NBA Game Notes (Jan. 4, 2025)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on Jan. 4, 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 ⭐️
Nikola Jokic recorded 46 points and 10 assists, both game-high figures, to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 122-111 overtime victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Jokic shot 19-35 from the field (3-8 on 3-pointers) and made five of his six free throw attempts. He added nine rebounds, two steals, and a team-high two blocks (tied with Peyton Watson) in 43 minutes of playing time.
Second ⭐️
Karl-Anthony Towns produced game highs of 44 points and 16 rebounds (tied with Josh Hart) in the New York Knicks’ 139-126 loss to the Chicago Bulls. Towns went 17-29 from the floor (3-7 from 3-point range) and 7-10 from the free throw line. He also contributed five assists and one steal in 37 minutes played.
Third ⭐️
Anthony Edwards scored a career-high 53 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Minnesota Timberwolves fell to the Detroit Pistons 119-105. Edwards shot 16-31 from the field — including 10-16 from 3-point range — and 11-12 from the foul line. He also grabbed six rebounds in a game-high 44 minutes of action.
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Milestones
Edwards is the seventh player (11th instance) in NBA history to make at least 10 threes and 10 free throws in a game. He joins Stephen Curry (four times), Damian Lillard (twice), Joe Dumars, Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker, and Towns.
Kevin Durant scored a team-high 25 points (9-14 field goals, 6-6 free throws) in the Phoenix Suns’ 126-108 loss to the Indiana Pacers. It’s his 927th career 20-point game, breaking a tie with Michael Jordan for the fifth-most such games in NBA history.
The Nuggets’ Russell Westbrook scored nine points to raise his career total to 25,620, passing Alex English (25,613) to take over 22nd place on the NBA’s all-time list.
Spurs center Victor Wembanyama celebrated his 21st birthday by hauling in a career-high 23 rebounds, all of them on the defensive end. He tied the franchise record for most defensive rebounds in a game, most recently achieved by Tim Duncan on Feb. 1, 2003.
The Atlanta Hawks’ Dyson Daniels recorded three steals in a 131-105 loss to the LA Clippers, giving him 101 in 32 games this season. The last player to reach 100 steals in 32 or fewer games played was Nate McMillan in 1993-94 (30 games).
The Clippers’ Norman Powell scored a team-high 20 points with four 3-pointers made. He made his 100th 3-pointer of the season, becoming the fastest player in franchise history to reach that mark (28 games).
Streaking
Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied 31 points (14-27 field goals) and 11 rebounds in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 105-102 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. He’s scored at least 20 points with 50% shooting from the field in 27 consecutive games, the longest such streak in NBA history.
Antetokounmpo has recorded 14 straight 25-point games with a field goal percentage of at least 50%, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (March 3, 1970 to Oct. 25, 1970) for the longest such streak in NBA history.
The Pistons’ Cade Cunningham scored a season-high 40 points and distributed nine assists. He’s recorded at least 15 points and five assists in each of his 31 games this season. The only other players in NBA history to start a season with 31 such games in a row are LeBron James (2020-21) and Luka Doncic (2022-23).
Wembanyama made two 3-pointers and blocked four shots, the 26th consecutive game in which he’s recorded at least one of each. It’s the longest such streak in NBA history by five games.
Wembanyama has blocked at least one shot in 69 straight games, the longest such streak in Spurs history and the second-longest such streak in the NBA this century (Josh Smith, 76).
The Hawks’ Trae Young produced team highs of 20 points and 14 assists, the 195th consecutive game in which he’s recorded at least five assists. That’s the third-longest such streak in NBA history, trailing only John Stockton (336) and Isiah Thomas (209).
Jokic became the first player to attempt at least 35 field goals in back-to-back games since Kobe Bryant recorded three such games in a row March 16-22, 2007.
The Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton had 27 points (5-12 on 3-pointers), eight assists, five rebounds, and zero turnovers. He became the first player in NBA history to record at least five 3-pointers made, five rebounds, and five assists with zero turnovers in back-to-back games.
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Miscellany
Edwards poured in a career-high 53 points to lead all scorers last night. He was followed by Jokic (46); Towns (44); Cunningham (season-high 40); the Utah Jazz’s Brice Sensabaugh (career-high 34); the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson (33); the Bulls’ Zach LaVine and Coby White (33 apiece); and Antetokounmpo (31).
Wembanyama was the night’s top rebounder, securing a career-high 23 boards. Also grabbing at least a dozen rebounds were the Clippers’ Ivica Zubac (18); the Knicks’ Josh Hart (season-high 16); the Jazz’s Walker Kessler (16); Towns (16); the Trail Blazers’ Deni Avdija and Deandre Ayton (13 each, a season high for Avdija); the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid (12); and the Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic (12).
The Clippers’ James Harden was the top playmaker last night, handing out 15 assists. Young (14), the Memphis Grizzlies’ Desmond Bane (season-high 10), Hart (10), Jokic (10), and the Grizzlies’ Jake LaRavis (career-high 10) also delivered double-digit dimes.
Hart scored just two points to go with his 16 rebounds and 10 assists, missing all five of shots from the floor. He’s the first player since the ABA-NBA merger to record at least 15 rebounds and 10 assists in a game without making a field goal.