Three Stars
Here are my “three stars” from yesterday’s NBA games, with the “first star” considered the top performer.
First ⭐️
Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 36 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 107-103 victory over the New York Knicks. Tatum shot 14-26 from the field and 5-5 from the free throw line. He added a team-high nine rebounds, a team-high seven assists, and a game-high three steals (tied with Josh Hart) in 37 minutes played.
Second ⭐️
Domantas Sabonis recorded his 69th career triple-double, scoring 27 points to go with game highs of 19 rebounds and 10 assists in the Sacramento Kings’ 128-120 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. Sabonis made 10 of his 13 attempts from the floor, including one 3-pointer. He also went 6-7 from the charity stripe in 39 minutes of action.
Third ⭐️
Giannis Antetokounmpo produced game highs of 36 points and 12 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as the Miami Heat fell to the Detroit Pistons 128-111. Antetokounmpo went 15-26 from the field and 5-8 from the free throw line. He also contributed a team-high five assists (tied with Davion Mitchell), a game-high two steals (tied with two others), and one block in 33 minutes played.
Milestones
Antetokounmpo recorded his 473rd career 25-point game, tying Adrian Dantley for 20th place on the NBA’s all-time list. He’s shot at least 50% from the field in 409 of those games (86.5%).
Luka Doncic tied an ignominious franchise record in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 125-117 win over the LA Clippers, committing a career-high 11 turnovers. He shares the mark with Magic Johnson (three times), Jamaal Wilkes, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James.
The Atlanta Hawks routed the Charlotte Hornets 128-81, breaking the franchise record for largest margin of victory in a game. The 47-point difference surpassed the previous mark of 46 set on Nov. 15, 2017 versus the Sacramento Kings.
The Charlotte Hornets went just 11-51 from beyond the arc, tying the franchise record for most 3-pointers missed in a game. They also missed 40 threes on Nov. 10, 2024 versus the Philadelphia 76ers.
Streaking
Stephen Curry hit three triples in the Golden State Warriors’ 111-108 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, extending two 3-point streaks. He’s made at least one 3-pointer in 94 straight games (ninth longest in NBA history) and multiple 3-pointers in 33 straight games (also ninth longest, tied with Trey Murphy III).
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games (dating back to last season): Detroit Pistons (five) and Los Angeles Lakers (five).
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games (dating back to last season): Golden State Warriors (five).
Miscellany
Kawhi Leonard was held to 16 points in the Toronto Raptors’ 112-102 win over the Washington Wizards, snapping his streak of 20-point games at 58. It’s the 13th-longest such streak in NBA history.
The New York Knicks are just the seventh defending champion in NBA history to start a season 0-2, and the first to do so since the 2011-12 Dallas Mavericks.
The team the Knicks beat in the 2026 Finals, the San Antonio Spurs, also fell to 0-2 with a 114-110 loss to the Houston Rockets. It’s just the third time in NBA history both Finals teams started the following season 0-2. It also happened in the 1969-70 (Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers) and 1979-80 (Seattle SuperSonics and Washington Bullets) seasons.
Wow this 20 point streak keeps falling! The lights were too bright for Kawhi 😂 Who has it now?