NBA Game Notes (Jan. 19, 2025)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on Jan. 19, 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 ⭐️
Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Milwaukee Bucks to their seventh win in the last eight games, scoring a team-high 34 points to go with a game-high 15 rebounds in a 123-109 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Antetokounmpo shot 76.5% from the field, making 13 of his 17 attempts. He also dished out six assists in 36 turnover-free minutes, posting a game-high rating of plus-25 points.
Second ⭐️
Nikola Jokic compiled game highs of 20 points (tied with Christian Braun), 14 rebounds, and 10 assists as the Denver Nuggets beat the Orlando Magic 113-100, Denver’s sixth win in its last seven contests. Jokic went 7-9 from the floor and 6-7 from the free throw line. He also recorded game highs of three steals (tied with two others) and three blocks (tied with Peyton Watson) in 30 minutes of action.
Third ⭐️
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander registered 27 points and 10 assists, both game-high figures, in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 127-101 rout of the Brooklyn Nets. Gilgeous-Alexander shot 8-14 from the field and made all 10 of his free throw attempts. He also swiped a game-high four steals and posted a rating of plus-27 points in just 29 minutes played (he sat out the entire fourth quarter).
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Milestones
The LA Clippers’ James Harden scored 21 points and distributed a game-high 12 assists in a 116-102 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Harden increased his career point total to 26,721, passing Oscar Robertson and moving into 14th place on the NBA’s all-time leaderboard.
Harden’s teammate, Kawhi Leonard, netted 19 points on 9-13 shooting from the floor, surpassing 14,000 career points in the process. He’s the seventh player selected in the 2011 NBA Draft to reach that mark, tied for the most ever in a single class (1981, 1984, and 1996).
Yet another Clipper, Norman Powell, scored a team-high 22 points on 9-17 shooting from the field, making his 1,000th career 3-pointer in the second quarter. Powell is averaging a career-high 23.6 PPG on 49.3/44.6/83.1 shooting splits this season.
DeMar DeRozan netted 24 points as the Sacramento Kings blew out the Washington Wizards 123-100, giving Sacramento nine wins in its last 10 games. DeRozan raised his career total to 24,379 points, supplanting Allen Iverson (24,368) to take over 29th place on the NBA’s all-time list.
The Bucks’ Damian Lillard scored 25 points, reaching the 22,000-point mark. He’s the 38th player in NBA history to attain that milestone, but only two players in that group have a shorter listed height than the 6-foot-2-inch Lillard: Allen Iverson and Chris Paul (both 6 feet 0 inches).
The Washington Wizards have lost 15 games by 20 or more points this season, the most such losses in NBA history by a team through its first 41 games of a season. The former mark of 14 was shared by the 1989-90 Miami Heat, the 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks, and the 2024-25 Portland Trail Blazers.
Streaking
Jokic has recorded a triple-double in each of his last three games. He’s produced six triple-doubles in his last nine games, missing three others by either a single rebound (once) or a single assist (twice).
Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 37 games, matching the longest such streak of his career. He’s averaging 32.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 6.1 APG, and 2.0 SPG with 54.4/36.3/90.0 shooting splits over that span.
Victor Wembanyama tallied 21 points, 10 rebounds, and one block, but the San Antonio Spurs were blown out by the Miami Heat 128-107. He’s blocked at least one shot in 75 straight games, the longest such streak in Spurs history (by 14 games) and the second-longest such streak in the NBA this century (Josh Smith, 76).
Wembanyama also made three triples, the 32nd consecutive game in which he’s recorded at least one 3-pointer made and one block. That’s the longest such streak in NBA history by 11 games.
Kings center Domantas Sabonis recorded his 19th consecutive double-double, producing game highs of 29 points (12-16 field goals) and 18 rebounds. He’s averaging 20.5 PPG, 15.9 RPG, and 6.3 APG over that stretch, shooting 58.7% from the field and 57.1% from 3-point range.
Tyrese Maxey scored a game-high 37 points in the Sixers’ loss to the Bucks, his career-high seventh straight 25-point game. He’s just the second player in franchise history to score at least 25 points in five straight games, all losses, joining Allen Iverson (three times).
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Washington Wizards (10), Philadelphia 76ers (six), and Chicago Bulls (five).
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Miscellany
Maxey was the day’s high scorer, netting 37 points. The only other player to produce a 30-point effort was Antetokounmpo with 34.
The Clippers’ Ivica Zubac was the leading rebounder, hauling in 19 boards yesterday. He was followed by Sabonis with 18 rebounds, Antetokounmpo with 15, and Jokic with 14.
The Kings’ De’Aaron Fox was the top playmaker yesterday, handing out a season-high 13 assists. Also delivering double-digit dimes were Harden with 12; the Lakers’ LeBron James with 11; and Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic with 10 apiece.
James scored a game-high 25 points to go with his 11 assists, his 283rd career 20-point, 10-assist game. The only players in NBA history with more such games are Oscar Robertson (417) and Magic Johnson (295).
The Wizards have recorded 10 losing streaks of 10 or more games in franchise history. Four of those streaks have occurred in the last three seasons, including two this season.