Bucks Ride Start Fast
The Milwaukee Bucks took a 29-point lead into halftime and held on to defeat the Indiana Pacers 141-131. The Bucks — who scored 85 first-half points — became the first team in NBA history to score at least 80 points in the first half of consecutive road games. It’s just the sixth time in NBA history a team has held a halftime lead of 25 or more points in consecutive road games:
Los Angeles Lakers (Nov. 10 & 13, 1971)
Los Angeles Lakers (Oct. 28 & Nov. 7, 1980)
Los Angeles Lakers (March 8 & 10, 1989)
Miami Heat (Feb. 14 & 17, 2012)
Boston Celtics (Feb. 8 & 15, 2022)
Milwaukee Bucks (Jan. 23 & 27, 2023)
The Bucks are only the second team in NBA history to score at least 140 points with a double-digit margin of victory in back-to-back road games, joining the Baltimore Bullets (Jan. 9 & 13, 1970).
The Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied 41 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists, the first two figures game highs. It’s Antetokounmpo’s eighth 40-point, 10-rebound game this season, the most such games in the NBA.
Antetokounmpo shot 16-29 from the field (55.2%), but struggled mightily from the free throw line, making just seven of his 18 attempts. It’s the fifth time this season he’s attempted at least 10 free throws in a game with a free throw percentage less than 50%. No other player has recorded more than two such games.
Teammate Jrue Holiday just missed a triple-double, compiling 20 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. Over his last 10 games, Holiday is averaging 23.4 PPG, 8.2 APG, and 5.0 RPG with shooting percentages of 50.8% from the field, 38.5% from 3-point range, and 84.4% from the free throw line.
Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin came off the bench to score 21 points and grab eight rebounds. It’s the 20th time Mathurin has come off the bench to record a 20-point game, breaking a tie with Jeff Ruland (1981-82) for the second-most such games by a rookie since the NBA began tracking starters in 1970-71. Ben Gordon holds the record with 24 such games in 2004-05.
The Pacers’ Buddy Hield scored 22 points, making five of his nine 3-point attempts. Hield has made at least five 3-pointers in 21 games this season, four more such games than any other player (Stephen Curry, 17). He’s made an NBA-leading 196 3-pointers this season — 29 more than the next-closest player (Anfernee Simons, 167) — on 42.7% accuracy.
Super Splash Bros.
Stephen Curry produced 35 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds, and two steals as the Golden State Warriors beat the Toronto Raptors 129-117. It’s Curry’s 34th career 30-point, 10-assist game, the most such games in franchise history.
Curry shot 13-21 from the field — including 4-8 from 3-point range — and made all five of his free throws. Curry has 124 career games in which he’s scored at least 30 points with an effective field goal percentage of 70%, by far the most such games in NBA history:
124 — Stephen Curry
103 — LeBron James
88 — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
84 — Charles Barkley
80 — Shaquille O’Neal
Fellow Splash Brother Klay Thompson scored 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds. It’s the 199th time Curry and Thompson have each scored at least 20 points in the same game, the eighth-most such games in NBA history by a duo.
Warriors forward Draymond Green had five points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. It’s the 137th time Green has recorded more rebounds and more assists than points scored, a whopping 50 more such games than any other active player (Andre Iguodala, 87).
Fred VanVleet led the Raptors with 28 points and 10 assists, shooting 11-20 from the field with five 3-pointers made. Over his last six games, VanVleet is averaging 28.3 PPG and 7.2 APG. He’s shooting 44.8% from 3-point range over that span and has not missed a free throw (28-28).
Quick Hitters
Some other notes from around the NBA:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 35 points, adding eight assists and five rebounds as the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away in the fourth quarter of a 112-100 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Gilgeous-Alexander shot 12-21 from the field (57.1%) and 10-11 from the free throw line (90.9%). It’s the sixth game in which Gilgeous-Alexander has made at least 10 field goals and 10 free throws with shooting percentages of 50% and 90%, respectively. The only player in franchise history to record more such games in a season is Kevin Durant with seven in 2009-10. Over the last 30 NBA seasons, the only guards to produce more such games are Kobe Bryant (2006-07) and James Harden (2018-19), both with seven.
Anthony Edwards had 25 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 111-100 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Edwards is averaging 32.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 5.6 APG over his last five games, shooting 46.9% from 3-point range. The Grizzlies have lost five straight games after matching a franchise record with 11 consecutive wins.
Jimmy Butler tallied 29 points, six rebounds, and six assists as the Miami Heat escaped with a 110-105 win over the Orlando Magic. Butler shot 10-17 from the field, made nine of his 12 free throws, and did not commit a turnover. The Heat have won an NBA-high 16 games by five or fewer points this season.