FloaterDaily Brief
Thursday, January 16, 1997Regular season · 6 games
← Jan 15CalendarJan 17 →

6 games, 1 went to overtime. Biggest comeback: 8 points, by UTA (vs PHX) and DEN (vs CLE).

Final · Box score
Magic67
Hawks78
Q1 ATL +5; Q2 ATL -1; Q3 ATL +7; Q4 ATL +11
Final · Box score
Heat102
Celtics94
Q1 MIA +16; Q2 MIA +8; Q3 MIA +14; Q4 MIA +8
Final · OT · Box score
Cavs87
Nuggets88
Q1 DEN -1; Q2 DEN -8; Q3 DEN -1; Q4 Nuggets 0; OT1 DEN +1
Final · Box score
Kings80
Rockets89
Q1 HOU -1; Q2 HOU -6; Q3 HOU +8; Q4 HOU +9
Final · Box score
Blazers102
Lakers98
Q1 POR +9; Q2 POR +16; Q3 POR +9; Q4 POR +4
Final · Box score
Suns91
Jazz95
Q1 UTA -8; Q2 UTA +4; Q3 UTA +9; Q4 UTA +4
On this day · 1995–96Jan 16, 1996: 5 games. Top scorer: Michael Jordan (Bulls-Sixers), 32 points.
Jan 16 in other seasons2026202520242023202220212020201920182017201620152014201320122011201020092008200720062005200420032002200120001998
The lead · Cavs-Nuggets

Denver needs overtime to survive Cleveland

Shaquille O'Neal goes for 33 points

Game flow · DEN margin at each break
-15-10-50+5+10+15OVERTIMETipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3End reg.Final0-1-8-10+1DEN AHEAD ↑CLE AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4OT1T
Cavs20272013787
Nuggets19202714888
Who led
LaPhonso EllisPoints, last 10 games: 21, 19, 30, 33, 23, 14, 28, 23, 33, 27DEN27 PTS · 5 REB · 1 AST
Bryant StithPoints, last 10 games: 13, 29, 36, 13, 7, 12, 11, 22, 10, 20DEN20 PTS · 5 REB · 2 AST
Vitaly PotapenkoPoints, last 10 games: 0, 2, 8, 9, 0, 4, 0, 0, 6, 16CLE16 PTS · 8 REB · 3 AST
Terrell BrandonPoints, last 10 games: 30, 16, 31, 14, 32, 26, 26, 19, 21, 15CLE15 PTS · 6 REB · 2 AST
The night in charts
Blazers-Lakers combined for 200, 4 more than any other game
Points by game
Blazers-LakersBlazers 102, Lakers 98
200
Heat-CelticsHeat 102, Celtics 94
196
Suns-JazzSuns 91, Jazz 95
186
Cavs-NuggetsCavs 87, Nuggets 88
175
Kings-RocketsKings 80, Rockets 89
169
Magic-HawksMagic 67, Hawks 78
145
3 of 6 games were decided by 5 or fewer
Closest finishes
Cavs-NuggetsCavs 87, Nuggets 88
+1 DEN
Suns-JazzSuns 91, Jazz 95
+4 UTA
Blazers-LakersBlazers 102, Lakers 98
+4 POR
Heat-CelticsHeat 102, Celtics 94
+8 MIA
Kings-RocketsKings 80, Rockets 89
+9 HOU
Magic-HawksMagic 67, Hawks 78
+11 ATL
UTA rallied from 8 down, the night's biggest comeback
Biggest comebacks, at quarter breaks
Suns-JazzUTA won · Suns 91, Jazz 95
8 pts
Cavs-NuggetsDEN won · Cavs 87, Nuggets 88
8 pts
Kings-RocketsHOU won · Kings 80, Rockets 89
6 pts
Magic-HawksATL won · Magic 67, Hawks 78
1 pt
Hakeem shot 10-of-17 for the night's hottest hand
Hottest shooting · min 10 FGA
HakeemHOU · 26 PTS, 6 REB, 2 STL, 1 AST
59% (10-17)
PersonPHX · 20 PTS, 4 AST, 2 REB
58% (7-12)
RiderPOR · 30 PTS, 3 AST, 2 REB
58% (7-12)
Eddie JonesLAL · 23 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL
58% (7-12)
MaloneUTA · 28 PTS, 11 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL
57% (13-23)
Final · Cavs-Nuggets
Cavs 87Nuggets 88
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4OTT
Cavs20272013787
Nuggets19202714888
The story
LaPhonso Ellis had 27 points as Denver beat Cleveland 88-87 in OT

Vitaly Potapenko led Cleveland with 16 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST 27 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST · 12-24 FG, 2-8 3PT

The swing

Down 8 after the second, the Nuggets took the third 27-20.

