Starting 5 Daily Newsletter

NBA Starting 5, Dec. 17: Jimmy and SGA for the win, Keegan's dozen 3s

Saturday's 10 games included two game-winners and a historic night of shooting. Check out everything you need to know.

Jimmy Butler said he was gonna do it.

And Jimmy Butler did it.

Keep reading for a guarantee made good, SGA’s game-winner, a historic night from Chet Holmgren and a performance that just put Keegan Murray in elite company.

THE LINEUP 🏀

  1. 👀  Must-see from Saturday night
  2. 🔥  Jimmy and SGA for the win
  3. 💦  Keegan Murray drops a dozen 3s
  4. 📈  Streaks: Embiid, Luka, Clippers
  5. 🌀  Roundup: KAT and Ant deliver

📲  Sunday: 5 games in the NBA App

🏀  Matinee: Magic-Celtics, 3 ET

🏀  Primetime: Warriors-Blazers, 9 ET

1. SUNDAY MORNING MUST-SEE

💥 Game-winning buckets

Start your day with the two biggest shots from last night, then read more about them in Section 2 ⬇️

🖼 Poster dunks

💰 Dime dropping bigs

📊 Career nights from 2022 top five picks

  • No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren blocked a career-high eight shots, matching Wemby and Brook Lopez for the most by a player this season
  • No. 4 pick Keegan Murray sank a career-high and franchise-record 12 3s on his way to a career-high 47 points

2. JIMMY + SGA FOR THE WIN

🔥 Heat 118, Bulls 116
🏀 Recap | CHI 15-11, MIA 10-17

Let’s rewind three weeks to Nov. 24.

Miami at New York in the In-Season Tournament.

  • After giving up a 21-point lead, the Heat trailed by two with 10 seconds to play and got the ball in Jimmy Butler’s hands
  • He launched a step-back 3 for the win, but it rimmed out
  • After the loss, Butler had this to say:
  • “I’m always gonna go for the win. Myself and everybody else that’s riding with me, we’re gonna live with the result. But I guarantee I’m making the next one.”

Jimmy delivered on that guarantee Saturday night in Miami, hitting a step-back jumper at the buzzer to give the Heat a 118-116 win over Chicago.

Saturday’s shot gave Jimmy seven career game-winners. We dug into the video vault for the previous six:

⛈️ Thunder 118, Nuggets 117
🏀 Recap | OKC 16-8, DEN 17-10

Not long after Jimmy’s game-winner, it was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s turn for a clutch shot.

  • The stakes were a little higher for SGA. With the Heat-Bulls game tied, if Jimmy missed, the game would’ve gone to OT. OKC was trailing by one, so an SGA miss would mean a Thunder L
  • Shai’s turnaround fadeaway jumper did not miss. It dropped with 0.9 seconds to play as OKC completed its rally – outscoring Denver 21-10 in the final 5:15 – and took its only lead of the final three quarters. Watch the final 3:33
  • “Trust my work.” – Listen to Shai break down the final sequence leading to his game-winning bucket
  • Final numbers: SGA finished with 25 points, while Jalen Williams added 24 as OKC withstood Nikola Jokic’s 24 points and 12 assists
  • Franchise history: Chet Holmgren (17 pts, 11 reb, 8 blk) set a Thunder/Sonics record for most blocks by a rookie

3. KEE-GAN MUR-RAY NIGHT IN SACTOWN

👑 Kings 125, Jazz 104
🏀 Recap | SAC 15-9, UTA 9-17

“Keeeee-gan … Murrrrr-ray!”

Whenever Keegan Murray makes a 3 in Sacramento, PA announcer Scott Moak (Kee-gan) and the Golden 1 Center crowd (Mur-ray) execute this celebratory call-and-response.

It was just added to NBA 2K on Thursday.

Moak and the fans may be a bit hoarse on Sunday after doing it 12 times in Saturday’s win over Utah thanks to a scorching shooting display from the second-year forward.

A franchise-record 12 3-pointers … in just 15 attempts … part of a career-high 47 points.

