NBA Game Notes (Dec. 18, 2023)

Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on December 18, 2023.

Dec 19, 2023

Dear readers: This will be my last Game Notes of the week, as I’ll be taking a break to spend some quality time with my family. I’ll return on December 26 to recap the Christmas Day games. Need a gift for the NBA fan on your holiday list? I’m sure a subscription to Statitudes would mean a lot more than an impersonal Amazon or Starbucks gift card. Click the button below to give a year of Statitudes to a family member or friend.

Give a gift subscription

“Big Three” Leads Clippers

Each of the LA Clippers’ “Big Three” scored at least 27 points in a 151-127 rout of the Indiana Pacers, extending the Clippers’ winning streak to eight games. It’s the third time the Pacers have allowed at least 150 points in a game this season. The only other team in NBA history to record at least three such games through their first 25 games of a season is the 1990-91 Denver Nuggets with five.

James Harden scored a game-high 35 points and handed out a team-high nine assists for the Clippers. He shot 12-16 from the field with eight 3-pointers made, an effective field goal percentage of 100%. Harden became the first player in franchise history to record a 35-point game with an effective field goal percentage of at least 100%.

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard scored 28 points, making 12 of his 18 attempts from the floor. Leonard has scored at least 25 points in each of his last six games, averaging 32.8 PPG with 65/59/95 shooting splits over that span.

Frontcourt mate Paul George chipped in with 27 points, hitting five of his 11 shots from 3-point range. Center Ivica Zubac scored 18 points on 7-10 shooting from the field, also hauling in a game-high 16 rebounds.

The Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin came off the bench to score a career-high 34 points, going 12-20 from the field and a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line. Teammate T.J. McConnell also had a nice game off the bench, scoring 10 points and distributing a team-high eight assists in 20 turnover-free minutes.

Bulls Stun Sixers

Joel Embiid compiled 40 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists, but it wasn’t enough as the Chicago Bulls stunned the Philadelphia 76ers 108-104, snapping the Sixers’ six-game winning streak.

Embiid has scored at least 30 points in 12 consecutive games, the longest such streak in franchise history. Embiid — who went 8-9 from the free throw line — has recorded a free throw percentage of at least 80% in each of those 30-point games. The only player in NBA history with a longer such streak is James Harden with 14 in a row (Jan. 3–29, 2019).

Embiid has recorded at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in each of his last 11 games, tying Moses Malone (Jan. 26–Feb. 19, 1982) and Shaquille O’Neal (March 3–April 17, 2001) for the longest such streak since the ABA-NBA merger.

Embiid now has 40 career 40-point, 10-rebound games, making him the seventh player in NBA history to reach that mark. It’s the second-most such games since the ABA-NBA merger, trailing only Shaquille O’Neal (43).

Teammate Tyrese Maxey had 29 points, eight assists, and five rebounds, but made just nine of his 23 attempts from the floor. It’s the 13th time Embiid and Maxey have each scored at least 25 points in the same game this season, four more such games than any other duo.

Coby White scored a team-high 24 points for the Bulls, adding a game-high nine assists and eight rebounds. White has scored at least 20 points in 11 of his last 14 games, averaging 23.4 PPG with 50/50/86 shooting splits over that span.

Bulls center Nikola Vucevic scored 23 points on 10-18 shooting from the field, adding eight rebounds and two blocks. DeMar DeRozan was held to 15 points (5-15 field goals), but dished out five assists and recorded a game-high four steals.

Kings Outscore Wizards

The Sacramento Kings scored at least 125 points for the third straight game, outscoring the Washington Wizards 143-131. The Kings have won five of their last six games to improve to 16-9 for the season, while the Wizards fell to 4-22 with the loss.

Kings center Domantas Sabonis recorded his 35th career triple-double, scoring 28 points on 11-16 shooting from the field to go with game highs of 13 rebounds and 12 assists. Sabonis became the 13th player in NBA history to reach 35 triple-doubles. He’s just the third center to do so, joining Nikola Jokic (115) and Wilt Chamberlain (78).

Teammate De’Aaron Fox scored a game-high 30 points, adding six assists, five rebounds, and three steals. Fox has scored at least 25 points in 10 of his last 11 games, averaging 30.5 PPG and 7.1 APG over that span.

The Kings’ Keegan Murray followed up his career-high 47-point outing with 25 points, shooting 9-17 from the floor with four 3-pointers made. Murray has made 16 of his 22 attempts from 3-point range over the last two games, the most threes made over a two-game span in franchise history.

