NBA Game Notes (Dec. 23, 2024)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on Dec. 23, 2024.
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 ⭐️
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 41 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Washington Wizards 123-105 for their eighth consecutive victory. Gilgeous-Alexander shot 14-25 from the field (3-6 on 3-pointers) and sank all 10 of his free throw attempts. He also grabbed nine rebounds and recorded game highs of three steals (tied with two others) and three blocks (tied with Justin Champagnie) in 35 minutes played.
Second ⭐️
Karl-Anthony Towns recorded his 18th straight double-double, producing game highs of 31 points (tied with OG Anunoby) and 10 rebounds in the New York Knicks’ 139-125 win over the Toronto Raptors. Towns went 11-15 from the floor and 8-10 from the free throw line. He also dished out a team-high seven assists (tied with Jalen Brunson) and committed just one turnover in 32 minutes of action.
Third ⭐️
Tyrese Maxey registered game highs of 32 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists (tied with Chris Paul) to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 111-106 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Maxey shot 12-25 from the field, making five of his 11 attempts from 3-point range. He also swiped three steals and was charged with only turnover in 41 minutes of playing time.
Milestones
The Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James recorded his 120th career triple-double, tallying game highs of 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 117-114 loss to the Detroit Pistons. James is just the fifth player in NBA history to reach that mark, joining Russell Westbrook (200), Oscar Robertson (181), Nikola Jokic (141), and Magic Johnson (138).
Kevin Durant scored 23 points on 8-15 shooting from the floor, but the Phoenix Suns were blown out by the Denver Nuggets 117-90. Durant raised his career total to 10,124 field goals made, passing Carmelo Anthony (10,119) to take over 15th place on the NBA’s all-time list.
Spurs center Victor Wembanyama produced 26 points (6-13 on 3-pointers), nine rebounds, and eight blocks. It’s the fourth time he’s recorded at least five 3-pointers made and five blocks in a game, tying Raef LaFrentz for the most such games in NBA history.
The Atlanta Hawks’ Garrison Mathews came off the bench to score a season-high 25 points in a 117-114 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. He went 7-8 from the floor, with all of his shots coming from 3-point range. That’s an effective field goal percentage of 131.3%, the highest such figure in franchise history by a player in a 20-point game.
Streaking
As mentioned earlier, Towns has recorded 18 straight double-doubles, the longest such streak of his career. He’s averaging 24.7 PPG and 14.6 RPG with 53.8/42.1/82.8 shooting splits over that span.
Gilgeous-Alexander has streaks of 24 straight 20-point games and 18 straight 25-point games. He’s averaging 33.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 6.0 APG, 2.3 SPG, and 1.1 BPG with 52.1/37.4/86.8 shooting splits over the latter stretch.
Luka Doncic had 27 points (10-19 field goals, 1-7 on 3-pointers), seven rebounds, and seven assists in the Dallas Mavericks’ 132-108 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers. He’s scored at least 15 points with one 3-pointer made in 91 straight games, the longest such streak in NBA history by a whopping 28 games. Points aside, it’s the eighth-longest 3-point streak in league history.
Wembanyama has blocked at least one shot in 63 consecutive games, the longest such streak in Spurs history. Since the NBA began tracking blocks in 1973-74, no other player has produced such a streak longer than 33 games before their 21st birthday.
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games: Oklahoma City Thunder (eight), Cleveland Cavaliers (five), and Indiana Pacers (five).
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Toronto Raptors (eight) and Charlotte Hornets (five).
The Cavaliers went 20-46 from long range in a 124-113 win over the Utah Jazz, the third consecutive game in which they’ve made 20 or more 3-pointers. They’re just the fourth franchise in NBA history to record at least three such games in a row, joining the Boston Celtics (three times), Utah Jazz, and Charlotte Hornets.
The Cavaliers have scored at least 100 points with 10 threes made in 34 consecutive games, the longest such streak in franchise history (by 12 games) and the fourth-longest such streak in NBA history.
The Washington Wizards have lost 12 consecutive road games, the last eight by double digits. The latter streak matches the longest in franchise history (Feb. 11 to March 9, 1993).
Miscellany
Gilgeous-Alexander led all players with 41 points last night. The Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown (35), the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic (32), Maxey (32), the Knicks’ OG Anunoby (31), the Wizards’ Jordan Poole (31), and Towns (31) also produced 30-point efforts.
The LA Clippers’ Ivica Zubac was the night’s top board man, hauling in a season-high 19 rebounds last night. He was followed by the Jazz’s Walker Kessler (16), the Wizards’ Jonas Valanciunas (season-high 16), the Memphis Grizzlies’ Zach Edey (career-high 14), the Milwaukee Bucks’ Bobby Portis (13), and the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Julius Randle (season-high 13).
The Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton was the leading playmaker last night, handing out 12 assists. Also delivering double-digit dimes were the Chicago Bulls’ Ayo Dosunmu (season-high-tying 11), James (11), and the Pistons’ Cade Cunningham (10).
The Hawks’ Dyson Daniels swiped a career-high eight steals. The last Hawk to record at least eight thefts in a game was Speedy Claxton on Dec. 27, 2006 (also eight).
The Cavaliers are the 24th team in NBA history to start a season with at least 26 wins in their first 30 games. Among the previous 23 teams to achieve this feat, 12 advanced to the NBA Finals and 10 won a championship.
The Wizards have lost 21 of their last 23 games, with 20 of those defeats coming by 10 or more points. The only team in NBA history to record more double-digit losses in a 23-game span is the 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks with 21.