FloaterDaily Brief
Sunday, December 29, 2002Regular season · 3 games
← Dec 28CalendarDec 30 →

3 games, none went to overtime. Biggest comeback: HOU trailed NOH by 8 after three quarters and won 97–85.

Final · Box score
Suns103
Cavs84
Q1 PHX +13; Q2 PHX +14; Q3 PHX +12; Q4 PHX +19
Final · Box score
Hornets85
Rockets97
Q1 HOU +12; Q2 HOU +9; Q3 HOU -8; Q4 HOU +12
Final · Box score
Raptors88
Lakers104
Q1 LAL +8; Q2 LAL +14; Q3 LAL +15; Q4 LAL +16
On this day · 2001–02Dec 29, 2001: 9 games. Top scorer: Michael Jordan (Wizards-Hornets), 51 points.
Dec 29 in other seasons2025202420232022202120202019201820172016201520142013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320001999199719961995
The lead · Hornets-Rockets

Houston rallies from 8 down to beat New Orleans

Shaquille O'Neal goes for 35 points

Game flow · HOU margin at each break
-20-100+10+20TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0+12+9-8+12HOU AHEAD ↑NOH AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
Hornets2122241885
Rockets331973897
Who led
Cuttino MobleyPoints, last 10 games: 14, 25, 19, 27, 14, 22, 12, 10, 8, 24HOU24 PTS · 8 REB · 3 AST
Steve FrancisPoints, last 10 games: 32, 29, 14, 21, 19, 23, 24, 26, 27, 23HOU23 PTS · 7 REB · 5 AST
Jamal MashburnPoints, last 10 games: 19, 21, 12, 22, 23, 30, 16, 8, 17, 25NOH25 PTS · 5 REB · 5 AST
Baron DavisPoints, last 10 games: 10, 18, 23, 21, 23, 20, 18, 11, 22, 14NOH14 PTS · 4 REB · 0 AST
Second story · Raptors-Lakers

Lakers lead Toronto wire to wire

Lakers were ahead at every break and won 104–88. Best quarter: the second, 30–24. Shaquille O'Neal led Lakers with 35 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.

The whole night · final margins
HOU over NOH12LAL over TOR16PHX over CLE19Final margin, points. Pink = LAL over TOR.
The night in charts
Raptors-Lakers combined for 192, 5 more than any other game
Points by game
Raptors-LakersRaptors 88, Lakers 104
192
Suns-CavsSuns 103, Cavs 84
187
Hornets-RocketsHornets 85, Rockets 97
182
HOU won the closest game by 12
Closest finishes
Hornets-RocketsHornets 85, Rockets 97
+12 HOU
Raptors-LakersRaptors 88, Lakers 104
+16 LAL
Suns-CavsSuns 103, Cavs 84
+19 PHX
Shaq shot 14-of-18 for the night's hottest hand
Hottest shooting · min 10 FGA
ShaqLAL · 35 PTS, 10 REB, 3 AST, 3 BLK
78% (14-18)
MobleyHOU · 24 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL
56% (9-16)
LenardTOR · 10 PTS, 5 AST, 3 REB, 1 STL
50% (5-10)
Alvin WilliamsTOR · 14 PTS, 6 AST, 4 STL, 1 REB
50% (5-10)
PennyPHX · 16 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL
50% (5-10)
Final · Hornets-Rockets
Hornets 85Rockets 97
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Hornets2122241885
Rockets331973897
The story
Houston beat New Orleans 97-85 behind 24 points from Cuttino Mobley

Jamal Mashburn paced New Orleans: 25 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST 24 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL, 3 BLK · 9-16 FG, 0-1 3PT

The swing

A 38-18 fourth quarter erased a 8-point hole for the Rockets.

