FloaterDaily Brief
Wednesday, December 31, 2014Regular season · 7 games
← Dec 30CalendarJan 1 →

7 games, 2 went to overtime. Biggest comeback: IND trailed MIA by 9 at halftime and won 106–95.

Final · Box score
Kings84
Celtics106
Q1 BOS +4; Q2 BOS +10; Q3 BOS +16; Q4 BOS +22
Final · Box score
Heat95
Pacers106
Q1 IND -4; Q2 IND -9; Q3 IND +8; Q4 IND +11
Final · Box score
Knicks78
Clippers99
Q1 LAC +8; Q2 LAC +10; Q3 LAC +16; Q4 LAC +21
Final · Box score
Bucks96
Cavs80
Q1 MIL +13; Q2 MIL +5; Q3 MIL +17; Q4 MIL +16
Final · Box score
Hornets83
Rockets102
Q1 HOU -2; Q2 HOU +2; Q3 HOU +8; Q4 HOU +19
Final · OT · Box score
Pelicans93
Spurs95
Q1 SAS +3; Q2 SAS +10; Q3 SAS +2; Q4 Spurs 0; OT1 SAS +2
Final · OT · Box score
Suns134
Thunder137
Q1 OKC +1; Q2 OKC +2; Q3 OKC +6; Q4 Thunder 0; OT1 OKC +3
On this day · 2013–14Dec 31, 2013: 8 games. Top scorer: James Harden (Rockets-Kings), 38 points.
Dec 31 in other seasons2025202420232022202120202019201820172016201520122011201020092008200720062005200420032002200120001997
The lead · Heat-Pacers

Indiana climbs out of a 9-point hole against Miami

Kevin Durant goes for 44 points

Game flow · IND margin at each break
-20-100+10+20TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0-4-9+8+11IND AHEAD ↑MIA AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
Heat2427192595
Pacers20223628106
Who led
CJ MilesPoints, last 10 games: 30, 5, 20, 17, 16, 28, 11, 3, 11, 25IND25 PTS · 7 REB · 4 AST
George HillPoints, last 5 games: 15, 13, 12, 11, 20IND20 PTS · 3 REB · 1 AST
Dwyane WadePoints, last 10 games: 29, 17, 28, 42, 28, 23, 31, 25, 25, 20MIA20 PTS · 2 REB · 7 AST
Chris BoshPoints, last 10 games: 20, 21, 27, 21, 12, 34, 14, 22, 20, 18MIA18 PTS · 8 REB · 1 AST
Second story · the whole slate

Two games need overtime

Two of 7 games went past regulation.

SAS over NOP2OKC over PHX3IND over MIA11MIL over CLE16HOU over CHA19LAC over NYK21BOS over SAC22Final margin, points. Pink = went to overtime.
Lead changes
Pelicans-Spurs10
Hornets-Rockets9
Suns-Thunder7
Heat-Pacers3
Bucks-Cavs2
Knicks-Clippers1
Kings-Celtics0
Shot of the night

Manu's jumper with 24 seconds left in OT puts the Spurs ahead, 95-93 final

The night in charts
Suns-Thunder combined for 271, 70 more than any other game
Points by game
Suns-ThunderSuns 134, Thunder 137
271
Heat-PacersHeat 95, Pacers 106
201
Kings-CelticsKings 84, Celtics 106
190
Pelicans-SpursPelicans 93, Spurs 95
188
Hornets-RocketsHornets 83, Rockets 102
185
Knicks-ClippersKnicks 78, Clippers 99
177
Bucks-CavsBucks 96, Cavs 80
176
2 of 7 games were decided by 5 or fewer
Closest finishes
Pelicans-SpursPelicans 93, Spurs 95
+2 SAS
Suns-ThunderSuns 134, Thunder 137
+3 OKC
Heat-PacersHeat 95, Pacers 106
+11 IND
Bucks-CavsBucks 96, Cavs 80
+16 MIL
Hornets-RocketsHornets 83, Rockets 102
+19 HOU
Knicks-ClippersKnicks 78, Clippers 99
+21 LAC
Kings-CelticsKings 84, Celtics 106
+22 BOS
IND rallied from 9 down, the night's biggest comeback
Biggest comebacks, at quarter breaks
Heat-PacersIND won · Heat 95, Pacers 106
9 pts
Hornets-RocketsHOU won · Hornets 83, Rockets 102
2 pts
AD shot 8-of-12 for the night's hottest hand
Hottest shooting · min 10 FGA
ADNOP · 21 PTS, 12 REB, 4 STL, 1 BLK
67% (8-12)
LandrySAC · 14 PTS, 5 REB, 2 BLK, 1 STL
64% (7-11)
Marcus MorrisPHX · 18 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL
64% (7-11)
HardenHOU · 36 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST, 2 STL
63% (12-19)
OlynykBOS · 15 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL
60% (6-10)
Final · Pelicans-Spurs
Pelicans 93Spurs 95
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4OTT
Pelicans14143224993
Spurs172124221195
The story
Manu Ginobili's 26 points carried San Antonio past New Orleans, 95-93 in OT

For New Orleans, Jrue Holiday had 13 PTS, 9 AST, 6 REB 26 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST · 9-17 FG, 5-8 3PT

The swing

The second quarter, 21-14, was where the Spurs built it.

