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 ⭐️
Jimmy Butler scored a season-high 33 points in the Miami Heat’s 123-118 overtime victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Butler shot 11-17 from the floor and made 11 of his 16 free throw attempts. He also grabbed nine rebounds and recorded team highs of six assists and two blocks (tied with Haywood Highsmith) in 38 minutes of playing time.
Second ⭐️
Cam Thomas bagged a game-high 34 points as the Brooklyn Nets held off the Sacramento Kings 108-103. Thomas went 11-22 from the field (4-10 on 3-pointers) and 8-11 from the free throw line. He also handed out a team-high six assists and was charged with just one turnover in 36 minutes played.
Third ⭐️
Ty Jerome scored a game-high 26 points (tied with Donovan Mitchell) as the Cleveland Cavaliers cruised past the Toronto Raptors 122-108. Jerome shot 9-14 from the floor — including a 4-8 effort from 3-point range — and made all four of his free throws. He added a team-high six assists (tied with Darius Garland) and a game-high four steals in 28 minutes of action.
Milestones
The Kings’ DeMar DeRozan made four free throws to increase his career total to 6,240. That was enough to pass Reggie Miller (6,237) and take over 18th place on the NBA’s all-time list. Carmelo Anthony holds 17th place with 6,320 free throws made.
The Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum scored 29 and 26 points, respectively, in a 107-105 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. It’s the 88th time Brown and Tatum have each scored at least 25 points in the same game, breaking a tie with Alex English and Kiki VanDeWeghe for the fifth-most such games in NBA history by a duo.
Streaking
The Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards scored a team-high 28 points for his 16th consecutive 20-point game. It’s the longest such streak of his career and the longest such streak to open a season in franchise history.
The Kings’ De’Aaron Fox scored a team-high 31 points and handed out five assists, the sixth consecutive game in which he’s recorded at least 25 points and five assists. That matches the longest such streak of Fox’s career and ties LaMelo Ball for the longest such streak in the NBA this season.
Fox’s teammate, Domantas Sabonis, scored 13 points to go with game highs of 18 rebounds and seven assists. Sabonis has recorded a double-double in each of his last 14 games, averaging 19.6 PPG, 13.4 RPG, and 6.9 APG with 62/35/89 shooting splits over that span. He’s produced a double-double in 78 of his last 80 games dating back to last season.
Raptors center Jakob Poeltl recorded his fifth straight double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 19 rebounds (matching his career high). It’s the longest such streak of Poeltl’s career.
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games: Boston Celtics (five) and LA Clippers (five).
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Washington Wizards (11).
The Boston Celtics went 21-56 from downtown, the 41st consecutive game in which they’ve made 10 or more 3-pointers. That breaks a tie with the Golden State Warriors (March 25 to Nov. 12, 2021) for the seventh-longest such streak in NBA history.
Miscellany
Thomas led all scorers with 34 points yesterday. Butler (33) and Fox (31) were the only other players to produce 30-point efforts.
The Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert was the day’s top board man, hauling in 20 rebounds. Also collecting at least a dozen boards were Poeltl (career-high-tying 19), Sabonis (18), the Wizards’ Alexandre Sarr (career-high 14), the Cavaliers’ Jarrett Allen (13), the Mavericks’ Dereck Lively II (13), and the Clippers’ Ivica Zubac (12).
The Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton was the leading playmaker yesterday, dishing out nine assists. He was followed by the Clippers’ James Harden with eight dimes.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are the ninth team in NBA history to start a season with at least 17 wins in their first 18 games. They join the 1969-70 New York Knicks; the 1970-71 and 1971-72 Milwaukee Bucks; the 1990-91 Portland Trail Blazers; the 1993-94 Houston Rockets; the 1996-97 Chicago Bulls; the 2002-03 Dallas Mavericks; and the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors. Five of those teams reached the NBA Finals, with four of them taking home a championship.
The Washington Wizards fell to 2-13 with a 115-103 loss to the Indiana Pacers, their 12th defeat by 10 or more points this season. That’s the second-most double-digit losses in NBA history by a team through its first 15 games of a season, trailing only the 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks with 13.
The LA Clippers routed the Philadelphia 76ers 125-99. All five Clipper starters posted a rating of plus-30 points or higher: Kris Dunn (plus-38), Zubac (plus-35), Amir Coffey (plus-34), Derrick Jones Jr. (plus-33), and Harden (plus-30). It’s the first time that’s happened in the NBA this season, and the first such occurrence for the Clippers since Nov. 14, 2016.