Thursday Feb. 13, 2020 Briefs

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS-BOSTON CELTICS

Jayson Tatum scored 39 points which was two off his career-high. It was his third career game of at least 35 points and each one has been achieved at home.

More notable is that Tatum’s 39 points are the most by any Celtic against the Clippers. The previous record was 38 set by John Havlicek on Nov. 30, 1970.

It was the 165th game of at least 39 points by a Celtic. Add in the nine rebounds Tatum grabbed, it was the 68th instance in team history of at least 39 points and nine rebounds and third instance this season.

Marcus Smart scored 31 points and that was his second-highest point total. His career-high was 37 against Phoenix on Jan. 18.

Are you wondering how many times Gordan Hayward had at least 13 rebounds? It was his fifth career game with at least 13 boards and second against the Clippers, whom he also got 13 boards against on April 8, 2016.

Lou Williams scored 35 points which his 15th career game of at least 35 points as a reserve. It was the 11th time a reserve player scored at least 35 points on the Celtics. It was the first instance since Jamal Crawford scored 37 for the Knicks in a 122-118 loss on Nov. 18, 2006, in a game I still recall taking forever because of an insanely high total of free throws.

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER-NEW ORLEANS PELICANS

A week ago, Danilo Gallinari was nearly dealt to the Miami Heat in a complex transaction and Thursday he scored 29, a figure that is his second-most points against New Orleans. His highest total was 32 for the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 17, 2015.

Gallinari made 12 field goals and that gives him six career games of at least 29 points on 12 field goals. The previous five instances came when he played for Denver.

Chris Paul scored 14 points and handed out 12 assists. It was his 277^th career game of at least 12 assists and his 76th game of 12 assists with less than 15 points.

Now that we’ve got your attention with some esoteric Thunder items, let’s get to Zion Williamson. Williamson who scored 32 points. 

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is the seventh top overall pick with at least eight career games of at least 20 points within their first 10 games.

Williamson’s 32 points match Darren Collison for the fifth-most by a Pelicans rookie. Collison scored 32 points at San Antonio on March 5, 2010. 

It was the 26th game of at least 32 points against the Thunder (including the time in Seattle which many would like to exclude). If you include only the time in Oklahoma City, it is the fourth-highest total.

Eric Gordon’s 41 points for the Clippers on Jan. 23, 2009 stand as the record if you only include the years in Oklahoma City (2008-09).

Wednesday Items February 12, 2020

NOTE ALL THINGS MENTIONED ARE FROM THE GAME AND TEAM FINDER FUNCTIONS ON BASKETBALL REFERENCE

LOS ANGELES LAKERS-DENVER NUGGETS

LeBron James got a triple-double with 32 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds. That was his 12 triple-double this season and his 93rd of his career.

Of those triple-doubles, it was his fourth with at least 32 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds. James also did it Feb. 18, 2010 against Denver, Nov. 14, 2007 against Orlando and Nov. 1 at Dallas.

James’ latest triple-double was the 278th in Lakers history and 10th against the Nuggets. 

The last Laker with a triple-double against Denver was Julius Randle on March 25, 2016 and the last Laker with a triple-double in Denver was Magic Johnson on Feb. 21, 1990.

The Nuggets allowed a triple-double for the 88^th time in their history and second one this season. Domantas Sabonis also had a triple-double in Denver on Jan. 19.

In terms of triple-doubles with at least 32 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds, it was the sixth instance against Denver.

Russell Westbrook had the last one before Wednesday on Nov. 25, 2016 while James did it in 2010, Magic Johnson did it twice in 1981 and 1984 and Michael Jordan did it in 1985.

Jamal Murray finished with 32 points and 10 assists and that was his first career game of at least 32 points and 10 assists.

It also was the 42nd game of at least 32 points and 10 assists in Denver history and third time against the Lakers. The others to achieve the feat were Ty Lawson in 2015 and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf in 1995.

ATLANTA HAWKS-CLEVELAND CAVALIERS

Andre Drummond posted 15 rebounds which is hardly anything new for him whatever uniform he wears.  It was the 18th time in his career he got at least 15 boards against Atlanta and his 15 rebounds marked the 45th instance of a Cavalier getting that many rebounds against the Hawks.

Tristan Thompson entered Wednesday averaging 11.8 points and ended it by scoring 27 points. It was his third-most points in any game and eight of his career high of 35 set Jan. 9 against Drummond and the Detroit Pistons.

