FloaterDaily Brief
Monday, December 23, 1996Regular season · 9 games
← Dec 22CalendarDec 25 →

9 games, 1 went to overtime. Biggest comeback: CHI trailed NJN by 14 after the first quarter and won 113–81.

Final · Box score
Nets81
Bulls113
Q1 CHI -14; Q2 CHI +10; Q3 CHI +21; Q4 CHI +32
Final · Box score
Bucks81
Rockets76
Q1 MIL +5; Q2 MIL +7; Q3 MIL +8; Q4 MIL +5
Final · Box score
Jazz98
Wolves107
Q1 MIN -2; Q2 MIN +3; Q3 MIN +6; Q4 MIN +9
Final · Box score
Hawks76
Knicks82
Q1 NYK -2; Q2 NYK +4; Q3 NYK +3; Q4 NYK +6
Final · Box score
Cavs84
Magic89
Q1 ORL +7; Q2 ORL +4; Q3 ORL +4; Q4 ORL +5
Final · OT · Box score
Nuggets112
Suns109
Q1 DEN -5; Q2 DEN -5; Q3 Nuggets 0; Q4 Nuggets 0; OT1 DEN +3
Final · Box score
Bullets106
Blazers84
Q1 WSB -2; Q2 WSB +11; Q3 WSB +23; Q4 WSB +22
Final · Box score
Clippers88
Kings100
Q1 SAC +13; Q2 SAC +22; Q3 SAC +17; Q4 SAC +12
Final · Box score
Heat90
Spurs79
Q1 MIA +10; Q2 MIA +10; Q3 MIA +8; Q4 MIA +11
On this day · 1995–96Dec 23, 1995: 12 games. Top scorer: Patrick Ewing (Knicks-Raptors), 40 points.
Dec 23 in other seasons202520242023202220212020201920182017201620152014201320122010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991997
The lead · Nets-Bulls

Chicago climbs back to beat New Jersey

Hakeem Olajuwon goes for 37 points

Game flow · CHI margin at each break
-40-30-20-100+10+20+30+40TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0-14+10+21+32CHI AHEAD ↑NJN AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
Nets3213211581
Bulls18373226113
Who led
Michael JordanPoints, last 10 games: 20, 37, 13, 27, 32, 29, 30, 35, 31, 24CHI24 PTS · 3 REB · 4 AST
Scottie PippenPoints, last 10 games: 25, 14, 28, 26, 24, 10, 35, 19, 22, 20CHI20 PTS · 4 REB · 4 AST
Kendall GillPoints, last 10 games: 16, 14, 24, 11, 21, 16, 16, 11, 24, 19NJN19 PTS · 4 REB · 2 AST
Kerry KittlesPoints, last 10 games: 30, 11, 20, 20, 12, 27, 20, 28, 6, 19NJN19 PTS · 4 REB · 2 AST
Second story · the whole slate

Chicago posts the night's biggest win

Chicago beat New Jersey by 32, the widest margin of 9 games.

DEN over PHX3MIL over HOU5ORL over CLE5NYK over ATL6MIN over UTA9MIA over SAS11SAC over LAC12WSB over POR22CHI over NJN32Final margin, points. Pink = the widest win.
The night in charts
Nuggets-Suns combined for 221, 16 more than any other game
Points by game
Nuggets-SunsNuggets 112, Suns 109
221
Jazz-WolvesJazz 98, Wolves 107
205
Nets-BullsNets 81, Bulls 113
194
Bullets-BlazersBullets 106, Blazers 84
190
Clippers-KingsClippers 88, Kings 100
188
Cavs-MagicCavs 84, Magic 89
173
Heat-SpursHeat 90, Spurs 79
169
Hawks-KnicksHawks 76, Knicks 82
158
Bucks-RocketsBucks 81, Rockets 76
157
3 of 9 games were decided by 5 or fewer
Closest finishes
Nuggets-SunsNuggets 112, Suns 109
+3 DEN
Cavs-MagicCavs 84, Magic 89
+5 ORL
Bucks-RocketsBucks 81, Rockets 76
+5 MIL
Hawks-KnicksHawks 76, Knicks 82
+6 NYK
Jazz-WolvesJazz 98, Wolves 107
+9 MIN
Heat-SpursHeat 90, Spurs 79
+11 MIA
Clippers-KingsClippers 88, Kings 100
+12 SAC
Bullets-BlazersBullets 106, Blazers 84
+22 WSB
Nets-BullsNets 81, Bulls 113
+32 CHI
CHI erased a 14-point hole
Biggest comebacks, at quarter breaks
Nets-BullsCHI won · Nets 81, Bulls 113
14 pts
Nuggets-SunsDEN won · Nuggets 112, Suns 109
5 pts
Hawks-KnicksNYK won · Hawks 76, Knicks 82
2 pts
Jazz-WolvesMIN won · Jazz 98, Wolves 107
2 pts
Bullets-BlazersWSB won · Bullets 106, Blazers 84
2 pts
Douglas shot 9-of-12 for the night's hottest hand
Hottest shooting · min 10 FGA
DouglasMIL · 19 PTS, 3 AST, 1 REB
75% (9-12)
Horace GrantORL · 20 PTS, 12 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL
67% (8-12)
HowardWSB · 27 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL
65% (13-20)
MarburyMIN · 33 PTS, 8 AST, 3 REB, 1 STL
65% (11-17)
RogersLAC · 20 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST, 3 BLK
64% (9-14)
Final · Nuggets-Suns
Nuggets 112Suns 109
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4OTT
Nuggets2124242023112
Suns2624192020109
The story
Bryant Stith had 36 points as Denver beat Phoenix 112-109 in OT

