NBA Game Notes (Dec. 28, 2022)

Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on December 28, 2022.

Dec 29, 2022

Bulls Rally, Stun Bucks

The Bulls — trailing by 11 points with just 2:18 remaining in regulation — rallied to force overtime, eventually pulling out a 119-113 victory. It was the Bulls’ fourth win in their last five games, while the Bucks’ season-worst losing streak was extended to four games.

DeMar DeRozan had his most complete game of the season for the Bulls:

42 PTS
10 REB
5 AST
2 STL
2 BLK
1 TOV
0 PF
15-25 FG
12-14 FT

DeRozan’s Game Score was 39.0, the highest such figure by a Bull this season.

The Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo compiled 45 points, 22 rebounds, and seven assists in the loss. He’s just the third player since the ABA-NBA merger to record at least 45 points, 20 rebounds, and five assists in a game (and the second in two nights!):

Chris Webber (Jan. 5, 2001) — 51 PTS, 26 REB, 5 AST
Luka Doncic (Dec. 27, 2022) — 60 PTS, 21 REB, 10 AST
Giannis Antetokounmpo (Dec. 28, 2022) — 45 PTS, 22 REB, 7 AST

Antetokounmpo was the game’s outright leader in points, rebounds, and assists for the 27th time in his career, the third-most such games since the ABA-NBA merger:

41 — Russell Westbrook
35 — LeBron James
27 — Giannis Antetokounmpo
17 — Nikola Jokic
17 — Luka Doncic

Comeback Kings

The Kings came back from an 11-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to defeat the Nuggets 127-126, outscoring the Nuggets 33-21 in the decisive final period.

Playing with a fracture in his right thumb, the Kings’ Domantas Sabonis produced 31 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists with 12-18 shooting from the field (66.7%).

Over his last 11 games — all double-doubles — Sabonis is averaging 20.9 PPG, 15.5 RPG, and 7.3 APG, shooting 63.8% from the field. He’s tied with Nikola Jokic for the most double-doubles in the NBA this season with 24.

Two other Kings recorded 30-point games while shooting at least 55% from the field:

Malik Monk — 33 PTS, 12-21 FG (57.1%)
De’Aaron Fox — 31 PTS, 12-21 FG (57.1%)

The last team to have three such players in a game was the New Jersey Nets on Dec. 4, 1992 (Drazen Petrovic, Chris Morris, and Kenny Anderson). The last time the Kings had three such players in a game was Jan. 26, 1979 (Otis Birdsong, Scott Wedman, and Phil Ford).

Fox also dished out a game-high 13 assists. It was his 13th career 30-point, 10-assist game, the third-most such games in franchise history behind Oscar Robertson and Nate Archibald.

The Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic had a game-high 40 points, seven rebounds, and six assists in the loss. Jokic shot 15-24 from the field (62.5%) and made all 10 of his free throws.

Jokic has recorded at least 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists with 50% shooting from the field in each of his last 18 games, the longest such streak in NBA history.

Jokic is averaging 30.0 PPG, 12.3 RPG, and 10.0 APG over his last 13 games. He’s just the third player in NBA history to average at least 30 PPG, 12 RPG, and 10 APG over a 13-game span, joining Oscar Robertson and Russell Westbrook.

Nets Win Again

Kevin Durant had 26 points, 16 rebounds, and eight assists as the Nets squeaked by the undermanned Hawks 108-107. The Nets have won 10 consecutive games, the longest winning streak in the NBA this season and the franchise’s longest since the 2005-06 season.

The Nets’ Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 28 points, adding eight assists and five rebounds. It’s the 28th time Durant and Irving have each scored at least 25 points in the same game, the most such games by a duo in franchise history (ABA seasons included):

28 — Kevin Durant & Kyrie Irving
25 — Bernard King & John Williamson
24 — Vince Carter & Richard Jefferson
21 — Rick Barry & Bill Melchionni
17 — Julius Erving & John Williamson

Teammate Nic Claxton tallied 17 points, 10 rebounds, and six blocks, missing just one of his nine field goal attempts. Claxton is averaging 11.9 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 2.4 BPG this season, shooting a league-best 74.3% from the field.

The Hawks played without leading scorer Trae Young, leading rebounder Clint Capela, and starting forward De’Andre Hunter. Dejounte Murray scored a team-high 24 points and also contributed nine rebounds and eight assists, but shot poorly from the field (10-26, 38.5%).

Career High for Zion

The Pelicans’ Zion Williamson scored a career-high 43 points — including his team’s last 14 of the game — in a 119-118 victory over the Timberwolves. Williamson shot 14-21 from the field (66.7%) and 14-19 from the free throw line (73.7%).

It’s the 10th time Williamson has scored at least 35 points on 65% shooting from the field. The only other player in NBA history to record 10 such games before their 23rd birthday is Shaquille O’Neal (26).

Burks Effective for Pistons

Alec Burks scored a game-high 32 points off the bench as the Pistons blew out the Magic 121-101, snapping their six-game losing streak. The game was marred by an ugly brawl late in the second quarter that resulted in three ejections — the Magic’s Moritz Wagner and the Pistons’ Killian Hayes and Hamadou Diallo.

Burks shot 10-11 from the field with six 3-pointers made, an effective field goal percentage of 118.2%. Only four players in NBA history have recorded a higher effective field goal percentage in a 30-point game:

122.7% — Tobias Harris (Dec. 26, 2017)
122.7% — Davis Bertans (Feb. 17, 2021)
120.0% — Eric Gordon (Jan. 12, 2022)
119.2% — Dan Majerle (Jan. 11, 2000)

Teammate Saddiq Bey scored 28 points with six 3-pointers made. Burks and Bey are just the second duo in franchise history to each make at least six 3-pointers in the same game. They join Joe Dumars and Allan Houston, who did so on April 5, 1995.

Jalen Duren grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds for the Pistons. It’s the second time Duren has recored at least 18 rebounds in a game. The only other teenager in NBA history with multiple such games is Dwight Howard with eight.