Fifty-two combined points but none in the first or third quarters
All of the scoring in Dallas’s 38–14 win over Washington took place in the second (24 points) or fourth (28) quarter. The last NFL game, regular-season or postseason, in which at least 50 combined points were scored with none coming in either the first or third quarter was Super Bowl XXXVIII in February 2004, when the Patriots defeated the Panthers, 32–29 in Houston.
Morris makes history with his first 100-yard rushing game for Cowboys
Alfred Morris, in his second season with Dallas, notched his first 100-yard rushing for the team, running for 127 in the Cowboys’ win on Thursday. Morris ran for 100+ yards in a game 13 times, including three times against Dallas, over his four seasons with Washington (2012 to 2015). The only other player to gain at least 100 yards in a game for both these longtime NFC East rivals is Duane Thomas (6 for Dallas, 1 for Washington). Morris is the first to do so both for and against both franchises.
James extends streak of swishing and dishing
LeBron James scored 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting and handed out 12 assists in the Cavaliers’ 121–114 win at Atlanta. James has shot at least 50% from the field and distributed at least five assists in each of his last nine games. It’s the fifth time that James has fashioned as long a streak (including spanning seasons), the first of which started in December 2011. No other NBA player has had even one such streak since Cleveland’s Ramon Sessions in February 2011.
Irving and Horford’s hot starts lead Celtics to win
Kyrie Irving scored 11 points and Al Horford chipped in with 10 in the first quarter of the Celtics’ 108–97 win over the visiting 76ers. Both Irving and Horford made four of five shots from the floor in the first period Thursday. It was the second time this month that two Boston players reached double digits in points and shot 80% from the field in the first quarter of a game. On Nov. 20, Irving and Jaylen Brown did so in a win at Dallas. The Celtics have had only one other such quarter over the last seven seasons: March 16, 2015, in another home win over Philadelphia (Tyler Zeller and Avery Bradley).
Sixers complete highest-scoring month in nearly 24 years
The 76ers scored 97 points Thursday, lowering their November scoring average to 110.7. Philadelphia hadn’t averaged at least 110.0 points per game in a calendar month of at least five games since scoring 111.0 per contest in January 1993. That month, six Sixers averaged at least 10 points per game: Jeff Hornacek (20.7), Hersey Hawkins (18.9), Clarence Weatherspoon (17.3), Armen Gilliam (13.9), Ron Anderson (10.7), and Tim Perry (10.5). Hornacek and Perry came to Philadelphia as part of the trade that sent Charles Barkley to Phoenix the previous summer.
When the Jazz win on the road, they win big
Alec Burks came off the bench to lead all players with 28 points and the Jazz improved to 2–7 on the road this season with a 126–107 win over the Clippers in Los Angeles. Utah’s only previous road win in 2017–18 was by a score of 125–85 at Orlando on Nov. 18. The Jazz’s combined 59-point margin is the fourth-highest by any NBA team over its first two road wins of a season, behind this year’s Trail Blazers (+66), the 1971–72 SuperSonics (+64), and the 1970–71 Knicks (+61).
Barton comes up big off the bench
Will Barton came off the bench to score a career-high 37 points in the Nuggets’ 111–110 home win over the Bulls. Barton’s scoring total was the highest by a non-starting player in nearly a year, since the Lakers’ Lou Williams scored 40 and 38 in consecutive games last December. No Denver bench player had scored 37+ points since J.R. Smith went for 41 against the Hawks on Dec. 23, 2009. Barton’s total was the highest by a substitute in a one-point victory since the Celtics’ Todd Day scored 41 against the Timberwolves on Dec. 22, 1995.
Bledsoe off to a hot start with new team
Eric Bledsoe scored 25 points and handed out four assists in the Bucks’ 103–91 win at Portland. Bledsoe, who was traded from Phoenix on Nov. 7, now has 167 points and 50 assists in 10 games for Milwaukee. Three other players have accumulated at least 150 points and 50 assists over their first 10 games for the Bucks after having played for another team earlier that season: Jim Price in 1974–75 (173 pts, 53 ast), Gary Payton in 2002–03 (211, 82), and Earl Boykins in 2006–07 (182, 52).
Daniel becomes second Sedin to reach 1,000 points
Daniel Sedin became the 87th player in NHL history to reach the 1,000-point mark when he scored a third-period goal for the Canucks in their 5–3 win at Nashville. Daniel, who finished the game with a total of 1,001 points, and his twin brother, Henrik, with 1,035 points, are the top two scorers in Canucks history. The Canucks are the fourth franchise to enter the NHL in 1970 or later and have at least two players score 1,000 or more points for them. The other teams are the Islanders (Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin), Oilers (Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Mark Messier) and Nordiques/Avalanche (Joe Sakic, Peter Stastny.)
