Three Stars
Here are my “three stars” from yesterday’s NBA games, with the “first star” considered the top performer.
First ⭐️
Austin Reaves poured in a game-high 43 points as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Detroit Pistons 121-116 to pick up their fifth straight win. Reaves shot 14-27 from the field (4-6 on threes) and 11-11 from the free throw line. He also recorded five rebounds and a team-high four assists (tied with two others) in 37 minutes played.
Second ⭐️
Cooper Flagg produced game highs of 25 points and 12 assists (also a career high) in the Dallas Mavericks’ 130-93 demolition of the Brooklyn Nets. Flagg went 8-13 from the floor (3-5 on threes) and 6-6 from the charity stripe. He also contributed five rebounds and one steal in 28 minutes of action.
Third ⭐️
Daniss Jenkins came off the bench to score a career-high 31 points, but it wasn’t enough in the Pistons’ loss to the Lakers. Jenkins shot 9-17 from the field (8-15 on threes) and 5-5 from the free throw line. He added five rebounds, four assists, and one steal, posting a game-high rating of plus-22 points in 32 minutes played.
Milestones
Giannis Antetokounmpo attained two career milestones in the Miami Heat’s 114-108 victory over the Sacramento Kings. He became the 45th player in NBA history to reach 8,000 field goals made, and the 62nd player to reach 9,000 rebounds.
Antetokounmpo scored 29 points to give him 478 career 25-point games, breaking a tie with Bob Pettit for 19th place on the NBA’s all-time list.
Streaking
Kings rookie Darius Acuff Jr. had 32 points and 10 assists for his sixth consecutive 20-point, 5-assist game. That ties Trae Young for the longest such streak by a rookie this century.
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games: Los Angeles Lakers (five).
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Utah Jazz (eight), Chicago Bulls (seven), and Milwaukee Bucks (six).
The Bulls lost to the Philadelphia 76ers 127-121, becoming just the second team in NBA history to allow at least 120 points in each of their first nine games of a season. They joined the 1983-84 Denver Nuggets, who opened the season with 12 such games in a row.
Miscellany
Acuff Jr. recorded his his second career 30-point, 10-assist game. The only other rookie in NBA history to produce multiple such games in his first 10 appearances is Oscar Robertson in 1960-61.
Acuff Jr. has scored 259 points in 10 games this season, the highest such total through the first 10 games of a player’s NBA career since Michael Jordan in 1984-85 (273 points).
The Philadelphia 76ers improved to 9-2, the franchise’s best 11-game start since going 10-1 to open the 2000-01 season. That’s also the last time the Sixers reached the NBA Finals.
The Milwaukee Bucks fell to 1-9 on the season with a 117-97 loss to the Boston Celtics, matching the worst 10-game start in franchise history. They also started the 1974-75 and 1993-94 seasons with nine losses in their first 10 games.
The Sacramento Kings matched the worst 10-game start in franchise history, dropping to 1-9 on the season. They also lost nine of their first 10 games to open the 1988-89 and 1990-91 campaigns.