HOU lead by quarter
200 +12+9−8+12 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Raptors-Lakers
Raptors 88Lakers 104
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Raptors2024212388
Lakers28302224104
The story
Kobe Bryant had 13 points and 12 assists as Los Angeles beat Toronto 104-88

Alvin Williams led Toronto with 14 PTS, 6 AST 13 PTS, 12 AST, 9 REB · 5-15 FG, 0-1 3PT

The swing

The Lakers won the first 28-20, their biggest quarter edge.

LAL lead by quarter
200 +8+14+15+16 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Suns-Cavs
Suns 103Cavs 84
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Suns38202124103
Cavs2519231784
The story
Amar'e Stoudemire's 19 points and 13 rebounds carried Phoenix past Cleveland, 103-84

For Cleveland, Ricky Davis had 15 PTS, 7 AST, 5 REB 19 PTS, 13 REB, 3 AST, 3 BLK · 4-12 FG

The swing

The first quarter, 38-25, was where the Suns built it.

PHX lead by quarter
200 +13+14+12+19 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle
Heating up
+4.9points, last 5 vs season avg
Points per game
11.1Season avg16.0Last 5

16.0 points a game over his last five games, against 11.1 in 29 earlier games. Today: 19 points in 38 minutes.

Losing minutes
−10.4minutes, last 3 vs season avg
Minutes per game
31.7Season avg21.3Last 3

21.3 minutes a game over his last three games, against 31.7 in 29 earlier games. Today: 5 points in 22 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+17.3minutes, today vs season avg
Minutes per game
8.7Season avg26Today

26 minutes today, against 8.7 a game in 27 earlier games. Line: 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assists.

Top performances

Shaquille O'Neal leads the day with 35

Shaquille O'NealPoints, last 10 games: 36, 28, 30, 17, 19, 26, 31, 27, 22, 35Lakers-Raptors · W
26.4 PPG season to date · +9.1 vs his regular-season average before tonight
35 PTS · 10 REB · 3 AST
Jamal MashburnPoints, last 10 games: 19, 21, 12, 22, 23, 30, 16, 8, 17, 25Hornets-Rockets · L
20.8 PPG season to date · +4.4 vs his regular-season average before tonight
25 PTS · 5 REB · 5 AST
Cuttino MobleyPoints, last 10 games: 14, 25, 19, 27, 14, 22, 12, 10, 8, 24Rockets-Hornets · W
17.4 PPG season to date · +6.9 vs his regular-season average before tonight
24 PTS · 8 REB · 3 AST
Steve FrancisPoints, last 10 games: 32, 29, 14, 21, 19, 23, 24, 26, 27, 23Rockets-Hornets · W
23.7 PPG season to date · −0.8 vs his regular-season average before tonight
23 PTS · 7 REB · 5 AST
Amar'e StoudemirePoints, last 10 games: 19, 8, 17, 15, 4, 18, 16, 11, 16, 19Suns-Cavs · W
11.3 PPG season to date · +7.9 vs his regular-season average before tonight
19 PTS · 13 REB · 3 AST
Morris PetersonPoints, last 10 games: 15, 18, 9, 21, 22, 5, 27, 22, 14, 18Raptors-Lakers · L
15.4 PPG season to date · +2.7 vs his regular-season average before tonight
18 PTS · 5 REB · 2 AST
Hot and cold

Last 10 games against the season so far

Hot
Eddie JonesMIA+5.6 23.8 last 10 · 18.2 season
Bonzi WellsPOR+5.4 21.6 last 10 · 16.2 season
Lucious HarrisNJN+4.8 17.5 last 10 · 12.7 season
Yao MingHOU+4.0 17.1 last 10 · 13.1 season
Sam CassellMIL+3.7 24.1 last 10 · 20.4 season
Cold
James PoseyHOU−4.6 7.7 last 10 · 12.3 season
Allen IversonPHI−4.2 23.4 last 10 · 27.6 season
Allan HoustonNYK−4.1 18.2 last 10 · 22.3 season
Doug ChristieSAC−3.6 7.7 last 10 · 11.3 season
Erick DampierGSW−3.5 5.7 last 10 · 9.2 season