Two quick goals give Kings the lead
The Kings extended their winning streak to three games with a 5–2 victory at Washington. The Kings trailed the Capitals, 2–1, but they turned a deficit into a lead with goals nine seconds apart in the middle of the second period by Jonny Brodzinski (at 10:01) and Jussi Jokinen (at 10:10). That matches the fastest two goals the Kings scored in any game over the last 17 seasons. They scored twice in nine seconds two other times since 2000–01: at Dallas on Oct. 28, 2010 (Alexei Ponikarovsky and Wayne Simmonds) and at Nashville on Dec. 22, 2016 (Nic Dowd and Jeff Carter). L.A.’s two goals in nine seconds on Thursday are the second-fastest pair of goals by one team in an NHL game this season. The Stars’ Radek Faksa scored two goals eight seconds apart against the Golden Knights in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
Marleau earns late game-winner
Patrick Marleau was credited with the game-winning goal for the Maple Leafs in their 6–4 victory at Edmonton since he was the last Toronto player to touch the puck before Oilers defenseman Kris Russell accidentally shot the puck into his own net to snap a 4–4 tie with 1:05 remaining in the third period. Only once before in the last seven seasons have the Maple Leafs had a tiebreaking goal with 65 or fewer seconds left in regulation time. That was on Jan. 19, 2016, when defenseman Matt Hunwick snapped a 2–2 tie at the 19:52 mark of the third period to earn the Leafs a 3–2 win at Philadelphia.
McDavid notches 20 points in November
Connor McDavid, who scored a goal for the Oilers in their loss to Toronto on Thursday, tallied 20 points in November (6 goals, 14 assists in 16 games), tying Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon for the NHL lead for the month. McDavid’s 20 points in November are a career high for a calendar month. He’s the first Oilers player to score 20 or more points in a month since Doug Weight notched 20 points in December 1995. At age 20, McDavid is the first NHL player to score 20 or more points in a calendar month before his 21st birthday since Steven Stamkos in November 2010 (21 points, age 20).
Boeser reaches double-digit goals in November
Brock Boeser scored two goals for the Canucks in their win at Nashville on Thursday. Boeser scored only two goals in eight games in October but he tallied 11 goals in 15 games in November. He’s the second rookie in Canucks history to produce a double-digit goal total in one calendar month, joining Hall of Famer Pavel Bure, who scored 12 goals as a rookie for Vancouver in March 1992. Boeser’s 11 goals in November were the most by any NHL rookie in one month since Nail Yakupov scored 11 goals for Edmonton in April 2013.
Smith blanks former team
Mike Smith, facing the Coyotes for the first time since they traded him to the Flames in June, recorded a 3–0 victory against his old team in Calgary on Thursday. Smith, who played 312 games and posted 22 shutouts in the six seasons he played for the Coyotes, is the fifth goaltender to register a shutout against the Jets/Coyotes franchise after playing for them. The others are Brian Hayward, Rick Tabaracci, Nikolai Khabibulin (who did it twice) and Curtis McElhinney.
Janmark’s second goal is an overtime winner
Mattias Janmark’s second goal of the game was the overtime winner for the Stars in their 4–3 victory against the Blackhawks in Chicago. Janmark, who had scored only two goals in his last 21 games entering play on Thursday, is the first player to record a multiple-goal game for the Stars that included an overtime tally since Nov. 4, 2011, when Loui Eriksson scored twice in a 7–6 OT win versus the Avalanche in Dallas.
Staal finishes highest-scoring month since 2013
Eric Staal scored a pair of goals for the Wild in their 4–2 win over the Golden Knights. Staal’s first goal snapped a 2–2 tie with just under eight minutes remaining in the third period and his second goal was an empty-netter that clinched the victory for Minnesota. Staal tallied 15 points in November (six goals and nine assists in 15 games), tying Mikael Granlund for the Minnesota team lead. It was Staal’s highest point total in one calendar month since he recorded 15 points for the Hurricanes in December 2013.
“Goal! Goal!” for Gallagher
Brendan Gallagher scored two goals for the Montreal Canadiens as they recorded a 6–3 win in their first game at the Red Wings’ new home, Little Caesars Arena. The Canadiens had eight multiple-goal games by individual players at the Red Wings’ former home rink, Joe Louis Arena, including two in Montreal’s first game in that building (Guy Lafleur and Mark Napier on April 2, 1980), but they had had only one over the final 23 seasons that “the Joe” served as the Red Wings’ home (1993–94 through 2016–17). That was by Tomas Plekanec, when he scored twice in a 5–4 Canadiens victory on March 27, 2014.