About Last Night

About Last Night: Brook Lopez makes it rain in Denver

Tyson Chandler preserves Lakers' win; Rockets rediscover touch from beyond the arc

Lonny Krasnow, NBA.com

How hot was Brook Lopez last night? At one point, his shoelace exploded.

Lopez knocked down a career-high eight 3-pointers and scored a season-high 28 points to help the Bucks defeat the Nuggets 121-114 in a matchup of fast-starting teams. With the victory, the Bucks ended their four-game, West Coast trip with a 2-2 record, knocking off Denver and the mighty Golden State Warriors.

Channeling his inner Steph Curry, Lopez drilled six of seven 3-point attempts in third quarter alone, including several from at least 25 feet. Lopez has made at least six 3s in three of his last four games and is shooting 38.8 percent from deep this season. He was 8 of 13 from distance Sunday night.

Asked about his latest 3-point barrage, Lopez said, “If you’re open and that’s your shot, just let it fly.”

The Bucks certainly have been letting it fly from beyond the arc this season under new head coach Mike Budenholzer, so don’t expect Lopez to stop chucking from deep. Milwaukee currently leads the league in 3-pointers made per game and are second in 3-pointers attempted per game.

Carter brings back classic

The boing is back. Vince Carter plans to wear his iconic Nike Shox BB4 for the rest of the season, the shoe he wore when he soared over 7-foot-2 Frenchman Frederic Weis at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

Carter laced up the classic sneakers before the Hawks-Lakers game.

“The success of the dunk started the legend of the shoes,” said Carter. I became a star player in the BB4.”

Cue “The Dunk of Death” …

Chandler’s last-second swat

Bought out by the Suns and signed by the Lakers last week, Tyson Chandler has played a key defensive role in his first three games with his new team — all wins.

After LeBron James’ go-ahead dunk with 15 seconds remaining, Chandler blocked Trae Young’s driving layup to preserve a 107-106 victory over the Hawks.

Believe it or not, it was James’ first career game-winning dunk in the final minute of a game (regular season or playoffs).

“I find myself acting like a kid in a candy store again,” said Chandler, who couldn’t hear James amid the din of music and cheering.

“I said, ‘That’s my dawg,'” James yelled across the Lakers’ locker room.

Rockets rediscover identity

It took nearly a month, but the Rockets finally got their first home win. And they did it with a familiar formula.

Houston took 47 shots from deep and made a season-high 20 in its 115-103 victory over the Pacers. Harden led the way with eight 3s as he posted his first 40-point game of the season.

Tough night at the Garden

Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Knicks came out flat and missed 10 of their first 12 shots.

New York trailed Orlando 30-10 after the first quarter, and a smattering of boos could be heard from the Madison Square Garden crowd.

Orlando led by 33 early in the fourth quarter and won 115-89, handing coach David Fizdale his worst loss since coming to the Knicks.

One bright spot for New York: Mitchell Robinson set a Knicks rookie record with nine blocks.

Stat of the night

Brook Lopez has made more 3-pointers (39) this season than Klay Thompson (31) … and Thompson has more rebounds (47) this year than Lopez (42).

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