  • “He did what?!” – Steph Curry’s reaction when being told that Murray had shot 12-of-13 from 3 through three quarters. “12 of 13 is nuts.”
  • Elite shooting class: Murray became just the seventh player to ever make 12 or more 3s in an NBA game, joining Klay Thompson (three times), Curry (twice), Kobe Bryant, Donyell Marshall, Damian Lillard and Zach LaVine
  • Most efficient: Of this group, none shot a higher percentage than Murray’s 80%
  • Youngest: At 23 years, 119 days old, Murray is the youngest to hit a dozen 3s. Kobe and LaVine are the only others to do it before turning 25
  • Beating Buddy: Murray’s 12 3s breaks the Kings franchise record previously held by Buddy Hield (11 3s on Nov. 25, 2019 vs Boston)

4. CLIPPERS, EMBIID, LUKA KEEP STREAKS ALIVE

Clippers win 7th straight

⛵ Clippers 144, Knicks 122
🏀 Recap | LAC 15-10, NYK 14-11

The longest active win streak in the NBA belongs to the LA Clippers.

  • LA scored a season-high 144 points to remain unbeaten in December, closing out a four-game homestand with a 22-point win over New York
  • Kawhi Leonard led the way with 36 points, Paul George added 25 points, while James Harden dished out 12 assists as he continues to thrive in his playmaking role
  • Russ assists on and off court: Before Westbrook had this great drop-off pass to a streaking Kawhi for the dunk, he gifted his shoes to a young fan pregame
  • Can the streak travel?: LA will look to keep the streak going as they hit the road for a three-game trip – Monday at IND, Wednesday at DAL, Thursday at OKC. They are just 4-7 on the road so far this season

Embiid becomes 7th player with 10 straight 30/10 games

🔔 Sixers 135, Hornets 82
🏀 Recap | PHI 18-7, CHA 7-17

Joel Embiid is averaging 38 points per game over his past four games.

Without playing a single minute in the fourth quarter.

  • Quick work: Embiid finished with 42 points and 15 rebounds in just three quarters as the Sixers got the wire-to-wire win for their sixth straight dub
  • Playing with the lead: The Sixers have not trailed in 11 straight quarters of play over their past three games. It is the second time they’ve done this over the past 20 years

Embiid extended his streak of 30+ points and 10+ rebounds to 10 straight games – the last four coming in just three quarters of play

  • Last 50 years: Embiid became the third player in the past 50 seasons with a double-digit 30/10 streak. He joins: Shaq (11 games in 2001) and Moses Malone (11 games in 1982)
  • All-Time: There have only been 18 such streaks in NBA history, by seven players. Wilt Chamberlain owns 11 of those streaks, including the longest (a ludicrous 65 games in 1961-62)
  • The others on the list: Elgin Baylor (twice), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (get well soon Cap) and Walt Bellamy

Luka first Mav with 10 straight 30+ point games

🐴 Mavs 131, Blazers 120
🏀 Recap | DAL 16-9, POR 6-18

Luka Doncic needed only one half to reach 30 points for the 10th straight game, becoming the first Maverick with a double-digit streak.

  • Unstoppable: He finished with 40 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists as Dallas won their league-leading ninth road game so far this season
  • Most 40-point games: Luka now has a league-high five 40+ point games this season, including three in his last eight games
  • Another 40-point triple-double: Luka passed Wilt for the fourth-most 40-point triple-doubles in history with eight. He trails only Oscar Robertson (22), Harden (16) and Westbrook (13) 

5. ROUNDUP: KAT AND ANT KEEP WOLVES ATOP WEST

🐺 Wolves 127, Pacers 109
🏀 Recap | MIN 19-5, IND 13-11

  • This game was billed as offense (Pacers) vs. defense (Wolves), but Minnesota’s offense matched its season-high with 127 points, 77 of which came from Karl-Anthony Towns (40) and Anthony Edwards (37)
  • KAT and Ant became the fifth duo this season to both score 35+ points in the same game, joining Philly’s Embiid and Maxey, OKC’s SGA and Holmgren, LA’s PG and Kawhi, and Dallas’ Luka and Kyrie

🌉 Warriors 124, Nets 120
🏀 Recap | GSW 11-14, BKN 13-12

🦌 Bucks 146, Pistons 114
🏀 Recap | MIL 18-7, DET 2-24

⚔️ Cavs 127, Hawks 119
🏀 Recap | CLE 14-12, ATL 10-15

  • Jarrett Allen scored 17 of his team-high 25 points in the first quarter as Cleveland never trailed after the game’s first 90 seconds. Donovan Mitchell added 22 points and a career-high 13 dimes for Cleveland, while Trae Young had a game-high 35 points and 10 assists for Atlanta

Note: Holmgren was initially credited with nine blocks, with one removed at the 2:49 mark of the 3rd, as the Nuggets lost the ball out of bounds

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