History was made on Friday, December 26.
The NBA returned from its Christmas special with a normal slate of 11 games featuring 22 teams. An active legend moved up the all-time scoring list, a contemporary star battled a future Hall of Famer, a number of MVP candidates went off, a rising star set a franchise record and an unheralded player made history.
Here’s how it all transpired.
1. Rajon Rondo posted a season-high 21 points with eight assists, seven rebounds and a steal as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 102-98. The Lakers were plus-23 in the rebounds department, including plus-18 on the offensive glass, but still managed to lose.
With 14 points, Dirk Nowitzki passed Elvin Hayes to reach No. 8 on the all-time scoring list. He’s 96 points shy of Moses Malone at No. 7.
2. Jared Dudley scored 24 points on a perfect 10-of-10 shooting from the field and 4-of-4 from beyond the arc as the Milwaukee Bucks stunned the Atlanta Hawks 107-77. Paul Millsap had 22 points and 11 rebounds on 8-of-10 shooting, but the Bucks pulled away in the second quarter and never looked back.
Dudley is the first player in NBA history to record at least 20 points, 10 field goals and three 3-point field goals while shooting a perfect 100.0 percent from the floor.
3. Russell Westbrook put up 29 points in 25 minutes as the Oklahoma City Thunder blew out the Charlotte Hornets 98-75. Brian Roberts led the Hornets with 17 points, but OKC hit the ground running and never looked back.
Westbrook has scored at least 25 points in a league-best 11 consecutive games. Only Kevin Durant in 41 straight and Kevin Love in 12 did it in more in 2013-14.
4. Kenneth Faried went off for 29 points and 25 rebounds on 11-of-15 shooting as the Denver Nuggets defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 106-102. Thaddeus Young scored 23 points and Andrew Wiggins had 22 for Minnesota, while Ty Lawson posted 16 points and 11 assists for Denver.
Faried is the first player in franchise history to record a game with at least 25 points and 25 rebounds.
5. LeBron James went off for 29 points, eight assists, five rebounds, two blocks and a pair of steals as the Cleveland Cavaliers pulled out a 98-89 victory over the Orlando Magic. Nikola Vucevic had 12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Magic, while Kevin Love scored 22 points for the Cavaliers.
Orlando drops to 4-20 when it fails to score 100 points. It’s 7-1 when it does reach 100.
6. Anthony Davis and Tim Duncan dueled as the New Orleans Pelicans defeated the San Antonio Spurs 97-90. Davis put up 22 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, five blocks and two steals, while Duncan had 20 points, 11 boards, four dimes, two blocks and a steal.
Cory Joseph scored a career-high 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting for San Antonio in defeat.
7. James Harden took over with 32 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and three blocks as the Houston Rockets defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 117-111 in overtime. Josh Smith had 21 points and eight rebounds in his Rockets debut, while Marc Gasol posted 29 points and eight rebounds for the Grizzlies.
In Memphis’ first 25 games, it was 21-4. In its past four, it’s 0-4.
8. Damian Lillard had 28 points and nine assists, and Wesley Matthews scored 25 points with seven 3-point field goals to help the Portland Trail Blazers blow out the Philadelphia 76ers 114-93. Tony Wroten led the Sixers with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting, but Portland progressively built an insurmountable lead.
Joel Freeland grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds in 25 minutes for Portland.
9. Andre Drummond scored 20 points and Greg Monroe put up 19 points, 15 rebounds, three steals and a block as the Detroit Pistons blew past the Indiana Pacers 119-109. Seven players scored in double-figures as Detroit pulled out its highest-scoring game of the season.
This was Detroit’s first game without Josh Smith.
10. In a game in which 13 players scored in double-figures, the Phoenix Suns outlasted the Sacramento Kings 115-106. Marcus Morris led Phoenix with 20 points, nine rebounds, five assists, one steal and six 3-point field goals, while Darren Collison had a team-high 19 points for Sacramento.
Sacramento drops to 2-9 when DeMarcus Cousins doesn’t play. It’s 10-8 when he does.
Bonus Facts
- Jarrett Jack put up 27 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals and a block as the Brooklyn Nets escaped TD Garden with a 109-107 victory over the Boston Celtics. Jack hit the game-winner with 28 seconds on the clock.
- Tonight marked Atlanta’s first home loss since November 26—a full month ago.
- The Lakers won the battle on the boards 63-40 over the Dallas Mavericks. They’re just the third team since November 30, 2009 to have at least 60 rebounds with a differential of plus-20 or better and still lose the game.