- The Spurs defeated the Mavericks 92-91 to clinch a playoff spot for the 16th straight season, the longest active streak in the NBA. San Antonio also reached 50 wins for the 14th straight season, the longest streak in NBA history.
- The Spurs become the first NBA team to reach 50 wins this season when they beat the Mavericks on Thursday. San Antonio was also the first NBA team to reach that mark in each of the past two seasons (outright in 2010–11 and tied with Chicago last season). Before the Spurs, the last NBA team to be the first to 50 wins in each of three consecutive seasons was the Celtics from 1983–84 through 1985–86.
- Tim Duncan scored 28 points and grabbed 19 rebounds in the Spurs’ 92–91 win over the Mavericks. The last player as old as Duncan (age 36) to reach those levels of points and rebounds in one game was Moses Malone, who recorded 30 points and 19 boards at age 37 for the Bucks at Seattle on March 27, 1992.
- Playing without Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and Amar’e Stoudemire, the Knicks fell apart in the second half and lost 105-90 in Portland. New York led 48-38 with three minutes left in the first half, but the Blazers ended the half on a 13-0 run and never looked back. The Knicks have now lost the first three games on their five-game west coast road trip by a combined 67 points. Damian Lillard had 26 points and 10 assists, posting his eighth straight 20-point game (the most by a rookie this season). Is New York heading for an early playoff exit?
- The Heat travel to Milwaukee on Friday seeking their 21st straight win. At 20, the Heat are currently tied with the 1970-71 Bucks for the third-longest single-season win streak in NBA history. That Bucks squad featured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Oscar Robertson and went on to win the title.
Stat Mann is the nom de guerre of our research statistician, who spends a lot of time watching basketball in central Connecticut. Someone would be angry if they discovered he was moonlighting here.
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