Kevin Johnson led Phoenix with 13 PTS, 11 AST, 8 REB 36 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST · 12-21 FG, 8-12 3PT

The swing

Down 5 after the second, the Nuggets took the third 24-19.

DEN lead by quarter
200 −5−500+3 Q1Q2Q3Q4OT
Fantasy angle

Mark Jackson led the game in fantasy with 56.1 FPTS (17 AST, 14 PTS, 8 REB)

Final · Cavs-Magic
Cavs 84Magic 89
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Cavs2120222184
Magic2817222289
The story
Rony Seikaly's 33 points and 10 rebounds carried Orlando past Cleveland, 89-84

For Cleveland, Terrell Brandon had 20 PTS, 5 AST, 3 REB 33 PTS, 10 REB, 1 AST · 16-26 FG, 0-1 3PT

The swing

The first quarter, 28-21, was where the Magic built it.

ORL lead by quarter
200 +7+4+4+5 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Bucks-Rockets
Bucks 81Rockets 76
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Bucks2220241581
Rockets1718231876
The story
Milwaukee beat Houston 81-76 behind 17 points and 16 rebounds from Vin Baker

Glenn Robinson backed him with 15 PTS, 6 AST, 4 REB 17 PTS, 16 REB, 2 AST · 8-16 FG

The swing

A 22-17 first quarter did the most damage for the Bucks.

MIL lead by quarter
200 +5+7+8+5 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle
Heating up
+9.8points, last 5 vs season avg
Points per game
14.6Season avg24.4Last 5

24.4 points a game over his last five games, against 14.6 in 21 earlier games. Today: 33 points in 41 minutes.

Losing minutes
−14.0minutes, last 3 vs season avg
Minutes per game
29.0Season avg15.0Last 3

15.0 minutes a game over his last three games, against 29.0 in 25 earlier games. Today: 2 points in 6 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+18.1minutes, today vs season avg
Minutes per game
23.9Season avg42Today

42 minutes today, against 23.9 a game in 19 earlier games. Line: 4 points, 10 rebounds, 0 assists.

Top performances

Hakeem Olajuwon leads the day with 37

Hakeem OlajuwonPoints, last 10 games: 16, 13, 29, 21, 9, 26, 23, 9, 20, 37Rockets-Bucks · L
23.4 PPG season to date · +14.2 vs his regular-season average before tonight
37 PTS · 15 REB · 3 AST
Bryant StithPoints, last 10 games: 2, 37, 11, 10, 20, 18, 13, 13, 29, 36Nuggets-Suns · W
15.7 PPG season to date · +21.0 vs his regular-season average before tonight
36 PTS · 4 REB · 4 AST
Rony SeikalyPoints, last 10 games: 9, 16, 14, 17, 25, 23, 23, 30, 13, 33Magic-Cavs · W
15.4 PPG season to date · +18.4 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Season high33 PTS · 10 REB · 1 AST
Stephon MarburyPoints, last 10 games: 15, 16, 18, 7, 21, 14, 14, 18, 17, 33Wolves-Jazz · W
15.3 PPG season to date · +18.6 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Career high33 PTS · 3 REB · 8 AST
Alonzo MourningPoints, last 10 games: 10, 10, 20, 14, 20, 26, 25, 13, 18, 32Heat-Spurs · W
19.3 PPG season to date · +13.2 vs his regular-season average before tonight
32 PTS · 9 REB · 1 AST
Juwan HowardPoints, last 10 games: 12, 4, 25, 22, 22, 21, 16, 25, 17, 27Bullets-Blazers · W
17.7 PPG season to date · +9.7 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Season high27 PTS · 4 REB · 3 AST
Hot and cold

Last 10 games against the season so far

Hot
Anthony PeelerVAN+5.5 18.8 last 10 · 13.3 season
Rony SeikalyORL+4.9 20.3 last 10 · 15.4 season
Kerry KittlesNJN+4.3 19.3 last 10 · 15.0 season
George LynchVAN+4.2 12.3 last 10 · 8.1 season
Nick Van ExelLAL+3.8 19.1 last 10 · 15.3 season
Cold
Eddie JonesLAL−4.5 11.6 last 10 · 16.1 season
Armen GilliamMIL−4.1 5.9 last 10 · 10.0 season
Mark PriceGSW−3.2 9.0 last 10 · 12.2 season
Shawn KempSEA−3.1 18.9 last 10 · 22.0 season
Hakeem OlajuwonHOU−3.1 20.3 last 10 · 23.4 season