On This Day (Nov. 30)

Notable events from NBA history that occurred on November 30.

Nov 30, 2022

Go to Towns

On this day in 2016, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns scored 47 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in a loss to the New York Knicks. He became the third-youngest player in NBA history to record a 45 point, 15-rebound game (age in years-days):

20-116 — Kevin Durant (Jan. 23, 2009)
20-347 — Shaquille O’Neal (Feb. 16, 1993)
21-015 — Karl-Anthony Towns (Nov. 30, 2016)
21-184 — Bob McAdoo (March 28, 1973)
21-261 — Rick Barry (Dec. 14, 1965)

Towns shot 15-22 from the field (68.2%) and 17-20 from the free throw line (85.0%). He’s the second youngest player in NBA history to make at least 15 field goals and 15 free throws in a game:

20-145 — Devin Booker (March 24, 2017)
21-015 — Karl-Anthony Towns (Nov. 30, 2016)
21-261 — Rick Barry (Dec. 14, 1965)
21-278 — Shaquille O’Neal (Dec. 9, 1993)
22-033 — Oscar Robertson (Dec. 27, 1960)

Historic Scoring Efficiency

On this day in 2019, James Harden was historically efficient as the Houston Rockets destroyed the Atlanta Hawks 158-111:

60 PTS
16-24 FG
8-14 3P
20-23 FT

Harden recorded an effective field goal percentage of 83.3%, the highest such figure in NBA history by a player in a 60-point game:

83.3% — James Harden (Nov. 30, 2019)
82.9% — Wilt Chamberlain (Feb. 9, 1969)
80.8% — Karl Malone (Jan. 27, 1990)
78.8% — LeBron James (March 3, 2014)
77.4% — Kyrie Irving (March 15, 2022)

Harden’s true shooting percentage was 87.9%, also the highest such figure in NBA history by a player in a 60-point game:

87.9% — James Harden (Nov. 30, 2019)
84.4% — Karl Malone (Jan. 27, 1990)
81.7% — Kyrie Irving (March 15, 2022)
79.7% — LeBron James (March 3, 2014)
79.3% — Klay Thompson (Dec. 5, 2016)

Kobe Scores 52

On this day in 2006, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Kobe Bryant scored 52 points in a 132-102 win over the Utah Jazz. Bryant made 19 of his 26 shots from the field (73.1%), the highest field goal percentage he ever recorded in a 50-point game.

This was the first of 10 games that season in which Bryant scored at least 50 points, the third-highest single-season total in NBA history:

45 — Wilt Chamberlain, 1961-62
30 — Chamberlain, 1962-63
10 — Kobe Bryant, 2006-07
9 — Chamberlain, 1963-64
9 — Chamberlain, 1964-65
9 — James Harden, 2018-19

Hack-a-DeAndre

On this day in 2015, the Los Angeles Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan made just 12 of 34 free throws in a 102-87 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. He shot 18 of those free throws in the final 3:51 of the game (missing 10), as the Trail Blazers unsuccessfully tried to rally from a double-digit deficit.

Jordan tied Wilt Chamberlain's NBA record for most free throws missed in a game. Less than two months later, Andre Drummond missed 23 free throws to break the record. Drummond’s mark still stands.

It wasn’t all bad for Jordan, as he recorded a season-high 24 rebounds in the win.

Milestone for Jordan

On this day in 1996, the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan scored 35 points in a 97-88 win over the San Antonio Spurs, bringing his career total to an even 25,000. He became just the 10th player in NBA history to reach that mark.

Jordan reached that scoring mark in his 782nd career game, making him the second-fastest player in NBA history to do so:

691 — Wilt Chamberlain
782 — Michael Jordan
889 — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
915 — LeBron James
917 — Oscar Robertson

Chuck Does it All

On this day in 1988, the Philadelphia 76ers’ Charles Barkley had one of the best games of his career in a 114-106 win over the Portland Trail Blazers:

41 PTS
22 REB
5 AST
6 STL
13-16 FG
15-20 FT

Barkley is the only player since the ABA-NBA merger to record at least 40 points, 20 rebounds, five assists, and five steals in a game. He’s one of only two players since the merger to record a 40-point, 20-rebound game while shooting at least 80% from the field. The other is fellow Sixer Joel Embiid, who did so on April 9, 2022.

Bird Reaches Milestone

On this day in 1990, Larry Bird scored 21 points as the Boston Celtics routed the Washington Bullets 123-95. He surpassed 20,000 career points in the third quarter, becoming the 15th player in NBA history to reach that mark.

At the time, Bird was just the fifth player in NBA history to reach career totals of 20,000 points, 5,000 rebounds, and 5,000 assists. He joined Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, John Havlicek, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Since then, 11 more players have achieved the feat.