NBA Game Notes (Nov. 2, 2023)
NBA Game Notes (Nov. 2, 2023)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on November 2, 2023.
Wemby Thwarts Suns Rally
The San Antonio Spurs survived a furious rally by the Phoenix Suns to pull out a 132-121 victory. Facing a 27-point deficit in the second quarter, the Suns clawed back to tie the game at 116 with 4:21 left in the fourth quarter on a Keita Bates-Diop 3-pointer. The Spurs then went on a 12-0 run to thwart the comeback, with 10 of those points scored by rookie Victor Wembanyama.
Wembanyama finished with a game-high 38 points on 15-26 shooting from the field. The only rookie in franchise history to score more points in a game is Hall of Famer David Robinson, who had games of 41 and 39 points in his debut season.
Wembanyama also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds. At 19 years and 302 days old, he’s the second-youngest player in NBA history to record at least 35 points and 10 rebounds in a game, trailing only last night’s opponent, Kevin Durant (19 years, 200 days).
The last player to record a 35-point, 10-rebound game within the first five games of his NBA career was Anthony Morrow on Nov. 15, 2008. Morrow scored 37 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in just his fourth career game.
Wembanyama blocked two shots, bringing his season total to 11. Since the NBA began tracking blocks in 1973-74, only four players have recorded at least 100 points and 10 blocks through the first five games of their career:
Ralph Sampson, 1983-84
David Robinson, 1989-90
Shaquille O’Neal, 1992-93
Victor Wembanyama, 2023-24
The Spurs’ Zach Collins and Devin Vassell each shot 7-10 from the field (including 3-3 from 3-point range), scoring 19 and 17 points, respectively. Collins also had eight rebounds and four assists.
Playing his first game since the opener, the Suns’ Devin Booker fell one rebound shy of a triple-double, producing team highs of 31 points, 13 assists, and nine rebounds. It’s just the second time Booker has been his team’s outright leader in all three categories in a game.
Booker shot 10-19 from the field — including 5-7 from 3-point range — and hit all six of his free throws. He became the first player in franchise history to score at least 30 points in each of his first two games of a season.
Teammate Durant scored 28 points, making 10 of his 15 shots from the field. Durant has scored at least 25 points on 60% shooting from the field in each of his last three games, matching the longest such streak in NBA history by a player age 35 years or older.
Quick Hitters
A few more notes on a light night of NBA action:
Joel Embiid recorded team-high figures of 28 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists as the Philadelphia 76ers tamed the Toronto Raptors 114-99. Embiid became the first player in franchise history to average at least 30 PPG, 10 RPG, and 5 APG through his first four games of a season. Tobias Harris and Kelly Oubre Jr. chipped in with 23 points apiece for the Sixers.
Jonas Valanciunas had 23 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks as the New Orleans Pelicans improved to 4-1 with a 125-116 win over the Detroit Pistons. The Pelicans’ CJ McCollum led all players with 33 points, while teammate Herbert Jones scored 21 without missing a shot from 2-point range (6-6) or the free throw line (9-9). Cade Cunningham scored a team-high 22 points and dished out a game-high 11 assists for the Pistons.
Paolo Banchero broke out of his early-season slump, scoring 30 points on 9-13 shooting from the field to lead the Orlando Magic to a 115-113 victory over the Utah Jazz. Banchero did a little bit of everything, adding nine rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks.