Monday, December 2 had everything that an NBA fan could possibly ask for. There was a throwback performance by an all-time great, a triple-overtime finish, and a meeting between two of the hottest teams in the league.
Here’s everything you need to know about last night’s action.
1. After spending 18 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, Mike Budenholzer was in a role he’d never previously experienced until last night: that of San Antonio’s opponent. Budenholzer visited the AT&T Center as the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks, but inevitably fell victim to something he’s far too familiar with: Tim Duncan hitting a game-winning buzzer-beater.
Duncan drained a 16-foot jump shot with 0.4 seconds remaining to give Gregg Popovich and the Spurs a 102-100 win over the Hawks and Budenholzer, who is his former sideline partner.
2. On top of sinking the buzzer-beating game-winner, Duncan became the oldest player in NBA history to record at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in one game. He’s the first player age 37 or older to achieve the feat since Robert Parish in 1991. Duncan, 37, finished with 23 points and 21 rebounds on 10-of-15 shooting in 35 minutes.
The legend continues to grow.
3. The New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Chicago Bulls by a score of 131-128 in the first triple-overtime game of the season. Ryan
Anderson led the Pelicans with 36 points in his first game as a starter in Anthony Davis’ absence, while Luol Deng scored a season-high 37 for the Bulls.
New Orleans moved to 9-8, while Chicago fell to 5-1 at home and 7-9 overall.
4. Two of the NBA’s best squared off at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon as the Portland Trail Blazers dealt the Indiana Pacers their second loss of the season with a 106-102 win. Portland shot an obscene 29-of-33 from the free throw line, while Indiana was an equally as efficient but not as powerful 15-of-17.
Portland is now 15-3. Indiana is 16-2.
5. During Indiana’s loss, reigning Most Improved Player of the Year and borderline superstar Paul George scored a career-high 43 points on 16-of-30 shooting from the field and 7-of-15 marksmanship from three-point range. “Borderline” is going to be removed in the near future.
6. Not to be outdone by George, Trail Blazers power forward LaMarcus Aldridge had 28 points and 10 rebounds, and point guard Damian Lillard scored 26. This is the fourth time in 2013-14 that both Aldridge and Lillard have scored at least 25 points in the same game. Portland is 3-1 in such outings.
7. Trevor Ariza scored 24 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field, 4-of-4 from three-point range and 8-of-9 from the free throw line to lead the Washington Wizards to a 98-80 win over the Orlando Magic. In his previous game, Ariza had 24 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor, 5-of-6 from distance and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe.
You can’t play any more efficiently than Ariza has over the past two games.
8. John Wall had 13 assists for his eighth double-digit assist game of the year. The only player with more is Chris Paul of the Los
Angeles Clippers, who has 15.
How’s that for perspective?
9. The 4-15 Utah Jazz pulled out the upset of the night with a 109-103 victory over the 13-6 Houston Rockets. Gordon Hayward scored a team-high 29 points, while both rookie Trey Burke and third-year combo guard Alec Burks finished with 21.
21 points is Burke’s new career-high. He set his original career-best mark of 20 in his previous appearance.
10. The loss may sting, but James Harden of the Houston Rockets set a season-high with 37 points on 12-of-22 shooting from the field and 10-of-10 from the free throw line.
Bonus Fact: In 2012-13, Washington didn’t win its sixth home win until Jan. 14, its 35th game of the year, and earned its ninth overall win on Jan. 21, its 39th game. In 2013-14, Washington earned its sixth home win and ninth overall win on Dec. 2, the 18th game.
The difference? Washington is 33-34 with John Wall in the lineup and 5-28 without him dating back to 2012-13.