As NBA fans, we all know that on any given night someone can go off for a monster game. But in today’s NBA with all the injuries, the impact of role players has never been so crucial. In only a month and a half through the season the league is already down half its stars, and it seems like more are dropping like flies every other night. So, although a handful of the league’s best are still in the mix, there are nights like yesterday when some teams were forced to turn to an unexpected source to carry the squad. With that being said, between surviving superstars and rising role players alike let’s take a look at some of last night’s top performers.
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| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 32 | 11 | 5 | 14/19 | 3/7 | 1/1 | 0 | 0 |
All-Star center Nikola Jokic led the charge with 32 points and 11 rebounds to help the Denver Nuggets take down the New York Knicks, 113-99. Jokic was clearly the star of the show in this one, but the real surprise in this game was the play of second-year center Zeke Nnaji. Nnaji was the Robin to Jokic’s Batman in this one as he finished with 21 points and eight rebounds. With no Michael Porter Jr., the Nuggets are going to have to continue to rely on players like Nnaji to play big minutes to keep this team’s playoff hopes alive.
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 24 | 7 | 8 | 9/18 | 2/7 | 4/5 | 0 | 0 |
Coming off of a rough loss to the Chicago Bulls, the Knicks came out flat-footed and just couldn’t recover. Julius Randle led the way with a near-triple double alongside four other New York players who finished with double-digit points. The Knicks’ physical playstyle kept them in this game as they had 21 free throw attempts to Denver’s five but the great equalizer is always the three-ball. The Nuggets hit 20-of-43 threes while New York only hit 12-of-40 and that made all the difference. The Knicks now sit a game below .500 at 11-12 and are in desperate need of a change as the team morale seems to be sinking quickly.
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 31 | 8 | 6 | 9/20 | 2/9 | 11/13 | 0 | 1 |
In a battle between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, Zach LaVine led the Chicago Bulls to a close 111-107 victory over the Brooklyn Nets. The Bulls’ dynamic duo continue to put on a scoring clinic as LaVine and DeMar DeRozan combined for 60 points. Most impressively, LaVine led all players with 13 free throw attempts which alone was more than the Nets had as a team (9 total). In the end, the game came down to a big three by Lonzo Ball with 17 seconds left to ice the victory. With this win, Chicago sits only a half a game out of first place and seems to be back to their winning ways as this makes three straight.
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 28 | 10 | 4 | 12/26 | 2/6 | 2/2 | 0 | 2 |
Even in a loss, Kevin Durant can’t help but play like an MVP. Durant finished the game with a near 30-piece double despite the uncharacteristically inefficient shooting. He did also get a fair amount of help from his big men. Veteran centers LaMarcus Aldridge and Paul Millsap combined for 33 points and 14 rebounds. Last but not least, James Harden had a semi-quiet night with 14 points, 14 assists, and seven rebounds. Not the greatest shooting night as he was only 5-of-21 shooting from the floor, 1-of-5 from three, and only attempted four free throws. Regardless of the loss, Brooklyn still sits atop the East. Next on the schedule is a two-game Texas road trip as they play the Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets on a back-to-back.
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 19 | 16 | 3 | 7/13 | 2/6 | 3/3 | 2 | 2 |
Fan-favorite Bobby Portis posted a monster stat line of 19 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to the 124-102 victory over the Miami Heat. The Bucks played this one with Giannis Antetokounmpo, but their depth was still more than enough to outlast Miami. Pat Connaughton led the team with 23 points including seven three and Khris Middleton added 22 points. It’s still early to acquire, but keep an eye on DeMarcus Cousins, who has only played two games with the Bucks after being signed recently, but with Lopez set to miss an extended time he will most likely get a steady diet of 15 minutes a night. Last night, he dropped 11 points and five rebounds in only 11 minutes.
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 15 | 9 | 6 | 4/17 | 1/6 | 6/8 | 2 | 0 |
As a top-heavy team, it’s games like these where Miami’s lack of depth really stands out. Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Markieff Morris all were out and their scoring contributions were missed. It was up to third-year guard Max Strus to lead the team with a career-high 25 points in 23 minutes off the bench. The bench as a whole carried this one as Caleb Martin finished with 16 points and Gabe Vincent added 11 points. In the absence of Butler, look for third-year guard Tyler Herro to be leaned on more for offensive output which he may or may not respond well to.
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 29 | 9 | 2 | 12/20 | 4/6 | 1/1 | 1 | 1 |
In the first game since beating the Oklahoma City Thunder by an NBA record of 73 points, the Memphis Grizzlies hang on to take down the Dallas Mavericks, 97-90. This game was all about the second-year guard who dropped a career-high 29 points along with nine rebounds. Alongside Bane, five other Memphis players finished in double figures including Steven Adams who had 11 points and 13 rebounds. Surprisingly, the Grizzlies are 4-0 since their star guard Ja Morant went down with a left knee sprain. Even more impressive, Memphis has not even trailed in any of those four games. One can only wonder how long they can keep this feat up, but nonetheless, this stretch validates those who view the Grizzlies as one of the deepest teams in the league. They aren’t a better team without Morant, but they clearly have the depth to survive the loss.