Thompson’s 27 points are tied for the second-most by a Cleveland reserve all-time against Atlanta 

Heading up that list is Kyle Korver and Dion Waiters and Thompson matched the total set by color analyst Austin Carr, who scored 27 against Atlanta on April 4, 1976.

Trae Young collected 27 and 12 assists which would seem like a routine night for him. It is rare in games against the Cavaliers as the only other Hawks to achieve the feat were Jeff Teague (34 points, 14 assists) in 2013 and Pete Maravich (32 points, 14 assists) in 1973.

ORLANDO MAGIC-DETROIT PISTONS

Markelle Fultz continued his resurgence with 22 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds. It was his first 22-10-5 game of his career and the second instance by a member of the Magic in a game against the Pistons. The other instance was Darrell Armstrong’s 22 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds on Dec. 28, 2000.

Christian Wood totaled 26 points and 12 rebounds, which is his fourth game in his career with 26 points and third game with at least 26 points and 12 boards. It also was the fifth instance of a Piston totaling at least 26 points and 12 rebounds against Orlando. Andre Drummond did it twice, Grant Hill did it in 1998 and Terry Mills achieved it in 1994.

MILWAUKEE BUCKS-INDIANA PACERS

T.J. Warren’s 35 points marked the 11th instance of a Pacer getting at least 35 points against Milwaukee. The last Pacer to score 35 points against the Bucks was Danny Granger on April 15, 2009.

He shot 16-of-19 which is 84.2 percent and it is the third time this season a Pacer shot at least 84.2 percent. It is the fourth instance of a Pacer shooting at least 84.2 percent against Milwaukee. The others to do it were Rik Smits in 1990, Dale Davis in 1993 and Jordan Hill in 2015.

TORONTO RAPTORS-BROOKLYN NETS

The Nets picked up a rare win because of the opponent. Their 101-91 win was only the second in the last 20 meetings against the Raptors since April 3, 2015. Perhaps more interesting is that it was their first double-digit win over Toronto since a 109-93 road win on Feb. 4, 2015,and their first double-digit home win over the Raptors since a 98-84 home win in Newark on March 14, 2012.

Toronto’s 15-game winning streak was the 46th all-time in NBA history, including over two seasons such as the Los Angeles Lakers from April 3-Nov. 15, 2001.

Caris LeVert scored 20 points and has 57 in his last two games against the Raptors. What was interesting was the line of 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. It’s interesting because it was the fourth time a Net had a line like that.

The others were Pearl Washington (24 points, 7 assists, 7 rebounds, 4 steals) on Dec. 21, 1987 against Utah, Derrick Coleman (21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals) on Dec. 2, 1992 against Atlanta and Ray Williams (20 points, 9 assists, 8 steals, 7 rebounds) on Nov. 8, 1981 against Indiana.

It also was the first time that line ever had been done against the Raptors.

Kyle Lowry had a triple-double in this one with (12 points, 12 assists, 11 rebounds). It was his 16th career triple-double and fourth against the Nets, all since the start of the 2016-17 season. 

Lowry also has four of the six triple-doubles by the Raptors against the Nets. The others to get a triple-double against the Nets were Ben Udoh on April 26, 2012 and Marcus Camby, who blocked 11 shots on April 14, 1998 in his penultimate game with Toronto.

WASHINGTON WIZARDS-NEW YORK KNICKS

Bradley Beal appeared in his 24th career game against the Knicks and scored 30 points. It was only his third game with at least 30 points, which is actually surprising a little.

The Knicks shot 13 percent from 3-point range (3-for-23). In games in which they attempted at least 20 3-pointers it was their sixth-lowest percentage. Their worst ever was 2-for-22 (.091) which was achieved April 4, 1997,against Orlando.

All-time it was the 126th such instance and fifth time this season. It was the second straight week in New York that it happened as the Warriors were 5-of-39 (12.8 percent) last Wednesday in Brooklyn.

It was the third-lowest percentage allowed by Washington in games with 20 3-point tries by their opponent. The Heat were 2-for-22 in Washington on Dec. 1, 2014 and the Celtics were 3-for-24 (12.5 percent) on April 2, 2014 in Washington.

CHARLOTTE HORNETS-MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES

Devonte’ Graham scored 28 points and hit five 3-pointers. It was his sixth career game with at least 28 points and five 3-pointers.

While it was the 107th such game in Hornets history, it was the third time a Hornet did it against the Timberwolves. Glen Rice did it in 1997 followed by Jason Richardson in 2008 and Kemba Walker in 2016.

