FloaterDaily Brief
Tuesday, December 23, 1997Regular season · 7 games
← Dec 22CalendarDec 25 →

7 games, none went to overtime. Biggest comeback: Bulls trailed Clippers by 10 at halftime and won 94–89.

Final · Box score
Hornets96
Celtics102
Q1 Celtics -1; Q2 Celtics +4; Q3 Celtics +4; Q4 Celtics +6
Final · Box score
Clippers89
Bulls94
Q1 Bulls -5; Q2 Bulls -10; Q3 Bulls -5; Q4 Bulls +5
Final · Box score
Mavs85
Cavs99
Q1 Cavs -3; Q2 Cavs -8; Q3 Cavs +16; Q4 Cavs +14
Final · Box score
Nuggets75
Warriors87
Q1 Warriors +6; Q2 Warriors -1; Q3 Warriors -6; Q4 Warriors +12
Final · Box score
Kings82
Blazers93
Q1 Blazers +1; Q2 Blazers +3; Q3 Blazers +8; Q4 Blazers +11
Final · Box score
Pacers79
Spurs91
Q1 Spurs +7; Q2 Spurs -7; Q3 Spurs +4; Q4 Spurs +12
Final · Box score
Wolves112
Sonics103
Q1 Wolves +5; Q2 Wolves -3; Q3 Wolves +4; Q4 Wolves +9
On this day · 1996–97Dec 23, 1996: 9 games. Top scorer: Hakeem Olajuwon (Rockets-Bucks), 37 points.
Dec 23 in other seasons202520242023202220212020201920182017201620152014201320122010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991995
The lead · Clippers-Bulls

Chicago climbs out of a 10-point hole against Clippers

David Robinson goes for 39 points

Game flow · Bulls margin at each break
-20-100+10+20TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0-5-10-5+5Bulls AHEAD ↑Clippers AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
Clippers2425162489
Bulls1920213494
Who led
Michael JordanPoints, last 10 games: 29, 13, 29, 25, 28, 11, 31, 36, 24, 27Bulls27 PTS · 12 REB · 4 AST
Steve KerrPoints, last 10 games: 9, 4, 7, 0, 7, 8, 2, 0, 7, 13Bulls13 PTS · 2 REB · 0 AST
Rodney RogersPoints, last 10 games: 10, 18, 14, 12, 4, 10, 1, 15, 20, 20Clippers20 PTS · 6 REB · 3 AST
Darrick MartinPoints, last 10 games: 5, 18, 10, 7, 12, 15, 12, 16, 5, 19Clippers19 PTS · 4 REB · 2 AST
Second story · Mavs-Cavs

Cleveland turns it around against Dallas

From 8 down at the half to a 14-point win: 99–85. Derek Anderson led Cleveland with 24 points, 4 rebounds and 0 assists.

Top-scorer duel · Cavs-Mavs
Derek Anderson · CavsMichael Finley · MavsPTS2429REB46AST04Top scorer on each side. Bars scale within each stat. Pink = the winning side.
The night in charts
Wolves-Sonics combined for 215, 17 more than any other game
Points by game
Wolves-SonicsWolves 112, Sonics 103
215
Hornets-CelticsHornets 96, Celtics 102
198
Mavs-CavsMavs 85, Cavs 99
184
Clippers-BullsClippers 89, Bulls 94
183
Kings-BlazersKings 82, Blazers 93
175
Pacers-SpursPacers 79, Spurs 91
170
Nuggets-WarriorsNuggets 75, Warriors 87
162
Bulls won the closest game by 5
Closest finishes
Clippers-BullsClippers 89, Bulls 94
+5 Bulls
Hornets-CelticsHornets 96, Celtics 102
+6 Celtics
Wolves-SonicsWolves 112, Sonics 103
+9 MIN
Kings-BlazersKings 82, Blazers 93
+11 Blazers
Pacers-SpursPacers 79, Spurs 91
+12 Spurs
Nuggets-WarriorsNuggets 75, Warriors 87
+12 Warriors
Mavs-CavsMavs 85, Cavs 99
+14 Cavs
Bulls erased a 10-point hole
Biggest comebacks, at quarter breaks
Clippers-BullsBulls won · Clippers 89, Bulls 94
10 pts
Mavs-CavsCavs won · Mavs 85, Cavs 99
8 pts
Pacers-SpursSpurs won · Pacers 79, Spurs 91
7 pts
Nuggets-WarriorsWarriors won · Nuggets 75, Warriors 87
6 pts
Wolves-SonicsWolves won · Wolves 112, Sonics 103
3 pts
Baker shot 9-of-11 for the night's hottest hand
Hottest shooting · min 10 FGA
BakerSonics · 19 PTS, 11 REB, 3 AST, 1 BLK
82% (9-11)
MarshallWarriors · 20 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST, 1 BLK
75% (9-12)
HendersonCavs · 20 PTS, 7 REB, 2 STL, 1 AST
71% (10-14)
BarrosCeltics · 18 PTS, 6 AST, 2 STL, 1 REB
70% (7-10)
MarburyMIN · 35 PTS, 7 AST, 4 REB
68% (13-19)
Final · Clippers-Bulls
Clippers 89Bulls 94
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Clippers2425162489
Bulls1920213494
The story
Michael Jordan had 27 points and 12 rebounds as Chicago beat Los Angeles 94-89

Rodney Rogers led Los Angeles with 20 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST 27 PTS, 12 REB, 4 AST · 9-24 FG, 0-1 3PT

The swing

Down 5 after the third, the Bulls took the fourth 34-24.

