FloaterDaily Brief
Saturday, December 30, 1995Regular season · 12 games
← Dec 29CalendarJan 2 →

12 games, 3 went to overtime. Biggest comeback: CLE trailed POR by 7 after the first quarter and won 124–121.

Final · Box score
Hawks93
Bulls95
Q1 CHI +3; Q2 CHI -5; Q3 CHI +12; Q4 CHI +2
Final · 2OT · Box score
Blazers121
Cavs124
Q1 CLE -7; Q2 CLE -5; Q3 CLE +3; Q4 Cavs 0; OT1 Cavs 0; OT2 CLE +3
Final · Box score
Rockets105
Mavs102
Q1 HOU +4; Q2 HOU +11; Q3 HOU +14; Q4 HOU +3
Final · Box score
Sixers100
Nuggets108
Q1 DEN +9; Q2 DEN +3; Q3 DEN -6; Q4 DEN +8
Final · OT · Box score
Hornets100
Pistons102
Q1 Pistons 0; Q2 Pistons 0; Q3 DET -4; Q4 Pistons 0; OT1 DET +2
Final · Box score
Clippers96
Heat105
Q1 MIA +3; Q2 MIA +10; Q3 MIA +14; Q4 MIA +9
Final · Box score
Bullets96
Bucks87
Q1 WSB -1; Q2 WSB -2; Q3 WSB +3; Q4 WSB +9
Final · Box score
Warriors120
Nets110
Q1 GSW +9; Q2 GSW +10; Q3 GSW +11; Q4 GSW +10
Final · OT · Box score
Sonics123
Suns112
Q1 SEA +11; Q2 SEA +7; Q3 SEA +6; Q4 Sonics 0; OT1 SEA +11
Final · Box score
Wolves84
Spurs122
Q1 SAS +4; Q2 SAS +4; Q3 SAS +16; Q4 SAS +38
Final · Box score
Lakers82
Jazz99
Q1 UTA +5; Q2 UTA +4; Q3 UTA +16; Q4 UTA +17
Final · Box score
Celtics95
Grizzlies103
Q1 VAN +6; Q2 VAN +8; Q3 VAN +4; Q4 VAN +8
The lead · Blazers-Cavs

Bobby Phills scores 43 as Cleveland beats Portland

Hakeem Olajuwon goes for 35 points

Game flow · CLE margin at each break
-15-10-50+5+10+15OVERTIMETipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3End reg.End OT1Final0-7-5+300+3CLE AHEAD ↑POR AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4OT1OT2T
Blazers30222127147121
Cavs232429241410124
Who led
Bobby PhillsPoints, last 10 games: 32, 11, 21, 14, 18, 13, 24, 12, 28, 43CLE43 PTS · 7 REB · 3 AST
Terrell BrandonPoints, last 10 games: 18, 14, 23, 19, 20, 32, 14, 21, 21, 24CLE24 PTS · 5 REB · 12 AST
Rod StricklandPoints, last 10 games: 21, 29, 18, 15, 30, 19, 27, 15, 16, 22POR22 PTS · 3 REB · 6 AST
Clifford RobinsonPoints, last 10 games: 28, 19, 24, 25, 9, 19, 26, 30, 26, 20POR20 PTS · 9 REB · 7 AST
Second story · the whole slate

Four close finishes and one Spurs rout

Four of 12 games were decided by four points or fewer. San Antonio beat Minnesota by 38.

CHI over ATL2DET over CHH2CLE over POR3HOU over DAL3DEN over PHI8VAN over BOS8MIA over LAC9WSB over MIL9GSW over NJN10SEA over PHX11UTA over LAL17SAS over MIN38Final margin, points. Pink = decided by 4 or fewer, plus the widest win.
The night in charts
Blazers-Cavs combined for 245, 10 more than any other game
Points by game
Blazers-CavsBlazers 121, Cavs 124
245
Sonics-SunsSonics 123, Suns 112
235
Warriors-NetsWarriors 120, Nets 110
230
Sixers-NuggetsSixers 100, Nuggets 108
208
Rockets-MavsRockets 105, Mavs 102
207
Wolves-SpursWolves 84, Spurs 122
206
Hornets-PistonsHornets 100, Pistons 102
202
Clippers-HeatClippers 96, Heat 105
201
Celtics-GrizzliesCeltics 95, Grizzlies 103
198
Hawks-BullsHawks 93, Bulls 95
188
Bullets-BucksBullets 96, Bucks 87
183
Lakers-JazzLakers 82, Jazz 99
181
4 of 12 games were decided by 5 or fewer
Closest finishes
Hornets-PistonsHornets 100, Pistons 102
+2 DET
Hawks-BullsHawks 93, Bulls 95
+2 CHI
Blazers-CavsBlazers 121, Cavs 124
+3 CLE
Rockets-MavsRockets 105, Mavs 102
+3 HOU
Sixers-NuggetsSixers 100, Nuggets 108
+8 DEN
Celtics-GrizzliesCeltics 95, Grizzlies 103
+8 VAN
Bullets-BucksBullets 96, Bucks 87
+9 WSB
Clippers-HeatClippers 96, Heat 105
+9 MIA
Warriors-NetsWarriors 120, Nets 110
+10 GSW
Sonics-SunsSonics 123, Suns 112
+11 SEA
Lakers-JazzLakers 82, Jazz 99
+17 UTA
Wolves-SpursWolves 84, Spurs 122
+38 SAS
CLE rallied from 7 down, the night's biggest comeback
Biggest comebacks, at quarter breaks
Blazers-CavsCLE won · Blazers 121, Cavs 124
7 pts
Sixers-NuggetsDEN won · Sixers 100, Nuggets 108
6 pts
Hawks-BullsCHI won · Hawks 93, Bulls 95
5 pts
Hornets-PistonsDET won · Hornets 100, Pistons 102
4 pts
Bullets-BucksWSB won · Bullets 96, Bucks 87
2 pts
Owens shot 15-of-18 for the night's hottest hand
Hottest shooting · min 10 FGA
OwensMIA · 34 PTS, 10 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL
83% (15-18)
CageCLE · 16 PTS, 10 REB, 1 AST, 1 BLK
80% (8-10)
MullinGSW · 25 PTS, 1 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK
75% (9-12)
HornacekUTA · 19 PTS, 6 AST, 3 REB, 3 STL
73% (8-11)
ElliottSAS · 33 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL
71% (12-17)
Final · Hornets-Pistons
Hornets 100Pistons 102
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4OTT
Hornets2523192211100
Pistons2523152613102
The story
Grant Hill's 28 points and 12 rebounds carried Detroit past Charlotte, 102-100 in OT

