FloaterDaily Brief
Tuesday, December 28, 2021Regular season · 8 games
← Dec 27CalendarDec 29 →

8 games, none went to overtime. Biggest comeback: NOP trailed CLE by 19 after the first quarter and won 108–104.

Final · Box score
Bucks127
Magic110
Q1 MIL +8; Q2 MIL +27; Q3 MIL +15; Q4 MIL +17
Final · Box score
Wizards112
Heat119
Q1 MIA +14; Q2 MIA +14; Q3 MIA +18; Q4 MIA +7
Final · Box score
Sixers114
Raptors109
Q1 PHI +3; Q2 PHI +7; Q3 PHI +4; Q4 PHI +5
Final · Box score
Lakers132
Rockets123
Q1 LAL -1; Q2 LAL +8; Q3 LAL +5; Q4 LAL +9
Final · Box score
Knicks96
Wolves88
Q1 NYK +7; Q2 NYK +3; Q3 NYK +10; Q4 NYK +8
Final · Box score
Cavs104
Pelicans108
Q1 NOP -19; Q2 NOP -10; Q3 NOP -7; Q4 NOP +4
Final · Box score
Nuggets89
Warriors86
Q1 DEN +15; Q2 DEN +24; Q3 DEN +13; Q4 DEN +3
Final · Box score
Thunder111
Kings117
Q1 SAC -2; Q2 SAC +4; Q3 SAC +6; Q4 SAC +6
On this day · 2020–21Dec 28, 2020: 5 games. Top scorer: James Harden (Rockets-Nuggets), 34 points.
Dec 28 in other seasons2025202420232022201920182017201620152014201320122011201020092008200720062005200420032002200120001999199719961995
The lead · Cavs-Pelicans

New Orleans overcomes 19-point deficit, beats Cleveland 108–104

Ricky Rubio goes for 27 points

Game flow · NOP margin at each break
-25-15-5+5+15+25TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0-19-10-7+4NOP AHEAD ↑CLE AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
Cavs39192521104
Pelicans20282832108
Who led
Herbert JonesPoints, last 10 games: 5, 19, 10, 2, 8, 17, 3, 8, 15, 26NOP26 PTS · 7 REB · 3 AST
Devonte' GrahamPoints, last 10 games: 9, 12, 9, 8, 15, 26, 10, 20, 15, 18NOP18 PTS · 5 REB · 5 AST
Ricky RubioPoints, last 10 games: 7, 11, 6, 15, 7, 7, 15, 8, 16, 27CLE27 PTS · 13 REB · 9 AST
Kevin LovePoints, last 10 games: 15, 11, 18, 11, 23, 15, 15, 18, 22, 24CLE24 PTS · 4 REB · 3 AST
Second story · Thunder-Kings

Sacramento beats OKC, 117–111

Sacramento led 87–81 after three and won by 6. Tyrese Haliburton led Sacramento with 24 points, 2 rebounds and 10 assists.

The whole night · final margins
DEN over GSW3NOP over CLE4PHI over TOR5SAC over OKC6MIA over WAS7NYK over MIN8LAL over HOU9MIL over ORL17Final margin, points. Pink = SAC over OKC.
Lead changes
Wizards-Heat13
Thunder-Kings10
Lakers-Rockets9
Knicks-Wolves5
Bucks-Magic3
Cavs-Pelicans1
Nuggets-Warriors0
The night in charts
Lakers-Rockets combined for 255, 18 more than any other game
Points by game
Lakers-RocketsLakers 132, Rockets 123
255
Bucks-MagicBucks 127, Magic 110
237
Wizards-HeatWizards 112, Heat 119
231
Thunder-KingsThunder 111, Kings 117
228
Sixers-RaptorsSixers 114, Raptors 109
223
Cavs-PelicansCavs 104, Pelicans 108
212
Knicks-WolvesKnicks 96, Wolves 88
184
Nuggets-WarriorsNuggets 89, Warriors 86
175
3 of 8 games were decided by 5 or fewer
Closest finishes
Nuggets-WarriorsNuggets 89, Warriors 86
+3 DEN
Cavs-PelicansCavs 104, Pelicans 108
+4 NOP
Sixers-RaptorsSixers 114, Raptors 109
+5 PHI
Thunder-KingsThunder 111, Kings 117
+6 SAC
Wizards-HeatWizards 112, Heat 119
+7 MIA
Knicks-WolvesKnicks 96, Wolves 88
+8 NYK
Lakers-RocketsLakers 132, Rockets 123
+9 LAL
Bucks-MagicBucks 127, Magic 110
+17 MIL
NOP erased a 19-point hole
Biggest comebacks, at quarter breaks
Cavs-PelicansNOP won · Cavs 104, Pelicans 108
19 pts
Thunder-KingsSAC won · Thunder 111, Kings 117
2 pts
Lakers-RocketsLAL won · Lakers 132, Rockets 123
1 pt
Mobley shot 9-of-12 for the night's hottest hand
Hottest shooting · min 10 FGA
MobleyCLE · 22 PTS, 7 REB
75% (9-12)
BoucherTOR · 28 PTS, 19 REB, 2 STL, 2 BLK
71% (10-14)
NiangPHI · 19 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST
70% (7-10)
EmbiidPHI · 36 PTS, 11 REB, 4 AST, 1 STL
69% (11-16)
WoodHOU · 22 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 3 STL
67% (8-12)
Final · Nuggets-Warriors
Nuggets 89Warriors 86
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Nuggets3129141589
Warriors1620252586
The story
Denver beat Golden State 89-86 behind 22 points and 19 rebounds from Nikola Jokic

