NBA Game Notes (Jan. 16, 2024)

Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on January 16, 2024.

Jan 17, 2024

Embiid Wins Battle of MVPs

Joel Embiid won the battle between the recipients of the last three MVP Awards, as his Philadelphia 76ers beat Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets 126-121. The Sixers trailed by five points through three quarters before outscoring the Nuggets 27-17 in the final period.

Embiid produced game highs of 41 points and 10 assists (tied with Denver’s Jamal Murray) to go with a team-high seven rebounds. He shot 13-22 from the field — including 3-6 on 3-pointers — and made 12 of his 15 free throws.

Embiid has scored at least 30 points in each of his last 18 games, tying Elgin Baylor for the sixth-longest such streak in NBA history:

65 — Wilt Chamberlain (Nov. 4, 1961–Feb. 22, 1962)
32 — James Harden (Dec. 13, 2018–Feb. 21, 2019)
31 — Chamberlain (Feb. 25–Dec. 8, 1962)
25 — Chamberlain (Nov. 11–Dec. 27, 1960)
20 — Chamberlain (Ja. 30–March 1, 1964)
18 — Elgin Baylor (Dec. 20, 1961–Oct. 23, 1962)
18 — Joel Embiid (Nov. 17, 2023–Jan. 16, 2024)

Embiid has recorded 17 consecutive 30-point double-doubles, breaking a tie with Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the fifth-longest such streak in league history:

65 — Wilt Chamberlain (Nov. 4, 1961–Feb. 22, 1962)
31 — Chamberlain (Feb. 25–Dec. 8, 1962)
25 — Chamberlain (Nov. 11–Dec. 27, 1960)
20 — Chamberlain (Ja. 30–March 1, 1964)
17 — Joel Embiid (Nov. 19, 2023–Jan. 16, 2024)
16 — Chamberlain (Jan. 7-31, 1960)
16 — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Feb. 2–March 1, 1972)

Teammate Tyrese Maxey scored 25 points and dished out nine assists. It’s the 18th time Embiid and Maxey have each scored at least 25 points in the same game this season, five more such games than any other duo. They also tied Hal Greer and Billy Cunningham (1968-69) for the second-most such games in franchise history by a duo in a season.

Sixers forward Tobias Harris added 24 points, going 8-10 from the field and 6-6 from the free throw line. He did not commit a turnover in 38 minutes played. Embiid, Maxey, and Harris have each scored at least 20 points in the same game eight times this season, the most such games by any trio.

Jokic led the Nuggets with 25 points (11-20 field goals) and also grabbed a game-high 19 rebounds. Eleven of Jokic’s rebounds came on the offensive end, a career high.

Over his last 10 games, Jokic is averaging 22.9 PPG on 76.8% shooting from the field. The only player in NBA history to record a higher field goal percentage while averaging at least 20 PPG over a 10-game span is Wilt Chamberlain (November-December 1966).

Murray scored 17 points to go with his 10 assists, but went 0-4 from the floor and committed two turnovers in the pivotal fourth quarter. Michael Porter Jr. scored 20 points, going 6-12 from the field with four 3-pointers made.

The Nuggets and 76ers scored 78 points apiece in a frenetic first half. It’s just the sixth game in NBA history in which both teams had at least 78 points at halftime. Interestingly, all six games have involved at least one of these two franchises:

Syracuse Nationals* vs. Philadelphia Warriors(March 10, 1963)
Philadelphia 76ers vs. New York Knicks (Nov. 18, 1988)
Denver Nuggets vs. Golden State Warriors (Nov. 2, 1990)
Denver Nuggets vs. San Antonio Spurs (Nov. 7, 1990)
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Indiana Pacers (March 6, 2023)
Denver Nuggets vs. Philadelphia 76ers (Jan. 16, 2024)

* The Syracuse Nationals moved to Philadelphia and became the 76ers following the 1962-63 season.

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Wild Rally Saves Suns

Trailing by 22 points with 8:22 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Phoenix Suns rallied for a 119-117 win over the Sacramento Kings. The Suns scored 23 of the game’s final 27 points, 12 of them by Kevin Durant.

Grayson Allen scored a team-high 29 points for the Suns, going 10-17 from the field with nine 3-pointers made. Allen tied the franchise record for most 3-pointers made in a game, a mark he had matched just 11 days earlier. Allen also recorded a season-high six assists, five rebounds, two steals, and two blocks.

Durant finished with 27 points, although he shot just 7-16 from the floor and committed a game-high seven turnovers. Durant has scored at least 25 points in 27 games this season, tied with Joel Embiid for the fifth-most such games in the league.

Suns guard Devin Booker was held to 16 points, but distributed a game-high 11 assists (tied with the Kings’ Domantas Sabonis) for his 10th double-double of the season. Booker is averaging 7.8 APG this season, on track to easily outdo his career best of 6.8 APG in the 2018-19 season.

Sabonis recorded his 11th triple-double of the season, compiling 21 points, 12 rebounds, and the aforementioned 11 assists. He now has 43 career triple-doubles, tying Fat Lever for 11th place on the NBA’s all-time list.

Sabonis made nine of his 11 shots from the field after going 9-10 in his previous outing. He’s just the third player in NBA history to record back-to-back games with a triple-double and a field goal percentage of at least 80%, joining Wilt Chamberlain (March 16 & 18, 1968) and Evan Turner (April 1 & 3, 2019).

De’Aaron Fox was the Kings’ scoring leader with 33 points, shooting 12-24 from the floor with six 3-pointers made. Fox also recorded six assists and committed just one turnover in 37 minutes of action.

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George Leads Clippers

The LA Clippers have won 18 of their last 22 games, the latest a 128-117 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Clippers improved to 26-14 with the win, just a game behind the Thunder for second place in the Western Conference standings.

The Clippers’ Paul George led the way, scoring a game-high 38 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals in 34 turnover-free minutes. He shot 15-24 from with field, including 6-12 on 3-pointers. George has scored at least 21 points in 14 of his last 15 games, averaging 26.0 PPG with 50/47/88 shooting splits over that span.

Teammates Kawhi Leonard and James Harden scored 16 points apiece. Leonard also had six rebounds and six assists, while Harden handed out a game-high eight assists. However, Harden made just five of his 14 attempts from the floor, and is shooting 17-48 from the field (35.4%) over his last four games.

Jalen Williams produced team highs of 25 points and seven assists for the Thunder, hitting 10 of his 14 field goal attempts. Williams is averaging 20.7 PPG and 5.6 APG in 13 games played since Christmas, shooting 62.9% from the field and 61.0% from 3-point range.

The Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort each scored 19 points. Dort went 6-10 from the field with five 3-pointers made, but Gilgeous-Alexander misfired on 10 of his 16 floor tries. Gilgeous-Alexander’s streak of 20-point games was snapped at 20, the second-longest such streak of his career.