FloaterDaily Brief
Saturday, December 15, 2001Regular season · 10 games
← Dec 14CalendarDec 16 →

10 games, none went to overtime. Biggest comeback: Nuggets trailed Suns by 7 after three quarters and won 106–98.

Final · Box score
Celtics106
Hornets97
Q1 Celtics +7; Q2 Celtics -2; Q3 Celtics +10; Q4 Celtics +9
Final · Box score
Sixers94
Cavs91
Q1 Sixers -6; Q2 Sixers +7; Q3 Sixers +5; Q4 Sixers +3
Final · Box score
Hawks80
Bulls79
Q1 Hawks 0; Q2 Hawks -1; Q3 Hawks +4; Q4 Hawks +1
Final · Box score
Wolves117
Mavs125
Q1 Mavs -2; Q2 Mavs -3; Q3 Mavs +8; Q4 Mavs +8
Final · Box score
Heat76
Rockets73
Q1 Heat -1; Q2 Heat +2; Q3 Heat +2; Q4 Heat +3
Final · Box score
Pacers95
Bucks115
Q1 Bucks -4; Q2 Bucks 0; Q3 Bucks +12; Q4 Bucks +20
Final · Box score
Jazz80
Spurs100
Q1 Spurs +13; Q2 Spurs +13; Q3 Spurs +20; Q4 Spurs +20
Final · Box score
Suns98
Nuggets106
Q1 Nuggets -5; Q2 Nuggets -4; Q3 Nuggets -7; Q4 Nuggets +8
Final · Box score
Magic106
Blazers117
Q1 Blazers +14; Q2 Blazers +8; Q3 Blazers +6; Q4 Blazers +11
Final · Box score
Grizzlies84
Warriors93
Q1 Warriors +5; Q2 Warriors +13; Q3 Warriors +17; Q4 Warriors +9
On this day · 2000–01Dec 15, 2000: 12 games. Top scorer: Tracy McGrady (Magic-Blazers), 39 points.
Dec 15 in other seasons20252024202320222021201920182017201620152014201320122010200920082007200620052004200320021999199719961995
The lead · Suns-Nuggets

Denver handles Phoenix by 8

Andre Miller goes for 22 assists

Game flow · Nuggets margin at each break
-15-10-50+5+10+15TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0-5-4-7+8Nuggets AHEAD ↑Suns AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
Suns2925291598
Nuggets24262630106
Who led
Nick Van ExelPoints, last 10 games: 34, 20, 18, 30, 16, 27, 10, 18, 20, 24Nuggets24 PTS · 2 REB · 10 AST
Voshon LenardPoints, last 10 games: 5, 2, 2, 20, 14, 11, 17, 12, 25, 19Nuggets19 PTS · 9 REB · 4 AST
Stephon MarburyPoints, last 10 games: 24, 8, 21, 20, 15, 24, 22, 15, 22, 27Suns27 PTS · 3 REB · 4 AST
Rodney RogersPoints, last 10 games: 18, 23, 8, 15, 10, 17, 12, 5, 29, 18Suns18 PTS · 5 REB · 1 AST
Second story · the whole slate

Three close finishes and one Bucks rout

Three of 10 games were decided by four points or fewer. Milwaukee beat Indiana by 20.

Hawks over Bulls1Sixers over Cavs3Heat over Rockets3Mavs over Wolves8Nuggets over Suns8Celtics over Hornets9Warriors over Grizzlies9Blazers over Magic11Bucks over Pacers20Spurs over Jazz20Final margin, points. Pink = decided by 4 or fewer, plus the widest win.
The night in charts
Wolves-Mavs combined for 242, 19 more than any other game
Points by game
Wolves-MavsWolves 117, Mavs 125
242
Magic-BlazersMagic 106, Blazers 117
223
Pacers-BucksPacers 95, Bucks 115
210
Suns-NuggetsSuns 98, Nuggets 106
204
Celtics-HornetsCeltics 106, Hornets 97
203
Sixers-CavsSixers 94, Cavs 91
185
Jazz-SpursJazz 80, Spurs 100
180
Grizzlies-WarriorsGrizzlies 84, Warriors 93
177
Hawks-BullsHawks 80, Bulls 79
159
Heat-RocketsHeat 76, Rockets 73
149
3 of 10 games were decided by 5 or fewer
Closest finishes
Hawks-BullsHawks 80, Bulls 79
+1 Hawks
Heat-RocketsHeat 76, Rockets 73
+3 Heat
Sixers-CavsSixers 94, Cavs 91
+3 Sixers
Wolves-MavsWolves 117, Mavs 125
+8 Mavs
Suns-NuggetsSuns 98, Nuggets 106
+8 Nuggets
Grizzlies-WarriorsGrizzlies 84, Warriors 93
+9 Warriors
Celtics-HornetsCeltics 106, Hornets 97
+9 Celtics
Magic-BlazersMagic 106, Blazers 117
+11 Blazers
Pacers-BucksPacers 95, Bucks 115
+20 Bucks
Jazz-SpursJazz 80, Spurs 100
+20 Spurs
Nuggets rallied from 7 down, the night's biggest comeback
Biggest comebacks, at quarter breaks
Suns-NuggetsNuggets won · Suns 98, Nuggets 106
7 pts
Sixers-CavsSixers won · Sixers 94, Cavs 91
6 pts
Pacers-BucksBucks won · Pacers 95, Bucks 115
4 pts
Wolves-MavsMavs won · Wolves 117, Mavs 125
3 pts
Celtics-HornetsCeltics won · Celtics 106, Hornets 97
2 pts
Duncan shot 9-of-10 for the night's hottest hand
Hottest shooting · min 10 FGA
DuncanSpurs · 26 PTS, 10 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL
90% (9-10)
SwiftGrizzlies · 16 PTS, 10 REB, 1 AST, 1 BLK
80% (8-10)
ReddBucks · 21 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST
69% (9-13)
PattersonBlazers · 24 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL
69% (11-16)
PersonCavs · 28 PTS, 5 REB, 3 STL, 2 BLK
67% (12-18)
Final · Hawks-Bulls
Hawks 80Bulls 79
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Hawks1921231780
Bulls1922182079
The story
Atlanta beat Chicago 80-79 behind 20 points from Shareef Abdur-Rahim

