FloaterDaily Brief
Saturday, December 31, 2016Regular season · 6 games
← Dec 30CalendarJan 1 →

6 games, none went to overtime. Biggest comeback: 5 points, by MIL (vs CHI) and HOU (vs NYK).

Final · Box score
Grizzlies112
Kings98
Q1 MEM +1; Q2 MEM +5; Q3 MEM +15; Q4 MEM +14
Final · Box score
Cavs121
Hornets109
Q1 CLE +7; Q2 CLE +12; Q3 CLE +17; Q4 CLE +12
Final · Box score
Bucks116
Bulls96
Q1 MIL -5; Q2 MIL -2; Q3 MIL +4; Q4 MIL +20
Final · Box score
Knicks122
Rockets129
Q1 HOU -5; Q2 HOU +14; Q3 HOU +7; Q4 HOU +7
Final · Box score
Clippers88
Thunder114
Q1 OKC +21; Q2 OKC +29; Q3 OKC +28; Q4 OKC +26
Final · Box score
Suns86
Jazz91
Q1 Jazz 0; Q2 UTA +4; Q3 UTA +5; Q4 UTA +5
On this day · 2015–16Dec 31, 2015: 6 games. Top scorer: Klay Thompson (Warriors-Rockets), 38 points.
Dec 31 in other seasons2025202420232022202120202019201820172014201320122011201020092008200720062005200420032002200120001997
The lead · Knicks-Rockets

James Harden scores 53 as Houston beats New York

Giannis Antetokounmpo goes for 35 points

Game flow · HOU margin at each break
-20-100+10+20TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0-5+14+7+7HOU AHEAD ↑NYK AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
Knicks32233730122
Rockets27423030129
Who led
James HardenPoints, last 10 games: 15, 29, 28, 31, 27, 16, 32, 34, 30, 53HOU53 PTS · 16 REB · 17 AST
Ryan AndersonPoints, last 10 games: 22, 8, 28, 7, 15, 28, 15, 22, 6, 25HOU25 PTS · 6 REB · 1 AST
Brandon JenningsPoints, last 10 games: 19, 3, 10, 14, 5, 4, 0, 2, 5, 32NYK32 PTS · 5 REB · 7 AST
Derrick RosePoints, last 10 games: 20, 10, 25, 2, 24, 19, 25, 26, 20, 21NYK21 PTS · 5 REB · 7 AST
Second story · Bucks-Bulls

Milwaukee rolls past Chicago, 116–96

The Bulls were held to 20 points in the fourth quarter. Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 35 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists.

The whole night · final margins
UTA over PHX5HOU over NYK7CLE over CHA12MEM over SAC14MIL over CHI20OKC over LAC26Final margin, points. Pink = MIL over CHI.
Lead changes
Grizzlies-Kings7
Bucks-Bulls7
Cavs-Hornets5
Knicks-Rockets1
Clippers-Thunder1
The night in charts
Knicks-Rockets combined for 251, 21 more than any other game
Points by game
Knicks-RocketsKnicks 122, Rockets 129
251
Cavs-HornetsCavs 121, Hornets 109
230
Bucks-BullsBucks 116, Bulls 96
212
Grizzlies-KingsGrizzlies 112, Kings 98
210
Clippers-ThunderClippers 88, Thunder 114
202
Suns-JazzSuns 86, Jazz 91
177
UTA won the closest game by 5
Closest finishes
Suns-JazzSuns 86, Jazz 91
+5 UTA
Knicks-RocketsKnicks 122, Rockets 129
+7 HOU
Cavs-HornetsCavs 121, Hornets 109
+12 CLE
Grizzlies-KingsGrizzlies 112, Kings 98
+14 MEM
Bucks-BullsBucks 116, Bulls 96
+20 MIL
Clippers-ThunderClippers 88, Thunder 114
+26 OKC
MIL rallied from 5 down, the night's biggest comeback
Biggest comebacks, at quarter breaks
Bucks-BullsMIL won · Bucks 116, Bulls 96
5 pts
Knicks-RocketsHOU won · Knicks 122, Rockets 129
5 pts
Conley shot 8-of-11 for the night's hottest hand
Hottest shooting · min 10 FGA
ConleyMEM · 22 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST, 1 BLK
73% (8-11)
NoahNYK · 16 REB, 15 PTS, 2 AST, 1 STL
70% (7-10)
GiannisMIL · 35 PTS, 9 REB, 8 AST, 7 BLK
68% (13-19)
Jabari ParkerMIL · 27 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST, 1 STL
67% (10-15)
McRaeCLE · 20 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST
67% (8-12)
Final · Knicks-Rockets
Knicks 122Rockets 129
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Knicks32233730122
Rockets27423030129
The story
Ryan Anderson had 25 points as Houston beat New York 129-122

Derrick Rose led New York with 21 PTS, 7 AST, 5 REB 25 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST · 8-12 FG, 4-8 3PT

The swing

Down 5 after the first, the Rockets took the second 42-23.

