An impressive offensive season continued over the weekend with the dynastic Golden State Warriors and the upstart Sacramento Kings combining for an NBA record 41 3-pointers on Saturday night in a compelling contest that saw the teams total 250 points in regulation. The previous record of 40 was set in February of last season in a game between the Timberwolves and Cavaliers.
Stephen Curry certainly contributed to the game's gravity, posting his 11th career game with at least 10 3-pointers, the most in league history. Teammate Klay Thompson has the next most such games in NBA history with four.
The Kings, thanks to the deft playmaking of Bogdan Bogdanovic -- who has scored in double-figures in eight straight, averaging 18.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.4 SPG, and 2.5 3PG during this sample -- established a sizable lead early in the final quarter, but Curry tied his career-high for points in the final frame with 20 in the fourth quarter, as many as Sacramento had as a team.
Not only can you find Bogdanovic, a viable Sixth Man of the Year candidate, in three-quarters of ESPN leagues, we also saw young wing Justin Jackson produce a career-high 28 points, thanks to his brilliant touch from beyond the arc. Buddy Hield, meanwhile, continued to prove he's one of the league's best shooters with 32 points and eight 3-pointers. Hield is still available in free agency in a quarter of ESPN leagues, while Jackson, rostered in just 0.3 percent of leagues, will need to string together more notable games before we buy on what appears to be an outlier scoring performance.
The Kings are challenging the Hawks for the league lead in pace and often get into high-scoring battles on their home floor, making this a fun roster to target going forward. With an eye on important fantasy performances and relevant statistical trends, let's delve into the weekend that was in the NBA.
Saturday and Sunday recap
Highlights
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks: 43 points (16-23 FG), 18 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 TO
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors: 42 points (14-26 FG), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 TO
Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets: 39 points (16-29 FG), 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 2 TO
Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers: 20 points (9-17 FG), 14 rebounds, 11 assists, 4 TO
Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves: 28 points (11-20 FG), 18 rebounds, 2 steals, 4 blocks, 3 TO
Lowlights
Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies: 6 points (2-9 FG), 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 TO
Brook Lopez, Milwaukee Bucks: 5 points (2-6 FG), 2 rebounds, 1 TO
Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets: 8 points (3-13 FG), 6 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 TO
Dennis Smith Jr., Dallas Mavericks: 2 points (1-5 FG), 1 rebound, 4 assists, 1 TO
Weekend takeaways
- The Timberwolves fired Tom Thibodeau as team president and coach on Sunday following a 22-point win against the Lakers, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Thibodeau is the first full-time head coach to be replaced following a double-digit win since David Blatt on Cleveland nearly three years ago. I'm guessing this doesn't end in a championship run for the Timerbwolves as it did for the Cavaliers. Thibodeau ends his tenure as Timberwolves head coach with a 97-107 record. His 97 wins are tied with Rick Adelman for second most in team history. Thibodeau posted a losing record in two of his three seasons with the Timberwolves. Towns posted his seventh consecutive double-double in the win over the Lakers and is averaging an absurd 28.3 PPG and 17.0 RPG during this seven-game stretch. We can trust Towns and the likes of Robert Covington (once healthy) to continue to shine in the wake of Thibodeau's dismissal, but we'll want to closely monitor how minutes and roles are dispersed under interim coach Ryan Saunders, the son of former coach and team executive Flip Saunders. The Wolves host the Thunder on Tuesday night, presenting an immediate challenge for the young Saunders.
- The Bucks fell to the Raptors in a clash of conference contenders on Saturday despite Antetokounmpo delivering his first career game with at least 40 points and 15 rebounds, making him just the second player in Bucks history with a 40-point, 15-rebound game and first since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who did it 33 times.
