On This Day (Dec. 14)
Notable events from NBA history that occurred on December 14.
Chamberlain’s Record Streak
On this day in 1962, the San Francisco Warriors’ Wilt Chamberlain tallied 63 points and 30 rebounds in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. This is one of nine 60-point, 30-rebound games in NBA history. Chamberlain is responsible for eight of them.
It was the last of 106 consecutive 25-point games for Chamberlain, the longest such streak in NBA history. No other player has recorded more than 47 such games in a row:
106 — Wilt Chamberlain (Oct. 19, 1961–Dec. 14., 1962)
47 — Oscar Robertson (Dec. 25, 1963–Oct. 17, 1964)
41 — Kevin Durant (Jan. 7, 2014–April 6, 2014)
40 — Michael Jordan (Dec. 16, 1986–March 11, 1987)
40 — Jordan (March 8, 1988–Dec. 6, 1988)
40 — James Harden (Dec. 8, 2018–March 8, 2019)
Abdul-Jabbar Sets Record
On this day in 1975, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had 27 points, 34 rebounds, eight blocks, and six assists in a 110-100 win over the Detroit Pistons. Abdul-Jabbar grabbed 29 defensive rebounds, the highest single-game total since the NBA began tracking the statistic in 1973-74:
29 — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Dec. 14, 1975)
28 — Elvin Hayes (Nov. 17, 1973)
26 — Rony Seikaly (March 3, 1993)
Abdul-Jabbar went on to collect 1,111 defensive rebounds that season, the NBA’s single-season record:
1,111 — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 1975-76
1,109 — Elvin Hayes, 1973-74
1,007 — Dennis Rodman, 1991-92
993 — Dave Cowens, 1973-74
990 — Truck Robinson, 1977-78
Double Triple-Double
On this day in 1965, the Detroit Pistons’ Dave DeBusschere and the Baltimore Bullets’ Johnny Kerr became just the second pair of opposing players in NBA history to each record a 30-point triple-double.
Overall it's been done seven times, with five of the occurrences coming between Feb. 15, 2018 and May 8, 2021:
Oct. 26, 1961 — Oscar Robertson & Richie Guerin
Dec. 14, 1965 — Dave DeBusschere & Johnny Kerr
Feb. 15, 2018 — Giannis Antetokounmpo & Nikola Jokic
Nov. 1, 2019 — LeBron James & Luka Doncic
Jan. 8, 2020 — James Harden & Trae Young
March 13, 2021 — Giannis Antetokounmpo & Russell Westbrook
May 8, 2021 — Russell Westbrook & Domantas Sabonis
Barry Good
On this day in 1965, San Francisco Warriors rookie Rick Barry had 57 points and 15 rebounds in a loss to the New York Knicks. He shot 18-29 from the field (62.1%) and 21-22 from the free throw line (95.5%).
The only rookie in NBA history to score more points in a game is Wilt Chamberlain, who had two 58-point performances with the Philadelphia Warriors in 1959-60. Barry and Chamberlain (three times) are the only rookies to record at least 55 points and 15 rebounds in a game.
At 21 years and 261 days old, Barry is the youngest player in NBA history to record a 50-point, 15-rebound game, and he’s the only player to record two such games before his 23rd birthday:
21-261 — Rick Barry (Dec. 14, 1965)
22-045 — Shaquille O’Neal (April 20, 1994)
22-133 — Karl-Anthony Towns (March 28, 2018)
22-150 — Bob McAdoo (Feb. 22, 1974)
22-215 — Barry (Oct. 29, 1966)
22-347 — Anthony Davis (Feb. 21, 2016)
English Reaches Milestone
On this day in 1990, the Dallas Mavericks’ Alex English scored 13 points in a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, becoming the eighth player in NBA history to reach 25,000 career points. English is now one of 23 players to reach that mark. He’s the only one with career shooting percentages of at least 50% from the field and 80% from the free throw line.
A model of consistency, English recorded eight straight 2,000-point seasons, the second-longest such streak in NBA history behind Karl Malone (11). He scored at least 2,000 points on 50% shooting from the field and 80% shooting from the free throw line six times, tied with Michael Jordan for the most such seasons in NBA history.
Clippers Scoring Futility
On this day in 1999, the Los Angeles Clippers scored just 19 points in the first half of a 95-68 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the lowest first-half point total in the NBA’s shot-clock era:
19 — Los Angeles Clippers (Dec. 14, 1999)
20 — New Orleans Jazz (Jan. 4, 1975)
20 — Atlanta Hawks (Jan. 14, 2013)
21 — Utah Jazz (Feb. 4, 2000)
The Clippers scored only three points in the second quarter, the fewest ever in a second quarter in the shot-clock era:
3 — Los Angeles Clippers (Dec. 14, 1999)
4 — Cleveland Cavaliers (Nov. 28, 2000)
4 — Toronto Raptors (Nov. 7, 2003)
Only two teams have scored fewer points in any quarter in the shot-clock era:
2 — Dallas Mavericks (3rd quarter, April 6, 1997)
2 — Golden State Warriors (4th quarter, Feb 8, 2004)
Heat Get First Win
On this day in 1988, the Miami Heat beat the Los Angeles Clippers 89-88, recording their first win in franchise history. The Heat had lost their first 17 games, at the time the longest losing streak to open a season in NBA history. It’s now tied for the third-longest such streak:
18 — New Jersey Nets, 2009-10
18 — Philadelphia 76ers, 2015-16
17 — Miami Heat, 1988-89
17 — Los Angeles Clippers, 1998-99
17 — Philadelphia 76ers, 2014-15
It’s still the longest losing streak to open a season by an expansion team:
17 — Miami Heat, 1988-89
15 — Denver Nuggets, 1949-50
15 — Cleveland Cavaliers, 1970-71
11 — New Orleans Jazz, 1974-75
The Heat went on to lose 67 games that season, tied for the most losses in NBA history by an expansion team:
67 — San Diego Rockets, 1967-68
67 — Cleveland Cavaliers, 1970-71
67 — Dallas Mavericks, 1980-81
67 — Miami Heat, 1988-89
67 — Vancouver Grizzlies, 1995-96
Paul Traded to Clippers
On this day in 2011, the Los Angeles Clippers acquired Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Al-Farouq Aminu, Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, and a 2012 first-round draft pick. The Clippers also received a 2015 second-round draft pick and cash in the deal.
In his six seasons with the Clippers, Paul earned six All-Defensive selections, five All-NBA selections, and five All-Star selections while leading them to the playoffs each season. He averaged 18.8 PPG and 9.8 APG in 409 regular-season games with the franchise.
Hi Justin, in "Clippers Scoring Futility" section, it mentions that there are two teams that scored two points in a quarter, both occurring on April 6, 1997, which seems to be an interesting coincidence to me. I was able to look up in Basketball Reference and see that the Mavs scored two points in the third quarter instead of fourth, and didn't see the Warriors scoring fewer than 20 points in any quarter in their game against the Jazz. Maybe there are two typos? Thanks!