NBA Game Notes (Oct. 23, 2025)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on Oct. 23, 2025.
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 ⭐️
Aaron Gordon scored a career-high 50 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Denver Nuggets fell to the Golden State Warriors 137-131 in overtime. Gordon shot a sizzling 17-21 from the field, sinking 10 of his 11 attempts from 3-point range. He also made all six of his free throw attempts, adding eight rebounds and one block in 39 minutes played.
Second ⭐️
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander poured in a career-high 55 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the Indiana Pacers 141-135 in double overtime. Gilgeous-Alexander shot 15-31 from the floor (2-7 on threes) and 23-26 from the charity stripe. He also contributed eight rebounds, a game-high five assists, a game-high two steals (tied with two others), and one block in 45 minutes of action.
Third ⭐️
Stephen Curry scored a team-high 42 points to lead the Warriors over the Nuggets. Curry went 14-25 from the field (6-12 on 3-pointers) and 8-8 from the free throw line. He added seven assists, six rebounds, a game-high three steals (tied with two others), and one block in 37 minutes of playing time.
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Milestones
Gordon set a Denver Nuggets record for most points scored in a season opener, besting Alex English’s 47 points on Oct. 25, 1985. He’s the sixth player in NBA history to record a 50-point game in a season opener, joining Michael Jordan (twice), Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Anthony Davis, and Kyrie Irving.
Gordon recorded the highest effective field goal percentage (104.8%) and the highest true shooting percentage (105.8%) in NBA history by a player in a 50-point game.
Gordon tied the NBA record for most 3-pointers made in a season opener, matching Terry Rozier — has he been in the news lately? — on Dec. 23, 2020.
Gilgeous-Alexander recorded his fifth career 50-point game, tying Russell Westbrook for the most such games in Oklahoma City Thunder history.
Curry produced his 72nd career 40-point game, tying Kevin Durant for the ninth-most such games in NBA history.
Curry increased his career total to 8,668 field goals made, tying Paul Pierce for 28th place on the NBA’s all-time list.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (21 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists) recorded his fourth career triple-double in a season opener, tying Oscar Robertson’s NBA record.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the first team in NBA history to open a season with back-to-back double-overtime games. They are just the second team in NBA history to win two such games in a row, joining the San Antonio Spurs on April 9 & 10, 2005.
Streaking
Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 74 regular season games, the fourth-longest such streak in NBA history. Wilt Chamberlain (126 and 92 games) and Oscar Robertson (79) are the only players with longer 20-point runs.
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games (dating back to last season): Oklahoma City Thunder (six).
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Miscellany
Gilgeous-Alexander was the night’s leading scorer, bagging a career-high 55 points. He was followed by Gordon with a career-high 50 points; Curry with 42; and the Pacers’ Bennedict Mathurin and Pascal Siakam with 36 and 32, respectively.
Siakam was the top rebounder last night, snagging 15 boards. Also grabbing double-digit rebounds were the Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein (14), Jokic (13), the Thunder’s Chet Holmgren (12), and Mathurin (11).
Jokic and teammate Jamal Murray were the leading playmakers, each handing out 10 assists last night.
Gilgeous-Alexander is just the fourth player in NBA history to average at least 45 PPG through his first two games of a season, joining Wilt Chamberlain (twice), Michael Jordan, and Anthony Davis.
Mathurin and Siakam are just the fourth teammates in NBA history to each record a 30-point, 10-rebound game in a season opener. They join the Los Angeles Lakers’ Elgin Baylor and Jerry West; the New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis and Nikola Mirotic; and the Lakers’ Davis and LeBron James.