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 ⭐️
Damian Lillard registered game highs of 37 points and 12 assists to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 106-103 win over the Miami Heat, Milwaukee’s fifth straight victory. Lillard went 10-17 from the field (8-13 on 3-pointers) and made all nine of his free throw attempts. He added one steal and one block in a team-high 38 minutes played.
Second ⭐️
Victor Wembanyama scored a game-high 34 points as the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Utah Jazz 128-115, extending San Antonio’s winning streak to four games. Wembanyama shot 12-23 from the floor, making six of his 14 attempts from 3-point range. He also contributed seven rebounds, a game-high three blocks, and one steal in 37 minutes of action.
Third ⭐️
Alperen Sengun recorded his third triple-double of the season, tallying 22 points, a team-high 10 rebounds, and a game-high 11 assists (tied with Fred VanVleet) in the Houston Rockets’ 117-111 overtime victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Sengun struggled a bit from the field, making nine of 23 attempts, but hit all four of his free throws. He also swiped three steals and blocked three shots in 42 minutes of playing time. Houston’s win clinched a spot in the Knockout Round of the NBA Cup.
Milestones
Lillard became the 39th player in NBA history to reach 5,000 career free throws made. He owns the highest career free throw percentage in that group (89.8%).
Lillard recorded his 30th career game with at least 35 points and 10 assists. He’s the 10th player in NBA history to reach that mark.
Anthony Davis compiled 25 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, and four blocks in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 127-100 loss to the Phoenix Suns. Davis snagged his 8,000th career rebound in the second quarter, becoming the 80th player in NBA history (and 10th active player) to reach that mark.
The Spurs’ Harrison Barnes scored eight points to raise his career total to exactly 13,000. He’s the fourth player from the 2012 NBA Draft class to reach that mark, joining Lillard (21,541), Davis (18,194), and Bradley Beal (16,538).
Streaking
Wembanyama has blocked at least one shot in each of his last 54 games. It’s the longest active streak in the NBA and the third-longest streak in San Antonio Spurs history, trailing runs of 61 and 55 games by David Robinson.
Wembanyama has made multiple 3-pointers and blocked multiple shots in seven consecutive games. That ties Kevin Durant (twice) for the longest such streak in NBA history.
Wembanyama has produced five straight 25-point games. He’s the eighth different player in NBA history to record at least five such games in a row before his 21st birthday.
The Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards scored a game-high 29 points for his 17th 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.
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games: Milwaukee Bucks (five).
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Washington Wizards (12).
The Wizards were routed by the Chicago Bulls 127-108. Washington’s 12-game losing skid matches the fifth-longest such streak in franchise history. They’ve been outscored by 211 points over that stretch, the worst differential over any 12-game span in franchise history.
Miscellany
Lillard led all scorers with 37 points last night. The only other player to produce a 30-point effort was Wembanyama with 34.
The Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert was the top board man last night, securing 16 rebounds. Davis (15), the Jazz’s John Collins (13), the Suns’ Jusuf Nurkic (12), and the Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic (12) also grabbed at least a dozen boards apiece.
Lillard was the night’s leading playmaker, handing out 12 assists. Also delivering double-digit dimes were the Rockets’ Fred VanVleet (11), Sengun (11), the Suns’ Devin Booker (10), and the Lakers’ LeBron James (10).
The Suns’ Kevin Durant scored 23 points on 9-17 shooting from the floor in his return from a seven-game absence. The Suns have a record of 9-1 with an average differential of plus-5.7 points when Durant plays this season, but they are just 1-6 with an average differential of minus-9.9 points when he does not suit up.
The Wizards have lost 13 games by 10 or more points this season. That’s the second-most double-digit losses in NBA history by a team through its first 16 games of a season, trailing only the 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks with 14.