NBA Game Notes (Dec. 31, 2025)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on Dec. 31, 2025.
Three Stars
Here are my “three stars” from yesterday’s NBA games, with the “first star” considered the top performer.
First ⭐️
Jalen Johnson scored a game-high 34 points as the Atlanta Hawks snapped a seven-game losing skid with a 126-102 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Johnson shot 15-22 from the field, hitting three of his six 3-point attempts. He added a team-high 10 rebounds, six assists, a game-high two steals (tied with two others), and one block in 32 minutes played.
Second ⭐️
Julian Champagnie poured in a career-high 36 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 134-132 win over the New York Knicks. Champagnie shot 11-17 from the field, with all of his attempts coming from 3-point range. He added six rebounds and one block, committing just one turnover and one personal foul in 36 minutes played.
Third ⭐️
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 30 points in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 124-95 rout of the Portland Trail Blazers. Gilgeous-Alexander was incredibly efficient, going 11-15 from the floor and 7-7 from the charity stripe. He also dished out six assists and swiped a game-high four steals, and did not commit a turnover in 29 minutes of action.
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Milestones
Champagnie set Spurs records for most 3-pointers made and attempted a game (11 and 17, respectively). The previous mark of nine makes was set by Chuck Person on Dec. 30, 1997, while the past record of 16 attempts had been achieved four times, most recently by Victor Wembanyama on Dec. 25, 2024.
Champagnie tied the NBA record for most 3-pointers attempted in a game without a 2-point attempt, matching JR Smith (April 5, 2015), Duncan Robinson (Nov. 4, 2021), and Malik Beasley (March 9, 2022).
Stephen Curry (5-10 on threes) made at least five 3-pointers in a game for the 400th time in the Golden State Warriors’ 132-125 win over the Charlotte Hornets. No other player in NBA history has recorded more than 214 such games.
The Warriors’ Al Horford (2-6 on threes) made his 1,000th career 3-pointer, joining LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki, and Kevin Love as the only players in NBA history to record at least 9,000 rebounds and 1,000 3-pointers made.
CJ McCollum (18 points) reached 16,000 career points and hit a game-winning jumper in the Washington Wizards’ 114-113 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. He’s the 23rd active player and the 129th player in NBA history to attain that milestone.
Streaking
Gilgeous-Alexander has produced 105 consecutive 20-point games, the second-longest such streak in NBA history behind Wilt Chamberlain’s record 126-game run.
The Knicks’ Jalen Brunson (29 points) has scored at least 20 points in 12 straight games. He’s averaging 31.9 PPG and 6.8 APG with 48.9/42.6/83.1 shooting splits over that span.
Johnson has recorded 14 straight double-doubles, the longest such streak of his career by 10 games. It’s the longest double-double streak by a Hawk since Kevin Willis’ 21-game run from Jan. 24 to March 11, 1992.
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Indiana Pacers (10) and New Orleans Pelicans (five).
The Minnesota Timberwolves (102 points) have scored at least 100 points in each of their last 92 regular season games, the fourth-longest such streak in NBA history.
The Golden State Warriors (24-49 on threes) have made 10 or more 3-pointers in 44 straight games, snapping a tie for the longest such streak in franchise history. The previous mark was set from Dec. 28, 2022 to March 31, 2023.
The Charlotte Hornets (16-40 on threes) have hit double-digit 3-pointers in each of their last 37 games, matching the longest such streak in franchise history. They also recorded 37 such games in a row from May 15 to Dec. 27, 2021.
Miscellany
Champagnie led the nightly scoring brigade, bagging a career-high 36 points. He was followed by Johnson (34), the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell (34), the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo (33), and the Hornets’ Brandon Miller (33).
Antetokounmpo and the Suns’ Jordan Goodwin were the night’s leading rebounders, each snagging 15 boards. The Toronto Raptors’ Scottie Barnes and the Chicago Bulls’ Jalen Smith were next in line with 14 rebounds apiece.
The Warriors’ Draymond Green and the Bulls’ Tre Jones were the premier playmakers last night, each handing out 12 assists. Barnes also delivered double-digit dimes with 10.
Barnes recorded his eighth career triple-double — and second in the last three games — scoring 20 points to go with his aforementioned 14 rebounds and 10 assists.