FloaterDaily Brief
Friday, December 28, 2001Regular season · 8 games
← Dec 27CalendarDec 29 →

8 games, none went to overtime. Biggest comeback: Cavs trailed Knicks by 8 after the first quarter and won 98–88.

Final · Box score
Bucks105
Hornets89
Q1 Bucks +7; Q2 Bucks +18; Q3 Bucks +16; Q4 Bucks +16
Final · Box score
Knicks88
Cavs98
Q1 Cavs -8; Q2 Cavs -5; Q3 Cavs +3; Q4 Cavs +10
Final · Box score
Grizzlies91
Heat86
Q1 Grizzlies +5; Q2 Grizzlies +5; Q3 Grizzlies +9; Q4 Grizzlies +5
Final · Box score
Pistons78
Magic87
Q1 Magic +7; Q2 Magic +12; Q3 Magic +5; Q4 Magic +9
Final · Box score
Sixers90
Nuggets93
Q1 Nuggets -3; Q2 Nuggets +4; Q3 Nuggets +10; Q4 Nuggets +3
Final · Box score
Wolves111
Kings125
Q1 Kings +9; Q2 Kings +15; Q3 Kings +9; Q4 Kings +14
Final · Box score
Rockets100
Warriors93
Q1 Rockets +3; Q2 Rockets 0; Q3 Rockets +5; Q4 Rockets +7
Final · Box score
Raptors89
Lakers86
Q1 Raptors +3; Q2 Raptors +7; Q3 Raptors +5; Q4 Raptors +3
On this day · 2000–01Dec 28, 2000: 10 games. Top scorer: Kobe Bryant (Lakers-Suns), 38 points.
Dec 28 in other seasons2025202420232022202120202019201820172016201520142013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320021999199719961995
The lead · Knicks-Cavs

Cleveland climbs back to beat New York

Allen Iverson goes for 38 points

Game flow · Cavs margin at each break
-20-100+10+20TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0-8-5+3+10Cavs AHEAD ↑Knicks AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
Knicks2423172488
Cavs1626253198
Who led
Jumaine JonesPoints, last 10 games: 8, 16, 13, 8, 20, 11, 18, 9, 9, 28Cavs28 PTS · 8 REB · 0 AST
Andre MillerPoints, last 10 games: 8, 12, 11, 14, 12, 36, 10, 20, 14, 25Cavs25 PTS · 7 REB · 11 AST
Allan HoustonPoints, last 10 games: 18, 24, 19, 13, 23, 21, 25, 16, 34, 28Knicks28 PTS · 9 REB · 1 AST
Latrell SprewellPoints, last 10 games: 25, 49, 22, 13, 12, 30, 27, 6, 21, 17Knicks17 PTS · 5 REB · 4 AST
The night in charts
Wolves-Kings combined for 236, 42 more than any other game
Points by game
Wolves-KingsWolves 111, Kings 125
236
Bucks-HornetsBucks 105, Hornets 89
194
Rockets-WarriorsRockets 100, Warriors 93
193
Knicks-CavsKnicks 88, Cavs 98
186
Sixers-NuggetsSixers 90, Nuggets 93
183
Grizzlies-HeatGrizzlies 91, Heat 86
177
Raptors-LakersRaptors 89, Lakers 86
175
Pistons-MagicPistons 78, Magic 87
165
3 of 8 games were decided by 5 or fewer
Closest finishes
Sixers-NuggetsSixers 90, Nuggets 93
+3 Nuggets
Raptors-LakersRaptors 89, Lakers 86
+3 Raptors
Grizzlies-HeatGrizzlies 91, Heat 86
+5 Grizzlies
Rockets-WarriorsRockets 100, Warriors 93
+7 Rockets
Pistons-MagicPistons 78, Magic 87
+9 Magic
Knicks-CavsKnicks 88, Cavs 98
+10 Cavs
Wolves-KingsWolves 111, Kings 125
+14 Kings
Bucks-HornetsBucks 105, Hornets 89
+16 Bucks
Cavs rallied from 8 down, the night's biggest comeback
Biggest comebacks, at quarter breaks
Knicks-CavsCavs won · Knicks 88, Cavs 98
8 pts
Sixers-NuggetsNuggets won · Sixers 90, Nuggets 93
3 pts
Szczerbiak shot 13-of-18 for the night's hottest hand
Hottest shooting · min 10 FGA
SzczerbiakMIN · 31 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL
72% (13-18)
NesterovicMIN · 20 PTS, 10 REB, 3 BLK, 1 AST
67% (10-15)
LongGrizzlies · 16 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL
64% (7-11)
Ben WallacePistons · 16 PTS, 13 REB, 4 BLK
64% (7-11)
DivacKings · 17 PTS, 8 REB, 5 AST, 1 STL
64% (7-11)
Final · Sixers-Nuggets
Sixers 90Nuggets 93
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Sixers2620212390
Nuggets2327271693
The story
Nick Van Exel had 33 points and 11 assists as Denver beat Philadelphia 93-90

Dikembe Mutombo led Philadelphia with 13 PTS, 13 REB, 2 AST 33 PTS, 11 AST, 3 REB · 14-31 FG, 2-9 3PT

The swing

Down 3 after the first, the Nuggets took the second 27-20.