SAS lead by quarter
200 +3+10+20+2 Q1Q2Q3Q4OT
Fantasy angle

Anthony Davis was the fantasy play: 48.4 FPTS on 21 PTS, 12 REB

Final · Suns-Thunder
Suns 134Thunder 137
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4OTT
Suns293332346134
Thunder303436289137
The story
Russell Westbrook had 20 points as Oklahoma City beat Phoenix 137-134 in OT

Goran Dragic led Phoenix with 21 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST 20 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST · 5-13 FG, 1-2 3PT

The swing

The Thunder won the third 36-32, their biggest quarter edge.

OKC lead by quarter
200 +1+2+60+3 Q1Q2Q3Q4OT
Final · Hornets-Rockets
Hornets 83Rockets 102
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Hornets2520231583
Rockets23242926102
The story
Houston beat Charlotte 102-83 behind 36 points from James Harden

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist paced Charlotte: 16 PTS, 8 REB, 2 AST 36 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST · 12-19 FG, 8-11 3PT

The swing

A 26-15 fourth quarter did the most damage for the Rockets.

HOU lead by quarter
200 −2+2+8+19 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle
Heating up
+7.2points, last 5 vs season avg
Points per game
27.4Season avg34.6Last 5

34.6 points a game over his last five games, against 27.4 in 30 earlier games. Today: 36 points in 33 minutes.

Losing minutes
−12.4minutes, last 3 vs season avg
Minutes per game
24.6Season avg12.2Last 3

12.2 minutes a game over his last three games, against 24.6 in 22 earlier games. Today: 0 points in 2 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+17.5minutes, today vs season avg
Minutes per game
13.9Season avg31.4Today

31 minutes today, against 13.9 a game in 21 earlier games. Line: 8 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists.

Top performances

Kevin Durant leads the day with 44

Kevin DurantPoints, last 10 games: 27, 10, 28, 23, 19, 16, 23, 26, 30, 44Thunder-Suns · W
24.6 PPG season to date · +21.6 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Most like it, modern era: Julius Randle NYK, Apr 16, 2021: 44 PTS · 10 REB · 7 AST
Season high44 PTS · 10 REB · 7 AST
James HardenPoints, last 10 games: 44, 24, 41, 21, 18, 44, 32, 28, 33, 36Rockets-Hornets · W
27.7 PPG season to date · +8.6 vs his regular-season average before tonight
36 PTS · 7 REB · 6 AST
Eric BledsoePoints, last 10 games: 12, 11, 15, 25, 17, 16, 18, 22, 21, 29Suns-Thunder · L
16.6 PPG season to date · +12.8 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Season high29 PTS · 2 REB · 8 AST
Manu GinobiliPoints, last 10 games: 18, 15, 21, 11, 19, 11, 12, 15, 6, 26Spurs-Pelicans · W
13.1 PPG season to date · +13.4 vs his regular-season average before tonight
26 PTS · 7 REB · 3 AST
Brandon KnightPoints, last 10 games: 22, 20, 24, 20, 8, 34, 16, 10, 18, 26Bucks-Cavs · W
18.0 PPG season to date · +8.2 vs his regular-season average before tonight
26 PTS · 6 REB · 2 AST
CJ MilesPoints, last 10 games: 30, 5, 20, 17, 16, 28, 11, 3, 11, 25Pacers-Heat · W
11.5 PPG season to date · +14.1 vs his regular-season average before tonight
25 PTS · 7 REB · 4 AST
Hot and cold

Last 10 games against the season so far

Hot
Mason PlumleeBKN+6.9 16.0 last 10 · 9.1 season
Kemba WalkerCHA+5.9 23.4 last 10 · 17.5 season
Shabazz MuhammadMIN+5.8 19.6 last 10 · 13.8 season
CJ MilesIND+5.1 16.6 last 10 · 11.5 season
Jared DudleyMIL+4.7 11.9 last 10 · 7.2 season
Cold
Deron WilliamsBKN−5.2 9.2 last 10 · 14.4 season
Jeremy LambOKC−4.5 4.8 last 10 · 9.2 season
Kobe BryantLAL−3.7 20.4 last 10 · 24.1 season
Chris CopelandIND−3.6 6.0 last 10 · 9.6 season
Donald SloanIND−3.5 6.5 last 10 · 10.0 season