Bulls Rally Stuns T-Wolves
Trailing by 22 points at halftime, the Chicago Bulls stormed back to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 129-123 in overtime. It’s just the third time in franchise history the Bulls have rallied from a 20-point halftime deficit to win a game, the last occurrence coming almost 51 years ago (Feb. 23, 1973).
DeMar DeRozan and Coby White scored 33 points apiece to lead the Bulls’ offensive attack. DeRozan shot just 8-19 from the field, but connected on 17 of his 18 free throw attempts. He also had five assists and a game-high four steals. White added a team-high seven assists and five rebounds, going 11-21 from the field with seven 3-pointers made.
DeRozan shot 14-15 from the free throw line in his previous game. He and Michael Jordan are the only players in franchise history to attempt at least 15 free throws with a success rate of 90% in back-to-back games (they’ve each done so twice).
Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond were the only other Bulls to score in double figures. Vucevic bagged 24 points on 10-16 shooting from the floor, while Drummond posted 16 points and a game-high 16 rebounds (tied with Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert). Vucevic, Drummond, and teammate Alex Caruso blocked four shots each, with Caruso also contributing nine rebounds and six assists.
The Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards led all players with 38 points, adding 12 rebounds and five assists. Edwards shot 12-26 from the field — including 5-9 from 3-point range — and made nine of his 11 free throws.
Gobert had 12 points to go with his 16 rebounds, while frontcourt mate Karl-Anthony Towns scored 33 points, going 11-21 from the field with seven 3-pointers made. It’s the 15th time Towns has recorded at least 30 points and five 3-pointers made in a game, tying Dirk Nowitzki for the second-most such games in NBA history by a player with a listed height of 7-feet or taller (Lauri Markkanen, 22).
Minnesota’s loss coupled with a loss by the Oklahoma City Thunder created a four-way tie atop the Western Conference standings with the LA Clippers and Denver Nuggets. The Clippers are actually percentage points ahead of the other teams, with a winning percentage of .694 versus .686 for the rest.
Pacers Outscore Rockets
Pascal Siakam scored a team-high 29 points as the Indiana Pacers outscored the Houston Rockets 132-129. The Rockets have lost 12 of their last 18 games, falling four games below .500 for the season (23-27).
Siakam made 11 of his 16 shots from the field, including four 3-pointers. He’s averaging 22.3 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 5.1 APG in his 11 games with the Pacers, shooting 57.3% from the field and 43.3% from 3-point range.
Pacers center Myles Turner scored 21 points on 8-16 shooting from the field. Point guard Tyrese Haliburton added 18 points (8-15 field goals) and dished out a game-high seven assists. His backup, T.J. McConnell, bagged 17 points in just 19 minutes played, sinking eight of his 11 shots from the floor.
The Pacers have scored at least 120 points in a game a franchise-record 35 times this season, five more such games than any other team. Dating back to last season, they’ve scored at least 100 points in 60 consecutive games, the longest such streak in franchise history by 22 games.
Jalen Green poured in a game-high 30 points to lead the Rockets, hitting 12 of his 21 shots from the floor. Dillon Brooks scored 23 points (8-15 field goals) in 31 turnover-free minutes.
Rockets center Alperen Sengun tallied 20 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists, posting his 10th double-double in the last 11 games. Frontcourt mate Jabari Smith Jr. scored 20 points (8-15 field goals) and snagged nine boards.
Houston rookie Amen Thompson started at point guard in place of the injured Fred VanVleet, compiling 13 points (6-12 field goals), 13 rebounds, six assists, and three blocks. He led all players on both teams in rebounds and blocks, and tied Sengun for the team lead in assists.
Quick Hitters
The New York Knicks picked up their 16th win in the last 19 games, knocking off the Memphis Grizzlies 123-113. The Knicks’ Donte DiVincenzo scored a game-high 32 points to go with five rebounds, five assists, and three steals, sinking 12 of his 18 field goal attempts. Fellow starting guard Jalen Brunson chipped in with 27 points (11-21 field goals), a game-high eight assists, and three steals. Brunson has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 12 games, with six straight 25-point games. The third member of New York’s Villanova trio, Josh Hart, recorded 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, his fifth straight game with double-digit boards. The Knicks also received solid performances from Isaiah Hartenstein (17 points, eight rebounds, three blocks, 7-8 field goals) and Precious Achiuwa (17 points, three steals, 8-13 field goals). Vince Williams Jr. paced the Grizzlies with 19 points, although he made just six of his 17 shots from the floor.
Jimmy Butler led seven Miami Heat players in double figures with 23 points in a 121-95 rout of the Orlando Magic. Butler also had eight assists, eight rebounds, and three steals, making six of his nine shots from the field. Miami center Bam Adebayo scored 14 points (7-9 field goals) and grabbed eight rebounds. The Heat outscored the Magic by 32 points when Adebayo was on the floor, the highest plus-minus of his career. The Magic’s Paolo Banchero matched Butler’s 23 points, adding team highs of nine rebounds and seven assists.
Kyrie Irving (36 points) and Luka Doncic (35) combined for 71 points in the Dallas Mavericks’ 119-107 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. Doncic also produced game highs of 18 rebounds and nine assists, while Irving went 15-24 from the field (6-10 on 3-pointers) with five assists. It’s the third time Doncic and Irving have each recorded at least 35 points and five assists in the same game, tied for the most such games by a duo in the last 50 seasons (Alex English & Kiki VanDeWeghe). Brooklyn’s Mikal Bridges scored a team-high 28 points, shooting 11-21 from the field with five 3-pointers made. Nets center Nic Claxton collected a team-high 11 rebounds and blocked a game-high five shots, but was uncharacteristically inefficient from the field (3-9).
Lauri Markkanen produced game highs of 33 points and 11 rebounds as the Utah Jazz defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 124-117. Markkanen went 12-18 from the field, including 5-7 from 3-point range. He’s made at least one 3-pointer in each of his last 50 games, the second-longest such streak in NBA history by a listed 7-footer (Karl-Antony Towns, 83). Jazz center John Collins contributed 22 points and nine rebounds, hitting nine of his 15 tries from the floor. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a team-high 28 points for the Thunder, his 11th straight 20-point game. He also dished out a game-high seven assists (tied with Utah’s Kelly Olynyk). Teammate Jalen Williams added 26 points (10-18 field goals), five rebounds, and five assists, while rookie Chet Holmgren compiled 22 points (8-13 field goals), eight rebounds, a game-high four blocks, and three steals.
Kevin Durant scored 14 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter as the Phoenix Suns held off the Milwaukee Bucks 114-106. Durant also grabbed 10 rebounds, tying three others for game-high honors (Bradley Beal, Jusuf Nurkic, and Giannis Antetokounmpo). Devin Booker led the Suns with 32 points (12-21 field goals), while backcourt mate Beal had 25 points and three steals to go with his 10 rebounds. In addition to his game-high 10 rebounds, the Bucks’ Antetokounmpo also produced game highs of 34 points and six assists (tied with teammate Pat Connaughton). It’s the 57th game in which Antetokounmpo has lead both teams — either outright or tied — in points, rebounds, and assists, the third-most such games in NBA history behind LeBron James (64) and Nikola Jokic (58).