On Monday, November 11, the NBA returned with nine games featuring 18 teams. There were double-overtime clashes, an undefeated record on the line and battles between some of the most heavily-favored championship contenders.
Here’s everything you need to know about what transpired.
1. The Indiana Pacers are still undefeated at 8-0 after defeating the Memphis Grizzlies 95-79. Lance Stephenson led the charge with his first career triple-double with 13 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds in 34 minutes of game action.
Paul George scored 23 points and now has at least 20 in all eight games Indiana has played. That’s the longest streak of his career.
2. The Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 109-107 after a missed buzzer-beater secured the win. L.A. and Minnesota are both 5-3 after this game. In the point guard battle, Chris Paul had 21 points, 11 assists and four steals, while Ricky Rubio finished with five points, 10 dimes and two swipes.
Paul now has at least 10 points and 10 assists in eight straight games to open up the season—the longest streak since John Stockton did it in 1991-92.
3. The next great power forwards squared off in the Clippers’ win, as Blake Griffin dropped 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, while Kevin Love picked up 23 points, 19 boards and seven dimes.
4. Jeremy Lin scored a game-high 31 points and led the Hosuton Rockets to a 110-104 double-overtime victory over the Toronto Raptors. The heavily-scrutinized Dwight Howard finished with 18 points, 24 rebounds, two assists, five blocks and a steal. James Harden came up with 22.
5. During Toronto’s loss, Rudy Gay had 29 points and 10 rebounds. Gay now has three double-doubles in eight games after registering three in in 33 outings with Toronto in 2012-13.
6. The Chicago Bulls defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers by a mark of 96-81. Derrick Rose scored 16 points and dished out seven assists on 8-of-21 shooting, while Kyrie Irving tallied 16 on 5-of-19 shooting from the field.
D-Rose hasn’t scored at least 20 points in a single game this year.
7. Danny Green led the San Antonio Spurs to a 109-85 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. It was yet another dominant shooting performance by the former North Carolina Tar Heels star. He finished with 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and 1-of-1 from the free throw line.
8. Prior to the regular season, I wrote that Derrick Favors was worth his big-money contract extension. On November 12, he posted 21 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks as the Utah Jazz fell 100-81 to the Denver Nuggets.
Favors is now averaging 13.1 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.6 blocks and 0.9 steals after eight games. He’s only 22.
9. The Boston Celtics defeated the Orlando Magic 120-105. Since falling to 0-4, the Celtics have won four consecutive games under first-year head coach Brad Stevens.
10. In yet another clash of star point guards, Damian Lillard led the Portland Trail Blazers past Brandon Jennings and the Detroit Pistons, 109-103. Lillard finished with 25 points in 35 minutes, and Jennings posted 28 in 32.
Bonus Fact: Only three players have opened the season with 20-plus points and a win in eight consecutive games: Dave Bing, Wilt Chamberlain and Paul George.