Pistol Pete Poppin’
On this day in 1977, the New Orleans Jazz’s Pete Maravich scored a career-high and franchise-record 68 points in a 124-107 win over the New York Knicks. At the time, it was the most points scored in a game by a guard in NBA history.
Maravich also contributed six rebounds and six assists, becoming the first player in NBA history to record at least 65 points, five rebounds, and five assists in a game. Since then, only four more players have achieved the feat:
Pete Maravich (Feb. 25, 1977)
Michael Jordan (March 28, 1990)
David Robinson (April 24, 1994)
Devin Booker (March 24, 2017)
Donovan Mitchell (Jan. 2, 2023)
Maravich shot 26-43 from the field, setting franchise single-game records for field goals made and attempted. He also made 16 of his 19 free throw attempts. Maravich is one of only six players in NBA history to make at least 25 field goals and 15 free throws in a game (a total of 13 instances):
Wilt Chamberlain (8 times)
Elgin Baylor
Pete Maravich
David Thompson
David Robinson
Kobe Bryant
Guerin’s Big Game
On this day in 1962, the New York Knicks’ Richie Guerin compiled 50 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists in a 149-135 win over the Philadelphia Warriors. Guerin became just the second player in NBA history to record a 50-point triple-double, joining Elgin Baylor (Dec. 13, 1961). He is now of seven players to accomplish the feat (a total of 15 instances):
James Harden (5 times)
Russell Westbrook (3 times)
Elgin Baylor (2 times)
Wilt Chamberlain (2 times)
Richie Guerin
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Luka Doncic
Guerin shot 17-28 from the field and made 16 of his 19 free throws. Guerin and Bernard King are the only players in franchise history to make at least 15 field goals and 15 free throws in a game. They each did so twice.
Curry Cookin’
On this day in 2016, the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry scored 51 points in a 130-114 win over the Orlando Magic. Curry shot 20-27 from the field with 10 3-pointers made, an effective field goal percentage of 92.6%. At the time, it was the highest such figure in a 50-point game in NBA history. That mark has since been exceeded by four players.
Curry also contributed eight assists and seven rebounds. This is one of eight career games in which Curry recorded at least 10 3-pointers made, five rebounds, and five assists. The only other player in NBA history to produce multiple such games is James Harden with two.