FloaterDaily Brief
Sunday, December 18, 2022Regular season · 7 games
← Dec 17CalendarDec 19 →

7 games, none went to overtime. Biggest comeback: BKN trailed DET by 17 at halftime and won 124–121.

Final · Box score
Magic95
Celtics92
Q1 ORL +3; Q2 ORL +9; Q3 ORL -3; Q4 ORL +3
Final · Box score
Knicks109
Pacers106
Q1 NYK +1; Q2 NYK +1; Q3 NYK -1; Q4 NYK +3
Final · Box score
Nets124
Pistons121
Q1 BKN -14; Q2 BKN -17; Q3 BKN +2; Q4 BKN +3
Final · Box score
Warriors126
Raptors110
Q1 GSW +10; Q2 GSW +14; Q3 GSW +22; Q4 GSW +16
Final · Box score
Bulls126
Wolves150
Q1 MIN -2; Q2 MIN +6; Q3 MIN +16; Q4 MIN +24
Final · Box score
Hornets115
Nuggets119
Q1 DEN -5; Q2 DEN +3; Q3 DEN +14; Q4 DEN +4
Final · Box score
Wizards117
Lakers119
Q1 LAL +1; Q2 LAL +14; Q3 LAL -1; Q4 LAL +2
On this day · 2021–22Dec 18, 2021: 7 games. Top scorer: Bradley Beal (Wizards-Jazz), 37 points.
Dec 18 in other seasons2025202320192018201720162015201420132012201020092008200720062005200420032002200120001999199719961995
The lead · Nets-Pistons

Kevin Durant scores 43 as Brooklyn wins in Detroit

Nikola Jokic posts a triple-double

Game flow · BKN margin at each break
-25-15-5+5+15+25TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0-14-17+2+3BKN AHEAD ↑DET AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
Nets21334426124
Pistons35362525121
Who led
Kevin DurantPoints, last 10 games: 31, 45, 39, 17, 31, 29, 34, 30, 28, 43BKN43 PTS · 6 REB · 2 AST
Kyrie IrvingPoints, last 10 games: 22, 20, 27, 27, 18, 33, 33, 24, 32, 38BKN38 PTS · 6 REB · 3 AST
Bojan BogdanovicPoints, last 10 games: 13, 30, 18, 31, 5, 19, 38, 24, 22, 26DET26 PTS · 1 REB · 4 AST
Jaden IveyPoints, last 10 games: 16, 16, 10, 10, 12, 10, 16, 13, 5, 19DET19 PTS · 4 REB · 1 AST
Second story · the whole slate

Five close finishes and one Timberwolves rout

Five of 7 games were decided by four points or fewer. Minnesota beat Chicago by 24.

LAL over WAS2ORL over BOS3NYK over IND3BKN over DET3DEN over CHA4GSW over TOR16MIN over CHI24Final margin, points. Pink = decided by 4 or fewer, plus the widest win.
Lead changes
Magic-Celtics14
Wizards-Lakers14
Bulls-Wolves9
Hornets-Nuggets7
Nets-Pistons5
Warriors-Raptors1
Shot of the night

Bryant's dunk with 7.1 seconds left breaks the tie, 119-117 final

The night in charts
Bulls-Wolves combined for 276, 31 more than any other game
Points by game
Bulls-WolvesBulls 126, Wolves 150
276
Nets-PistonsNets 124, Pistons 121
245
Warriors-RaptorsWarriors 126, Raptors 110
236
Wizards-LakersWizards 117, Lakers 119
236
Hornets-NuggetsHornets 115, Nuggets 119
234
Knicks-PacersKnicks 109, Pacers 106
215
Magic-CelticsMagic 95, Celtics 92
187
5 of 7 games were decided by 5 or fewer
Closest finishes
Wizards-LakersWizards 117, Lakers 119
+2 LAL
Magic-CelticsMagic 95, Celtics 92
+3 ORL
Knicks-PacersKnicks 109, Pacers 106
+3 NYK
Nets-PistonsNets 124, Pistons 121
+3 BKN
Hornets-NuggetsHornets 115, Nuggets 119
+4 DEN
Warriors-RaptorsWarriors 126, Raptors 110
+16 GSW
Bulls-WolvesBulls 126, Wolves 150
+24 MIN
BKN erased a 17-point hole
Biggest comebacks, at quarter breaks
Nets-PistonsBKN won · Nets 124, Pistons 121
17 pts
Hornets-NuggetsDEN won · Hornets 115, Nuggets 119
5 pts
Magic-CelticsORL won · Magic 95, Celtics 92
3 pts
Bulls-WolvesMIN won · Bulls 126, Wolves 150
2 pts
Wizards-LakersLAL won · Wizards 117, Lakers 119
1 pt
Nesmith shot 9-of-12 for the night's hottest hand
Hottest shooting · min 10 FGA
NesmithIND · 23 PTS, 10 REB, 1 STL
75% (9-12)
RussellMIN · 28 PTS, 8 AST, 2 REB
71% (10-14)
VucevicCHI · 23 PTS, 9 REB, 5 AST, 2 STL
67% (10-15)
KDBKN · 43 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST, 2 BLK
64% (14-22)
Bruce BrownDEN · 16 PTS, 4 AST, 2 BLK, 1 REB
64% (7-11)
Final · Nets-Pistons
Nets 124Pistons 121
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Nets21334426124
Pistons35362525121
The story
Kyrie Irving had 38 points as Brooklyn beat Detroit 124-121

Bojan Bogdanovic led Detroit with 26 PTS, 4 AST 38 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST · 13-23 FG, 5-10 3PT

The swing

Down 17 after the second, the Nets took the third 44-25.

