FloaterDaily Brief
Thursday, December 18, 1997Regular season · 4 games
← Dec 17CalendarDec 19 →

4 games, none went to overtime. Biggest comeback: PHX trailed DAL by 6 after the first quarter and won 89–75.

Final · Box score
Suns89
Mavs75
Q1 PHX -6; Q2 PHX +8; Q3 PHX +17; Q4 PHX +14
Final · Box score
Warriors78
Clippers82
Q1 LAC +20; Q2 LAC +4; Q3 LAC +8; Q4 LAC +4
Final · Box score
Jazz85
Magic73
Q1 UTA -2; Q2 UTA -2; Q3 UTA +6; Q4 UTA +12
Final · Box score
Nuggets106
Sonics119
Q1 SEA +8; Q2 SEA +10; Q3 SEA +20; Q4 SEA +13
On this day · 1996–97Dec 18, 1996: 8 games. Top scorer: Glenn Robinson (Bucks-Lakers), 42 points.
Dec 18 in other seasons2025202320222021201920182017201620152014201320122010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991995
The lead · Suns-Mavs

Phoenix gets past Dallas

Samaki Walker goes for 16 rebounds

Game flow · PHX margin at each break
-25-15-5+5+15+25TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0-6+8+17+14PHX AHEAD ↑DAL AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
Suns1226321989
Mavs1812232275
Who led
Clifford RobinsonPoints, last 10 games: 12, 3, 17, 4, 12, 13, 4, 4, 12, 17PHX17 PTS · 7 REB · 2 AST
Antonio McDyessPoints, last 10 games: 13, 8, 19, 5, 20, 14, 8, 23, 21, 14PHX14 PTS · 14 REB · 1 AST
Robert PackPoints, last 2 games: 7, 23DAL23 PTS · 5 REB · 3 AST
Michael FinleyPoints, last 10 games: 35, 18, 27, 35, 17, 20, 21, 18, 26, 18DAL18 PTS · 5 REB · 4 AST
Second story · Jazz-Magic

Utah takes care of Orlando

A 12-point win, 85–73. Karl Malone led Utah with 30 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

The whole night · final margins
LAC over GSW4UTA over ORL12SEA over DEN13PHX over DAL14Final margin, points. Pink = UTA over ORL.
The night in charts
Nuggets-Sonics combined for 225, 61 more than any other game
Points by game
Nuggets-SonicsNuggets 106, Sonics 119
225
Suns-MavsSuns 89, Mavs 75
164
Warriors-ClippersWarriors 78, Clippers 82
160
Jazz-MagicJazz 85, Magic 73
158
LAC won the closest game by 4
Closest finishes
Warriors-ClippersWarriors 78, Clippers 82
+4 LAC
Jazz-MagicJazz 85, Magic 73
+12 UTA
Nuggets-SonicsNuggets 106, Sonics 119
+13 SEA
Suns-MavsSuns 89, Mavs 75
+14 PHX
PHX rallied from 6 down, the night's biggest comeback
Biggest comebacks, at quarter breaks
Suns-MavsPHX won · Suns 89, Mavs 75
6 pts
Jazz-MagicUTA won · Jazz 85, Magic 73
2 pts
Baker shot 9-of-14 for the night's hottest hand
Hottest shooting · min 10 FGA
BakerSEA · 18 PTS, 10 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL
64% (9-14)
EllisSEA · 15 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL
60% (6-10)
PackDAL · 23 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL
59% (10-17)
WashingtonDEN · 18 PTS, 4 REB, 1 STL
58% (7-12)
ManningPHX · 13 PTS, 8 REB, 2 STL, 1 AST
55% (6-11)
Final · Warriors-Clippers
Warriors 78Clippers 82
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Warriors1326162378
Clippers3310201982
The story
Brent Barry had 23 points as Los Angeles beat Golden State 82-78

Joe Smith led Golden State with 19 PTS, 12 REB 23 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST, 3 STL · 9-17 FG, 4-6 3PT

The swing

The Clippers won the first 33-13, their biggest quarter edge.

