Davis does it again
Anthony Davis scored 48 points to go along 17 rebounds in the Pelicans’ overtime win at Madison Square Garden on Sunday and he followed that with a 45-points/16-rebounds performance in New Orleans’ OT win at Boston on Tuesday night.
Wilt Chamberlain and Davis are the only players in NBA history to have a 45/15 (points/rebounds) game in each of back-to-back road wins. Chamberlain did that three times in the 1961–62 season and in December 1967.
It is the second time in Davis’s pro career that he had consecutive games each with at least 45 points and 15 or more rebounds. He also did that in the first two games of the 2016-17 season, but New Orleans lost each of those games on its home court.
Since Chamberlain retired after the 1972-73 season, only three other NBA players––none in the last 30 seasons––produced back-to-back 45/15 (points/rebounds) games and each did so only once: Bob McAdoo (Buffalo Braves, March 1975), Moses Malone (Houston, February 1982) and Charles Barkley (Philadelphia, February 1988).
Before Tuesday night, the last visiting player to have a 45/15 game of that kind at Boston was Maurice Lucas for Portland in January 1979 (46 points, 17 rebounds).
Jokic: 29 points, 18 rebounds and 7 assists in 33 minutes
Nikola Jokic played only 33 minutes, but he contributed 29 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists to the Nuggets’ 105–102 victory over the Mavericks. Only two other players in NBA history reached those levels in points, rebounds and assists while playing fewer than 35 minutes in a game: Elgin Baylor for the Lakers in March 1966 (30/19/8 in 34 minutes against the Pistons) and Shaquille O’Neal for the Lakers in January 2000 (31/19/9 in 32 minutes versus the Nuggets).
Timberwolves falter in fourth quarter
The Timberwolves led the Magic, 75–72, through three quarters, but Tom Thibodeau then watched his team give up 35 points over the next 12 minutes resulting in a 108–102 loss to Orlando. That is the most fourth-quarter points that Minnesota has allowed in any game it lost this season.
Lundqvist sets record for consecutive 20-win seasons
Henrik Lundqvist became the first goaltender in NHL history to record 20 or more wins in each of 13 consecutive seasons when he beat the Flyers, 5–1, at Madison Square Garden. Lundqvist won at least 30 games in all but one of his 12 other seasons in the NHL, the exception being the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season when he posted 24 wins (tied for the league lead) while playing in 43 of the Rangers’ 48 games. Entering play on Tuesday, Lundqvist had been tied for the record of 12 straight seasons with at least 20 wins with Tony Esposito and Martin Brodeur.
Saros makes 43 saves in shutout
Predators rookie Juuse Saros made 43 saves in his 1–0 win against the Golden Knights in Nashville. It was Saros’ third shutout this season and second in which he faced at least 40 shots on goal, having made 46 saves when he blanked the Oilers in Edmonton, 4–0, on December 14. Since 1955–56, when the NHL began officially compiling shots on goal totals, the only other rookie to record multiple 40-save shutouts in one season was the Bruins’ Bill Ranford with three in 1986–87.
Severson scores twice in 1:26
Damon Severson set a Devils franchise record for the fastest two goals by a defenseman when he tallied twice in a span of one minute and 26 seconds during New Jersey’s 4–1 win over the Islanders. Severson’s first goal gave the Devils a 2–1 lead at the 12:58 mark of the second period and 86 seconds later he scored again to double New Jersey’s advantage. Severson broke the old Scouts/Rockies/Devils franchise record of two goals in 2:07 by a defenseman set by Johnny Oduya on March 28, 2008 against the Flyers. Severson’s goals in Tuesday’s game at Brooklyn are the fastest pair of goals in one game by an NHL defenseman since the Flyers’ Ivan Provorov scored twice in 31 seconds versus the Blackhawks on Dec. 3, 2016.
Rookie defenseman scores in OT
Vince Dunn became the first rookie defenseman in Blues history to score an overtime goal in a regular-season game when he tallied the OT winner for St. Louis in Toronto on Tuesday. The Blues have had one overtime goal by a rookie defenseman in a playoff game. That was by Bryce Salvador in Game 5 of a first-round series against San Jose in 2001. Dunn is the first rookie defenseman to score an overtime goal in an NHL game this season. There were four OT goals by rookie d-men last season, by Zach Werenski, Esa Lindell, Julius Honka and Shea Theodore.
Spezza stars in Detroit
Jason Spezza scored two goals in a game for the first time since April 2016 to lead the Dallas Stars to a 4–2 win over the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. This was the third time that Spezza has produced a multiple-goal game versus the Red Wings and all of those multi-goal games have come in Detroit. The previous two (in December 2006 and October 2013) were both for the Ottawa Senators at the Red Wings’ former home rink, Joe Louis Arena. The only other active NHL player with three multiple-goal games against the Red Wings in Detroit is the Canucks’ Daniel Sedin.
Thornton extends streak
Joe Thornton extended his goal streak to three games when he opened the scoring in the Sharks’ game against the Coyotes in Arizona. This is only the second time in the last five seasons that Thornton has scored a goal in each of three consecutive games. He also did that in February 2016. Thornton has scored one goal in each of his three games versus the Coyotes this season, after scoring only two goals in 30 games against them over the past six seasons. Thornton’s career total of 24 goals versus the Coyotes is his highest against any NHL team.