Bulls lead by quarter
200 −5−10−5+5 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Hornets-Celtics
Hornets 96Celtics 102
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Hornets2318322396
Celtics22233225102
The story
Boston beat Charlotte 102-96 behind 28 points from Ron Mercer

Glen Rice paced Charlotte: 23 PTS, 5 REB 28 PTS, 8 REB, 3 STL · 13-21 FG

The swing

A 23-18 second quarter erased a 1-point hole for the Celtics.

Celtics lead by quarter
200 −1+4+4+6 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Pacers-Spurs
Pacers 79Spurs 91
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Pacers1928151779
Spurs2614262591
The story
Tim Duncan's 18 points and 17 rebounds carried San Antonio past Indiana, 91-79

For Indiana, Reggie Miller had 25 PTS, 3 REB 18 PTS, 17 REB, 1 AST · 9-15 FG

The swing

The Spurs trailed by 7 going into the third, then won it 26-15.

Spurs lead by quarter
200 +7−7+4+12 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle
Heating up
+9.0points, last 5 vs season avg
Points per game
11.4Season avg20.4Last 5

20.4 points a game over his last five games, against 11.4 in 25 earlier games. Today: 24 points in 37 minutes.

Losing minutes
Roy RogersCeltics
−14.0minutes, last 2 vs 1996–97 avg
Minutes per game
22.51996–97 avg8.5Last 2

8.5 minutes a game over his last two games, against 22.5 in 1996–97 (82 games). Today: 2 points in 13 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+18.1minutes, today vs season avg
Minutes per game
10.9Season avg29Today

29 minutes today, against 10.9 a game in 12 earlier games. Line: 2 points, 5 rebounds, 0 assists.

Top performances

David Robinson leads the day with 39

David RobinsonPoints, last 10 games: 23, 25, 19, 14, 30, 18, 22, 33, 11, 39Spurs-Pacers · W
23.9 PPG season to date · +15.7 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Season high39 PTS · 12 REB · 0 AST
Stephon MarburyPoints, last 10 games: 22, 27, 15, 22, 12, 17, 14, 9, 15, 35Wolves-Sonics · W
18.5 PPG season to date · +17.2 vs his regular-season average before tonight
35 PTS · 4 REB · 7 AST
Mitch RichmondPoints, last 10 games: 29, 24, 24, 30, 17, 16, 24, 20, 27, 30Kings-Blazers · L
23.0 PPG season to date · +7.3 vs his regular-season average before tonight
30 PTS · 0 REB · 2 AST
Michael FinleyPoints, last 10 games: 35, 17, 20, 21, 18, 26, 18, 13, 13, 29Mavs-Cavs · L
19.3 PPG season to date · +10.0 vs his regular-season average before tonight
29 PTS · 6 REB · 4 AST
Ron MercerPoints, last 10 games: 14, 12, 2, 12, 13, 8, 20, 12, 14, 28Celtics-Hornets · W
13.8 PPG season to date · +14.9 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Career high28 PTS · 8 REB · 0 AST
Michael JordanPoints, last 10 games: 29, 13, 29, 25, 28, 11, 31, 36, 24, 27Bulls-Clippers · W
26.7 PPG season to date · +0.3 vs his regular-season average before tonight
27 PTS · 12 REB · 4 AST
Hot and cold

Last 10 games against the season so far

Hot
Joe SmithWarriors+4.1 21.0 last 10 · 16.9 season
Kobe BryantLakers+4.0 22.0 last 10 · 18.0 season
Corliss WilliamsonKings+3.8 19.4 last 10 · 15.6 season
Ron HarperBulls+3.7 13.5 last 10 · 9.8 season
Voshon LenardHeat+3.3 15.0 last 10 · 11.7 season
Cold
Kenny AndersonBlazers−4.4 8.7 last 10 · 13.1 season
Nick Van ExelLakers−3.6 11.9 last 10 · 15.5 season
Jamal MashburnHeat−3.6 11.7 last 10 · 15.2 season
Eddie JonesLakers−3.5 14.6 last 10 · 18.1 season
A.C. GreenMavs−3.5 4.2 last 10 · 7.7 season