LeBron James highlighted an entertaining week of NBA action by reaching another impressive career milestone. Top performers and MVP candidates Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered more mind-blowing statlines, while CJ McCollum and Anthony Edwards both reached the 50-point mark. Finally, there were a few notable injuries, including two that call for extended absences. In this article, we will discuss all of the above, and more!
Historic Achievements
On Friday, LeBron James reached the 30-point mark in regular-season play for the 563rd time in his career, passing Michael Jordan for most 30-point games all time. It took James 1,523 games and 22 seasons to pass Jordan, who set the record in 1,072 games over 15 seasons.
On Monday, Russell Westbrook joined Nikola Jokic and Domantas Sabonis to become the third player to ever record a "perfect triple-double". He finished with 16 points on 7-for-7 shooting and 2-for-2 from the foul line, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and zero turnovers in a win over the Jazz.
On Thursday, Stephen Curry shot 8-for-8 from long range for the first time in his career, topping his previous high of six threes without a miss. Totaling 30 points, six rebounds and 10 assists in the win over the 76ers, Curry also became the first player to ever score 30 points with at least eight made threes without a miss and 10 assists in a game.
Injuries...and Jimmy Butler
On Wednesday, Jaden Ivey broke his fibula on a collision with Cole Anthony and is
LeBron James highlighted an entertaining week of NBA action by reaching another impressive career milestone. Top performers and MVP candidates Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered more mind-blowing statlines, while CJ McCollum and Anthony Edwards both reached the 50-point mark. Finally, there were a few notable injuries, including two that call for extended absences. In this article, we will discuss all of the above, and more!
Historic Achievements
On Friday, LeBron James reached the 30-point mark in regular-season play for the 563rd time in his career, passing Michael Jordan for most 30-point games all time. It took James 1,523 games and 22 seasons to pass Jordan, who set the record in 1,072 games over 15 seasons.
On Monday, Russell Westbrook joined Nikola Jokic and Domantas Sabonis to become the third player to ever record a "perfect triple-double". He finished with 16 points on 7-for-7 shooting and 2-for-2 from the foul line, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and zero turnovers in a win over the Jazz.
On Thursday, Stephen Curry shot 8-for-8 from long range for the first time in his career, topping his previous high of six threes without a miss. Totaling 30 points, six rebounds and 10 assists in the win over the 76ers, Curry also became the first player to ever score 30 points with at least eight made threes without a miss and 10 assists in a game.
Injuries...and Jimmy Butler
On Wednesday, Jaden Ivey broke his fibula on a collision with Cole Anthony and is expected to remain out until at least March. Marcus Sasser, Malik Beasley and Ron Holland should each see additional playing time in Ivey's absence.
Cameron Johnson suffered a sprained ankle on Thursday and is expected to remain out until Friday. Cam Thomas is also out for at least two weeks following a hamstring injury. Ziaire Williams, Keon Johnson, Noah Clowney and Jalen Wilson could all see added opportunity.
Jabari Smith suffered a broken hand during shootaround on Friday and is expected to be out until late-February. Amen Thompson, Cam Whitmore and Tari Eason (when he returns to the lineup) should all pick up more minutes during Smith's absence.
Jimmy Butler received a seven-game suspension from the Heat due to "conduct detrimental to the team". The suspension came as a result of comments that he made after a loss on Thursday, which implied that he was no longer enjoying his time with the team. Meanwhile, there have been rumors swirling over the last coupe of weeks regarding a potential trade involving the disgruntled star.
Stand-Out Performers
Karl-Anthony Towns continues to put up monstrous numbers and averaged 31.0 points, 18.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals over four games last week, including 44 points, 16 rebounds and five assists in his most recent outing. The big man remains on pace for one of the best seasons of his career, as he is thriving with his new squad.
After recording three consecutive double-doubles in the previous week, Trae Young kept up the strong play by averaging 27.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, 10.7 assists and 1.3 steals over three games last week. He looks to be finding his groove, as he hit 39.3 percent from long range last week, which is a significant improvement over his season average of 34.1 percent.
Deni Avdija averaged 19.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals over four consecutive starts, including three games last week. He also registered back-to-back double-doubles for the first time this season. Avdija should be up for at least one more start on Monday, but he may be back in a bench role by Wednesday if Jerami Grant (face) is able to make his return to the lineup.
After failing to score in double digits in five of his previous six appearances, Tobias Harris turned in a solid week, averaging 19.0 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steals over three games, including a 24-point, 10-rebound outing in a win over the Hornets on Friday.
CJ McCollum racked up a season-high 50 points on 18-for-27 shooting to lead the Pelicans in a win over the Wizards on Friday. He has been playing well all season and was on a streak of five consecutive games with at least 30 points until he finished with 25 in a win over the Wizards on Sunday.
Anthony Edwards got out to a modest start to the week but produced a career-high 53 points on 16-for-31 shooting against the Pistons in his most recent outing. Unfortunately, his stellar effort was not enough, as the Timberwolves fell short for a third straight game.
Coby White is playing some of his best basketball of the season, averaging 24.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists over the last three games and scoring over 20 points in four of the last five games. He also topped 30 points for the second time this season, as he totaled 33 points on 11-for-17 shooting in his most recent outing.
Josh Hart continues to amass numbers across the board at an astounding rate. He averaged 14.8 points, 13.0 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 1.3 steals over four games last week, including back-to-back triple-doubles on Monday and Wednesday.
Nikola Jokic tallied back-to-back triple-doubles and then topped 40 points in each of the next two games while averaging 36.5 points, 16.5 rebounds, 11.3 assists and 2.0 steals across four outings last week. With numbers like those, the three-time MVP is making a strong case to win the award for a fourth time.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander might be the biggest threat to Jokic snagging another MVP. The Thunder guard averaged 33.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 2.0 steals over four games last week, helping his squad push their way to 15 straight wins. Gilgeous-Alexander is on pace to shoot better than 50 percent from the field for a third straight season and fourth time in his career.
Jaren Jackson opened the week with a 38-point effort, which marked his second-highest scoring display of the season. The seventh-year big man followed up with two more solid performances and averaged 29.7 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks over three games on the week.
Brice Sensabaugh was quiet in his first two games of the week but racked up a career-high 34 points on 12-for-18 shooting, including 7-for-11 from deep, in a win over the Heat on Saturday. He then followed up with another brilliant performance, as he turned in 27 points on 11-for-19 shooting, including 5-for-6 from deep, in a win over the Magic on Sunday.
