The 2014-15 NBA regular season took a strange and wild twist on Sunday, November 16. There were incredible feats and down-to-the-wire finishes, but those were overshadowed by occurrences on the opposite end of the spectrum.
For starters, the association witnessed one of its lowest-scoring games in roughly a decade. It also had a number of blowouts, including one that overshadowed a significant feat.
Here’s how it all transpired.
1. In one of the ugliest games you’ll ever see, the Houston Rockets outlasted the Oklahoma City Thunder for a 69-65 victory. James Harden scored a game-high 19 points on 5-of-17 shooting in a game where both teams shot below 30.0 percent from the floor.
This is the first time an NBA game has been played with neither team scoring 70 points since March 13, 2005.
2. The Rockets are the 11th team during the shot clock era to win a game with less than 70 points scored.
3. Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith both scored 28 points to lead the New York Knicks to a 109-93 home victory over the Denver Nuggets. Anthony and Smith were the only players who scored in double-figures for the Knicks, but Denver shot just 39.0 percent from the field and 61.5 percent from the free throw line.
The victory snaps the Knicks’ seven-game losing streak.
4. Brandon Knight scored 20 points and Jabari Parker added 13 to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 91-84 upset of the Miami Heat. Mario Chalmers scored a team-high 18 points for the Heat, but Chris Bosh was just 2-of-17 from the field and 1-of-6 from 3-point range.
That was the second-worst shooting performance of Bosh’s career, with a minimum of 10 field goal attempts.
5. Kobe Bryant erupted for 44 points, but it was the Golden State Warriors that emerged with a 136-115 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Stephen Curry led the charge with 30 points and 15 assists, and Marreese Speights scored 24 points off of the bench.
Curry has five 30-point and 15-assist games since the beginning of the 2013-14 season. The rest of the NBA has a combined five.
Bonus Fact: At 36 years old, Bryant is the oldest player to score at least 40 points in a single game since Shaquille O’Neal on February 27, 2009.