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 ⭐️
Luka Doncic recorded his sixth straight 30-point triple-double, compiling 39 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists as the Dallas Mavericks routed the Detroit Pistons 142-124. He shot 13-24 from the field and 9-10 from the free throw line, adding three steals and two blocks in a game-high 37 minutes played.
Doncic broke a tie with Russell Westbrook (2016-17) for the most consecutive 30-point triple-doubles in NBA history. He also became the first player in NBA history to record five straight 35-point triple-doubles. No other player has produced more than three such games in a row.
Doncic is averaging 36.1 PPG, 10.0 RPG, and 10.5 APG over his last 24 games. He’s the only player in NBA history to average a 35-point triple-double over a 24-game span.
Second ⭐️
Kevin Durant scored a season-high 45 points to go with 10 rebounds and a team-high six assists, but it wasn’t enough as the Phoenix Suns fell to the Boston Celtics 117-110. At 35 years and 162 days old, he’s the third-oldest player in NBA history to record at least 45 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists in a game, trailing only Michael Jordan (38 years, 317 days) and LeBron James (38 years).
Durant shot 18-26 from the floor, making four of his seven 3-point attempts. He now has 1,989 career 3-pointers made, passing Jason Kidd (1,988) and moving into 16th place on the NBA’s all-time list.
It was the 70th 40-point game of Durant’s career, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Rick Barry for the ninth-most such games in NBA history. He’s recorded five 40-point games this season, tying Michael Jordan (2001-02) and James (2022-23) for the second-most such games in a single season by a player age 35 years or older.
Third ⭐️
Jamal Murray matched his season high with 37 points in the Denver Nuggets’ 142-121 blowout win over the Utah Jazz. He made 13 of his 21 field goal attempts, including six out of nine from 3-point range. Murray added seven assists and two steals, committing just one turnover in a team-high 37 minutes of action.
Milestones
The Celtics’ Jaylen Brown scored 27 points and made three 3-pointers in a win over the Suns, becoming the third player in franchise history to reach 1,000 career 3-pointers made (1,002 and counting). He joins Paul Pierce (1,823) and current teammate Jayson Tatum (1,255).
Brown and Tatum (29 points) each scored at least 25 points in the same game for the 82nd time, tying the Cincinnati Royals’ Oscar Robertson and Jack Twyman for the sixth-most such games in NBA history by a duo.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic scored 26 points, sinking 12 of his 14 shots from the field. It’s the fifth game this season in which he’s made double-digit field goals while shooting at least 85% from the floor, tying Charles Barkley (1988-89) for the most such games in a single season since the ABA-NBA merger.
Streaking
Doncic has numerous ongoing scoring streaks: five straight 35-point games (a new franchise record), nine straight 30-point games, 14 straight 25-point games, 14 straight 20-point games, and 56 straight 15-point games.
Doncic has recorded at least 30 points and 10 assists in each of his last seven games, tying Oscar Robertson (1964-65) and Trae Young (2023-24) for the longest such streak in NBA history.
Doncic has produced nine straight 30-point, 5-rebound, 5-assist games, tying himself and Robertson for the longest such streak in NBA history.
Doncic has scored at least 15 points with one 3-pointer made in each of his 56 games this season. He broke a tie with James Harden (2018-19) for the longest such streak to open a season in NBA history.
Durant has scored at least 35 points in three consecutive games. The only other player in NBA history to record at least three straight 35-point games after turning 35 years old is James (five in a row).
Durant has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 14 games, tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1985-86) for the seventh-longest such streak in NBA history by a player age 35 years or older. He’s averaging 28.4 PPG with a field goal percentage of 50.5% over that span.
Miscellany
Durant was the night’s scoring leader with a season-high 45 points. Next up were Doncic (39), Murray (season-high 37), the Pistons’ Cade Cunningham (33), the Brooklyn Nets’ Cam Thomas (31), and the Portland Trail Blazers’ Deandre Ayton (season-high 30).
Ayton led the board brigade with 19 rebounds, followed by the Pistons’ James Wiseman and the Celtics’ Al Horford with 12 each. Six players grabbed 11 rebounds apiece: the LA Clippers’ James Harden (season high), the San Antonio Spurs’ Keldon Johnson, the Jazz’s Walker Kessler, the Suns’ Jusuf Nurkic, the Charlotte Hornets’ Nick Richards, and the Chicago Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic.
The Spurs’ Tre Jones was the night’s top playmaker, dishing out 11 assists. Five players recorded exactly 10 dimes each: Cunningham, the Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan, Doncic, Harden, and the Hornets’ Vasilije Micic (career high).
Harden recorded his 76th career triple-double, scoring 14 points to go with his aforementioned 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 112-102 win over the Chicago Bulls.
The Nuggets led the Jazz 78-44 after two quarters, matching the largest halftime lead in franchise history (ABA seasons included). They also held a 34-point halftime lead on Nov. 27, 1996 (also versus the Jazz) and Jan. 5, 2023 (versus the LA Clippers).
The Nuggets infamously lost that first instance of a 34-point halftime lead to the Jazz, after scoring the first bucket of the 2nd half and leading by 36, the NBA comeback record.