NBA Game Notes (Jan. 12, 2025)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on Jan. 12, 2025.
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 44 points in just 29 minutes played as the New York Knicks walloped the Milwaukee Bucks 140-106. Brunson shot 16-26 from the field (5-10 on 3-pointers) and 7-8 from the free throw line. He added a game-high six assists (tied with Mikal Bridges), five rebounds, and one steal, committing just one turnover and zero personal fouls.
Second ⭐️
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 30 point and hauled in a game-high 18 rebounds in the Knicks’ blowout win over the Bucks. Towns went 10-16 from the floor and made eight of his nine free throw attempts. He also had four assists and one steal, posting a game-high rating of plus-28 points in 36 minutes of court time.
Third ⭐️
Domantas Sabonis scored 22 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds as the Sacramento Kings extended their winning streak to seven games with a 124-119 victory over the Chicago Bulls. Sabonis made eight of his 10 shots from the field and went 5-6 from the free throw line. He also dished out eight assists in a game-high 38 minutes played.
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Milestones
Klay Thompson scored a game-high 25 points in the Dallas Mavericks’ 112-101 loss to the Denver Nuggets. He reached 16,000 career points on a 3-pointer in the second quarter, becoming the third player from the 2011 NBA Draft Class to attain that milestone (Kyrie Irving and Nikola Vucevic).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 27 points (16-17 free throws) as the Oklahoma City Thunder destroyed the Washington Wizards 136-95. He became the third member of the 2018 NBA Draft Class to reach 10,000 career points, joining Luka Doncic and Trae Young.
The Oklahoma City Thunder recorded their 25th double-digit win of the season. The only team in NBA history to record more such wins through their first 38 games of a season is the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers with 26.
Streaking
Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 34 games, averaging 32.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 5.9 APG, and 2.0 SPG with 53.4/37.0/89.5 shooting splits over that span.
The Bulls’ Zach LaVine bagged a game-high 36 points and matched his season high with 10 rebounds. He’s scored at least 30 points in six straight games, the longest such streak of his career.
Kevin Durant netted 27 points in the Phoenix Suns’ 120-113 win over the Charlotte Hornets, his 15th consecutive 20-point game. Only two players in NBA history have recorded a longer such streak after turning 36 years old: LeBron James (three times) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Sabonis has recorded a double-double in each of his last 16 games. He’s averaging 20.3 PPG, 16.3 RPG, and 6.2 APG over that stretch, shooting 57.1% from the field and 52.8% from 3-point range.
The New Orleans Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III scored a team-high 30 points with five 3-pointers made in a 120-119 loss to the Boston Celtics. He’s made multiple threes in 29 straight games, the longest such streak in franchise history (by 10 games) and the 12th-longest such streak in NBA history.
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games: Sacramento Kings (seven) and Indiana Pacers (six).
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Washington Wizards (six) and Brooklyn Nets (five).
The Pacers picked up their sixth straight win with a 108-93 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, halting Cleveland’s 12-game winning streak. Indiana became the first team to hold the Cavaliers to fewer than 100 points this season.
The Chicago Bulls went 18-37 from 3-point range, the 39th consecutive game in which they’ve made 10 or more threes. It’s the longest such streak in franchise history (by a whopping 22 games) and the 10th-longest such streak in NBA history.
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Miscellany
Brunson was the day’s leading bucket-getter, scoring 44 points. The Celtics’ Jayson Tatum (38), LaVine (36), the Suns’ Devin Booker (30), Murphy III (30), and Towns (30) also produced 30-point efforts.
The Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic and Towns were the top board men, each snagging 18 rebounds yesterday. Also collecting at least a dozen boards were the Hornets’ Mark Williams (season-high 16), Sabonis (15), the Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo (13), the Nets’ Nic Claxton (season-high-tying 12), the Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein (12), the Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley (12), and the Pacers’ Jarace Walker (career-high 12).
The Hornets’ LaMelo Ball was the leading playmaker yesterday, handing out 11 assists. The only other player to deliver double-digit dimes was the Mavericks’ Spencer Dinwiddie with 10, matching his season high.
Ball tallied 25 points, 11 assists, six rebounds, and three steals, but shot just 9-25 from the field, including 5-17 on 3-pointers. It’s the ninth time he’s missed at least 10 threes in a game this season, already the seventh-most such games in a single season in NBA history.
Ball is missing an average of 15.1 field goals per 36 minutes this season, which would be the second-highest such figure in NBA history. The record of 15.4 field goals missed per 36 minutes was set by Elgin Baylor in 1961-62.