NBA Game Notes (Nov. 21, 2023)
NBA Game Notes (Nov. 21, 2023)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on November 21, 2023.
Pacers Win Scoring Fest
The Indiana Pacers outscored the Atlanta Hawks 157-152, clinching a quarterfinal spot in the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament. It’s just the seventh non-overtime game in NBA history in which both teams scored at least 150 points.
Tyrese Haliburton led the Pacers with 37 points, adding a game-high 16 assists and three steals. Haliburton has recorded at least 25 points and 15 assists in three of his last four games.
Haliburton shot 11-18 from the field — including 9-15 from 3-point range — and made six of his seven free throws. For the season, Haliburton is averaging 24.7 PPG and 12.0 APG with 52/46/93 shooting splits.
The Pacers’ Buddy Hield scored 24 points on 9-11 shooting from the field (hitting all six of his 3-pointers), while teammate Myles Turner scored 11 points with team highs of nine rebounds and four blocks (tied).
Indiana made 22 3-pointers, one shy of the franchise single-game record. It’s the fifth time the Pacers have made at least 20 3-pointers in a game this season. No other team in NBA history has recorded five such games through their first 13 games of a season.
The Pacers are averaging a league-best 128.1 PPG this season. Only three teams in NBA history have recorded a higher scoring average through their first 13 games of a season:
132.5 — Denver Nuggets (1988-89)
129.6 — Denver Nuggets (1990-91)
128.6 — San Antonio Spurs (1978-79)
128.1 — Indiana Pacers (2023-24)
On the flip side, the Pacers are allowing an average of 125.9 PPG this season, also the fourth-highest such figure in NBA history through 13 games:
142.2 — Denver Nuggets (1990-91)
129.8 — Denver Nuggets (1983-84)
126.5 — San Antonio Spurs (1987-88)
125.9 — Indiana Pacers (2023-24)
Trae Young scored a game-high 38 points to lead the Hawks, also recording team highs of eight assists and three steals. Young shot 13-17 from the floor (5-8 on 3-pointers) and made seven of his eight free throws. It’s the first time Young has made at least half of his attempts from the field in a game this season.
Backcourt mate Dejounte Murray scored 28 points on 11-19 shooting from the field, while Bogdan Bogdanovic came off the bench to score 26 points on 10-15 accuracy from the floor. Young, Murray, and Bogdanovic are the first Hawks trio to each score at least 25 points with a field goal percentage of 55% in the same game since Kevin Willis, Mookie Blaylock, and Dominique Wilkins on Jan. 30, 1993.
The Hawks are scoring 122.4 PPG and allowing 120.9 PPG this season. Both figures are the highest in franchise history through the first 13 games of a season.
Shorthanded Cavs Edge Sixers
The shorthanded Cleveland Cavaliers edged the Philadelphia 76ers 122-119 in overtime. The Cavaliers were missing three key rotation players who did not play due to injury: Donovan Mitchell (the NBA’s seventh-leading scorer), Caris LeVert, and Isaac Okoro.
Darius Garland picked up the slack for Cleveland, producing 32 points, eight assists, five rebounds, and three steals. Garland shot just 10-25 from the floor, but made 10 of his 11 free throws.
Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen recorded season highs of 26 points and 13 rebounds, while frontcourt mate Evan Mobley contributed 18 points and 12 rebounds. Allen and Mobley each shot 60% from the field (12-20 and 6-10, respectively).
The Sixers were led by Joel Embiid, who compiled 32 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, and five blocks. It’s the fourth time Embiid has recorded at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and five blocks in a game, the most such games among active players.
Embiid has scored at least 20 points in each of his 14 games this season. The only other players in franchise history to start a season with 14 such games in a row are Allen Iverson (2005-06 and 2006-07) and Billy Cunningham (1969-70).
Teammate Tyrese Maxey scored 30 points, but made just 11 of his 28 attempts from the field. Embiid and Maxey have each scored at least 20 points in the same game 12 times this season. Only two duos in NBA history have produced more such games through their team’s first 14 games of a season: Elgin Baylor & Jerry West and Oscar Robertson & Jack Twyman, both of whom recorded 13 such games in 1961-62.
Quick Hitters
Additional notes on the NBA’s fifth night of In-Season Tournament play:
The Los Angeles Lakers routed the Utah Jazz 131-99 to finish undefeated in West Group A In-Season Tournament play. Lakers center Anthony Davis scored a game-high 26 points on 11-14 shooting from the field, also snagging a game-high 16 rebounds. Teammate LeBron James had 17 points, a game-high nine assists, and seven rebounds in just 24 minutes of action. James became the first player in NBA history to reach 39,000 career points.
Led by Kevin Durant’s 31 points and nine assists, the Phoenix Suns knocked off the Portland Trail Blazers 120-107. Durant, playing in his 1,000th career game, passed Elvin Hayes to become the 11th-leading scorer in NBA history. Only three players in NBA history have scored more points through their first 1,000 games: Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Durant has scored at least 25 points in each of his last 14 games, the longest such streak in franchise history and matching the second-longest such streak in NBA history by a player age 35 years or older.
Paolo Banchero scored a game-high 25 points as the Orlando Magic picked up an easy 126-107 win over the Toronto Raptors. The Magic’s Cole Anthony came off the bench to contribute 15 points, a game-high 10 assists, and five rebounds. Dennis Schroder scored 24 points in just 27 minutes to lead the Raptors.