On Wednesday, Nov. 20, 26 NBA teams were in action. There were record-setting performances, all-time achievements, overtime games and comebacks that defied the odds.
Here’s everything you need to know about last night’s action.
1. Dirk Nowitzki moved into 15th place on the all-time scoring list when he passed Reggie Miller with his 25,280th career point. Nowitzki finished with 35 points on 13-of-20 shooting, bringing his career mark to 25,398, as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Houston Rockets 123-120.
Kevin Garnett is in 14th place at 26,440 and Alex English is 13th at 25,613. Both players are within reach.
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2. Not only did Dirk pass Reggie Miller, but he flashed some of the former Indiana Pacers’ clutch greatness. He and Monta Ellis, who scored a game-high 37 points, led the Mavericks to an incredible comeback victory from 14 points down entering the fourth quarter.
In defeat, Rockets center Dwight Howard flirted with perfection by putting up 33 points and 11 rebounds on 12-of-16 shooting from the field and 9-of-13 from the free throw line. Chandler Parsons added 21 points and 11 assists, Harden posted 23 and 8, and Terrence Jones scored 18 points.
3. Chris Paul passed Magic Johnson and set an NBA record by posting his 12th consecutive game to open up the season with at least 10 points and 10 assists. CP3 finished with 20 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and four steals to record his league-best 12th double-double.
The Los Angeles Clippers went on to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 102-98 with Blake Griffin winning his star-studded position battle over Kevin Love. Griffin finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals.
4. Speaking of Love, he’s tied with Paul for the league lead with 12 double-doubles. He finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and one steal on 2-of-14 shooting from the field, 0-for-3 from three-point range and 6-of-10 from the free throw line.
Kevin Martin finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double since Nov. 4, 2009.
5. Two of the game’s elite small forwards clashed at Madison Square Garden. Paul George led the Indiana Pacers past Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks by a score of 103-96 in overtime. George finished with 35 points, five rebounds, four assists, five steals and two blocks, and Anthony dropped 30 points, 18 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
George continued his MVP campaign by scoring 15 of the Pacers’ final 19 points, including three clutch field goals to tie the game with five seconds remaining in regulation.
6. If you’re looking for a reason for New York’s loss, try the fact that the Knicks attempted an astonishing 100 field goals and 30 shots from beyond the arc. The Knicks shot 37.0 percent from the floor and 26.7 percent from three-point range.
Carmelo, Andrea Bargnani and J.R. Smith combined to shoot 22-of-63 from the field and 5-of-19 from distance.
7. Anthony Davis’ monster year continued as he led the New Orleans Pelicans to a 105-98 victory over the Utah Jazz. Davis finished with 22 points, nine rebounds, four assists and eight blocks. Surprised? Don’t be.
Davis had nine blocks during his previous game and has at least five swats in five of his first 11 games.
8. If you thought Avery Bradley’s performance on Nov. 19 was bad, then Jazz swingman Gordon Hayward was atrocious. He was 1-of-17 from the field and 0-for-8 from three-point range, making him the second player in the past 25 years to convert just one field goal while attempting at least 17.
For what it’s worth, Hayward did finish with a career-high 11 assists.
9. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph combined for 39 points, 23 rebounds and five blocks to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to an 88-81 victory over the Golden State Warriors. Memphis dominated the turnover margin, with the Grizzlies committing just six and Golden State coughing it up 14 times.
Andre Iguodala dished out 14 assists in Stephen Curry’s absence for Golden State, but shot 3-of-14 from the field.
10. Gerald Green continued his Most Improved Player of the Year campaign by scoring 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting as the Phoenix Suns fell 113-106 to the Sacramento Kings. Green now has three games with at least 20 points and eight with at least 10 after scoring in double-figures in 12 total games in 2012-13.
Bonus Fact: DeMarre Carroll led the Atlanta Hawks to a 93-85 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Carroll registered his first career double-double with 11 points, a career-high 12 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks in 36 minutes of action.
Bonus Fact: Jared Sullinger had a career night during the Boston Celtics’ 104-93 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. The second-year power forward finished with 19 points and a career-high 17 rebounds in 31 minutes of action.