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 ⭐️
Jalen Brunson erupted for 55 points to lead the New York Knicks to a 136-132 overtime win over the Washington Wizards, New York’s seventh straight victory. Brunson shot 18-31 from the field (but just 3-11 on 3-pointers) and made a career-high 16 of his 17 free throw attempts. He also distributed a game-high nine assists and committed just one personal foul in 44 minutes played
Second ⭐️
Anthony Davis produced game highs of 36 points and 15 rebounds as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 132-122, handing the reeling Kings their sixth straight loss. Davis went 12-16 from the floor and 11-13 from the free throw line. He also matched his season high with eight assists in 39 minutes of action.
Third ⭐️
Kyrie Irving scored a season-high 46 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Dallas Mavericks fell to the Portland Trail Blazers 126-122. Irving shot 16-26 from the field (5-12 from 3-point range) and sank all nine of his free throw attempts. He added a team-high two steals and one block in 39 minutes of playing time.
Milestones
Brunson recorded his third career 50-point game, tying Richie Guerin for the second-most such games in Knicks history. Bernard King is the franchise leader with five 50-point games.
The Philadelphia 76ers’ Paul George scored 13 points in a 114-111 win over the Utah Jazz, going 2-5 from 3-point range. He increased his career total to 2,291 threes made, passing Vince Carter (2,290) to take over ninth place on the NBA’s all-time list.
George also recorded a game-high five steals, surpassing 1,500 for his career. He’s tied with Stephen Curry for 53rd place on the NBA’s all-time list with 1,502 steals (a statistic that has been tracked since the 1973-74 season).
Nikola Vucevic tallied 23 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists in the Chicago Bulls’ 116-111 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. He reached 16,000 career points in the second quarter, becoming the 18th active player to attain that milestone. Vucevic has 9,741 career rebounds, ranking fourth among active players.
Streaking
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 22 points in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 106-94 win over the Charlotte Hornets. He’s scored at least 20 points in 26 consecutive games, averaging 31.6 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 6.2 APG with 53.1/36.4/87.6 shooting splits over that span.
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games: Oklahoma City Thunder (10) and New York Knicks (seven).
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Charlotte Hornets (seven) and Sacramento Kings (six).
Miscellany
Brunson led all scorers with a season-high 55 points last night. Also scoring at least 30 points were Irving (season-high 46); the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic (37); Davis (36); the Golden State Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga (career-high-tying 34); the Nuggets’ Jamal Murray (season-high 34); the Sixers’ Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey (32 apiece); the Wizards’ Justin Champagnie (career-high 31); the Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant (31); and the Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns (30).
The Trail Blazers’ Deandre Ayton was the top board man last night, hauling in 16 rebounds. Davis (15), the Bulls’ Josh Giddey (season-high 15), the Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein (15), Towns (14), the Atlanta Hawks’ Jalen Johnson (13), Vucevic (13), and the Kings’ Domantas Sabonis (12) also grabbed at least a dozen boards apiece.
The Lakers’ Austin Reaves was the night’s leading playmaker, handing out a career-high 16 assists. He was one six players to deliver double-digit dimes, the others being the Hawks’ Trae Young (15), the Kings’ De’Aaron Fox (season-high 12), the Bucks’ Damian Lillard (12), Giddey (10), and the Heat’s Tyler Herro (10).
Brunson is the seventh player to record a 50-point game this season, joining De’Aaron Fox (60), Giannis Antetokounmpo (59), Nikola Jokic (56), Paolo Banchero (50), Victor Wembanyama (50), and LaMelo Ball (50). Three of those players — Wembanyama, Jokic, and Brunson — did so while facing the Washington Wizards.
Giddey recorded his 13th career triple-double, scoring 23 points to go with his 15 rebounds and 10 assists. All three figures were team highs (he and Vucevic tied for team lead in points).
The Thunder have won 19 games by 10 or more points this season, tying them with five other teams for the fourth-most such wins through 30 games in NBA history. The only teams to record more wins through their first 30 games of a season are the 2007-08 Boston Celtics (21), the 2015-16 San Antonio Spurs (20), and the 2020-21 Utah Jazz (20).