Nuggets lead by quarter
200 −3+4+10+3 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Raptors-Lakers
Raptors 89Lakers 86
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Raptors2222232289
Lakers1918252486
The story
Alvin Williams' 17 points and 11 rebounds carried Toronto past Los Angeles, 89-86

For Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant had 26 PTS, 8 REB, 6 AST 17 PTS, 11 REB, 8 AST, 4 STL · 5-11 FG, 1-1 3PT

The swing

The second quarter, 22-18, was where the Raptors built it.

Raptors lead by quarter
200 +3+7+5+3 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Grizzlies-Heat
Grizzlies 91Heat 86
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Grizzlies2324251991
Heat1824212386
The story
Memphis beat Miami 91-86 behind 16 points from Grant Long

Jim Jackson paced Miami: 14 PTS, 6 AST, 5 REB 16 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST · 7-11 FG

The swing

A 23-18 first quarter did the most damage for the Grizzlies.

Grizzlies lead by quarter
200 +5+5+9+5 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle
Heating up
+9.4points, last 5 vs season avg
Points per game
19.0Season avg28.4Last 5

28.4 points a game over his last five games, against 19.0 in 25 earlier games. Today: 31 points in 46 minutes.

Losing minutes
−15.0minutes, last 3 vs season avg
Minutes per game
21.0Season avg6.0Last 3

6.0 minutes a game over his last three games, against 21.0 in 29 earlier games. Today: 2 points in 5 minutes.

Stepped-up role
Grant LongGrizzlies
+21.4minutes, today vs season avg
Minutes per game
22.6Season avg44Today

44 minutes today, against 22.6 a game in 24 earlier games. Line: 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists.

Second story · Sixers-Nuggets

Denver holds off Philadelphia, 93–90

Denver led 77–67 after three and held on to win by three. Nick Van Exel led Denver with 33 points, 3 rebounds and 11 assists.

The whole night · final margins
Nuggets over Sixers3Raptors over Lakers3Grizzlies over Heat5Rockets over Warriors7Magic over Pistons9Cavs over Knicks10Kings over Wolves14Bucks over Hornets16Final margin, points. Pink = Nuggets over Sixers.
Top performances

Allen Iverson leads the day with 38

Allen IversonPoints, last 10 games: 23, 34, 17, 40, 37, 38, 24, 31, 23, 38Sixers-Nuggets · L
28.9 PPG season to date · +9.6 vs his regular-season average before tonight
38 PTS · 5 REB · 8 AST
Nick Van ExelPoints, last 10 games: 27, 10, 18, 20, 24, 25, 11, 13, 27, 33Nuggets-Sixers · W
24.0 PPG season to date · +9.3 vs his regular-season average before tonight
33 PTS · 3 REB · 11 AST
Wally SzczerbiakPoints, last 10 games: 22, 12, 28, 27, 13, 13, 14, 19, 16, 31Wolves-Kings · L
18.7 PPG season to date · +12.7 vs his regular-season average before tonight
31 PTS · 3 REB · 3 AST
Cuttino MobleyPoints, last 10 games: 21, 17, 33, 18, 17, 21, 18, 39, 33, 31Rockets-Warriors · W
19.5 PPG season to date · +12.0 vs his regular-season average before tonight
31 PTS · 4 REB · 1 AST
Sam CassellPoints, last 10 games: 28, 18, 29, 19, 20, 12, 28, 33, 12, 29Bucks-Hornets · W
19.7 PPG season to date · +9.7 vs his regular-season average before tonight
29 PTS · 4 REB · 6 AST
Allan HoustonPoints, last 10 games: 18, 24, 19, 13, 23, 21, 25, 16, 34, 28Knicks-Cavs · L
19.3 PPG season to date · +9.0 vs his regular-season average before tonight
28 PTS · 9 REB · 1 AST
Hot and cold

Last 10 games against the season so far

Hot
Cuttino MobleyRockets+5.3 24.8 last 10 · 19.5 season
Voshon LenardNuggets+5.1 15.6 last 10 · 10.5 season
Tim HardawayMavs+4.7 13.6 last 10 · 8.9 season
Jason TerryHawks+4.4 21.7 last 10 · 17.3 season
Jason RichardsonWarriors+4.2 14.8 last 10 · 10.6 season
Cold
Clifford RobinsonPistons−5.3 10.3 last 10 · 15.6 season
Jalen RosePacers−4.6 13.8 last 10 · 18.4 season
Lindsey HunterLakers−4.0 3.4 last 10 · 7.4 season
Avery JohnsonNuggets−3.6 3.7 last 10 · 7.3 season
Bonzi WellsBlazers−3.3 14.2 last 10 · 17.5 season