BKN lead by quarter
200 −14−17+2+3 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Final · Magic-Celtics
Magic 95Celtics 92
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Magic2624182795
Celtics2318302192
The story
Orlando beat Boston 95-92 behind 31 points from Paolo Banchero

Marcus Smart paced Boston: 15 PTS, 7 REB, 7 AST 31 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST · 9-21 FG, 6-7 3PT

The swing

A 24-18 second quarter did the most damage for the Magic.

ORL lead by quarter
200 +3+9−3+3 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle

Jaylen Brown topped the game at 54.8 FPTS: 24 PTS, 14 REB, 2 AST

Final · Hornets-Nuggets
Hornets 115Nuggets 119
TeamQ1Q2Q3Q4T
Hornets25272835115
Nuggets20353925119
The story
Aaron Gordon's 19 points and 10 rebounds carried Denver past Charlotte, 119-115

For Charlotte, Jalen McDaniels had 14 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST 19 PTS, 10 REB, 3 STL, 1 AST · 6-9 FG, 2-2 3PT

The swing

The third quarter, 39-28, was where the Nuggets built it.

DEN lead by quarter
200 −5+3+14+4 Q1Q2Q3Q4
Fantasy angle
Heating up
+10.0points, last 5 vs season avg
Points per game
16.6Season avg26.6Last 5

26.6 points a game over his last five games, against 16.6 in 27 earlier games. Today: 28 points in 37 minutes.

Losing minutes
−11.6minutes, last 2 vs 2021–22 avg
Minutes per game
29.62021–22 avg18.0Last 2

18.0 minutes a game over his last two games, against 29.6 in 2021–22 (61 games). Today: 6 points in 18 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+25.1minutes, today vs season avg
Minutes per game
11.9Season avg37Today

37 minutes today, against 11.9 a game in 17 earlier games. Line: 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists.

Top performances

Kevin Durant leads the day with 43

Kevin DurantPoints, last 10 games: 31, 45, 39, 17, 31, 29, 34, 30, 28, 43Nets-Pistons · W
30.4 PPG season to date · +13.1 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Most like it, modern era: Glenn Robinson MIL, Dec 18, 1996: 42 PTS · 6 REB · 2 AST
43 PTS · 6 REB · 2 AST
Jordan PoolePoints, last 10 games: 9, 30, 21, 23, 36, 20, 18, 20, 29, 43Warriors-Raptors · W
19.0 PPG season to date · +24.8 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Most like it, modern era: Gilbert Arenas WAS, Nov 12, 2005: 43 PTS · 1 REB · 6 AST
Career high43 PTS · 1 REB · 6 AST
Nikola JokicPoints, last 10 games: 32, 17, 24, 32, 19, 33, 31, 43, 25, 40Nuggets-Hornets · W
25.2 PPG season to date · +15.4 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Most like it, modern era: DeMarcus Cousins NOP, Jan 22, 2018: 44 PTS · 23 REB · 10 AST
40 PTS · 27 REB · 10 AST
Kyrie IrvingPoints, last 10 games: 22, 20, 27, 27, 18, 33, 33, 24, 32, 38Nets-Pistons · W
26.1 PPG season to date · +12.4 vs his regular-season average before tonight
38 PTS · 6 REB · 3 AST
Anthony EdwardsPoints, last 10 games: 29, 29, 26, 26, 14, 26, 17, 19, 19, 37Wolves-Bulls · W
22.9 PPG season to date · +14.6 vs his regular-season average before tonight
Season high37 PTS · 7 REB · 11 AST
LeBron JamesPoints, last 10 games: 21, 31, 28, 29, 21, 23, 35, 33, 30, 33Lakers-Wizards · W
27.0 PPG season to date · +6.3 vs his regular-season average before tonight
33 PTS · 7 REB · 9 AST
Hot and cold

Last 10 games against the season so far

Hot
Jordan PooleGSW+5.9 24.9 last 10 · 19.0 season
D'Angelo RussellMIN+5.7 22.7 last 10 · 17.0 season
Nikola JokicDEN+4.4 29.6 last 10 · 25.2 season
Shake MiltonPHI+4.3 15.8 last 10 · 11.5 season
Zion WilliamsonNOP+4.2 29.7 last 10 · 25.5 season
Cold
De'Aaron FoxSAC−4.9 17.7 last 10 · 22.6 season
Stephen CurryGSW−3.7 26.3 last 10 · 30.0 season
Max StrusMIA−3.6 9.8 last 10 · 13.4 season
Brook LopezMIL−3.4 10.6 last 10 · 14.0 season
Darius GarlandCLE−3.2 17.6 last 10 · 20.8 season