Andrew Wiggins paced Golden State: 21 PTS, 8 REB 22 PTS, 19 REB, 5 AST, 4 STL · 8-19 FG, 0-5 3PT

The swing

A 31-16 first quarter did the most damage for the Nuggets.

DEN lead by quarter
300 +15+24+13+3 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Cavs-Pelicans
Cavs 104Pelicans 108
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Cavs39192521104
Pelicans20282832108
The story
Herbert Jones had 26 points as New Orleans beat Cleveland 108-104

Kevin Love led Cleveland with 24 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST 26 PTS, 7 REB, 3 AST, 3 BLK · 10-18 FG, 2-4 3PT

The swing

Down 7 after the third, the Pelicans took the fourth 32-21.

NOP lead by quarter
200 −19−10−7+4 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Sixers-Raptors
Sixers 114Raptors 109
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Sixers27283029114
Raptors24243328109
The story
Joel Embiid's 36 points and 11 rebounds carried Philadelphia past Toronto, 114-109

For Toronto, Pascal Siakam had 28 PTS, 8 AST, 6 REB 36 PTS, 11 REB, 4 AST · 11-16 FG, 2-3 3PT

The swing

The second quarter, 28-24, was where the 76ers built it.

PHI lead by quarter
200 +3+7+4+5 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle

Chris Boucher was the fantasy play: 64.3 FPTS on 28 PTS, 19 REB

Fantasy angle
Heating up
+9.8points, last 5 vs season avg
Points per game
13.2Season avg23.0Last 5

23.0 points a game over his last five games, against 13.2 in 32 earlier games. Today: 24 points in 33 minutes.

Losing minutes
−11.5minutes, last 2 vs 2020–21 avg
Minutes per game
27.52020–21 avg16.0Last 2

16.0 minutes a game over his last two games, against 27.5 in 2020–21 (66 games). Today: 8 points in 16 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+24.4minutes, today vs season avg
Minutes per game
14.6Season avg39Today

39 minutes today, against 14.6 a game in 28 earlier games. Line: 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists.

Top performances

Franz Wagner leads the day with 38

Franz WagnerPoints, last 10 games: 19, 20, 20, 10, 27, 14, 25, 20, 13, 38Magic-Bucks · L
15.6 PPG season to date · +23.0 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Career high38 PTS · 7 REB · 3 AST
Joel EmbiidPoints, last 10 games: 43, 32, 19, 26, 17, 32, 41, 23, 36, 36Sixers-Raptors · W
26.0 PPG season to date · +10.5 vs his regular-season average before tonight
36 PTS · 11 REB · 4 AST
Shai Gilgeous-AlexanderPoints, last 10 games: 26, 11, 18, 33, 18, 23, 27, 29, 31, 33Thunder-Kings · L
22.7 PPG season to date · +10.6 vs his regular-season average before tonight
33 PTS · 5 REB · 5 AST
LeBron JamesPoints, last 10 games: 20, 33, 30, 24, 18, 31, 34, 36, 39, 32Lakers-Rockets · W
27.6 PPG season to date · +4.6 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Most like it, modern era: Paul Pierce BOS, May 7, 2003: 32 PTS · 10 REB · 11 AST
32 PTS · 10 REB · 11 AST
Tyler HerroPoints, last 10 games: 18, 15, 24, 9, 17, 12, 26, 29, 2, 32Heat-Wizards · W
20.6 PPG season to date · +11.8 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Season high32 PTS · 6 REB · 3 AST
Chris BoucherPoints, last 10 games: 6, 6, 14, 11, 14, 17, 9, 11, 21, 28Raptors-Sixers · L
8.6 PPG season to date · +20.1 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Season high28 PTS · 19 REB · 0 AST
Hot and cold

Last 10 games against the season so far

Hot
Gary HarrisORL+5.9 16.2 last 10 · 10.3 season
Caris LeVertIND+5.0 22.1 last 10 · 17.1 season
Franz WagnerORL+5.0 20.6 last 10 · 15.6 season
Gabe VincentMIA+4.6 13.2 last 10 · 8.6 season
Joel EmbiidPHI+4.5 30.5 last 10 · 26.0 season
Cold
Montrezl HarrellWAS−4.0 10.5 last 10 · 14.5 season
Grayson AllenMIL−3.7 8.5 last 10 · 12.2 season
Tyrese MaxeyPHI−3.2 13.3 last 10 · 16.5 season
Ja MorantMEM−3.1 20.6 last 10 · 23.7 season
Harrison BarnesSAC−3.1 14.2 last 10 · 17.3 season