FloaterDaily Brief
Sunday, December 16, 2012Regular season · 4 games
← Dec 15CalendarDec 17 →

4 games, none went to overtime. Biggest comeback: TOR trailed HOU by 2 after the first quarter and won 103–96.

Final · Box score
Rockets96
Raptors103
Q1 TOR -2; Q2 Raptors 0; Q3 TOR +6; Q4 TOR +7
Final · Box score
Lakers111
Sixers98
Q1 LAL +4; Q2 LAL +10; Q3 LAL +14; Q4 LAL +13
Final · Box score
Nuggets122
Kings97
Q1 DEN +9; Q2 DEN +18; Q3 DEN +30; Q4 DEN +25
Final · Box score
Hornets94
Blazers95
Q1 POR +6; Q2 POR +11; Q3 POR +12; Q4 POR +1
The lead · Rockets-Raptors

Toronto knocks off Houston, 103–96

Nicolas Batum goes for 11 points

Game flow · TOR margin at each break
-15-10-50+5+10+15TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0-20+6+7TOR AHEAD ↑HOU AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
Rockets2821222596
Raptors26232826103
Who led
Alan AndersonPoints, last 8 games: 0, 3, 18, 3, 13, 7, 2, 24TOR24 PTS · 2 REB · 2 AST
DeMar DeRozanPoints, last 10 games: 16, 23, 18, 14, 17, 24, 20, 11, 14, 19TOR19 PTS · 7 REB · 3 AST
James HardenPoints, last 10 games: 33, 24, 17, 18, 15, 29, 39, 31, 21, 28HOU28 PTS · 4 REB · 4 AST
Marcus MorrisPoints, last 10 games: 4, 11, 7, 0, 1, 2, 13, 3, 2, 19HOU19 PTS · 6 REB · 1 AST
Second story · Hornets-Blazers

Portland never trails at a break against New Orleans

Ahead after one, at the half and after three. Final: 95–94. JJ Hickson led Portland with 24 points, 16 rebounds and 3 assists.

The whole night · final margins
POR over NOH1TOR over HOU7LAL over PHI13DEN over SAC25Final margin, points. Pink = POR over NOH.
Lead changes
Rockets-Raptors6
Lakers-Sixers6
Hornets-Blazers0
Shot of the night

Dame's three at the buzzer breaks the tie, 95-94 final

The night in charts
Nuggets-Kings combined for 219, 10 more than any other game
Points by game
Nuggets-KingsNuggets 122, Kings 97
219
Lakers-SixersLakers 111, Sixers 98
209
Rockets-RaptorsRockets 96, Raptors 103
199
Hornets-BlazersHornets 94, Blazers 95
189
POR won the closest game by 1
Closest finishes
Hornets-BlazersHornets 94, Blazers 95
+1 POR
Rockets-RaptorsRockets 96, Raptors 103
+7 TOR
Lakers-SixersLakers 111, Sixers 98
+13 LAL
Nuggets-KingsNuggets 122, Kings 97
+25 DEN
Hickson shot 10-of-14 for the night's hottest hand
Hottest shooting · min 10 FGA
HicksonPOR · 24 PTS, 16 REB, 3 AST, 1 BLK
71% (10-14)
Thaddeus YoungPHI · 14 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL
70% (7-10)
KoufosDEN · 12 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST, 1 BLK
60% (6-10)
World PeaceLAL · 19 PTS, 16 REB, 4 STL, 2 BLK
60% (6-10)
HawesPHI · 16 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST
58% (7-12)
Final · Hornets-Blazers
Hornets 94Blazers 95
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Hornets1924203194
Blazers2529212095
The story
JJ Hickson had 24 points and 16 rebounds as Portland beat New Orleans 95-94

Ryan Anderson led New Orleans with 26 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST 24 PTS, 16 REB, 3 AST · 10-14 FG

The swing

The Trail Blazers won the first 25-19, their biggest quarter edge.

