Information researched by Elias Sports Bureau, Inc.
Bryant’s historic all-around offensive performance
Dez Bryant had two touchdown receptions and also threw a 10-yard pass to Jason Witten for a score in the Cowboys’ 42–21 home win over the Lions. Bryant is the fifth player in NFL history to account for two touchdowns receiving and one passing in a game. The others are the Steelers’ Johnny McNally at Washington in 1937, the Packers’ Don Hutson at New York in 1943, the Chargers’ Keith Lincoln at Denver in 1965, and the Patriots’ David Patten at Indianapolis in 2001.
Prescott ties Big Ben’s rookie QB record
Dak Prescott threw three touchdown passes as the Cowboys improved to 13–2 by defeating the Lions. Prescott, who has started every game for Dallas this season, has tied Ben Roethlisberger (13–0 in 2004) for the most wins by a rookie starting quarterback in one season.
Another long TD run for Elliott
Ezekiel Elliott rushed 55 yards for a touchdown late in the first quarter of the Cowboys’ win on Monday Night Football. It was Elliott’s second touchdown run of at least 50 yards this season (he scampered 60 yards in a win over the Bengals on October 9), tying the team record. Duane Thomas (in 1971), Tony Dorsett (as a rookie in 1977), and Emmitt Smith (1991) also had two 50-yard rushing touchdowns in a season.
Foye’s only field goal beats buzzer in win
Randy Foye’s only field goal of the game was a three-pointer as time expired in the Nets’ 120–118 win over the visiting Hornets. The last player to hit a game-winning buzzer-beater after not having made a shot from the floor to that point in the game was the Celtics’ Milt Palacio, against the Nets in New Jersey on December 28, 2000.
Nets score 120 despite hardly any scoring from starting forwards
Bojan Bogdanovic came off the bench to lead both teams with 26 points in the Nets’ 120–118 home win over the Hornets. Brooklyn’s starting forwards, Trevor Booker (3 points) and Joe Harris (0) combined to put just three points on the scoreboard. The last NBA team to score at least 120 points in a game in which its starting forwards combined for three-or-fewer points was the Lakers on March 22, 1995. Kurt Rambis scored the final two points of his NBA career, and Sam Bowie was held scoreless in a 121–114 home win over the Trail Blazers.
Pistons outscore defending champs in all four quarters
Tobias Harris came off the bench to lead all scorers with 21 points and the Pistons outscored the Cavaliers in all four quarters of their 106–90 home win over the Cavaliers. Detroit, which improved to 15–18 with the victory, is the first losing team to “win” four quarters of a game against the defending NBA champions since the 23–31 Charlotte Bobcats defeated the Lakers by a score of 109–89 on Valentine’s Day, 2011.
Magic double up Grizzlies early
The Magic jumped out to a 51–25 lead midway through the second quarter of their 112–102 home win over the Grizzlies. Including Orlando’s win Monday night, teams that score 50 before giving up more than 25 points are 201–1 over the last 20 seasons. The only loss over that span was suffered by the Magic, in the last game in which they took that kind of lead. On January 26, 2012, Orlando led Boston 52–25, but lost 91–83.
Another Webber-like game for Porter
Otto Porter made 13 of 18 field-goal attempts (72%) in his 32-point, 13-rebound performance as the Wizards defeated the visiting Bucks, 107–102. It was Porter’s second game this season in which he put up at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and shot at least 70% (34/14/74% vs. Boston on Nov. 9.) The only other Washington player to have more than one game of that type in any of the last 30 seasons is Chris Webber, who had two in 1997–98.
A fourth straight 25-point/15-rebound game for Davis
Anthony Davis scored 28 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the Pelicans’ 111–104 home win over the Mavericks. It was the fourth consecutive game in which Davis registered at least 25 points and 15 rebounds. That matches the longest streak by any NBA player in the last 10 years. Kevin Love had four straight 25-point/15-rebound games for the Timberwolves in the 2013–14 season.
Youngster Towns makes all eight shots from the floor
Karl-Anthony Towns made all eight of his field-goal attempts in the Timberwolves’ 104–90 home win over the Hawks. Towns, who celebrated his 21st birthday last month, is the youngest player to shoot 8-for-8 or better from the floor since DeAndre Jordan made all eight of his shots at age 20 for the Clippers at Denver on April 4, 2009.
Raptors win despite subpar shooting
The Raptors shot just 33.7% from the floor in their 95–91 win at Portland. Only two other teams in the last 38 years have scored at least 95 points in a non-overtime road win despite shooting worse than 35% from the field. The Kings won 95–83 at Orlando on St. Patrick’s Day 2007 while shooting 33.8%, and then exactly three weeks later the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets won 96–94 at Minnesota with a field-goal percentage of 33.0.
Nuggets trio provides scoring, rebounding
Nikola Jokic (24 points, 10 rebounds), Danilo Gallinari (23 pts, 11 reb), and Will Barton (23 pts, 8 reb) starred in the Nuggets’ 106–102 win over the Clippers at Staples Center. It was the first time that three Denver players put up at least 22 points and eight rebounds in one game since November 15, 1988, when Alex English (29 pts, 8 reb), Fat Lever (27, 11), and Danny Schayes (26, 9) did so in a double-overtime loss to the Lakers.
Butler scores without shooting well
Jimmy Butler scored 16 points but shot just 3-for-12 from the floor in the Bulls’ 90–85 home win over the Pacers. It was the second time this season that Butler scored at least 15 points despite shooting 25% or fewer of his shots; he put up 22 on 4-for-18 shooting on November 30 in a loss to the Lakers. No other NBA player has more than one such game in 2016–17.
Rockets score 107 through three quarters
James Harden scored 32 points and handed out 12 assists in the Rockets’ 131–115 home win over the Suns, a game which Houston led 107–80 at the end of the third quarter. That was the Rockets’ highest point total entering the fourth quarter of a game since scoring 115 against the Lakers in a 145–130 win on April 8, 2014.