DEN lead by quarter
200 −1−8−10+1 Q1Q2Q3Q4OT
Fantasy angle

Mark Jackson led the game in fantasy with 37.2 FPTS (13 AST, 7 PTS, 6 REB)

Final · Blazers-Lakers
Blazers 102Lakers 98
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Blazers34262121102
Lakers2519282698
The story
Isaiah Rider's 30 points carried Portland past Los Angeles, 102-98

For Los Angeles, Eddie Jones had 23 PTS, 2 REB 30 PTS, 3 AST, 2 REB · 7-12 FG, 1-1 3PT

The swing

The first quarter, 34-25, was where the Trail Blazers built it.

POR lead by quarter
200 +9+16+9+4 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Suns-Jazz
Suns 91Jazz 95
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Suns2817232391
Jazz2029281895
The story
Utah beat Phoenix 95-91 behind 28 points and 11 rebounds from Karl Malone

Cedric Ceballos paced Phoenix: 16 PTS, 12 REB 28 PTS, 11 REB, 3 AST · 13-23 FG

The swing

A 29-17 second quarter erased a 8-point hole for the Jazz.

UTA lead by quarter
200 −8+4+9+4 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle

Kevin Johnson topped the game at 47.7 FPTS: 21 PTS, 12 AST, 6 REB

Fantasy angle
Heating up
+7.4points, last 5 vs season avg
Points per game
11.8Season avg19.2Last 5

19.2 points a game over his last five games, against 11.8 in 37 earlier games. Today: 20 points in 38 minutes.

Losing minutes
−17.1minutes, last 2 vs 1995–96 avg
Minutes per game
27.11995–96 avg10.0Last 2

10.0 minutes a game over his last two games, against 27.1 in 1995–96 (76 games). Today: 3 points in 9 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+28.4minutes, today vs season avg
Minutes per game
9.6Season avg38Today

38 minutes today, against 9.6 a game in 24 earlier games. Line: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assists.

Second story · Suns-Jazz

Utah turns it around against Phoenix

From 8 down after one to a 4-point win: 95–91. Karl Malone led Utah with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists.

Top-scorer duel · Jazz-Suns
Karl Malone · UTAKevin Johnson · PHXPTS2821REB116AST312Top scorer on each side. Bars scale within each stat. Pink = the winning side.
Top performances

Shaquille O'Neal leads the day with 33

Shaquille O'NealPoints, last 10 games: 26, 25, 28, 25, 31, 34, 23, 34, 24, 33Lakers-Blazers · L
26.7 PPG season to date · +6.5 vs his regular-season average before tonight
33 PTS · 13 REB · 7 AST
Isaiah RiderPoints, last 10 games: 4, 19, 20, 19, 31, 19, 17, 17, 22, 30Blazers-Lakers · W
15.4 PPG season to date · +15.1 vs his regular-season average before tonight
30 PTS · 2 REB · 3 AST
Karl MalonePoints, last 10 games: 29, 22, 26, 28, 27, 38, 24, 19, 28, 28Jazz-Suns · W
25.7 PPG season to date · +2.4 vs his regular-season average before tonight
28 PTS · 11 REB · 3 AST
LaPhonso EllisPoints, last 10 games: 21, 19, 30, 33, 23, 14, 28, 23, 33, 27Nuggets-Cavs · W
20.3 PPG season to date · +7.1 vs his regular-season average before tonight
27 PTS · 5 REB · 1 AST
Hakeem OlajuwonPoints, last 10 games: 31, 24, 21, 25, 22, 22, 26, 29, 15, 26Rockets-Kings · W
23.8 PPG season to date · +2.3 vs his regular-season average before tonight
26 PTS · 6 REB · 1 AST
Mitch RichmondPoints, last 10 games: 27, 40, 32, 33, 24, 19, 32, 17, 37, 23Kings-Rockets · L
24.5 PPG season to date · −1.5 vs his regular-season average before tonight
23 PTS · 7 REB · 4 AST
Hot and cold

Last 10 games against the season so far

Hot
Glen RiceCHH+6.7 29.6 last 10 · 22.9 season
Arvydas SabonisPOR+6.1 19.8 last 10 · 13.7 season
Kevin JohnsonPHX+5.8 23.3 last 10 · 17.5 season
Joe SmithGSW+5.8 26.0 last 10 · 20.2 season
Shareef Abdur-RahimVAN+5.2 21.4 last 10 · 16.2 season
Cold
Joe DumarsDET−4.9 9.6 last 10 · 14.5 season
Malik SealyLAC−3.5 9.2 last 10 · 12.7 season
Darrell ArmstrongORL−3.4 4.6 last 10 · 8.0 season
Johnny NewmanMIL−3.3 5.0 last 10 · 8.3 season
Gerald WilkinsORL−3.2 9.4 last 10 · 12.6 season