Greg Anthony paced Chicago: 12 AST, 7 PTS, 5 REB 20 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST, 3 BLK · 8-16 FG

The swing

A 23-18 third quarter erased a 1-point hole for the Hawks.

Hawks lead by quarter
200 0−1+4+1 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Sixers-Cavs
Sixers 94Cavs 91
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Sixers2129202494
Cavs2716222691
The story
Eric Snow had 13 points and 12 assists as Philadelphia beat Cleveland 94-91

Lamond Murray led Cleveland with 13 PTS, 2 REB, 2 AST 13 PTS, 12 AST, 1 REB · 4-5 FG

The swing

Down 6 after the first, the 76ers took the second 29-16.

Sixers lead by quarter
200 −6+7+5+3 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Heat-Rockets
Heat 76Rockets 73
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Heat2215182176
Rockets2312182073
The story
Eddie Jones' 19 points carried Miami past Houston, 76-73

For Houston, Cuttino Mobley had 17 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST 19 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST · 8-20 FG, 0-1 3PT

The swing

The Heat trailed by 1 going into the second, then won it 15-12.

Heat lead by quarter
200 −1+2+2+3 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle

Kenny Thomas was the fantasy play: 42.7 FPTS on 26 PTS, 11 REB

Fantasy angle
Heating up
+10.3points, last 5 vs season avg
Points per game
26.5Season avg36.8Last 5

36.8 points a game over his last five games, against 26.5 in 24 earlier games. Today: 36 points in 45 minutes.

Losing minutes
−14.9minutes, last 3 vs season avg
Minutes per game
23.2Season avg8.3Last 3

8.3 minutes a game over his last three games, against 23.2 in 22 earlier games. Today: 0 points in 8 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+25.8minutes, today vs season avg
Minutes per game
20.2Season avg46Today

46 minutes today, against 20.2 a game in 21 earlier games. Line: 12 points, 4 rebounds, 0 assists.

Top performances

Allen Iverson leads the day with 40

Allen IversonPoints, last 10 games: 27, 18, 40, 30, 30, 24, 23, 34, 17, 40Sixers-Cavs · W
27.8 PPG season to date · +13.1 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Ties season high40 PTS · 6 REB · 9 AST
Rasheed WallacePoints, last 10 games: 10, 30, 26, 24, 15, 18, 28, 16, 18, 37Blazers-Magic · W
20.0 PPG season to date · +17.9 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Season high37 PTS · 13 REB · 2 AST
Tracy McGradyPoints, last 10 games: 22, 26, 22, 14, 32, 40, 47, 21, 40, 36Magic-Blazers · L
26.9 PPG season to date · +9.5 vs his regular-season average before tonight
36 PTS · 7 REB · 9 AST
Karl MalonePoints, last 10 games: 19, 15, 18, 22, 29, 39, 30, 20, 24, 31Jazz-Spurs · L
24.0 PPG season to date · +7.3 vs his regular-season average before tonight
31 PTS · 8 REB · 1 AST
Paul PiercePoints, last 10 games: 33, 26, 48, 9, 35, 26, 12, 18, 38, 30Celtics-Hornets · W
26.9 PPG season to date · +3.2 vs his regular-season average before tonight
30 PTS · 10 REB · 5 AST
Michael FinleyPoints, last 10 games: 39, 21, 14, 19, 11, 32, 6, 20, 22, 30Mavs-Wolves · W
20.9 PPG season to date · +9.5 vs his regular-season average before tonight
30 PTS · 2 REB · 6 AST
Hot and cold

Last 10 games against the season so far

Hot
Oscar TorresRockets+4.7 13.8 last 10 · 9.1 season
Lee NailonHornets+4.4 15.7 last 10 · 11.3 season
Latrell SprewellKnicks+4.1 24.5 last 10 · 20.4 season
Toni KukocHawks+3.8 15.2 last 10 · 11.4 season
Richard HamiltonWizards+3.7 23.7 last 10 · 20.0 season
Cold
Michael JordanWizards−3.5 20.1 last 10 · 23.6 season
Jalen RosePacers−3.4 16.4 last 10 · 19.8 season
Elton BrandClippers−3.3 16.5 last 10 · 19.8 season
Vlade DivacKings−3.0 9.6 last 10 · 12.6 season
Shandon AndersonKnicks−2.9 2.4 last 10 · 5.3 season