FloaterDaily Brief
Saturday, December 20, 1997Regular season · 12 games
← Dec 19CalendarDec 21 →

12 games, none went to overtime. Biggest comeback: Kings trailed Mavs by 9 at halftime and won 89–88.

Final · Box score
Lakers109
Hornets100
Q1 Lakers -4; Q2 Lakers +2; Q3 Lakers +4; Q4 Lakers +9
Final · Box score
Kings89
Mavs88
Q1 Kings -6; Q2 Kings -9; Q3 Kings +2; Q4 Kings +1
Final · Box score
Suns102
Nuggets81
Q1 Suns -3; Q2 Suns +19; Q3 Suns +15; Q4 Suns +21
Final · Box score
Sixers78
Pistons115
Q1 Pistons -4; Q2 Pistons +7; Q3 Pistons +20; Q4 Pistons +37
Final · Box score
Hawks92
Heat99
Q1 Heat +2; Q2 Heat 0; Q3 Heat +11; Q4 Heat +7
Final · Box score
Knicks78
Bucks98
Q1 Bucks -1; Q2 Bucks +10; Q3 Bucks +16; Q4 Bucks +20
Final · Box score
Clippers91
Wolves92
Q1 Wolves 0; Q2 Wolves +10; Q3 Wolves -3; Q4 Wolves +1
Final · Box score
Bulls100
Nets92
Q1 Bulls +6; Q2 Bulls +3; Q3 Bulls -6; Q4 Bulls +8
Final · Box score
Pacers95
Magic92
Q1 Pacers -1; Q2 Pacers +9; Q3 Pacers +13; Q4 Pacers +3
Final · Box score
Rockets87
Spurs100
Q1 Spurs +4; Q2 Spurs +15; Q3 Spurs +14; Q4 Spurs +13
Final · Box score
Warriors89
Sonics108
Q1 Sonics +13; Q2 Sonics +16; Q3 Sonics +25; Q4 Sonics +19
Final · Box score
Wizards94
Raptors92
Q1 Wizards +5; Q2 Wizards +3; Q3 Wizards 0; Q4 Wizards +2
On this day · 1996–97Dec 20, 1996: 8 games. Top scorer: Allan Houston (Knicks-Sixers), 32 points.
Dec 20 in other seasons20252024202320222021201920182017201620152014201320122010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991995
The lead · Kings-Mavs

Sacramento climbs back to beat Dallas

Tim Hardaway goes for 18 points

Game flow · Kings margin at each break
-15-10-50+5+10+15TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0-6-9+2+1Kings AHEAD ↑Mavs AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
Kings2321242189
Mavs2924132288
Who led
Corliss WilliamsonPoints, last 10 games: 13, 7, 8, 24, 27, 14, 20, 26, 17, 27Kings27 PTS · 10 REB · 3 AST
Mitch RichmondPoints, last 10 games: 25, 26, 29, 24, 24, 30, 17, 16, 24, 20Kings20 PTS · 3 REB · 3 AST
Dennis ScottPoints, last 10 games: 15, 12, 9, 15, 13, 21, 18, 19, 5, 21Mavs21 PTS · 8 REB · 3 AST
Samaki WalkerPoints, last 10 games: 14, 1, 2, 7, 12, 0, 13, 17, 15, 18Mavs18 PTS · 7 REB · 0 AST
Second story · the whole slate

Four close finishes and one Pistons rout

Four of 12 games were decided by four points or fewer. Detroit beat Philadelphia by 37.

Kings over Mavs1Wolves over Clippers1Wizards over Raptors2Pacers over Magic3Heat over Hawks7Bulls over Nets8Lakers over Hornets9Spurs over Rockets13Sonics over Warriors19Bucks over Knicks20Suns over Nuggets21Pistons over Sixers37Final margin, points. Pink = decided by 4 or fewer, plus the widest win.
The night in charts
Lakers-Hornets combined for 209, 12 more than any other game
Points by game
Lakers-HornetsLakers 109, Hornets 100
209
Warriors-SonicsWarriors 89, Sonics 108
197
Sixers-PistonsSixers 78, Pistons 115
193
Bulls-NetsBulls 100, Nets 92
192
Hawks-HeatHawks 92, Heat 99
191
Pacers-MagicPacers 95, Magic 92
187
Rockets-SpursRockets 87, Spurs 100
187
Wizards-RaptorsWizards 94, Raptors 92
186
Suns-NuggetsSuns 102, Nuggets 81
183
Clippers-WolvesClippers 91, Wolves 92
183
Kings-MavsKings 89, Mavs 88
177
Knicks-BucksKnicks 78, Bucks 98
176
4 of 12 games were decided by 5 or fewer
Closest finishes
Kings-MavsKings 89, Mavs 88
+1 Kings
Clippers-WolvesClippers 91, Wolves 92
+1 MIN
Wizards-RaptorsWizards 94, Raptors 92
+2 Wizards
Pacers-MagicPacers 95, Magic 92
+3 Pacers
Hawks-HeatHawks 92, Heat 99
+7 Heat
Bulls-NetsBulls 100, Nets 92
+8 Bulls
Lakers-HornetsLakers 109, Hornets 100
+9 Lakers
Rockets-SpursRockets 87, Spurs 100
+13 Spurs
Warriors-SonicsWarriors 89, Sonics 108
+19 Sonics
Knicks-BucksKnicks 78, Bucks 98
+20 Bucks
Suns-NuggetsSuns 102, Nuggets 81
+21 Suns
Sixers-PistonsSixers 78, Pistons 115
+37 Pistons
Kings rallied from 9 down, the night's biggest comeback
Biggest comebacks, at quarter breaks
Kings-MavsKings won · Kings 89, Mavs 88
9 pts
Bulls-NetsBulls won · Bulls 100, Nets 92
6 pts
Lakers-HornetsLakers won · Lakers 109, Hornets 100
4 pts
Sixers-PistonsPistons won · Sixers 78, Pistons 115
4 pts
Suns-NuggetsSuns won · Suns 102, Nuggets 81
3 pts
Jerome Williams shot 8-of-10 for the night's hottest hand
Hottest shooting · min 10 FGA
Jerome WilliamsPistons · 22 PTS, 13 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL
80% (8-10)
Avery JohnsonSpurs · 21 PTS, 10 AST, 4 STL, 3 REB
77% (10-13)
GugliottaMIN · 24 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST, 2 BLK
65% (11-17)
DuncanSpurs · 20 PTS, 10 REB, 5 AST
64% (9-14)
Eddie JonesLakers · 19 PTS, 4 AST, 2 REB, 2 STL
64% (7-11)
Final · Clippers-Wolves
Clippers 91Wolves 92
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Clippers2020282391
Wolves2030152792
The story
Kevin Garnett had 20 points and 14 rebounds as Minnesota beat Los Angeles 92-91

