Clippers Demolish Spurs
Paul George and Kahwi Leonard combined for 62 points as the LA Clippers demolished the San Antonio Spurs 138-100. The Clippers have won four straight games after a 2-9 stretch that dropped them below .500 for the season. They are now 27-24, good for fifth place in the tight Western Conference standings.
George scored a game-high 35 points, adding seven assists and three steals. He shot 14-19 from the field (73.7%), including 5-8 from 3-point range. It’s the eighth time George has scored at least 30 points with an effective field goal percentage of 80% as a Clipper, double that of any other player in franchise history.
Leonard scored 27 points on 10-16 shooting from the field (62.5%) and dished out seven assists. Leonard has scored at least 25 points while making half of his shots from the field in each of his last six games, matching the longest such streak of his career.
Over his last nine games, Leonard is averaging 29.0 PPG with shooting percentages of 56.3% from the field, 45.2% from 3-point range, and 91.5% from the free throw line. He has scored at least 24 points in each of those games.
The Spurs have lost five games by 35 or more points this season, just one fewer such loss than all other teams combined. The only other team to record more than one 35-point loss is the Golden State Warriors with two.
The Spurs have lost each of their last 10 games away from home. It’s their longest such losing streak since 1989, when they dropped 22 road games in a row over a two-season span (Feb. 4, 1989–Nov. 14, 1989).
Pistons Stun Nets
Despite an off night from leading scorer Bojan Bogdanovic, the Detroit Pistons stunned the Brooklyn Nets 130-122 in Brooklyn. It’s the Pistons first road win over the Nets since April 1, 2018, snapping a streak of six straight losses.
Saddiq Bey led the Pistons with 25 points on 10-19 shooting from the field, including 5-8 from 3-point range. Bey also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and did not commit a turnover or personal foul.
Bogdanovic scored just 11 points on 4-15 shooting from the field, snapping a career-best streak of 10 straight 20-point games. Bogdanovic is averaging a career-high 21.3 PPG this season, with shooting percentages of 48.6% from the field, 41.7% from 3-point range, and 88.0% from the free throw line.
The Nets’ Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 40 points, adding six assists, five rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Irving shot 14-27 from the field — including 6-12 from 3-point range — and made fix of his six free throws.
Irving has scored at least 30 points in each of his last five games, matching the longest such streak of his career. Over that span he’s averaging 37.2 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 7.6 APG, shooting 53.3% from the field, 48.9% from 3-point range, and 89.7% from the free throw line.
Nets center Nic Claxton continued his hyper-efficient play, producing a career-high 27 points, 13 rebounds, and two blocks while making 11 of his 13 shots from the field (84.6%). Claxton is just the fifth player since the ABA-NBA merger to record back-to-back 25-point, 10-rebound games with a field goal percentage of at least 80% (a total of six instances):
Dwight Howard (2 times)
Cedric Maxwell
Artis Gilmore
Charles Barkley
Nic Claxton
Claxton has recorded multiple blocks in each of his last 15 games, the longest such streak in franchise history. He’s scored at least 20 points on 60% shooting from the field in each of his last five games, breaking a tie with Brook Lopez for the longest such streak in franchise history.
Over those five games, Claxton is averaging 23.2 PPG, 11.0 RPG, and 2.8 BPG with a field goal percentage of 81.4%. He’s one of only four players since the ABA-NBA merger to average at least 20 PPG and 10 RPG while shooting 80% from the field over a five-game span:
Dwight Howard (Feb. 6-14, 2007)
Rudy Gobert (March 20-27, 2019)
Jarrett Allen (Nov. 24–Dec. 3, 2021)
Nic Claxton (Jan. 19-26, 2023)
Sengun Makes History
Alperen Sengun compiled 14 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and two blocks, but it wasn’t enough as the Houston Rockets fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-95. Sengun made six of his 10 shots from the field (60.0%).
Sengun has recorded at least 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists with a field goal percentage of 60% in each of his last six games, tying Wilt Chamberlain (twice) and Nikola Jokic for the longest such streak in NBA history (Jokic’s streak is active).
Over those six games, Sengun is averaging 22.0 PPG, 11.3 RPG, and 7.2 APG, shooting 68.8% from the field. He’a also recorded 12 blocks and eight steals over that span.
Sengun has a nine-game streak in which he’s recorded at least 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists while shooting at least 50% from the field. No other player in NBA history has produced such a streak longer than five games before their 21st birthday (Magic Johnson and Zion Williamson).
The Cavaliers’ Darius Garland celebrated his 23rd birthday by recording game highs of 26 points, nine assists, and three steals (tied). Garland shot 9-16 from the field — including 5-8 from 3-point range — and made all three of his free throws. He’s averaging 21.8 PPG and 8.0 APG this season, shooting 40.0% from 3-point range and 87.0% from the free throw line.
Quick Hitters
Some other notes from around the NBA:
Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson scored 37 and 29 points, respectively, as the New York Knicks outlasted the Boston Celtics 120-117 in overtime. Randle has scored at least 35 points in back-to-back games for only the second time in his career. He did so for the first time just last month (Dec. 29 & 31, 2022). Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 35 points and 14 rebounds. He ranks third in the NBA with 27 30-point games this season. No player in franchise history has recorded more such games through the first 50 team games of a season.
Despite superstar Luka Doncic leaving just a little over three minutes into the game with an ankle injury, the Dallas Mavericks pulled out a 99-95 road win over the Phoenix Suns. Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie scored a season-high 36 points, adding nine assists and six rebounds. Dinwiddie shot 10-18 from the field — missing just one of his six 3-point attempts — and 11-14 from the free throw line.
Mason Plumlee scored 21 points on 9-9 shooting from the field and grabbed 12 rebounds as the Charlotte Hornets downed the Chicago Bulls 111-96. Plumlee is just the third player in franchise history to record a 20-point, 10-rebound game without missing a shot from the field, joining Anthony Mason (Feb. 17, 1997) and Nick Richards (Oct. 23, 2022).