Three Stars
The three stars in ice hockey are the three best players in a game, with the “first star” considered the best of the three players, similar to the player of the match in other sports. Here are my “three stars” from yesterday’s NBA games.
First ⭐️
Payton Pritchard came off the bench to score 25 points as the Boston Celtics routed the Miami Heat 108-89, Boston’s eighth win in its last nine games. Pritchard went 10-17 from the field, making five of his 12 attempts from 3-point range. He added five rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block, committing just one turnover and one personal foul in 33 minutes played.
Second ⭐️
Josh Giddey recorded his 12th career triple-double, scoring 20 points to go with game highs of 13 rebounds and 11 assists in the Chicago Bulls’ 128-102 thrashing of the Brooklyn Nets. Giddey shot 9-17 from the floor, although he made just one of his eight 3-point attempts. He also recorded one steal and one block in 32 minutes of action.
Third ⭐️
Yves Missi scored a career-high 23 points on 11-14 shooting from the field, but it wasn’t enough as the New Orleans Pelicans fell to the Atlanta Hawks 124-112. Missi also contributed a team-high 12 rebounds (seven on the offensive end), one steal, and one block in 35 minutes of playing time.
Milestones
D’Angelo Russell scored a season-high 20 points with four 3-pointers made in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 109-80 blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Russell made his 1,500th career 3-pointer in the second quarter, becoming both the fifth-fastest (591 games) and the fifth-youngest (28 years and 283 days) player in NBA history to reach that mark.
Streaking
The Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic went just 1-8 from long range, but that was enough to extend his 3-point streak to 98 games. It’s the sixth-longest such streak in NBA history and the second-longest such streak in franchise history (Kyle Korver, 127).
The Celtics’ Jayson Tatum scored 18 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. He’s scored at least 15 points in each of his last 60 regular season games, the longest such streak of his career and the sixth-longest such streak in franchise history.
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: New Orleans Pelicans (nine).
The Boston Celtics sank 19 threes, their 45th consecutive game with 10 or more 3-pointers made. It’s the sixth-longest such streak in NBA history.
The Chicago Bulls have scored at least 110 points with 50% shooting from the field in each of their last six games, matching the longest such streak in franchise history (March 24 to April 2, 2023).
Miscellany
The Celtics’ Jaylen Brown and the Pelicans’ CJ McCollum led all scorers last night with 29 points apiece, followed by Pritchard with 25.
The Hawks’ Clint Capela was the top board man, hauling in 17 rebounds last night. Giddey ranked second with 13 boards, while the Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert and Missi tied for third place with 12 each.
The Hawks’ Trae Young was the night’s leading playmaker, handing out 15 assists. Giddey was next with 11 dimes, followed by the Pelicans’ Dejounte Murray and the Nets’ Dennis Schroder with 10 apiece.
The Lakers’ LeBron James has gone 0-19 from 3-point range over his last four games. The only player in NBA history to attempt more 3-pointers over a four-game span without a make is RJ Barrett with 21 (Dec. 26-31, 2020).
The Los Angeles Lakers could only muster 80 points versus the Timberwolves, their fewest in a game since scoring 73 points against the Dallas Mavericks on Jan. 22, 2017. The Lakers connected on just six of their 31 attempts from 3-point range.