Jordan Poole scored a team-high 28 points for the Wizards, sinking eight of his 13 3-pointers. Teammate Kyle Kuzma chipped in with 27 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Wizards point guard Tyus Jones scored 16 points (7-10 field goals), dished out a team-high nine assists, and did not commit a turnover or personal foul. It’s the 51st game in which Jones has recorded at least five assists with zero turnovers and zero personal fouls, 25 more such games than any other player since the NBA began tracking individual turnovers in 1977-78.

The Wizards have given up at least 130 points in half of their 26 games this season, five more than any other team. The only team in NBA history to record more such games through their first 26 games of a season is the 1990-91 Denver Nuggets with 17.

Quick Hitters

Other tidbits from last night’s games:

Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 37 points in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 135-130 overtime win over the Houston Rockets. Teammate Sam Merrill came off the bench to score a career-high 19 points in 24 minutes, shooting 6-11 from the field with five 3-pointers made. Fred VanVleet led the Rockets, scoring a team-high 27 points, distributing a game-high 17 assists, and grabbing a team-high eight rebounds (tied).
The Toronto Raptors’ Pascal Siakam scored a game-high 27 points on 11-16 shooting from the floor in a 114-99 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. Siakam also recorded eight rebounds and a game-high eight assists. Teammate Scottie Barnes scored 22 points, snagged a career-high 17 rebounds, and dished out seven assists. The Raptors’ Gary Trent came off the bench to produce 22 points and 10 rebounds, the first double-double of his career. Terry Rozier led the Hornets, scoring 22 points with seven assists and three steals.
The Minnesota Timberwolves picked up their ninth win in the last 10 games, rallying to defeat the Miami Heat 112-108. The Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards led all scorers with 32 points, adding eight rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Making his first appearance since November 8, Tyler Herro led the Heat with 25 points on 10-18 shooting from the field.
The Atlanta Hawks never trailed in a 130-124 win over the Detroit Pistons, extending the Pistons’ franchise-record losing streak to 24 games. It’s the third-longest single-season losing streak in NBA history, trailing only the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and 2013-14 Philadelphia 76ers, each of whom lost 26 games in a row. Trae Young led the Hawks, scoring a team-high 31 points with a game-high 15 assists. Young has recorded four straight 30-point, 10-assist games, the longest such streak in franchise history. The Pistons’ Cade Cunningham scored a career-high 43 points, going 16-24 from the field and 8-9 from the free throw line. He also recorded team highs of seven assists and three steals.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 30 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder blew out the Memphis Grizzlies 116-97. Gilgeous-Alexander also contributed nine rebounds, five assists, and four steals. Thunder center Chet Holmgren scored 17 points and blocked seven shots in just 25 minutes of action. Holmgren is the first rookie to record at least seven blocks in back-to-back games since Tim Duncan did so on Feb. 26 & 28, 1998. The Grizzlies attempted a franchise-record 54 3-pointers, making 19 of them. Ten Grizzlies made at least one 3-pointer, tying the franchise record for most such players in a game.
The Utah Jazz’s Talen Horton-Tucker and Collin Sexton scored 27 points apiece in a 125-108 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. Jazz center Walker Kessler recorded a double-double, scoring 14 points to go with game highs of 14 rebounds and five blocks. Cam Thomas scored a game-high 32 points for the Nets, while backcourt mate Spencer Dinwiddie posted 17 points and a game-high 11 assists.
Jamal Murray (22 points, 8-14 field goals), Aaron Gordon (21, 7-9), and Reggie Jackson (20, 9-12) combined for 63 points on 68.6% shooting from the field to lead the Denver Nuggets in a 130-104 rout of the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks’ Luka Doncic tallied game highs of 38 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists. Doncic has recorded at least 30 points, five rebounds, and five assists in each of his last nine games, tying Oscar Robertson for the longest such streak in NBA history. Doncic has season totals of 822 points, 210 rebounds, and 227 assists. It’s the second time in NBA history a player has recorded at least 800 points, 200 rebounds, and 200 assists through his first 25 games of a season. The first such occurrence was Doncic last season.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James recorded his 109th career triple-double, but it wasn’t enough in a 114-109 loss to the New York Knicks. James finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. Lakers center Anthony Davis led all players with 32 points and 14 rebounds, making 14 of his 22 tries from the field. The Knicks’ were led by Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle, who scored 29 and 27 points, respectively. Randle also hauled in 14 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season.