TOR@ATL Atlanta Hawks Bogdanovic, Bogdan Out Injury/Illness – Right Knee; Avulsion Fracture Dunn, Kris Out Injury/Illness – Right Ankle; Surgery Huerter, Kevin Probable Injury/Illness – Left Ankle; Soreness Hunter, De’Andre Out Injury/Illness – Right Knee; Discomfort Okongwu, Onyeka Questionable Injury/Illness – Left Achilles; Soreness Young, Trae Questionable Injury/Illness – Right Calf; Contusion Toronto Raptors Anunoby, OG Out Injury/Illness – Left Calf; Strain Flynn, Malachi Out G League – On Assignment Harris, Jalen Out G League – Two-Way McCaw, Patrick Out Injury/Illness – Left Knee; Surgery – rehabilitation
RAPTORS NOTES • The Toronto Raptors play the second game of a back-to-back set (Feb. 5-6) Saturday night against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena. The Raptors have won 10 in a row over the Hawks, including the last six meetings in Atlanta. Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet averaged 25.3 and 21.3 points, respectively, in three victories vs. the Hawks last season. Saturday marks Toronto’s lone game with Atlanta during the first half of the season. The Raptors will host Atlanta twice in the second half. The Raptors are 0-2 in the second game of a back-to-back this season. • Pascal Siakam scored a season-high 33 points (12-23 FG, 9-10 FT) last night at Brooklyn. Siakam has now scored 30 or more points in three of the last four games (Jan. 29 – Feb. 5). He is averaging 26.8 points, while shooting .506 (39-77) from the field and .853 (29-34) at the free throw during this stretch. Siakam scored 30+ points once in his first 15 games. • The Raptors have won a season high-tying three straight games (Jan. 31 – Feb. 5). Over the last three games, Toronto is averaging 120.3 points and shooting .481 (130-270) from the floor. The Raptors have a +15 steal differential (32-to-17) and forced 46 opponent turnovers during the winning streak. • Kyle Lowry scored a season-high 30 points (12-18 FG, 6-9 3PT) yesterday against the Nets. Lowry needs 13 rebounds to pass Amir Johnson (2,836) for fourth on the franchise’s career rebounds list and is 16 away from passing Antonio Davis (2,839) for third. Lowry already ranks first in Raptors history in assists (4,073) and third in scoring (10.092). Only three active players are inside the top-three all-time for a team in scoring, rebounds and assists, but none of those players are currently with that team; LeBron James (Cleveland), Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City) and Marc Gasol (Memphis). • The Raptors continue a six-game road trip (Jan. 31 – Feb. 11) – their longest in the first half – Saturday at Atlanta. Toronto is on the road for 11 days as Super Bowl LV festivities take over the Tampa area. The Raptors will play 10-of-15 games on the road in the month of February. Toronto visits the Hawks having won consecutive road games (Feb. 2-5) for the first time this season. • Toronto scored a season-best 64 points in the paint Friday at Brooklyn. The Raptors have now scored 50 or more points in the paint in three of their last four games (Jan. 29 – Feb. 5), averaging 52.0 points during this span. Toronto currently ranks 26th in the NBA averaging 41.5 points in the paint this season. • Fred VanVleet scored a franchise record 54 points (17-23 FG, 11-14 3PT, 9-9 FT) Feb. 2 at Orlando, surpassing the previous record of 52 set by DeMar DeRozan on Jan. 1, 2018 vs. Milwaukee (OT). FVanVleet became just the fourth player in Raptors history to record a 50-point game, joining Vince Carter (51 – Feb. 27, 2000 vs. Phoenix, Terrence Ross (51 – Ja. 25, 2014 vs. L.A. Clippers) and DeRozan.
STREAKING: Joe Harris has made at least one 3-pointer in a Nets franchise-record 54 straight home games, dating to 2/25/19 vs. San Antonio. LAST THREE: Since scoring a season-low-tying six points and seeing his franchise-record 79-game streak with at least one 3-pointer made end on 1/27 at Atlanta, Harris has averaged 21.0 ppg (.561 FG), 2.0 rpg and 3.3 apg in 33.1 mpg in his last three games, scoring 20+ points twice and shooting 16-of-29 (.552) from 3-point range. 1/31 at WAS: Harris scored a career-high-tying 30 points (also: 3/25/18 vs. Cleveland) and made a career-high 8-of-13 3FG in 32 minutes. Harris is the seventh player in franchise history to make eight or more 3-pointers in a game (a total of 11 times), and the first since D’Angelo Russell sank 8-of-12 from distance on 1/18/19 at Orlando. SCORING: Brooklyn is 8-2 this season in games that Harris has tallied 15+ points in (5-1 when Harris scores 20+ points).
Fred VanVleet has made at least one 3-pointer in a Raptors franchise-record 53 straight games entering Friday. He made 11-for-14 shots from beyond the arc in scoring a franchise-record 54 points Tuesday against the Orlando Magic.
TOR@BKN Brooklyn Nets Claxton, Nicolas Out Injury/Illness – Right Knee; Tendinopathy Dinwiddie, Spencer Out Injury/Illness – Right Knee; Partially Torn ACL Perry, Reggie Out G League – Two-Way Toronto Raptors Anunoby, OG Out Injury/Illness – Left Calf; Strain Baynes, Aron Probable Injury/Illness – Right Groin; Strain Flynn, Malachi Out G League – On Assignment Harris, Jalen Out G League – Two-Way McCaw, Patrick Out Injury/Illness – Left Knee; Surgery – rehabilitation
Kyle Lowry recorded a season-best 15 assists Jan. 31 vs. Orlando. Lowry is the only player to total 15 or more assists in a game for the Raptors since Jose Calderon in 2012. Lowry has dished out 15+ assists six times during his nine seasons in Toronto (Last: Jan. 12, 2020 vs. Sacramento) and a total of eight times during his career. Lowry’s career high is 18 assists, which he accomplished twice with the Houston Rockets. Lowry is Toronto’s franchise leader with 4,056 total assists.
• Orlando is the fourth opponent Toronto has faced in a “series” format this season. The Raptors are 5-2 in these games, which includes a two-game sweep over Charlotte. Toronto split with both Miami and Indiana. The two game set against Orlando is the only home-and-away “series” on the Raptors first half schedule. Toronto will also face Milwaukee (Feb. 16-18 at Fiserv Forum) and Philadelphia (Feb. 21-23 at Amalie Arena) consecutively before the midseason break.
Norman Powell (right quadriceps contusion) and OG Anunoby (left calf strain) are out of the Toronto Raptors lineup for the game Sunday against the Orlando Magic at Tampa, according to the NBA injury report released at 5:30 p.m. Both missed the loss to the Sacramento Kings on Friday. Coach Nick Nurse said Powell could return for the game Tuesday at Orlando, but Anunoby likely will need another week or so.
ORL@TOR Orlando Magic Aminu, Al-Farouq Out Injury/Illness – Right Knee; Injury recovery Carter-Williams, Michael Out Injury/Illness – Left Foot; Sprain Fultz, Markelle Out Injury/Illness – Left Knee; Torn ACL Isaac, