Starting 5 Daily Newsletter

NBA Starting 5, Jan. 4: Points on points & MORE Hali history

Wednesday saw a record 5 teams score 140+ points and 10 teams drop 130+ points -- all on the same historic night.

2,928 points were scored on Wednesday.

That is the most points scored on a night with 12 or fewer games in NBA history.


THE LINEUP 🏀

  1. 👀 Must-see from Wednesday
  2. 🔥 1st time ever: 5 teams score 140+
  3. 🤯 1st time ever: 10 teams score 130+
  4. 🌪️ Wrapping up a 12-game Wednesday
  5. 1️ Rookie GIFs: Giannis & Wemby

📺 TNT Doubleheader: There may only be two games on tonight’s schedule, but the night is still loaded with star power. Giannis, Dame and Wemby in the opener as the Bucks visit the Spurs (7:30 ET). Joker, Murray, Steph, Klay and CP3 in the nightcap as the Warriors host the Nuggets (10 ET) in a meeting of the last two champs

All-Star First Returns: The first fan voting update will be released today. See where your picks stand, then make sure to cast your daily vote. Friday is the second 3-for-1 day where each vote counts three times


1. MUST-SEE: POINTS ON POINTS ON POINTS

🔥 1st time in NBA history 5 teams scored 140+ points in the same night

  • Jazz 154 vs. Pistons 148; Pacers 142, Hawks 141, Cavs 140
  • Get the full story in Section 2 🔽

🤯 1st time in NBA history 10 teams scored 130+ points in the same night

  • Kings 138 vs. Magic 135; Thunder 138, Clippers 131, Bucks 130
  • Get the full story in Section 3 🔽

Must-See Plays from Wednesday

🖼️ Poster Dunks

🎇 Razzle Dazzle

🏦 Off the Glass

  • Buddy Hield wasn’t credited with an assist for this toss off the board to Isaiah Jackson for the slam
  • Kyrie Irving tried to throw an alley-oop pass but banked the lob in for two points of his own

❤️ Dads & Daughters


2. 1ST TIME 5 TEAMS SCORE 140+ POINTS ON SAME NIGHT

An overtime thriller between the Jazz and Pistons led a record-setting field of 140+ point games.

🎷 Jazz 154, Pistons 148 (OT)
🏀 UTA 16-19, DET 3-31 | Recap

Lauri Markkanen thought he had the game-winning 3 with 4.4 seconds left, but Alec Burks tied it at the buzzer to force overtime. Jordan Clarkson scored 21 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and overtime for Utah. Bojan Bogdanovic matched the 36 points with eight 3s for Detroit.

  • Record Scoring: Utah’s 154 points are a franchise record for a home game. The 302 combined points marks the second-highest scoring game of the season, topped only by the 309 points in Indiana’s 157-152 win over Atlanta on Nov. 21

🏎️ Pacers 142, Bucks 130
🏀 IND 19-14, MIL 24-10 | Recap

Led by another historic performance from Tyrese Haliburton (31 pts, 12 ast, 3 blk, 5 3s, 0 tov), the Pacers beat the Bucks for the fourth time in their fifth and final meeting of the regular season. Indy also won its fifth straight overall – its longest win streak since Nov. 2022.

  • Haliburton joins Kareem (32 pts, 11 ast, 6 blk on Feb. 13, 1980) as the only players in NBA history with 30+ pts, 10+ ast, 3+ blk and 0 turnovers. Hali had four more 3s in this game than Kareem had in his entire career
  • Haliburton during the streak: Tyrese has tallied 76 assists and only seven turnovers over the past five games. He’s the first player with such a ratio since turnovers have been tracked (1977-78)

🅰️ Hawks 141, Thunder 138
🏀 ATL 14-19, OKC 23-10 |  Recap

It’s rare to say a team “escaped” with a wire-to-wire win, but that’s what happened in Atlanta. The Hawks never trailed but had to hold off a late 14-2 Thunder rally over the final 2:20 to get the win. Jalen Johnson posted a career-high 28 points, while Trae Young added 24 and 11 assists

⚔️ Cavs 140, Wizards 101
🏀 CLE 19-15, WAS 6-27 | Recap

The Cavs put up a season-high 140 points and shot a season-best 47.6% (20-for-42) from 3-point range as they cruised past the Wizards. Max Strus made six 3s to lead five Cavs with 3+ triples on the night


3. 1ST TIME 10 TEAMS SCORE 130+ POINTS ON SAME NIGHT

In addition to the five teams that scored 140+, another five scored 130+ on Wednesday. Two were in Section 2, falling to teams who scored 140+. Read on for three more, led by a double-overtime classic in Sacramento.

