NBA Game Notes (Oct. 25, 2024)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on Oct. 25. 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 ⭐️
Trae Young produced game highs of 38 points, 10 assists, and four steals as the Atlanta Hawks held off the Charlotte Hornets 125-120. Young went 11-24 from the field — including 5-14 from 3-point-range — and made 11 of his 13 free throw attempts. He also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds (tied with Onyeka Okongwu) in a game-high 41 minutes of playing time.
Second ⭐️
Coby White scored a team-high 35 points, adding six rebounds, five assists, and a game-high four steals in the Chicago Bulls’ 133-122 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. White shot 12-20 from the floor, sinking seven of his 13 tries from 3-point range. He committed just one personal foul in 34 minutes of action.
Third ⭐️
Anthony Davis scored 35 points, snagged eight rebounds, and blocked two shots — all game-high figures — as the Los Angeles Lakers knocked off the Phoenix Suns 123-116. Davis went 11-18 from the field and made 13 of his 17 attempts from the free throw line. He was charged with just one turnover in 38 minutes played.
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Milestones
Young recorded his 79th career 30-point, 10-assist game, breaking a tie with Luka Doncic for the fifth-most such games in NBA history. Doncic and Young were taken with the third and fifth overall picks, respectively, in the 2018 NBA Draft, and then later traded for each other.
The Suns’ Kevin Durant scored a team-high 30 points, going 11-17 from the field. Durant increased his career total to 9,969 field goals made, passing Dominique Wilkins (9,963) and moving into 16th place on the NBA’s all-time list.
Durant and the Lakers’ LeBron James had scored a combined 69,439 points entering last night’s game, the highest-scoring matchup in NBA history. As mentioned above, Durant poured in a team-high 30 points, while James scored 21 points and added eight assists.
Buddy Hield came off the bench to score a game-high 27 points in just 20 minutes played as the Golden State Warriors destroyed the Utah Jazz 127-86. Hield made seven 3-pointers to increase his career total to 1,936, surpassing JR Smith (1,930) to take over 21st place on the NBA’s all-time list.
Hield also dished out a game-high six assists, becoming the first player to record at least 25 points and five assists in 20 or fewer minutes played since John Paxson on April 15, 1984.
The Hornets’ LaMelo Ball scored a team-high 34 points with a career-high nine 3-pointers made, but coughed it up a franchise-record 10 times. The previous single-game mark of nine turnovers was shared by five players.
Streaking
Young is just the second player in NBA history to open a season with consecutive 30-point, 10-assist games. He joins Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson, who recorded three such games in a row to start the 1961-62 season.
Davis became just the third Laker to open a season with consecutive 35-point games, joining Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor (1962-63) and Jerry West (1969-70).
Ball is the first player in Hornets history to record back-to-back 30-point outings to start a season.
The Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo (38 points, five assists) and Damian Lillard (28 points, eight assists) are just the second duo in NBA history to each record at least 25 points and five assists in back-to-back games to open a season. They join Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant, who did so to start the 2018-19 campaign.
The Golden State Warriors became the first team in NBA history to open a season with back-to-back 35-point victories, following up Wednesday’s 36-point win over the Portland Trail Blazers with a 41-point rout of the Utah Jazz.
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games (dating back to last season): Portland Trail Blazers (seven).
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Miscellany
Young and Antetokounmpo shared nightly scoring honors with 38 points apiece. Also producing 30-point games were Davis (35), White (35), Ball (34), the Trail Blazers’ Jerami Grant (34), the Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham (33), and Durant (30).
The Houston Rockets’ Jabari Smith Jr. was the night’s top board man, hauling in 16 rebounds. Six other players collected at least a dozen boards: the Trail Blazers’ Deandre Ayton (15), the Rockets’ Alperen Sengun (15), the New York Knicks’ Karl-Anthony Towns (15), the Hornets’ Nick Richards (13), the Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins (13), and the Bucks’ Bobby Portis (12).
Young was the only player to record double-digit assists last night, delivering 10 dimes. The Orlando Magic’s Paolo Banchero, the Suns’ Bradley Beal, and the Bulls’ Josh Giddey tied for second with nine assists each.