NBA Game Notes (Oct. 24, 2024)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on Oct. 24, 2024.
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 ⭐️
Chet Holmgren compiled 25 points, a career-high-tying 14 rebounds, five assists, four blocks, and two steals in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 102-87 win over the Denver Nuggets. Holmgren went 11-18 from the field, although he missed all five of his 3-point attempts.
Second ⭐️
Julius Randle scored a game-high 33 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves edged the Sacramento Kings 117-115. Randle shot a blistering 13-17 from the field, sinking five of his six 3-point attempts. He added five rebounds and four assists in 35 minutes of playing time.
Third ⭐️
Klay Thompson scored 22 points in his debut with the Dallas Mavericks, adding seven rebounds and a game-high three steals in a 120-109 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. Thompson went 7-13 from the field, including a 6-10 effort from 3-point range. He was not charged with a turnover in 26 minutes of action.
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Milestones
Thompson set a record for most 3-pointers made by a player in his Mavericks debut with six. The previous mark of five triples was shared by Antoine Walker (Oct. 28, 2003) and Justin Holiday (Feb. 23, 2003).
DeMar DeRozan scored a team-high 26 points in his Kings debut, going 12-14 from the free throw line. He increased his career total to 6,183 free throws made, passing Hall of Famer Bob Pettit (6,182) and moving into 19th place on the NBA’s all-time list.
The Spurs’ Chris Paul became the 11th player in NBA history to reach 20 seasons played. He dished out a game-high eight assists (tied) in his debut with San Antonio.
The Boston Celtics hit 17 3-pointers in their 122-102 rout of the Washington Wizards. Boston has made a league-record 46 3-pointers through its first two games of the season, five more than any other team in NBA history.
Streaking
The Mavericks’ Luka Doncic scored a team-high 28 points to go with 10 rebounds and eight assists, his 11th straight 25-point game dating back to last season. He’s also recorded at least five rebounds and five assists in each of those games.
Doncic made four 3-pointers, extending his streak of games with at least one triple to 71. It’s the longest such streak in franchise history by 23 games.
The Celtics’ Jayson Tatum tallied 25 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. He’s just the second player in franchise history to open a season with consecutive 25-point double-doubles, joining Larry Bird (1984-85).
The Kings’ De’Aaron Fox recorded one steal, the 29th consecutive game in which he’s been credited with at least one theft. Fox is one game shy of matching Doug Christie’s franchise record of 30 such games in a row (the NBA began tracking steals in 1973-74).
Victor Wembanyama had 17 points, nine rebounds, and one block in the Spurs’ loss to the Mavericks. Wembanyama has recorded at least 10 points and one block in each of his last 40 games, the longest such streak since Jermaine O’Neal in 2006-07 (44 games).
The Celtics are the 15th team in NBA history to open a season with back-to-back 20-point victories. They are just the fourth team to also score at least 120 points in each of those games, joining the 1961-62 Celtics, the 1962-63 Celtics, and the 2020-21 Brooklyn Nets.
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games (dating back to last season): Oklahoma City Thunder (six).
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games (dating back to last season): Washington Wizards (seven).
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Miscellany
Randle led all scorers last night with 33 points, followed by teammate Anthony Edwards (32), Doncic (28), the Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (28), the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown (27), DeRozan (26), the Wizards’ Jordan Poole (26), Holmgren (25), and Tatum (25).
Holmgren was the night’s top board man, hauling in a career-high-tying 14 rebounds. Also collecting double-digit boards were the Timberwolves’ Naz Reid (13), the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic (12), the Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert (11), the Mavericks’ Dereck Lively II (11), the Kings’ Keegan Murray (11), Tatum (11), and Doncic (10).
Jokic was the top playmaker, handing out 13 assists last night. The only other player to deliver double-digit dimes was Fox with 11.
Jokic (16 points, 12 rebounds, 13 assists) recorded a triple-double in a season opener for the third time. The only player in NBA history with more such games is Oscar Robertson with four. Jokic now has 131 career triple-doubles, good for fourth place on the NBA’s all-time list.
The Celtics’ Brown and Tatum each scored at least 25 points in the same game for the 85th time, the sixth-most such games in NBA history by a duo. They are two games away from tying the Nuggets’ Alex English and Kiki VanDeWeghe for fifth place on the league’s all-time list.