FloaterDaily Brief
Monday, December 23, 2002Regular season · 8 games
← Dec 22CalendarDec 25 →

8 games, 1 went to overtime. Biggest comeback: UTA trailed HOU by 7 at halftime and won 96–91.

Final · Box score
Heat72
Cavs74
Q1 CLE +1; Q2 CLE -1; Q3 CLE -1; Q4 CLE +2
Final · Box score
Hawks97
Pacers112
Q1 IND +4; Q2 IND +10; Q3 IND +16; Q4 IND +15
Final · Box score
Bucks108
Magic103
Q1 MIL -3; Q2 MIL +3; Q3 MIL -2; Q4 MIL +5
Final · Box score
Bulls83
Nets99
Q1 Nets 0; Q2 NJN +6; Q3 NJN +24; Q4 NJN +16
Final · Box score
Wizards86
Mavs92
Q1 DAL -1; Q2 DAL +5; Q3 Mavs 0; Q4 DAL +6
Final · Box score
Jazz96
Rockets91
Q1 UTA -3; Q2 UTA -7; Q3 UTA -1; Q4 UTA +5
Final · OT · Box score
Hornets94
Spurs99
Q1 SAS +8; Q2 SAS +8; Q3 Spurs 0; Q4 Spurs 0; OT1 SAS +5
Final · Box score
Sonics88
Suns89
Q1 PHX +11; Q2 PHX +1; Q3 Suns 0; Q4 PHX +1
On this day · 2001–02Dec 23, 2001: 4 games. Top scorer: Sam Cassell (Bucks-Spurs), 33 points.
Dec 23 in other seasons202520242023202220212020201920182017201620152014201320122010200920082007200620052004200320001999199719961995
The lead · Jazz-Rockets

Karl Malone scores 31 in Utah win over Houston

Tim Duncan goes for 29 points

Game flow · UTA margin at each break
-15-10-50+5+10+15TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0-3-7-1+5UTA AHEAD ↑HOU AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
Jazz2016312996
Rockets2320252391
Who led
Karl MalonePoints, last 10 games: 21, 29, 13, 11, 18, 12, 15, 16, 17, 31UTA31 PTS · 9 REB · 6 AST
Matt HarpringPoints, last 10 games: 15, 14, 13, 24, 21, 16, 17, 19, 17, 25UTA25 PTS · 6 REB · 4 AST
Steve FrancisPoints, last 10 games: 24, 20, 32, 29, 14, 21, 19, 23, 24, 26HOU26 PTS · 2 REB · 8 AST
Yao MingPoints, last 10 games: 16, 18, 17, 18, 16, 15, 29, 17, 12, 18HOU18 PTS · 7 REB · 4 AST
The night in charts
Bucks-Magic combined for 211, 2 more than any other game
Points by game
Bucks-MagicBucks 108, Magic 103
211
Hawks-PacersHawks 97, Pacers 112
209
Hornets-SpursHornets 94, Spurs 99
193
Jazz-RocketsJazz 96, Rockets 91
187
Bulls-NetsBulls 83, Nets 99
182
Wizards-MavsWizards 86, Mavs 92
178
Sonics-SunsSonics 88, Suns 89
177
Heat-CavsHeat 72, Cavs 74
146
5 of 8 games were decided by 5 or fewer
Closest finishes
Sonics-SunsSonics 88, Suns 89
+1 PHX
Heat-CavsHeat 72, Cavs 74
+2 CLE
Jazz-RocketsJazz 96, Rockets 91
+5 UTA
Hornets-SpursHornets 94, Spurs 99
+5 SAS
Bucks-MagicBucks 108, Magic 103
+5 MIL
Wizards-MavsWizards 86, Mavs 92
+6 DAL
Hawks-PacersHawks 97, Pacers 112
+15 IND
Bulls-NetsBulls 83, Nets 99
+16 NJN
UTA rallied from 7 down, the night's biggest comeback
Biggest comebacks, at quarter breaks
Jazz-RocketsUTA won · Jazz 96, Rockets 91
7 pts
Bucks-MagicMIL won · Bucks 108, Magic 103
3 pts
Heat-CavsCLE won · Heat 72, Cavs 74
1 pt
Wizards-MavsDAL won · Wizards 86, Mavs 92
1 pt
Francis shot 9-of-12 for the night's hottest hand
Hottest shooting · min 10 FGA
FrancisHOU · 26 PTS, 8 AST, 2 REB, 1 STL
75% (9-12)
HughesWAS · 24 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST, 1 BLK
73% (8-11)
RoseSAS · 19 PTS, 7 REB, 2 BLK, 1 AST
70% (7-10)
BowenSAS · 21 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL
69% (9-13)
LewisSEA · 24 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL
67% (10-15)
Final · Sonics-Suns
Sonics 88Suns 89
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Sonics2228231588
Suns3318221689
The story
Phoenix beat Seattle 89-88 behind 30 points and 11 rebounds from Shawn Marion

Rashard Lewis paced Seattle: 24 PTS, 7 REB 30 PTS, 11 REB, 5 STL, 1 AST · 12-23 FG, 4-8 3PT

The swing

A 33-22 first quarter did the most damage for the Suns.