👑 Kings 138, Magic 135 (2OT)
🏀 SAC 20-13, ORL 19-15 | Recap

Deep breath. Malik Monk (37 pts, 9 ast, 7 3s), and Domantas Sabonis (22 pts, 23 reb, 12 ast) combined for 59 points as the Kings survived a career night from Paolo Banchero (43 pts, 23 in the 4th and OTs, 6 3s) and a franchise-record 25 3s from the shorthanded Magic to improve to a league-best 3-0 in overtime games

  • Fantastic Finish: Monk’s layup with 10 seconds left in regulation forced OT. Banchero’s cutting baseline layup with 1 second left forced 2OT. Fox scored five of his 15 points in 2OT to help the Kings prevail. Watch the best moments down the stretch
  • 🗣️ Monk Talks Clutch: “That’s the game. That’s why you want to play basketball, to be in moments like this. Game tied up, overtime – whatcha gonna do? I live for these moments.
  • 1st in 55 Years: Sabonis became the first player with 22+ points, 23+ rebounds and 12+ assists in a game since Wilt Chamberlain (March 19, 1968)
  • Amazing Company: Wilt (19 times), Maurice Stokes (twice), Elgin Baylor, Bill Russell, Sabonis (once each)

Clippers 131, Suns 122
🏀 LAC 21-12, PHX 18-16 | Recap

Paul George (33 pts, 7 reb, 5 3s) and Kawhi Leonard (30 pts, 8 reb, 4 3s) combined for 63 points to lead the Clippers to their fourth straight win, snapping Phoenix’s four-game win streak. James Harden added 22 points and 11 assists for LA, while Devin Booker had a game-high 35 for the Suns


4. ROUNDING OUT A 12-GAME WEDNESDAY

⚜️ Pelicans 117, Wolves 106
🏀 NOP 21-14, MIN 24-9 | Recap

Zion Williamson had 27 points, six assists and one emphatic block to lead the Pelicans past the West-leading Wolves for their fourth straight win, matching their longest streak of the season. CJ McCollum and Herb Jones combined for 40 points and eight 3s, while Anthony Edwards had a game-high 35 for Minnesota

🦖 Raptors 116, Grizzlies 111
🏀 TOR 14-20, MEM 11-23 | Recap

Toronto defeated Memphis to improve to 2-0 since acquiring Immanuel Quickley (26 pts, 5 ast, 5 3s) and RJ Barrett (14 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast). Pascal Siakam (24) and Scottie Barnes (20) added 44 points as the Raptors held off Ja Morant (28 pts, 8 reb, 9 ast) and the Grizzlies

🗽 Knicks 116, Bulls 100
🏀 NYK 19-15, CHI 15-21 | Recap

The Knicks got a pair of 30+ point games from Julius Randle (35 pts, 23 in the second half) and Jalen Brunson (31 pts, 13 ast, first career 30/10 game) to improve to 2-0 since the trade. OG Anunoby added 11 points, while Isaiah Hartenstein had 10 points and a career-high 20 boards. DeMar DeRozan had 28 points on 10-for-13 shooting to lead Chicago

🐴 Mavericks 126, Blazers 97
DAL 20-15, POR 9-24 | Recap

Luka Doncic (41 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast) needed only three quarters to drop his league-high seventh 40+ point game of the season to lead the Mavs past the Blazers. Kyrie Irving added 29 points in his second game back after missing the final dozen of 2023

🔥 Heat 110, Lakers 96
🏀 MIA 20-14, LAL 17-18 | Recap

Tyler Herro (21 pts, 4 3s) led a balanced Heat attack – all eight players who played at least one minute scored in double figures. Jaime Jaquez Jr. (16 pts, 8 ast) and Bam Adebayo (15 pts, 7 reb) combined for 31, while Anthony Davis led L.A. with 29 pts and 17 reb

🚀 Rockets 112, Nets 101
🏀 HOU 17-15, BKN 15-20 | Recap

Alperen Sengun (30 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl) posted his fifth 30+ point game of the season, while Fred VanVleet (21 pts, 10 ast) posted his seventh 20/10 game to lead the Rockets past the Nets


5. ROOKIE GIFS: GIANNIS & WEMBY

When the Spurs host the Bucks on Thursday (7:30 ET, TNT), Victor Wembanyama and Giannis Antetokounmpo will share an NBA court for the first time.

Two players that combine talent, length and athleticism to pull off plays that 99.9% of the basketball world could never possibly achieve. Or sometimes, even imagine.

We dug into the archive to find three plays from Giannis’ first years in the league that mirror a few of Victor’s most mind-blowing (and viral) plays a decade later.

Baseline Reverse Finishes

Transition Eurostep Dunks

Statue of Liberty Dunks

Latest