D’Angelo Russell totaled 26 points and 11 assists in his home debut for Minnesota. Russell’s 26 points and 11 assists marked was the 29th such instance in Minnesota history. The last Wolve to achieve the feat was Jeff Teague exactly one year ago

PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS-MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES

Brandon Clarke scored 27 points which matched a career-high and are amongst the highest total by a Grizzlies rookie who came off the bench. The record is Jevon Carter’s 32 points on April 10 against Golden State.

Clarke shot 12 of 14 (85.7 percent) and that is among the highest percentages of any rookie reserve who scored at least 27 points. The highest was Billy McKinney’s 14-for-14 performance for the Kansas City Kings against the Boston Celtics on Dec. 27, 1978.

Carmelo Anthony shot 1 of 15 and his percentage (.066) was his lowest in any game that he attempted at least 15 shots. It was the fourth-lowest percentage this season among players with at least 15 shot attempts.

It also was the second-lowest by a Trail Blazer in team history and in proof that even the great players sometimes experience rough nights, the lowest percentage on at least 15 shots was set by Clyde Drexler on Nov. 3, 1990 at Sacramento and matched by Damian Lillard Feb. 10, 2013 in Orlando as both players shot 1 of 16.

SACRAMENTO KINGS-DALLAS MAVERICKS

Luka Doncic was back and he returned with 33 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. While he frequently racks up triple-doubles, it was his fifth such game with at least 33 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

Doncic has five of the 10 games with at least 33 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists in Mavericks history. Before he entered the NBA, Michael Finley did it twice in a span of 12 days in 1999 against Phoenix, Jimmy Jackson did it in 1994 against the Los Angeles Clippers, Jason Kidd did it in 1996 against Phoenix and Dirk Nowitzki did it in 2002 against Boston.

It also was the 17th time that was achieved against Sacramento, which is not surprising considering they began in Rochester before moving to Cincinnati and Kansas City. It was the first time a point guard did it and the first time since LeBron James did it for Cleveland on Dec. 23, 2009.

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS-PHOENIX SUNS

Devin Booker scored 27 points but also handed out eight assists and grabbed five rebounds. That was his seventh game of at least 27 points, eight assists and five rebounds this season and he has the last 13 games with that line in Suns history.

It was the second time Booker did it against Golden State and the 11th instance of a Sun with 27 points, eight assists and five rebounds. Before Booker did it for the first time on March 10, the last Sun with that line against the Warriors was Jeff Hornacek when he had 28 points, 8 assists and five rebounds on April 11, 1992.

The last four instances by a Sun were produced on the road against the Warriors. The last time it occurred in a home game was Hornacek’s 32 points, 10 assists and six rebounds on Feb. 21, 1989 

MIAMI HEAT-UTAH JAZZ

Rudy Gobert his ninth career game of at least 20 rebounds and the 66th in the history of the Jazz, including their time in New Orleans.

This season there have been 44 games where a player got 20 rebounds. Last season there were 72 such games.

It was the 48th time a player got 20 rebounds against Miami. If you guessed Andre Drummond had the last one you would be right as he collected 24 on Nov. 5, 2018.

Jimmy Butler totaled 25 points and eight rebounds and it was his fifth such game this season. All-time Butler has 36 of those games and this was the third time an opponent got at least 25 and 8 on the Jazz this season. The others were Brandon Ingram and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Tuesday Tidbits Feb. 11, 2020

NOTE: ALL RESEARCH IS DONE VIA THE TEAM AND GAME FINDER FUNCTION ON BASKETBALLREFERENCE.COM

 LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS AT PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
 Kawhi Leonard’s 30 points are not unique but his 30-point game to go along with nine assists is a rarity in Clippers history against the 76ers as it is the first such instance, though it is the 69th instance in team history and that includes the time in Buffalo and San Diego.

 How rare is it for Paul George to shoot 3-for-15 like he did in Philadelphia on Tuesday night? It was the fifth instance where he made three field goals or less on 15 shots. George shot 3-of-15 on March 13, 2016, in Atlanta and Feb. 1, 2016, against Cleveland. He also had a 3-for-16 night March 23, 2018, against Miami and a 2-of-17 showing Dec. 3, 2017, against San Antonio.

Ben Simmons enjoyed another triple-double with 26 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. He now joins George McGinnis, Allen Iverson, and Billy Cunningham as the fourth 76er to get a triple-double against the Clippers.