Lorenzen Wright led Los Angeles with 22 REB, 15 PTS, 3 AST 20 PTS, 14 REB, 6 AST · 7-13 FG, 0-1 3PT

The swing

The Timberwolves won the second 30-20, their biggest quarter edge.

Wolves lead by quarter
200 0+10−3+1 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Wizards-Raptors
Wizards 94Raptors 92
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Wizards2923182494
Raptors2425212292
The story
Washington beat Toronto 94-92 behind 28 points and 12 rebounds from Chris Webber

Damon Stoudamire paced Toronto: 18 PTS, 8 AST, 7 REB 28 PTS, 12 REB, 3 STL, 2 AST · 13-23 FG, 0-1 3PT

The swing

A 29-24 first quarter did the most damage for the Wizards.

Wizards lead by quarter
200 +5+30+2 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Pacers-Magic
Pacers 95Magic 92
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Pacers2324282095
Magic2414243092
The story
Mark Jackson's 18 points and 8 assists carried Indiana past Orlando, 95-92

For Orlando, Derek Harper had 12 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST 18 PTS, 8 AST, 6 REB · 6-9 FG, 1-2 3PT

The swing

The Pacers trailed by 1 going into the second, then won it 24-14.

Pacers lead by quarter
200 −1+9+13+3 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle
Heating up
Tony DelkWarriors
+7.3points, last 5 vs season avg
Points per game
5.3Season avg12.6Last 5

12.6 points a game over his last five games, against 5.3 in 19 earlier games. Today: 20 points in 31 minutes.

Losing minutes
−14.6minutes, last 3 vs season avg
Minutes per game
31.6Season avg17.0Last 3

17.0 minutes a game over his last three games, against 31.6 in 25 earlier games. Today: 15 points in 24 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+27.0minutes, today vs season avg
Minutes per game
17.0Season avg44Today

44 minutes today, against 17.0 a game in 13 earlier games. Line: 11 points, 4 rebounds, 11 assists.

Top performances

Rony Seikaly leads the day with 37

Rony SeikalyPoints, last 10 games: 8, 14, 10, 29, 24, 26, 11, 12, 20, 37Magic-Pacers · L
17.0 PPG season to date · +20.9 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Season high37 PTS · 12 REB · 2 AST
Ray AllenPoints, last 10 games: 8, 22, 8, 20, 23, 19, 11, 24, 3, 35Bucks-Knicks · W
18.5 PPG season to date · +17.2 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Career high35 PTS · 5 REB · 4 AST
Glen RicePoints, last 10 games: 30, 27, 15, 19, 29, 21, 32, 14, 13, 32Hornets-Lakers · L
22.4 PPG season to date · +10.0 vs his regular-season average before tonight
32 PTS · 2 REB · 1 AST
Chris WebberPoints, last 10 games: 26, 33, 14, 15, 20, 31, 11, 12, 24, 28Wizards-Raptors · W
20.8 PPG season to date · +7.5 vs his regular-season average before tonight
28 PTS · 12 REB · 2 AST
Corliss WilliamsonPoints, last 10 games: 13, 7, 8, 24, 27, 14, 20, 26, 17, 27Kings-Mavs · W
15.6 PPG season to date · +11.9 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Ties career high27 PTS · 10 REB · 3 AST
Glenn RobinsonPoints, last 10 games: 17, 16, 10, 18, 6, 20, 28, 24, 21, 27Bucks-Knicks · W
20.8 PPG season to date · +6.5 vs his regular-season average before tonight
27 PTS · 6 REB · 3 AST
Hot and cold

Last 10 games against the season so far

Hot
Kobe BryantLakers+3.8 21.8 last 10 · 18.0 season
Ron HarperBulls+3.6 13.5 last 10 · 9.9 season
Voshon LenardHeat+3.3 15.0 last 10 · 11.7 season
Kevin WillisRockets+3.2 21.0 last 10 · 17.8 season
Erick DampierWarriors+3.2 12.5 last 10 · 9.3 season
Cold
Eddie JonesLakers−4.2 13.9 last 10 · 18.1 season
Jamal MashburnHeat−3.6 11.7 last 10 · 15.2 season
Lindsey HunterPistons−3.1 11.6 last 10 · 14.7 season
David WesleyHornets−3.0 8.4 last 10 · 11.4 season
A.C. GreenMavs−3.0 4.7 last 10 · 7.7 season