POR lead by quarter
200 +6+11+12+1 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Rockets-Raptors
Rockets 96Raptors 103
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Rockets2821222596
Raptors26232826103
The story
Jose Calderon's a 18-10-14 triple-double carried Toronto past Houston, 103-96

For Houston, James Harden had 28 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST 18 PTS, 14 AST, 10 REB · 6-12 FG, 1-5 3PT

The swing

The third quarter, 28-22, was where the Raptors built it.

TOR lead by quarter
200 −20+6+7 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Lakers-Sixers
Lakers 111Sixers 98
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Lakers28322724111
Sixers2426232598
The story
Los Angeles beat Philadelphia 111-98 behind 19 points and 16 rebounds from Metta World Peace

Nick Young paced Philadelphia: 30 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST 19 PTS, 16 REB, 4 STL, 1 AST · 6-10 FG, 3-4 3PT

The swing

A 32-26 second quarter did the most damage for the Lakers.

LAL lead by quarter
200 +4+10+14+13 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle
Heating up
+6.3points, last 5 vs season avg
Points per game
7.9Season avg14.2Last 5

14.2 points a game over his last five games, against 7.9 in 22 earlier games. Today: 12 points in 36 minutes.

Losing minutes
−13.5minutes, last 3 vs season avg
Minutes per game
37.3Season avg23.8Last 3

23.8 minutes a game over his last three games, against 37.3 in 20 earlier games. Today: 3 points in 4 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+17.2minutes, today vs season avg
Minutes per game
23.9Season avg41.1Today

41 minutes today, against 23.9 a game in 19 earlier games. Line: 30 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists.

Top performances

Kobe Bryant leads the day with 34

Kobe BryantPoints, last 10 games: 14, 34, 39, 29, 35, 34, 42, 31, 30, 34Lakers-Sixers · W
29.5 PPG season to date · +4.7 vs his regular-season average before tonight
34 PTS · 4 REB · 6 AST
Nick YoungPoints, last 10 games: 23, 13, 9, 3, 2, 9, 3, 10, 8, 30Sixers-Lakers · L
10.2 PPG season to date · +20.8 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Season high30 PTS · 4 REB · 2 AST
James HardenPoints, last 10 games: 33, 24, 17, 18, 15, 29, 39, 31, 21, 28Rockets-Raptors · L
25.0 PPG season to date · +3.2 vs his regular-season average before tonight
28 PTS · 4 REB · 4 AST
Ryan AndersonPoints, last 10 games: 7, 21, 22, 31, 15, 24, 17, 14, 20, 26Hornets-Blazers · L
18.6 PPG season to date · +7.8 vs his regular-season average before tonight
26 PTS · 6 REB · 2 AST
JJ HicksonPoints, last 10 games: 9, 15, 11, 11, 2, 14, 14, 16, 12, 24Blazers-Hornets · W
12.0 PPG season to date · +12.6 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Season high24 PTS · 16 REB · 3 AST
Alan AndersonPoints, last 8 games: 0, 3, 18, 3, 13, 7, 2, 24Raptors-Rockets · W
8.8 PPG season to date · +17.4 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Season high24 PTS · 2 REB · 2 AST
Hot and cold

Last 10 games against the season so far

Hot
Andray BlatcheBKN+4.5 16.5 last 10 · 12.0 season
Marco BelinelliCHI+4.5 13.5 last 10 · 9.0 season
David LeeGSW+3.9 23.1 last 10 · 19.2 season
Carmelo AnthonyNYK+3.8 31.6 last 10 · 27.9 season
Evan TurnerPHI+3.5 18.9 last 10 · 15.4 season
Cold
Nicolas BatumPOR−3.9 11.9 last 10 · 15.8 season
Dorell WrightPHI−2.9 4.0 last 10 · 6.9 season
Carl LandryGSW−2.7 10.2 last 10 · 12.9 season
Jonas ValanciunasTOR−2.7 5.3 last 10 · 8.0 season
Jamal CrawfordLAC−2.6 14.0 last 10 · 16.6 season