PHX lead by quarter
200 +11+10+1 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Hornets-Spurs
Hornets 94Spurs 99
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4OTT
Hornets23223015494
Spurs31222215999
The story
Malik Rose had 19 points as San Antonio beat New Orleans 99-94 in OT

David Wesley led New Orleans with 20 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST 19 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST · 7-10 FG

The swing

The Spurs won the first 31-23, their biggest quarter edge.

SAS lead by quarter
200 +8+800+5 Q1Q2Q3Q4OT
Final · Jazz-Rockets
Jazz 96Rockets 91
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Jazz2016312996
Rockets2320252391
The story
Matt Harpring's 25 points carried Utah past Houston, 96-91

For Houston, Yao Ming had 18 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST 25 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST, 4 STL · 9-14 FG, 1-1 3PT

The swing

The Jazz trailed by 7 going into the third, then won it 31-25.

UTA lead by quarter
200 −3−7−1+5 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle
Heating up
+9.1points, last 5 vs season avg
Points per game
9.9Season avg19.0Last 5

19.0 points a game over his last five games, against 9.9 in 19 earlier games. Today: 16 points in 27 minutes.

Losing minutes
−25.5minutes, last 3 vs season avg
Minutes per game
32.5Season avg7.0Last 3

7.0 minutes a game over his last three games, against 32.5 in 27 earlier games. Today: 6 points in 16 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+18.8minutes, today vs season avg
Minutes per game
28.2Season avg47Today

47 minutes today, against 28.2 a game in 27 earlier games. Line: 21 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assists.

Second story · Bucks-Magic

Milwaukee handles Orlando by 5

The Bucks won the second quarter 34–28. Final: 108–103. Ray Allen led Milwaukee with 35 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists.

The whole night · final margins
PHX over SEA1CLE over MIA2MIL over ORL5UTA over HOU5SAS over NOH5DAL over WAS6IND over ATL15NJN over CHI16Final margin, points. Pink = MIL over ORL.
Top performances

Al Harrington leads the day with 40

Al HarringtonPoints, last 10 games: 10, 6, 9, 11, 2, 15, 0, 19, 18, 40Pacers-Hawks · W
12.0 PPG season to date · +29.1 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Career high40 PTS · 9 REB · 1 AST
Ray AllenPoints, last 10 games: 16, 29, 28, 26, 15, 29, 37, 14, 10, 35Bucks-Magic · W
22.9 PPG season to date · +12.7 vs his regular-season average before tonight
35 PTS · 6 REB · 6 AST
Ricky DavisPoints, last 10 games: 27, 45, 22, 42, 27, 20, 20, 42, 21, 33Cavs-Heat · W
23.5 PPG season to date · +9.9 vs his regular-season average before tonight
33 PTS · 5 REB · 5 AST
Karl MalonePoints, last 10 games: 21, 29, 13, 11, 18, 12, 15, 16, 17, 31Jazz-Rockets · W
18.3 PPG season to date · +13.2 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Season high31 PTS · 9 REB · 6 AST
Dirk NowitzkiPoints, last 10 games: 14, 23, 26, 21, 35, 2, 20, 9, 28, 30Mavs-Wizards · W
21.6 PPG season to date · +8.8 vs his regular-season average before tonight
30 PTS · 17 REB · 2 AST
Shawn MarionPoints, last 10 games: 23, 12, 32, 25, 24, 19, 14, 20, 28, 30Suns-Sonics · W
20.6 PPG season to date · +9.7 vs his regular-season average before tonight
30 PTS · 11 REB · 1 AST
Hot and cold

Last 10 games against the season so far

Hot
Ricky DavisCLE+6.4 29.9 last 10 · 23.5 season
Yao MingHOU+4.6 17.6 last 10 · 13.0 season
Larry HughesWAS+4.2 16.7 last 10 · 12.5 season
Rodney RogersNJN+3.9 11.9 last 10 · 8.0 season
Bonzi WellsPOR+3.7 19.2 last 10 · 15.5 season
Cold
Erick DampierGSW−3.7 5.5 last 10 · 9.2 season
Tracy McGradyORL−3.4 25.9 last 10 · 29.3 season
Allen IversonPHI−3.3 24.8 last 10 · 28.1 season
Kobe BryantLAL−3.1 23.6 last 10 · 26.7 season
Shammond WilliamsBOS−3.1 6.2 last 10 · 9.3 season