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 29 | 7 | 0 | 7/18 | 5/9 | 10/14 | 2 | 0 |
With no Luka Doncic or Kristaps Porzingis, the Mavericks came into this game looking like a shell of themselves. With their two leading scorers on the sideline, it was Tim Hardaway Jr. who picked up the slack by dropping a season-high 29 points. Dorian Finney-Smith and Jalen Brunson helped with a combined 29 points. Dallas has quietly been underwhelming this season despite being 5th in the Western Conference with a record of 11-11. If you are a Mavs fan, the hope is that the dynamic duo comes back soon, and motivated Dallas does not have a very difficult December schedule.
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 23 | 12 | 7 | 10/21 | 3/7 | 0/0 | 2 | 0 |
Dejounte Murray and the underdog San Antonio Spurs survived a late rally by the Golden State Warriors to win, 112-107. For the Spurs, all the young guys balled out. Murray continues to have a career season under the radar as he finished the game with a near triple-double. Derrick White led the team with 25 points. Rising star Keldon Johnson played a game-high 38 minutes and finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Even Lonnie Walker joined the fun with 21 points off the bench. Nobody is talking about them much, but the Spurs are on a four-game winning streak that now includes both the Warriors and Washington Wizards. San Antonio might not be considered as a potential playoff squad by most, but there’s no doubt that they are going to be a tough out all season long.
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 27 | 8 | 5 | 7/28 | 5/17 | 8/9 | 3 | 0 |
After snapping the Phoenix Suns’ 18-game winning streak, last night was clearly the “trap game” for the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors allowed the youthful Spurs to jump out to a 36-21 lead in the 1st quarter and ended up playing catch-up all night from there. Curry settled for deep threes as over half of his shot attempts were from three. Despite a rough shooting night from the floor, he still managed to finish the game with 27 points. Outside of Curry, Golden State’s most impressive players were the combination of Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damion Lee. The two combined for 27 points and each had seven rebounds off the bench. Golden State remains tied with the Phoenix Suns for the top spot in the West, but they have a good chance to briefly secure that spot with the Orlando Magic coming up next on the schedule.
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 31 | 10 | 4 | 9/17 | 4/6 | 9/10 | 0 | 0 |
Jayson Tatum and Dennis Schroder drop 31 points apiece as they blew out the Portland Trail Blazers, 145-117. In a free-for-all scoring frenzy by the Celtics, six players finished in double figures including second-year guard Payton Pritchard who scored 19 points in 18 minutes off the bench. Marcus Smart also added 17 points and was 6-of-10 from the floor. Coming off this dominant win, the Celtics hope to string together a winning streak as they continue their West Coast road trip in Los Angeles as they prepare for the Lakers and Clippers.
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 24 | 1 | 6 | 8/21 | 5/7 | 3/9 | 1 | 0 |
Despite the loss, there were three players worth highlighting for the Portland Trail Blazers. CJ McCollum continues to shoulder the lead guard responsibilities with Damian Lillard in and out of the lineup. McCollum led the team with 24 points and red-hot from three despite shooting poorly from the field as a whole. Dennis Smith had a solid outing with 21 points, which is great to see from a former lottery pick looking to resurrect his career. Jusuf Nurkic dropped 18 points, five rebounds, a steal, and a block in only 19 minutes. The Trail Blazers have struggled in the last couple of games as they are 1-5 in their last six. Hopefully, the recent news of upcoming changes in the front office will light a much-needed fire in the team to help get them back on track.
De’Aaron Fox
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 17 | 8 | 5 | 8/22 | 0/4 | 1/4 | 2 | 1 |
The Sacramento Kings defeated the LA Clippers 104-99, beating them for the second time in four nights. In this most recent victory, the Player of the Game was definitely Terence Davis who scored 23 of his 28 points in the second half with four of his six threes coming in the third quarter. The backcourt of De’Aaron Fox and Tyrese Haliburton also played solidly as they combined for 35 points, 14 rebounds, and ten assists. Marvin Bagley has quietly been good for the Kings since the firing of coach Luke Walton. Bagley finished this game with 12 points and 11 rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench. In his last four games, Bagley has scored double figures and finished with at least five or more rebounds in three of them. He may not have lived up to the hype of once being selected No. 2 overall, but he is finally starting to show signs of potential under interim head coach Alvin Gentry.
| PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% | FT% | STL | BLK |
| 15 | 5 | 10 | 5/21 | 3/7 | 2/2 | 2 | 0 |
In the close loss, the LA Clippers got their fair share of solid performances from their key guys. Marcus Morris led the team with 21 points and eight rebounds while shooting 7-of-10 from the field with four threes. Reggie Jackson also added 18 points. Even Ivica Zubac finished with a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds. Then there is Paul George who shot a horrid 5-of-21 from the field but still had a solid night with 15 points and ten assists. Despite the loss, the Clippers still are 6th in the West at 12-12.