LAC lead by quarter
200 +20+4+8+4 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle

Lorenzen Wright led the game in fantasy with 48.4 FPTS (17 REB, 13 PTS)

Final · Jazz-Magic
Jazz 85Magic 73
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Jazz1819291985
Magic2019211373
The story
Utah beat Orlando 85-73 behind 10 rebounds and 6 points from Greg Ostertag

Darrell Armstrong paced Orlando: 14 PTS, 4 AST, 3 REB 10 REB, 6 PTS, 3 BLK · 3-8 FG

The swing

A 29-21 third quarter erased a 2-point hole for the Jazz.

UTA lead by quarter
200 −2−2+6+12 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Suns-Mavs
Suns 89Mavs 75
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Suns1226321989
Mavs1812232275
The story
Antonio McDyess' 14 points and 14 rebounds carried Phoenix past Dallas, 89-75

For Dallas, Michael Finley had 18 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST 14 PTS, 14 REB, 3 STL, 3 BLK, 1 AST · 7-16 FG

The swing

The Suns trailed by 6 going into the second, then won it 26-12.

PHX lead by quarter
200 −6+8+17+14 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle
Heating up
+7.4points, last 5 vs season avg
Points per game
4.8Season avg12.2Last 5

12.2 points a game over his last five games, against 4.8 in 18 earlier games. Today: 14 points in 31 minutes.

Losing minutes
−12.3minutes, last 3 vs season avg
Minutes per game
31.1Season avg18.8Last 3

18.8 minutes a game over his last three games, against 31.1 in 23 earlier games. Today: 1 points in 20 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+23.2minutes, today vs season avg
Minutes per game
19.8Season avg43Today

43 minutes today, against 19.8 a game in 22 earlier games. Line: 15 points, 16 rebounds, 1 assists.

Top performances

Karl Malone leads the day with 30

Karl MalonePoints, last 10 games: 42, 19, 23, 24, 31, 34, 23, 26, 29, 30Jazz-Magic · W
25.9 PPG season to date · +4.3 vs his regular-season average before tonight
30 PTS · 7 REB · 5 AST
Brent BarryPoints, last 10 games: 9, 17, 10, 19, 16, 11, 3, 18, 21, 23Clippers-Warriors · W
15.9 PPG season to date · +7.5 vs his regular-season average before tonight
23 PTS · 6 REB · 4 AST
Robert PackPoints, last 2 games: 7, 23Mavs-Suns · L
15.0 PPG season to date
23 PTS · 5 REB · 3 AST
Rony SeikalyPoints, last 10 games: 10, 8, 14, 10, 29, 24, 26, 11, 12, 20Magic-Jazz · L
16.1 PPG season to date · +4.0 vs his regular-season average before tonight
20 PTS · 10 REB · 3 AST
Joe SmithPoints, last 10 games: 6, 14, 6, 24, 24, 27, 23, 25, 28, 19Warriors-Clippers · L
17.4 PPG season to date · +1.7 vs his regular-season average before tonight
19 PTS · 12 REB · 1 AST
Lamond MurrayPoints, last 10 games: 18, 12, 14, 13, 17, 7, 12, 21, 6, 19Clippers-Warriors · W
14.6 PPG season to date · +4.6 vs his regular-season average before tonight
19 PTS · 7 REB · 2 AST
Hot and cold

Last 10 games against the season so far

Hot
Michael FinleyDAL+4.0 23.5 last 10 · 19.5 season
Eric PiatkowskiLAC+3.8 13.7 last 10 · 9.9 season
Allan HoustonNYK+3.8 17.0 last 10 · 13.2 season
Eric WashingtonDEN+3.3 13.0 last 10 · 9.7 season
Bison DeleDET+3.1 22.5 last 10 · 19.4 season
Cold
Jamal MashburnMIA−3.2 12.4 last 10 · 15.6 season
Damon StoudamireTOR−3.2 13.2 last 10 · 16.4 season
Rodney RogersLAC−3.2 10.1 last 10 · 13.2 season
A.C. GreenDAL−3.1 4.6 last 10 · 7.7 season
Kenny AndersonPOR−2.9 10.7 last 10 · 13.6 season