NBA Game Notes (Dec. 9, 2023)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on December 9, 2023.
Lakers Claim Inaugural IST Title
The Los Angles Lakers claimed the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament title, knocking off the Indiana Pacers 123-109 in last night’s championship game. The Lakers won all seven of their IST games, posting an an average margin of victory of 19.3 PPG.
Lakers center Anthony Davis had a huge night, producing game highs of 41 points, 20 rebounds, and four blocks (tied) to go with five assists. It’s the first time Davis has recorded at least 40 points, 20 rebounds, and five assists in an NBA game (regular season, postseason, Play-In Tournament, or In-Season Tournament).
Davis shot 16-24 from the field and made 11 of his 13 free throws. Davis averaged 23.3 PPG, 14.6 RPG, and 2.9 BPG in seven IST games, shooting 52.5% from the field. He recorded a double-double in each game.
Teammate LeBron James chipped in with a double-double of his own, scoring 24 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. James took home the IST’s MVP Award, averaging 26.4 PPG, 8.0 RPG, and 7.6 APG while shooting 56.8% from the field and 60.6% from 3-point range.
The Lakers’ Austin Reaves had a big night off the bench, scoring 28 points in 28 minutes played. Reaves went 9-15 from the floor, hit 10 of his 12 free throws, and did not commit a turnover.
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Tyrese Haliburton and Bennedict Mathurin scored 20 points apiece to lead the Pacers, who finished the IST with a 6-1 record. Haliburton also dished out a game-high 11 assists for his sixth 20-point, 10-assist game of the tournament.
Haliburton finished as the IST’s leader in both points (187) and assists (93), averaging 26.7 PPG and 13.3 PPG with 52/42/87 shooting splits. He recorded a double-double in all seven of his tournament games.
The final IST leaders in points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks were:
PTS — Tyrese Haliburton, 187
REB — Anthony Davis, 102
AST — Haliburton, 93
STL — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & Bruce Brown, 12
BLK — Brook Lopez, 25
The final IST leaders in PPG, RPG, APG, SPG, and BPG (minimum three games played) were:
PPG — Kevin Durant & De’Aaron Fox, 34.5
RPG — Nikola Jokic, 16.3
APG — Tyrese Haliburton, 13.3
SPG — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 4.0
BPG — Brook Lopez, 4.2
Three players averaged at least 25 PPG with 50/40/90 shooting splits in IST games:
Stephen Curry (31.3 PPG, 51/44/100)
Damian Lillard (28.7 PPG, 50/51/96)
Jordan Clarkson (25.0 PPG, 56/41/100)
Five players played multiple IST games and recorded a double-double in each game:
7 — Anthony Davis
7 — Tyrese Haliburton
4 — Nikola Jokic
4 — Evan Mobley
4 — Karl-Anthony Towns
Three players recorded a triple-double in an IST game, with one of those players doing so twice:
Domantas Sabonis (Nov. 10, 2023)
Nikola Jokic (Nov. 17, 2023)
Tyrese Haliburton (Dec. 4, 2023)
Sabonis (Dec. 4, 2023)