McGinnis totaled 38-21-10 Feb. 8, 1976, Iverson totaled 30-10-11 on Jan. 7, 2002 and Cunningham totaled 19-13-10 on Dec. 7, 1974.

 Tobias Harris collected 12 rebounds after entering Tuesday averaging 6.6 rebounds. His 12 rebounds are the 23rd time he had at least 12 rebounds and third time since becoming a 76er in last year’s trade from the Los Angeles Clippers.

CHICAGO BULLS AT WASHINGTON WIZARDS
Zack LaVine’s 41-point game was the eighth by a Bull against the Wizards and the first since Jamal Crawford on Dec. 27, 2003, in Chicago.

Michael Jordan had four games with at least 40 points, Elton Brand had one in 2000 and Bob Love had the other on Christmas Day 1970 in Baltimore.

Lavine’s 41 points and nine assists are the second such instance in Bulls history against the Wizards. On Dec. 23, 1992, Jordan totaled 57 points nine assists.

It was the 23rd game of 41 points and nine assists against the Wizards and second this season. James Harden totaled 59 and nine assists on Oct. 30. LaVine is the first player to get 41 points and nine assists while hitting eight 3-pointers.

PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS AT NEW ORLEANS PELICANS

Zion Williamson’s 31 points were the sixth-highest total by a Pelicans rookie. The record is held by Marcus Thornton, who scored 37 points on Feb. 23, 2010, at Cleveland.

What’s notable about Williamson’s 31 points is that he played 28 minutes. While not as rare as you might think, it was the 18th such instance and the second time this season. Toronto’s Terrence Davis also scored 31 in 28 minutes against Chicago on Feb. 2.

Perhaps a reflection of recent trends in managing minutes is that it has occurred eight times since the start of the 2015-16 season.

As for 31-point games by rookies against Portland, it was the 26th instance of a rookie getting at least 31 points and second this season. Eric Paschall scored 34 in 40 minutes for Golden State on Nov. 4. 

Damian Lillard finished with 20 points on 6-of-16 shooting and missed all four of his 3-point tries. It was his 12th career 20-point game without making a 3-pointer and first since going 0-of-7 on Feb. 7, 2019, against San Antonio.

As far as the Pelicans scoring 138 points against Portland it is their highest scoring output against the Blazers. Their previous highest output against the Blazers was 123 on Dec. 2, 2017, and that represents the only other time they ever scored at least 120 against Portland.

SAN ANTONIO SPURS AT OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

Dejounte Murray entered Tuesday averaging 10.1 points and 5.1 rebounds.

He ended it by getting 25 points and nine rebounds. It is the 26th instance of a Spurs guard getting 25 points and nine rebounds and first instance since Tony Parker totaled 27 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists on Dec. 10, 2012. Manu Ginobili also achieved the feat six times but the Spurs leader in those games is Alvin Robertson, who did it 12 times.

Chris Paul scored 31 points and had seven assists, marking his 48th such instance and second against the Spurs. He collected 36 points and 11 assists for the Clippers on March 9, 2012.

BOSTON CELTICS AT HOUSTON ROCKETS

James Harden scored 42 points and that marked Houston’s fifth instance of a player scoring at least 42 points on the Celtics.

Not surprising is the fact that Harden has done it three times. He scored 45 on Dec. 27, 2018, and then finished with 42 on March 3 in Boston.

Harden took 19 shots and still scored at least 40 points. It was his eighth instance of 40 points on less than 20 shots with seven of those coming as a Rocket. His most points on less than 20 shots are 45 on Feb. 20, 2013, against Oklahoma City when he shot 14 of 19.

How often does a 40-point occur on at least 15 3-point tries?

Glad you asked because it was the 107th instance and 23rd instance this season. It was the 11th time this season Harden achieved that.

Since the start of the 2014-15 season, there are 80 games of at least 40 points on at least 15 3-point attempts.

The first instance of it ever occurring took place on March 23, 1991, when Denver’s Michael Adams scored 54 on 16 3-point attempts against Milwaukee. Then on April 5, 1991, he scored 41 on 15 3-point tries against Houston.

Dennis Scott scored 41 on 19 3-point attempts in 1993, Joe Dumars scored 40 on 18-point tries on Nov. 8, 1994, and Vernon Maxwell scored 41 on 17 3-point tries for Philadelphia against the Nets on April 8, 1996.

Then it did not occur again until Antoine Walker shimmied his way to 42 points while hitting 6 of 17 3-point attempts on Dec. 11, 2001, in Boston’s overtime win over the Knicks.