HOU lead by quarter
200 −5+14+7+7 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Bucks-Bulls
Bucks 116Bulls 96
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Bucks22273136116
Bulls2724252096
The story
Jabari Parker's 27 points carried Milwaukee past Chicago, 116-96

For Chicago, Robin Lopez had 12 PTS, 10 REB 27 PTS, 5 REB, 3 AST · 10-15 FG, 1-3 3PT

The swing

The fourth quarter, 36-20, was where the Bucks built it.

MIL lead by quarter
200 −5−2+4+20 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Clippers-Thunder
Clippers 88Thunder 114
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Clippers1228282088
Thunder33362718114
The story
Oklahoma City beat LA 114-88 behind a 17-12-14 triple-double from Russell Westbrook

DeAndre Jordan paced LA: 11 REB, 9 PTS, 2 AST 17 PTS, 14 AST, 12 REB · 6-11 FG, 0-2 3PT

The swing

A 33-12 first quarter did the most damage for the Thunder.

OKC lead by quarter
300 +21+29+28+26 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle
Heating up
+7.3points, last 5 vs season avg
Points per game
8.5Season avg15.8Last 5

15.8 points a game over his last five games, against 8.5 in 25 earlier games. Today: 13 points in 33 minutes.

Losing minutes
−10.2minutes, last 3 vs season avg
Minutes per game
23.5Season avg13.3Last 3

13.3 minutes a game over his last three games, against 23.5 in 33 earlier games. Today: 0 points in 8 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+21.6minutes, today vs season avg
Minutes per game
9.6Season avg31.2Today

31 minutes today, against 9.6 a game in 19 earlier games. Line: 20 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assists.

Top performances

James Harden leads the day with 53

James HardenPoints, last 10 games: 15, 29, 28, 31, 27, 16, 32, 34, 30, 53Rockets-Knicks · W
28.5 PPG season to date · +25.2 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Most like it, modern era: Nikola Jokic DEN, Dec 25, 2025: 56 PTS · 16 REB · 15 AST
Career high53 PTS · 16 REB · 17 AST
Kemba WalkerPoints, last 10 games: 24, 12, 17, 18, 28, 20, 15, 21, 22, 37Hornets-Cavs · L
22.7 PPG season to date · +14.8 vs his regular-season average before tonight
37 PTS · 5 REB · 5 AST
Giannis AntetokounmpoPoints, last 10 games: 30, 30, 22, 25, 28, 39, 22, 23, 25, 35Bucks-Bulls · W
23.8 PPG season to date · +11.6 vs his regular-season average before tonight
35 PTS · 9 REB · 8 AST
LeBron JamesPoints, last 10 games: 27, 44, 23, 26, 34, 29, 19, 31, 23, 32Cavs-Hornets · W
25.6 PPG season to date · +6.6 vs his regular-season average before tonight
32 PTS · 6 REB · 9 AST
Brandon JenningsPoints, last 10 games: 19, 3, 10, 14, 5, 4, 0, 2, 5, 32Knicks-Rockets · L
8.2 PPG season to date · +24.5 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Season high32 PTS · 5 REB · 7 AST
Kevin LovePoints, last 10 games: 21, 28, 22, 29, 27, 14, 20, 17, 30, 28Cavs-Hornets · W
22.2 PPG season to date · +6.0 vs his regular-season average before tonight
28 PTS · 10 REB · 0 AST
Hot and cold

Last 10 games against the season so far

Hot
Nikola JokicDEN+4.9 17.3 last 10 · 12.4 season
Dennis SchroderATL+4.4 21.9 last 10 · 17.5 season
Giannis AntetokounmpoMIL+4.1 27.9 last 10 · 23.8 season
Ryan AndersonHOU+3.4 17.6 last 10 · 14.2 season
Garrett TempleSAC+3.3 10.5 last 10 · 7.2 season
Cold
T.J. WarrenPHX−5.9 8.8 last 10 · 14.7 season
Wilson ChandlerDEN−4.8 11.4 last 10 · 16.2 season
Stephen CurryGSW−3.8 20.1 last 10 · 23.9 season
Jamal MurrayDEN−3.5 4.9 last 10 · 8.4 season
Anthony DavisNOP−3.4 25.8 last 10 · 29.2 season