FloaterDaily Brief
Thursday, December 28, 2017Regular season · 5 games
← Dec 27CalendarDec 29 →

5 games, none went to overtime. Biggest comeback: BOS trailed HOU by 24 at halftime and won 99–98.

Final · Box score
Pistons89
Magic102
Q1 ORL +5; Q2 Magic 0; Q3 ORL +4; Q4 ORL +13
Final · Box score
Rockets98
Celtics99
Q1 BOS -20; Q2 BOS -24; Q3 BOS -9; Q4 BOS +1
Final · Box score
Wolves96
Bucks102
Q1 MIL -10; Q2 MIL -10; Q3 MIL -9; Q4 MIL +6
Final · Box score
Knicks107
Spurs119
Q1 SAS +8; Q2 SAS +1; Q3 SAS +7; Q4 SAS +12
Final · Box score
Sixers110
Blazers114
Q1 POR -3; Q2 POR +1; Q3 POR -13; Q4 POR +4
On this day · 2016–17Dec 28, 2016: 10 games. Top scorer: Jimmy Butler (Bulls-Nets), 40 points.
Dec 28 in other seasons2025202420232022202120202019201820152014201320122011201020092008200720062005200420032002200120001999199719961995
The lead · Rockets-Celtics

Boston erases 24-point lead, steals one from Houston

James Harden goes for 34 points

Game flow · BOS margin at each break
-30-20-100+10+20+30TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0-20-24-9+1BOS AHEAD ↑HOU AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
Rockets3230162098
Celtics1226313099
Who led
Kyrie IrvingPoints, last 10 games: 33, 33, 20, 30, 33, 32, 25, 20, 21, 26BOS26 PTS · 4 REB · 4 AST
Jayson TatumPoints, last 10 games: 15, 7, 19, 16, 11, 17, 13, 20, 18, 19BOS19 PTS · 5 REB · 1 AST
James HardenPoints, last 10 games: 48, 26, 21, 28, 31, 26, 51, 51, 29, 34HOU34 PTS · 6 REB · 10 AST
Eric GordonPoints, last 10 games: 12, 27, 17, 14, 16, 33, 21, 28, 20, 24HOU24 PTS · 3 REB · 3 AST
Second story · Sixers-Blazers

Portland fights back late to top Philadelphia

Philadelphia led 85–72 after three. Portland won the fourth 42–25 and the game 114–110. CJ McCollum led Portland with 34 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

Top-scorer duel · Blazers-Sixers
CJ McCollum · PORJoel Embiid · PHIPTS3429REB79AST43Top scorer on each side. Bars scale within each stat. Pink = the winning side.
Lead changes
Sixers-Blazers5
Knicks-Spurs2
Rockets-Celtics1
Wolves-Bucks1
Shot of the night

Horford's floater with 3 seconds left puts the Celtics ahead, 99-98 final

The night in charts
Knicks-Spurs combined for 226, 2 more than any other game
Points by game
Knicks-SpursKnicks 107, Spurs 119
226
Sixers-BlazersSixers 110, Blazers 114
224
Wolves-BucksWolves 96, Bucks 102
198
Rockets-CelticsRockets 98, Celtics 99
197
Pistons-MagicPistons 89, Magic 102
191
2 of 5 games were decided by 5 or fewer
Closest finishes
Rockets-CelticsRockets 98, Celtics 99
+1 BOS
Sixers-BlazersSixers 110, Blazers 114
+4 POR
Wolves-BucksWolves 96, Bucks 102
+6 MIL
Knicks-SpursKnicks 107, Spurs 119
+12 SAS
Pistons-MagicPistons 89, Magic 102
+13 ORL
BOS erased a 24-point hole
Biggest comebacks, at quarter breaks
Rockets-CelticsBOS won · Rockets 98, Celtics 99
24 pts
Sixers-BlazersPOR won · Sixers 110, Blazers 114
13 pts
Wolves-BucksMIL won · Wolves 96, Bucks 102
10 pts
Saric shot 10-of-12 for the night's hottest hand
Hottest shooting · min 10 FGA
SaricPHI · 25 PTS, 9 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL
83% (10-12)
BeasleyNYK · 23 PTS, 12 REB, 4 AST, 2 STL
69% (9-13)
KATMIN · 22 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL
67% (8-12)
PauSAS · 17 PTS, 11 REB, 7 AST
64% (7-11)
GiannisMIL · 22 PTS, 10 REB, 3 AST
55% (11-20)
Final · Rockets-Celtics
Rockets 98Celtics 99
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Rockets3230162098
Celtics1226313099
The story
Kyrie Irving had 26 points as Boston beat Houston 99-98

Eric Gordon led Houston with 24 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST 26 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST · 9-18 FG, 1-6 3PT

The swing

Down 24 after the second, the Celtics took the third 31-16.