- In the win over the Bucks on Saturday, Kawhi Leonard poured in 30 points, marking his 16th straight 20-point game, tying Antetokounmpo for the longest streak in the NBA this season. Pascal Siakam, who went undrafted in many fantasy leagues, tallied a career-high 30 points and is now averaging 23.0 PPG in three games versus the Bucks this season (tied for his most versus any opponent). Proving their dynamic depth yet again, the Raptors had four players with at least 20 points for the first time since March 2014. Toronto rested Leonard for Sunday's win over the Pacers, thanks in part to the productive return of Kyle Lowry. We haven't seen the Raptors at full force in several weeks, and yet they continue to roll.
- Speaking of momentum, the San Antonio Spurs have posted four straight wins and are 12-3 in their past 15 games. Derrick White posted 19 points in Saturday's drubbing of the Grizzlies and is now averaging 20 PPG in his previous three games. White is a key endorsement in this week's discussion of fantasy free agency. Coach Gregg Popovich is one win away from tying Jerry Sloan for third most all-time.
- Sharing some other milestones compiled by ESPN Stats & Info, Curry is just six 3-pointers away from passing Jason Terry for third all-time. Curry has played 46 percent of the career games Terry has. James Harden is 14 3-pointers away from passing Kobe Bryant for 14th all-time and 17 away from passing Chauncey Billups for 13th all-time. Dirk Nowitzki is five 3-pointers away from passing JR Smith for 11th all-time.
Injuries of note
- De'Aaron Fox left Saturday's tilt against the Warriors with a hip injury but returned and dazzled with some moves to the basket late in the game. Fox is expected to start tonight against the visiting Magic.
- Suns star Devin Booker left last night's loss to the Hornets with back spasms. Second-year wing Josh Jackson was second on the team in shots and had one of the better net ratings on the team with Booker sidelined, signaling he'd be a solid target if Booker can't go on Tuesday for the start of a back-to-back.
- LeBron James is not traveling with the Lakers to Dallas tonight, as he continues to heal from a groin ailment suffered on Christmas Day. Thus, the Mavericks are healthy seven-point favorites. Kyle Kuzma is questionable with a lower-back injury but seemed close to playing on Sunday.
Analytics advantage for Monday
We bring the fantasy focus back on Sacramento, as favorable Vegas ingredients (healthy point total of 223 points in tonight's game against Orlando) combine with strong advanced metrics (Kings are second in possessions per 48 minutes and the Magic rank 24th in defensive rating the past 10 games) to make this a game worth targeting for both streaming and stacking purposes. Go ahead and add Bogdanovic in time to play in this positive matchup or build around Nikola Vucevic and Fox in DFS lineups.
Top players to watch tonight
Harden has scored 35 points in 10 straight games, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history with streaks that long, per Elias. Beyond his plethora of isolations and stepback 3-pointers, Harden has also been terrific at piling up points at the stripe, making an average of 9.3 free throws per game this season, which would be the second most over a full season in the past 30 years (Allen Iverson posted 9.4 in 2005-06). Per Second Spectrum, Harden has drawn a foul on 85 drives this season, nine more than any other player. Denver's top-10 defensive rating will be put to the test tonight with Harden hosting the Nuggets in Houston.
In addition to Harden, I'm watching Denver's Jokic, sometimes named the "Joker" for all his tricks with the ball. Jokic isn't just one of the NBA's best passing big men, he's one of the best passers overall. Per NBA Advanced Stats, Jokic's assist percentage ranks sixth among players averaging at least 20 MPG -- and every player ahead of him is a point guard. Jokic just produced a season-high 39 points on Saturday, netting his fifth career game with at least 35 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, the second most such games in Nuggets history behind just Alex English's 10.
The Rockets are 11-2 since Dec. 11, the best record over that span. Beyond Harden, part of the reason for the turnaround has been their defense improving from among the worst in the league to roughly average. The Nuggets have the third-hardest remaining strength of schedule per BPI, but that shouldn't deter them; Denver is 17-6 (.739) against teams that entered at or above .500 -- the best win rate of any team this season by a considerable margin.
