Celtics not fazed after trailing by 16 at the half, winning streak up to 11 games

Led by Jayson Tatum’s 11 second-half points, the Celtics overcame a 16-point halftime deficit in their 90-87 win over the Hornets, to extend their winning streak to 11 games. Boston is the third team in the shot-clock era (since 1954-55 season) to come back from a 15-point deficit at the half to extend a winning streak of 10 or more games. On January 8, 2000, the Lakers, on a 13-game winning streak, trailed the Sonics by 17 points at the midway point, but stormed back in the second half (Glen Rice led Los Angeles with 20 second-half points) on their way to a 110-100 victory. And on March 20, 2013, LeBron James and the Heat, entering their matchup with the Cavs on a 23-game winning streak, were able to overcome a 21-point deficit at the half to come out on top.

Antetokounmpo does it all in Bucks’ win

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks in the Bucks’ win over the Spurs in San Antonio. That was the fourth game in which the 22-year-old Antetokounmpo had at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks in a game. Only four other active players had that many games of this type at 22 years old or younger: Anthony Davis (21 such games), Dwight Howard (10), Karl-Anthony Towns (six, he turns 22 years old on November 15), and Brook Lopez (four). The only other Bucks player with that many games of this variety (regardless of age) is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with 42 such games (Blocks became an official statistic in the 1973-74 season).

Drummond owns the boards

Andre Drummond led all players with 20 rebounds in the Pistons’ 111-104 victory over the Hawks on Friday night. Drummond has at least 12 rebounds in each of his 12 games this season, tying the longest such streak to start a season over the last 39 seasons (since 1979-80). Kevin Love started the 2011-12 season with a 12-game streak of this variety. And what is the longest streak to start a season in NBA history? That would be 80 games; Wilt Chamberlain had 13 or more rebounds in every game he played in the 1961-62 and 1963-64 seasons! (He did not have any games with exactly 12 in those two seasons)

Drummond has at least 19 rebounds in each of his last three games (19 on November 4 vs. Sacramento and 21 on November 8 vs. Indiana). That is the longest such streak for any player since DeMarcus Cousins had a three-game streak from March 27 to April 3, 2015. The last Pistons player to do so was Ben Wallace, with a six-game streak in March 2003.

Griffin reaches 2000 assists

Blake Griffin earned his 2000th regular-season assist as a member of the Clippers in their loss to the Thunder on Friday night. Griffin is the fifth player to reach that mark for the Clippers, joining Chris Paul (4023 assists), Randy Smith (3498), Gary Grant (2810), and Norm Nixon (2540).

Balanced attack from George

Paul George scored 21 points in each half of the Thunder’s victory over the Clippers. That marked the first time that George scored at least 20 points in a half as a member of the Thunder. In his seven seasons with the Pacers, George had at least 20 points in each half of a game just once; he scored 20 first-half points and then added 25 second-half points in a Pacers’ loss at Utah on December 5, 2015.

Jazz cannot seem to find the rhythm in second half

The Jazz scored just 25 second-half points and did not make any of their 14 three-point field goal attempts in that half, as they fell to the Heat, 84-74. Utah’s 25 points tied the lowest in a half for any team over the last two seasons (since 2016-17). The Bucks scored 25 second-half points at Miami on November 17, 2016. The last time the Jazz scored 25-or-fewer points in a half was on January 18, 2014 at Minnesota, with 23 points in the first half.

Since the start of the 2016-17 season, only one other team went 0-for-14 or worse on three-point attempts in a half. The Thunder went 0-for-15 in the first half against the Pelicans on December 4, 2016.

Pacers end losing streak in Chicago

Victor Oladipo led all scorers with 25 points in the Pacers’ 105-87 triumph over the Bulls at the United Center, ending a five-game losing streak in Chicago. The team’s 18-point margin of victory tied its third largest in Chicago (among 90 games played there). The only margins of victory as large were an 18-point win in February 1985 at Chicago Stadium (114-96) and a 25-point win in October 2001 (98-73) and a 19-point win in February 2004 (103-84), each at the United Center.

