On This Day (Nov. 23)
On This Day (Nov. 23)
Notable events from NBA history that occurred on November 23.
Great Scott
On this day in 1972, the Phoenix Suns’ Charlie Scott scored 42 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and dished out a career-high 15 assists in a 128-122 win over the Detroit Pistons. He made 17 of his 26 shots from the field (65.4%).
Scott is one of only seven players in NBA history to record at least 40 points, 10 rebounds, and 15 assists in a game (a total of 13 instances):
Oscar Robertson (four times)
James Harden (three times)
Bradley Beal (two times)
Charlie Scott
Pete Maravich
LeBron James
Russell Westbrook
Scott and Westbrook (Nov. 13, 2016) are the only players above to do so while shooting at least 60% from the field.
LaVine From Downtown
On this day in 2019, the Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine scored 49 points in a 116-115 win over the Charlotte Hornets, setting franchise single-game records for 3-pointers made (13) and attempted (17).
LaVine tied Stephen Curry’s NBA record for highest 3-point field goal percentage in a game with at least 15 attempts:
76.5% — Zach LaVine, 13-17 (Nov. 23, 2019)
76.5% — Stephen Curry, 13-17 (Nov. 7, 2016)
75.0% — Curry, 12-16 (Feb. 27, 2016)
This was the first of two career games in which LaVine made 10 or more 3-pointers. He’s one of six players in NBA history to record multiple such games:
22 — Stephen Curry
6 — Klay Thompson
3 — James Harden
3 — Damian Lillard
3 — JR Smith
2 — Zach LaVine
Historic Scoring Streak
On this day in 1962, the San Francisco Warriors’ Wilt Chamberlain scored 53 points and grabbed 24 rebounds in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. It was the last of nine consecutive 45-point games for Chamberlain, the longest such streak in NBA history.
Chamberlain actually owns the eight longest 45-point game streaks in NBA history. No other player has recorded such a streak longer than four games.
Chamberlain shot 20-36 (55.6%) from the field and 13-22 (59.1%) from the free throw line. It’s one of 62 times Chamberlain made at least 20 field goals and 10 free throws in a game, 50 more such games than any other player in NBA history:
62 — Wilt Chamberlain
12 — Michael Jordan
7 — Elgin Baylor
6 — Kobe Bryant
4 — Bernard King
Career High for Reef
On this day in 2001, the Atlanta Hawks’ Shareef Abdur-Rahim scored a career-high 50 points and added 12 rebounds and five assists in a 106-99 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Abdur-Rahim shot 21-30 from the field (70.0%) and made all eight of his free throws.
Abdur-Rahim is one of only three players in franchise history to record a 50-point, 10-rebound game, joining Hall of Famers Bob Pettit and Cliff Hagan. He’s the only player in franchise history to do so while shooting at least 70% from the field.
Andrew Toney’s Birthday
On this day in 1957, Andrew Toney was born in Birmingham, Alabama. A two-time All-Star and one-time NBA champion, Toney averaged 15.9 PPG and 4.2 APG in 468 career games. He was nicknamed “The Boston Strangler” by Boston media for his postseason prowess versus the Celtics.
Toney’s career was cut short by chronic foot injuries. After earning two All-Star selections in his first five seasons, Toney missed 159 out of a possible 246 games over the final three seasons of his career.