Williams makes Lakers pay for trading him away

Lou Williams, acquired by the Rockets from the Lakers just before the trading deadline, scored 30 points leading Houston to a win over his former team on Wednesday night. Those are the most points scored in a game against the Lakers by a player who played for them earlier that season. The previous high was 27 points by Philadelphia’s Leroy Ellis on November 19, 1972. Ellis had played 10 games with the Lakers prior to joining the 76ers that season.

Lakers set team mark for futility

The Lakers converted only three of the 25 shots they attempted from three-point range in their loss to the Rockets on Wednesday. The Lakers 12% shooting from three-point range is the lowest percentage they have recorded in any of the 322 games they have played in which they attempted at least 25 shots from beyond the arc.

Lillard steals the show in San Antonio

Damian Lillard scored 36 points leading the Trail Blazers to a victory over the Spurs in San Antonio. It’s the third time Lillard has scored at least 35 points in a regular-season game at the AT&T Center in his career, having also done that on March 8, 2013 (35 points), and December 19, 2014 (43 points). The only other visiting player with three such games in San Antonio’s current home is Monta Ellis.

Lillard’s 28.9 points per game average at the AT&T Center is the highest for any player that has appeared in at least five games in the Spurs’ current home arena.

Barea registers 13 assists in just 20 minutes

J.J. Barea handed out 13 assists in just 20 minutes of action off the bench in the Mavericks’ win over the Wizards on Wednesday night. Over the last 55 years, the only other players to record at least 13 assists in a game while playing fewer than 21 minutes are Jon Sundvold (13 assists in 20 minutes on February 19, 1984) and Russell Westbrook (14 assists in 20 minutes on March 4, 2014).

Kings rookie shines off the bench

Skal Labissiere registered 32 points and 11 rebounds in 30 minutes off the bench leading the Kings to a win over the Suns in Phoenix. Labissiere is the first rookie to produce at least 30 points and 10 rebounds off the bench in a regulation win in over 35 years, since New Jersey’s Mike Gminski had 31 points and 20 rebounds in a Nets victory over the Hawks on November 8, 1980.

Whiteside is putting up impressive numbers

Hassan Whiteside scored 20 points and hauled down 17 rebounds in Miami’s win over the Pelicans on Wednesday night. That marked the 17th time that Whiteside, who was selected in the second round of the 2010 draft, registered at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in a game this season. Those are the most such games in a single season by a player that was not a first-round draft pick in 31 years, since Bill Laimbeer had 18 games with 20 or more points and at least 15 rebounds for Detroit in 1985-86. Laimbeer was a third-round pick by the Cavaliers in the 1979 NBA draft.

George’s strong second half leads Pacers to win

Paul George scored 27 of his game-high 39 points in the second half in the Pacers’ win over the Hornets on Wednesday night. That ties George’s high point total in a single half in his career. George scored 27 points in the second half four other times in his career: December 2, 2013 vs. Portland, November 29, 2015 vs. the Lakers, January 2, 2016 vs. Detroit and March 19, 2016 vs. Oklahoma City.

500 free throws and 200 threes for Isaiah

Isaiah Thomas was 7-for-7 from the free-throw line in his 27-point performance in Boston’s win over Minnesota. Thomas has now made 501 free throws to go along with his 207 three-point field goals this season. Since the NBA instituted the three-point line in 1979-80, only three other players have made at least 200 shots from beyond the arc and 500 or more free throws in the same season. James Harden has done it three times (2014-15, 2015-16 and this season), Gilbert Arenas did it twice (2004-05 and 2006-07) and Paul Pierce (2001-02).

Gasol and Conley team up to beat Bulls

Marc Gasol and Mike Conley shared the scoring lead with each player registering 27 points in the Grizzlies’ win over the Bulls on Wednesday. It marked the fourth time this season, all Memphis wins, in which Gasol and Conley each scored 25 or more points in the same game. Prior to the 2016-17 season, Memphis’ two stars had both scored at least 25 points in the same game only once in the 536 games they played together.

Jazz stifle Pistons in the first half

The Jazz outscored the Pistons 54-35 in the first half and coasted to a 97-83 victory in Detroit on Wednesday. It’s the fifth time Utah has held its opponents to 35 or fewer points in the first half this season. That’s tied with the Clippers for the most such games in the NBA.

Simmonds scores his 200th goal

Wayne Simmonds scored the 200th goal of his NHL career in the Flyers’ 4–0 win versus the Penguins. Simmonds, a second-round pick by the Kings in the 2007 Entry Draft (61st overall), is the fourth player from his draft class to score 200 or more goals in the NHL. The others are Patrick Kane (the #1 pick that year, 282 goals), Jamie Benn (216) and Max Pacioretty (207). Simmonds is also known for his willingness to “drop the gloves,” having racked up 51 fighting majors during his career. The only other active NHL players who’ve scored at least 200 goals and earned at least 50 fighting majors are Jarome Iginla (621 goals, 69 fights) and Scott Hartnell (314 goals, 64 fights).

Marchand’s league-leading 36th goal helps Bruins snap Calgary’s streak

Brad Marchand scored his league-leading 36th goal of the season in the Bruins’ 5–2 victory at Calgary which snapped the Flames’ 10-game winning streak. Marchand scored 17 goals in his first 50 games this season but he’s tallied 19 goals in 20 games since then. That’s the most goals any player has scored for the Bruins over a 20-game span within one season since 1994, when Cam Neely racked up 20 goals in 20 games from January 19 through March 14.