched his highest point total since the Knicks traded him right before training camp in Sept. 2017. He also scored 29 at Cleveland for Oklahoma City on Jan. 20, 2018.
Anthony hit six 3-pointers, marking the 13th time he scored at least 29 and hit six 3-pointers. The last time was Feb. 15, 2017 for New York.
LaMelo Ball scored 30, four off his career high. Before his 34-point game against Utah on Feb. 5, the last Charlotte rookie with a 30-point game was Walter Hermann at Milwaukee on April 14, 2007.
CAVALIERS-ROCKETS
For the first time since 1978 the Rockets are on a 12-game losing streak and 13 could be in James Harden’s return on Wednesday.
After their worst shooting performance in team history Sunday against Memphis, the Rockets were moderately better by shooting 40.8 percent and scoring 90 points.
Ok, enough about the Rockets, let’s discuss the Cavaliers, who have followed 10 straight losses with four straight wins. Collin Sexton was the leading man with 39 points and eight assists while hitting 11 free throws.
In terms of Cavaliers’ history it was the 11th such game. The other 10 were achieved by LeBron James in his first stint with Cleveland, making Sexton’s game with that stat line the first since James totaled 42 points, nine assists and got took 22 free throws April 4, 2010 against Boston.
It also was the 11th time someone produced this line against the Rockets with Trae Young the last to do it on Jan. 8, 2020 when he totaled 42, 13 and 18 free throw attempts.