NBA Game Notes (Nov. 16, 2022)

Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on November 16, 2022.

Nov 17, 2022

SGA’s Hot Start Matches Wilt

The Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tied his career high with 42 points, adding six rebounds and seven assists in a 121-120 win over the Wizards. He made 14 of his 22 shots from the field (63.6%), including a game-winning 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining.

Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 30 points on 50% shooting from the field in 10 of his 14 games this season. That ties Wilt Chamberlain (1962-63) for the most such games in NBA history by a player through his first 14 games of a season.

Gilgeous-Alexander’s Game Score* was 36.0. It’s the sixth time he’s recorded a Game Score of 30 or higher this season, the most such games in the NBA:

6 — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
5 — Luka Doncic
4 — Stephen Curry
4 — Kevin Durant

* John Hollinger’s estimate of a player’s total production in a game.

Over the last 40 NBA seasons, only three other players have recorded at least six such games through their first 14 games of a season (all with exactly six):

Michael Jordan, 1986-87
LeBron James, 2007-08
James Harden, 2019-20

The only other player in franchise history to record three straight games with at least 35 points and five assists on 50% shooting from the field is Russell Westbrook (March 26-29, 2017).

For the season, Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging 32.3 PPG with shooting percentages of 54.6% from the field, 40.0% from 3-point range, and 90.6% from the free throw line. The only other player in NBA history to average at least 30 PPG with 50/40/90 shooting splits through his first 14 games of a season is Stephen Curry (2015-16 and 2022-23).

Curry Scores 50

The Warriors’ Stephen Curry had another huge game in a loss to the Suns:

50 PTS
9 REB
6 AST
17-28 FG
7-11 3P
9-9 FT

It’s Curry’s 11th career 50-point game and sixth since turning 30 years old. The only player in NBA history with more 50-point games after their 30th birthday is Wilt Chamberlain:

7 — Wilt Chamberlain
6 — Stephen Curry
6 — Michael Jordan
5 — James Harden

Curry has recorded a true shooting percentage of at least 75% in 10 of his 50-point games, three more such games than any other player in NBA history:

10 — Stephen Curry
7 — James Harden
7 — Michael Jordan
7 — Damian Lillard

Curry’s Game Score was 41.0. He’s one of only four players to record a Game Score of 40 or higher this season, and the only one to do so multiple times:

2 — Stephen Curry
1 — Ja Morant
1 — Luka Doncic
1 — Joel Embiid

Curry has 15 career games with a Game Score of 40 or higher, the third-most such games among active players:

28 — James Harden
24 — LeBron James
15 — Stephen Curry
14 — Damian Lillard
14 — Anthony Davis

For the season, Curry is averaging 32.8 PPG with shooting percentages of 53.1% from the field, 44.7% from 3-point range, and 92.9% from the free throw line. This is the third time he’s averaged at least 30 PPG with 50/40/90 shooting splits through his first 15 games of a season. No one else in NBA history has done so even once.

Ant and KAT Lead Wolves

Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns led the Timberwolves to a 126-108 victory over the Magic last night:

Edwards — 35 PTS, 8 REB, 6 AST
Towns — 30 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST

They are just the third duo in franchise history to each record at least 30 points, five rebounds, and five assists in the same game:

Kevin Garnett and Wally Szczerbiak (Jan. 11, 2002)
Karl-Anthony Towns and Jeff Teague (Dec. 6, 2019)
Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards (Nov. 16, 2022)

They are the first duo in franchise history to record multiple games in which they each scored at least 30 points on 60% shooting from the field (Towns was 10-15, Edwards 12-20).

Edwards shot 7-13 from 3-point range. It’s the 26th time he’s made at least five 3-pointers in a game, one shy of Trae Young’s NBA mark for most such games by a player age 21 years or younger:

27 — Trae Young
26 — Anthony Edwards
22 — Luka Doncic
20 — Devin Booker
18 — LaMelo Ball

Edwards does not turn 22 years old until August 5, 2023.

The Magic’s Bol Bol scored a career-high 26 points in the loss. He shot 12-21 (57.1%) from the field and also contributed 12 rebounds and three blocks.