NBA Game Notes (Dec. 13, 2022)

Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on December 13, 2022.

Justin Kubatko

Dec 14, 2022

Celtics Stave Off Lakers

Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 44 points and added nine rebounds and six assists as the Celtics survived a second-half rally from the Lakers to pull out a 122-118 overtime win. Tatum shot 15-29 from the field — including 5-10 from 3-point range — and made nine of his 10 free throws.

Tatum has 15 career 40-point games, the third-most such games in franchise history:

47 — Larry Bird
21 — Paul Pierce
15 — Jayson Tatum
12 — John Havlicek

No other player in franchise history has recorded double-digit 40-point games before their 25th birthday.

Frontcourt mate Jaylen Brown contributed 25 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, and three steals. The only other Celtic over the last 35 seasons to record at least 25 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, and three steals in a game is Antoine Walker on March 8, 2000.

It’s the 50th time Tatum and Brown have each scored at least 25 points in the same game. The only duos in franchise history with more such games are:

65 — John Havlicek & Jo Jo White
64 — Larry Bird & Kevin McHale

The Lakers’ Anthony Davis had 37 points and 12 rebounds in the loss, shooting 13-24 from the field (54.2%). Davis has recorded at least 25 points and 10 rebounds while making 50% of his shots from the field in 12 of his last 13 games. Only two other players in NBA history have produced 12 such games in a 13-game span: Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Teammate LeBron James compiled 33 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists, making 14 of his 25 field goal attempts (56.0%). It’s James’ 516th career 30-point game, breaking a tie with Wilt Chamberlain for the second-most such games in NBA history:

562 — Michael Jordan
516 — LeBron James
515 — Wilt Chamberlain
435 — Karl Malone
431 — Kobe Bryant

The Lakers’ Russell Westbrook tallied 20 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists, but shot just 7-19 from the field (36.8%). It’s the 80th time Westbrook has recorded a 20-point double-double with a field goal percentage less than 40%, by far the most such games since the ABA-NBA merger:

80 — Russell Westbrook
66 — Moses Malone
60 — James Harden
59 — Karl Malone

Fear the Beard

James Harden had 21 points, 15 assists, seven rebounds, and five steals as the Sixers routed the Kings 123-103. Harden — who recorded 19 points and 16 assists on Sunday — is the first player in franchise history to record at least 15 points and 15 assists in consecutive games.

It’s the second time Harden has recorded at least 20 points, 15 assists, and five steals in a game with Philadelphia. Since the NBA began tracking steals in 1973-74, the only other Sixer to record even one such game is Allen Iverson (April 8, 2005).

Overall, it’s Harden’s fourth career game reaching those marks. The only other active player with multiple such games is Chris Paul with eight.

Harden now has 300 career double-doubles. He’s the third active guard to reach that mark, joining Chris Paul (508) and Russell Westbrook (487).

Teammate Joel Embiid scored a game-high 31 points, shooting 10-16 from the field (62.5%) and 11-13 from the free throw line (84.6%). Embiid has scored at least 30 points while shooting 50% from the field and 80% from the free throw line in each of his last five games, the longest such streak in franchise history. Only two players in NBA history have recorded a longer such streak:

9 — Amar’e Stoudemire (Nov. 28, 2010–Dec. 15, 2010)
6 — Kawhi Leonard (Jan. 10, 2017–Jan. 21, 2017)

The Kings’ Domantas Sabonis tallied 22 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists in the loss. He shot 8-10 from the field (80.0%) and made six of his seven free throws. Over his last eight games, Sabonis is averaging 18.3 PPG, 11.6 RPG, and 6.9 APG with a field goal percentage of 70.1%. He’s the only player since the ABA-NBA merger to average at least 15 PPG, 10 RPG, and 5 APG while shooting 70% from the field over an eight-game span.

It’s All Greek

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a game-high 30 points, grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, and dished out a team-high five assists as the Bucks cruised past the Warriors 128-111. It’s the 90th time Antetokounmpo has been his team’s outright leader in all three categories, the fourth-most such games in NBA history:

151 — LeBron James
98 — Russell Westbrook
91 — Nikola Jokic
90 — Giannis Antetokounmpo

Antetokounmpo played only 30 minutes. It’s the 11th time he’s recorded at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists in 30 or fewer minutes played, the most such games in NBA history.

It wasn’t all good news for Antetokounmpo, who shot just 9-26 from the field (34.6%). That’s the lowest field goal percentage he’s ever recorded in a 30-point game.

Frontcourt mate Bobby Portis had 25 points and 11 rebounds, making 11 of his 15 shots from the field (73.3%). Antetokounmpo and Portis are just the fourth duo this season to each record at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in the same game:

Devin Booker & Deandre Ayton (Nov. 26, 2022)
Jayson Tatum & Jaylen Brown (Dec. 4, 2022)
Kristaps Porzingis & Kyle Kuzma (Dec. 10, 2022)
Giannis Antetokounmpo & Bobby Portis (Dec. 13, 2022)

The Warriors’ Klay Thompson made his 2,000th career 3-pointer in the second quarter, becoming the 13th player in NBA history to reach that mark. The only player to do so in fewer games is fellow Splash Brother Stephen Curry:

597 — Stephen Curry
670 — Klay Thompson
671 — Damian Lillard
760 — James Harden
824 — Ray Allen

Rockets Blast Slumping Suns

Jalen Green scored a game-high 26 points as the Rockets easily handled the Suns 111-97 for their fourth win in the last six games. Those wins have come against the Suns (twice), Bucks, and Sixers.

It’s the 11th time Green has scored at least 25 points in a game this season, one more such game than the combined total of all other players age 20 years or younger:

11 — Jalen Green
4 — Paolo Banchero
4 — Bennedict Mathurin
1 — Alperen Sengun
1 — Jaden Ivey

The Suns have lost five consecutive games, the franchise’s longest losing streak since December 2019. Dating back to November 7, the Suns have lost the last five games Chris Paul has played in, his longest personal losing streak since March 2007.

Mikal Bridges led the Suns with 18 points, but made just four of his 24 shots from the field (16.7%). That’s the third-worst field goal percentage in franchise history by a player who attempted at least 20 shots:

14.3% — Charlie Scott (March 8, 1975)
15.0% — Markieff Morris (Feb. 8, 2015)
16.7% — Mikal Bridges (Dec. 13, 2022)
19.0% — Stephon Marbury (Nov. 27, 2002)

It’s also the worst field goal percentage in the NBA this season by a player with at least 20 attempts.