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 ⭐️
Scottie Barnes produced game highs of 33 points and 13 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors snapped their 11-game losing streak with a 130-113 win over the Brooklyn Nets. Barnes sank 14 of his 18 field goal attempts, including three 3-pointers made. He added five assists, two steals, and one block in a game-high 38 minutes played.
Second ⭐️
Nikola Jokic scored a team-high 23 points to go with game highs of 17 rebounds and 15 assists in the Denver Nuggets’ 139-120 rout of the Atlanta Hawks. Jokic went 8-16 from the floor and made all six of his free throw attempts. He posted a game-high rating of plus-31 points in 30 minutes of court time.
Third ⭐️
Karl-Anthony Towns registered game highs of 31 points and 21 rebounds to lead the New York Knicks to a 119-103 victory over the Utah Jazz, New York’s ninth straight win. Towns shot 10-20 from the field (3-6 on 3-pointers) and 8-9 from the free throw line. He also recorded four assists, one steal, and one block in 37 minutes of action.
Milestones
Jokic became the first player in NBA history to record at least 20 points, 15 rebounds, and 15 assists in a game while playing less than 30 minutes (29 minutes and 31 seconds, to be exact).
Jokic recorded his 11th career game with at least 15 points, 15 rebounds, and 15 assists, snapping a tie with teammate Russell Westbrook for the second-most such games in NBA history. Oscar Robertson is the all-time leader with 14.
Towns has seven career 30-point, 20-rebound games, tying Kevin Love for the second-most such games among active players. Anthony Davis leads current players with nine.
The Detroit Pistons’ Tobias Harris scored 17 points on 7-9 shooting from the field in a 105-96 win over the Orlando Magic. Harris reached 15,000 career points in the fourth quarter, becoming the 24th active player to attain that milestone.
The Knicks’ Josh Hart recorded his 10th career triple-double, tallying 15 points, 14 rebounds, and a career-high-tying 12 assists. He’s the fourth Knick to produce at least 10 triple-doubles, joining Walt Frazier (23), Michael Ray Richardson (18), and Richie Guerin (16).
Streaking
Hart is the first Knick to record back-to-back triple-doubles since Richardson achieved the feat on March 21 & 24, 1981.
The Hawks’ Trae Young scored a game-high 30 points and dished out a team-high nine assists. He’s recorded at least five assists in 193 consecutive games, the third-longest such streak in NBA history behind John Stockton (336) and Isiah Thomas (209).
The Philadelphia 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey had 27 points, seven assists, and five steals in a 113-107 loss to the Sacramento Kings. He’s recorded 10 straight 20-point games, the second-longest such streak of his career.
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games: New York Knicks (nine).
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: New Orleans Pelicans (11) and Utah Jazz (five).
The Pelicans have lost 15 consecutive road games, matching the longest such streak in franchise history (Nov. 23, 2004 to Jan. 7, 2005).
The Denver Nuggets have scored at least 130 points in four straight games, matching the ninth-longest such streak in NBA history. They have scored at least 120 points in nine of their last 11 games, averaging 127.6 PPG over that span.
Miscellany
The Kings’ De’Aaron Fox led all scorers with 35 points last night. Also producing 30-point efforts were the Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III (34), Barnes (33), the Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro (32), the Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine (32), Towns (31), the Sixers’ Paul George (30), the Washington Wizards’ Jordan Poole (30), and Young (30).
The Kings’ Domantas Sabonis and Towns were the leading rebounders last night, hauling in 21 boards apiece (Sabonis tied his season high). They were followed by Jokic (17), Hart (14), the Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic (season-high-tying 14), and Barnes (13).
Jokic and the Knicks’ Immanuel Quickley were the top playmakers, each handing out 15 assists last night (a season high for Quickley). Hart (career-high-tying 12), the Nuggets’ Russell Westbrook (11), and the Heat’s Bam Adebayo (season-high-tying 10) also delivered double-digit dimes.