NBA Game Notes (Jan. 29, 2025)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on Jan. 29, 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 led the New York Knicks to their fifth consecutive victory, scoring a team-high 30 points and distributing a game-high 15 assists in a 122-112 win over the Denver Nuggets. Brunson went 10-16 from the field (3-6 on 3-pointers) and a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line. He also contributed four rebounds, two steals, and one block, posting a game-best rating of plus-16 points in 36 minutes of court time.
Second ⭐️
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander erupted for a game-high 52 points, but the Oklahoma City Thunder fell to the Golden State Warriors 116-109. Gilgeous-Alexander shot 16-29 from the floor and made 18 of his career-high 21 free throw attempts. He added four assists, three rebounds, and one steal in a game-high 39 minutes played.
Third ⭐️
Kristaps Porzingis scored a season-high 34 points as the Boston Celtics routed the Chicago Bulls 122-100. Porzingis went 10-18 from the field (8-14 on 3-pointers, tying his career high in each category) and made all six of his free throw attempts. He also recorded game highs of 11 rebounds (tied with two others) and three steals, committing just one turnover in 33 minutes of action.
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Milestones
Gilgeous-Alexander is just the third player in Oklahoma City Thunder history to record multiple 50-point games in a single season, joining Kevin Durant (2013-14) and Russell Westbrook (2016-17). For what it’s worth, those were the seasons in which Durant and Westbrook won their MVP Awards.
The New Orleans Pelicans’ CJ McCollum had 23 points and eight assists in a 137-136 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, surpassing 15,000 career points on a 3-pointer in the game’s final second. He’s the second player from the 2013 NBA Draft class to reach that mark, joining Giannis Antetokounmpo.
McCollum went 3-7 from beyond the arc, giving him 629 career 3-pointers made with the Pelicans. That’s a new franchise record, surpassing the previous mark of 628 held by Jrue Holiday.
The Warriors’ Stephen Curry scored 21 points with five 3-pointers made, raising his career total to 24,515 points. He passed Ray Allen (24,505) to take over 27th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
James Harden tallied 21 points, 11 assists, and three steals in the LA Clippers’ 128-116 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Harden increased his career total to 7,997 assists, moving past Rod Strickland (7,987) and into 13th place on the NBA’s all-time list.
Streaking
Spurs center Victor Wembanyama racked up 23 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks, and two steals. He’s blocked at least one shot in 78 straight games, the longest such streak in franchise history (by 17 games) and the longest such streak in the NBA this century.
Wembanyama also went 3-6 from long range, the 35th consecutive game in which he’s recorded at least one 3-pointer made and one block. It’s the longest such streak in NBA history by 14 games.
Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 41 games, the longest such streak of his career and the third-longest such streak in franchise history. He’s averaging 33.1 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 6.0 APG, and 2.0 SPG with 53.9/36.2/90.4 shooting splits over that stretch.
The Philadelphia 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey scored a game-high 30 points and dished out eight assists in a 117-104 win over the Sacramento Kings. Maxey has scored at least 25 points in 12 straight games, the longest such streak of his career by seven games.
Kings center Domantas Sabonis produced his third consecutive triple-double and 24th straight double-double, compiling 13 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists. He’s averaging 20.8 PPG, 16.2 RPG, and 6.8 APG over the latter span, shooting 59.9% from the field and 54.5% from 3-point range.
Sabonis went 4-6 from the floor, becoming just the third player in NBA history to record three straight triple-doubles in which he made at least two-thirds of his shots from the field in each game. Wilt Chamberlain (twice) and Nikola Jokic have also achieved this feat.
The Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant netted a team-high 33 points on 13-19 shooting from the field in a 121-113 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Durant has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 23 games, averaging 28.1 PPG on 52.3/37.4/84.6 shooting splits over that span.
Tyler Herro scored 22 points with four threes made in the Miami Heat’s 126-106 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, extending his 3-point streak to 79 games. He tied Michael Adams, James Harden, and Joe Harris for the 12th-longest such streak in NBA history.
The Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell scored a game-high 34 points, going 14-23 from the field and 5-11 from 3-point range. He’s made at least one 3-pointer in 69 straight games, almost doubling the previous franchise record of 35 such games in a row held by Darius Garland.
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games: New York Knicks (five) and Toronto Raptors (five).
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Washington Wizards (15).
The Wizards were blown out by the Toronto Raptors 106-82, their lowest scoring output of the season. Washington has dropped 15 consecutive games, one shy of matching the longest losing streak in franchise history. They have been outscored by an average of 18.3 PPG over that span.
The Cleveland Cavaliers went just 13-42 from beyond the arc (31.0%), but that was enough to extend their run of games with 10 or more 3-pointers made to 52. They tied the Boston Celtics (March 1, 2024 to Dec. 21, 2024) for the fifth-longest such streak in NBA history.
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Miscellany
A dozen players scored at least 30 points last night, paced by Gilgeous-Alexander’s 52-point effort. Joining him were the Indiana Pacers’ Pascal Siakam (season-high 37), the Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell (34), Porzingis (season-high 34), Durant (33), the Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards (33), the Nuggets’ Jamal Murray (33), the Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham (32), the Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III (32), Brunson (30), the Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton (30), and Maxey (30).
The Clippers’ Ivica Zubac was the night’s top board man, hauling in a season-high 22 rebounds. Also grabbing at least a dozen boards were the Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein (season-high-tying 18), the Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley (15), Sabonis (14), the Mavericks’ P.J. Washington (14), the Nuggets’ Russell Westbrook (season-high 14), the Charlotte Hornets’ Miles Bridges (13), the Mavericks’ Daniel Gafford (12), and Wembanyama (12).
Brunson was the leading playmaker, handing out 15 assists last night. Harden and Sabonis also delivered double-digit dimes, recording 11 apiece.
Brunson is the first Knick to record a 30-point, 15-assist game since Nate Robinson accomplished the feat on Feb. 11, 2009. Overall, he’s just the fourth player in franchise history to record such a game.
The Indiana Pacers have gone 16-5 since falling a season-worst five games below .500 with a loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Dec. 8, the third-best record in the NBA over that span. They are scoring an average of 118.1 PPG while allowing 110.9 PPG over those 21 games.