For Charlotte, Kendall Gill had 20 PTS, 8 REB, 7 AST 28 PTS, 12 REB, 6 AST · 9-15 FG

The swing

The Pistons trailed by 4 going into the fourth, then won it 26-22.

DET lead by quarter
200 00−40+2 Q1Q2Q3Q4OT
Fantasy angle

Larry Johnson was the fantasy play: 58.5 FPTS on 38 PTS, 10 REB, 4 AST

Final · Blazers-Cavs
Blazers 121Cavs 124
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4OT1OT2T
Blazers30222127147121
Cavs232429241410124
The story
Terrell Brandon had 24 points and 12 assists as Cleveland beat Portland 124-121 in OT

Clifford Robinson led Portland with 20 PTS, 9 REB, 7 AST 24 PTS, 12 AST, 5 REB · 7-12 FG, 3-6 3PT

The swing

Down 5 after the second, the Cavaliers took the third 29-21.

CLE lead by quarter
200 −7−5+300+3 Q1Q2Q3Q4OT1OT2
Final · Rockets-Mavs
Rockets 105Mavs 102
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Rockets27262032105
Mavs23191743102
The story
Houston beat Dallas 105-102 behind 23 points from Sam Cassell

George McCloud paced Dallas: 22 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST 23 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST · 8-16 FG, 1-3 3PT

The swing

A 26-19 second quarter did the most damage for the Rockets.

HOU lead by quarter
200 +4+11+14+3 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle
Heating up
+8.4points, last 5 vs season avg
Points per game
15.6Season avg24.0Last 5

24.0 points a game over his last five games, against 15.6 in 26 earlier games. Today: 43 points in 49 minutes.

Losing minutes
−14.6minutes, last 2 vs 1994–95 avg
Minutes per game
32.61994–95 avg18.0Last 2

18.0 minutes a game over his last two games, against 32.6 in 1994–95 (45 games). Today: 5 points in 15 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+21.4minutes, today vs season avg
Minutes per game
23.6Season avg45Today

45 minutes today, against 23.6 a game in 25 earlier games. Line: 25 points, 2 rebounds, 10 assists.

Top performances

Bobby Phills leads the day with 43

Bobby PhillsPoints, last 10 games: 32, 11, 21, 14, 18, 13, 24, 12, 28, 43Cavs-Blazers · W
16.6 PPG season to date · +27.4 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Season high43 PTS · 7 REB · 3 AST
Larry JohnsonPoints, last 10 games: 35, 6, 13, 20, 23, 24, 22, 20, 10, 38Hornets-Pistons · L
23.0 PPG season to date · +15.5 vs his regular-season average before tonight
38 PTS · 10 REB · 4 AST
Hakeem OlajuwonPoints, last 10 games: 31, 15, 37, 31, 30, 27, 30, 18, 22, 35Rockets-Mavs · W
24.4 PPG season to date · +11.0 vs his regular-season average before tonight
35 PTS · 11 REB · 6 AST
Hersey HawkinsPoints, last 10 games: 14, 24, 7, 8, 22, 8, 22, 24, 20, 35Sonics-Suns · W
15.4 PPG season to date · +20.3 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Season high35 PTS · 10 REB · 4 AST
Billy OwensPoints, last 10 games: 22, 18, 5, 20, 14, 19, 5, 31, 6, 34Heat-Clippers · W
17.6 PPG season to date · +17.4 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Season high34 PTS · 10 REB · 4 AST
Michael JordanPoints, last 10 games: 36, 22, 20, 37, 32, 27, 30, 30, 29, 33Bulls-Hawks · W
30.0 PPG season to date · +3.1 vs his regular-season average before tonight
33 PTS · 7 REB · 6 AST
Hot and cold

Last 10 games against the season so far

Hot
George McCloudDAL+6.4 21.4 last 10 · 15.0 season
Bryant ReevesVAN+5.6 15.0 last 10 · 9.4 season
Bobby PhillsCLE+5.0 21.6 last 10 · 16.6 season
Don MacLeanDEN+4.7 16.7 last 10 · 12.0 season
Scottie PippenCHI+4.5 26.7 last 10 · 22.2 season
Cold
Reggie MillerIND−4.9 15.9 last 10 · 20.8 season
Tim HardawayGSW−4.7 11.7 last 10 · 16.4 season
Richard DumasPHI−4.0 4.1 last 10 · 8.1 season
Wesley PersonPHX−3.9 9.7 last 10 · 13.6 season
Joe DumarsDET−3.7 9.5 last 10 · 13.2 season