BOS lead by quarter
200 −20−24−9+1 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Sixers-Blazers
Sixers 110Blazers 114
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Sixers30213425110
Blazers27252042114
The story
Portland beat Philadelphia 114-110 behind 34 points from CJ McCollum

Dario Saric paced Philadelphia: 25 PTS, 9 REB, 4 AST 34 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST · 9-20 FG, 2-5 3PT

The swing

A 42-25 fourth quarter erased a 13-point hole for the Trail Blazers.

POR lead by quarter
200 −3+1−13+4 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Wolves-Bucks
Wolves 96Bucks 102
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Wolves2630281296
Bucks16302927102
The story
Giannis Antetokounmpo's 22 points and 10 rebounds carried Milwaukee past Minnesota, 102-96

For Minnesota, Jimmy Butler had 20 PTS, 7 AST, 5 REB 22 PTS, 10 REB, 3 AST · 11-20 FG, 0-1 3PT

The swing

The Bucks trailed by 9 going into the fourth, then won it 27-12.

MIL lead by quarter
200 −10−10−9+6 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle
Heating up
+8.7points, last 5 vs season avg
Points per game
8.7Season avg17.4Last 5

17.4 points a game over his last five games, against 8.7 in 27 earlier games. Today: 23 points in 34 minutes.

Losing minutes
−6.9minutes, last 3 vs season avg
Minutes per game
33.5Season avg26.6Last 3

26.6 minutes a game over his last three games, against 33.5 in 29 earlier games. Today: 19 points in 32 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+18.5minutes, today vs season avg
Minutes per game
16.6Season avg35.1Today

35 minutes today, against 16.6 a game in 35 earlier games. Line: 6 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists.

Top performances

James Harden leads the day with 34

James HardenPoints, last 10 games: 48, 26, 21, 28, 31, 26, 51, 51, 29, 34Rockets-Celtics · L
32.5 PPG season to date · +1.6 vs his regular-season average before tonight
34 PTS · 6 REB · 10 AST
CJ McCollumPoints, last 10 games: 28, 21, 28, 20, 25, 20, 13, 15, 17, 34Blazers-Sixers · W
21.1 PPG season to date · +13.3 vs his regular-season average before tonight
34 PTS · 7 REB · 4 AST
Joel EmbiidPoints, last 10 games: 30, 25, 25, 22, 33, 28, 34, 14, 25, 29Sixers-Blazers · L
24.0 PPG season to date · +5.2 vs his regular-season average before tonight
29 PTS · 9 REB · 3 AST
Eric BledsoePoints, last 10 games: 24, 20, 14, 12, 19, 26, 24, 16, 22, 26Bucks-Wolves · W
18.3 PPG season to date · +8.0 vs his regular-season average before tonight
26 PTS · 3 REB · 6 AST
Kyrie IrvingPoints, last 10 games: 33, 33, 20, 30, 33, 32, 25, 20, 21, 26Celtics-Rockets · W
24.7 PPG season to date · +1.4 vs his regular-season average before tonight
26 PTS · 4 REB · 4 AST
Dario SaricPoints, last 10 games: 17, 13, 14, 16, 27, 11, 18, 17, 10, 25Sixers-Blazers · L
13.0 PPG season to date · +12.3 vs his regular-season average before tonight
25 PTS · 9 REB · 4 AST
Hot and cold

Last 10 games against the season so far

Hot
Ersan IlyasovaATL+6.0 17.1 last 10 · 11.1 season
Jimmy ButlerMIN+5.5 26.7 last 10 · 21.2 season
Josh RichardsonMIA+5.1 17.3 last 10 · 12.2 season
Austin RiversLAC+4.9 20.8 last 10 · 15.9 season
Jrue HolidayNOP+4.5 22.6 last 10 · 18.1 season
Cold
Ryan AndersonHOU−4.6 6.0 last 10 · 10.6 season
Reggie JacksonDET−4.2 10.4 last 10 · 14.6 season
Brook LopezLAL−3.6 9.2 last 10 · 12.8 season
Goran DragicMIA−3.4 13.0 last 10 · 16.4 season
Kristaps PorzingisNYK−2.9 21.4 last 10 · 24.3 season