Offense on fire in Magic win

The Magic, led by Aaron Gordon’s 22 points, defeated the Suns, 128-112, in Phoenix on Friday. That was the third-most points Orlando had scored in a road game (excluding OT games) in the last 20 years. They defeated the Kings, 139-107, in Sacramento on January 13, 2009, and they came out victorious, 131-120, over the Hawks in Atlanta on December 13, 2016.

Marleau is oldest to score regular season OT goal for Leafs

Patrick Marleau scored 67 seconds into overtime to give the Maple Leafs a 3–2 win over the Bruins. It was the 10th regular-season overtime goal of Marleau’s 20-year NHL career but his first OT goal for a team other than the Sharks. Marleau, who turned 38 years old on September 15, is the oldest player ever to score a regular-season overtime goal for Toronto, breaking the mark set by Steve Thomas when he scored two OT goals for the Maple Leafs at age 36 in the 1999–2000 season.

Stone nets two in Sweden

Mark Stone’s second goal of the game was the overtime winner for the Senators in their 4–3 victory over the Avalanche in Stockholm, Sweden. Stone, who has played in all 15 games for Ottawa this season, leads the team with 11 goals. He is the first Senators player to reach double-figures in goals this early in a season since Daniel Alfredsson did so in the team’s 14th game in 2007–08. Stone has scored more than 20 goals in each of his three full seasons in the NHL, but he reached double-figures this season more than twice as fast as in any other campaign. Stone’s previous best was last season, when he scored his 10th goal in his 31st game.

Oshie finds the back of the net against Pittsburgh

T.J. Oshie’s power play goal late in the second period snapped a 1–1 tie and sent the Capitals on their way to a 4-1 win over the Penguins in Washington. Oshie has scored seven goals (in 11 games) versus the Penguins during his three seasons with the Capitals, which ties him with Kyle Palmieri for the most goals by any player against Pittsburgh over that span. Five of Oshie’s seven goals against the Penguins for the Caps have been power play goals. No other NHL player has scored more than three power play goals versus Pittsburgh over the last three seasons.

Huberdeau ties Panthers record with 14 assists through team’s first 15 games

Jonathan Huberdeau tied a single-game career high when he assisted on three goals for the Panthers as they ended their five-game winless streak with a 4–1 victory at Buffalo. Huberdeau leads the Panthers with 14 assists, which ties a team record for most assists by a Florida player in the club’s first 15 games of a season, a mark set by defenseman Brian Campbell in 2011–12.

Staal with first multi-goal game as a member of the Canes

Jordan Staal scored the first two goals for the Hurricanes in their 3–1 win against the Blue Jackets in Columbus. It is the 12th multiple-goal game of Staal’s NHL career but first during his six seasons with Carolina. (His last multi-goal game was for the Penguins in February 2012.) Entering play on Friday, Staal had scored more goals for the Hurricanes (71) than any other player in franchise history who had never produced a multiple-goal game for Hartford or Carolina. (That dubious distinction now reverts to Randy Cunneyworth, who scored 39 goals in his five seasons with the Whalers.) Before Friday Staal also had scored the most goals in the NHL over the last six seasons by any player without a multi-goal game since the beginning of the 2012–13 season. Kings defenseman Drew Doughty (52 goals) takes over that burden from Staal.

Klingberg racks up the points early and often

John Klingberg tallied one goal and two assists, all in the first period, to lead the Stars to a 5–0 win over the Islanders. He is the first Dallas player to score three points in one period since Patrick Eaves recorded a first-period hat trick in the Stars’ 4–2 win at Chicago on Feb. 11, 2016. Klingberg is the first Dallas defenseman to produce a three-point period since Dec. 14, 2013, when Sergei Gonchar racked up three assists in the second period of a Stars victory at Winnipeg. Before Klingberg, the last Stars defenseman to record three first-period points in one game was Trevor Daley on Dec. 31, 2011 versus the Bruins (one goal, two assists).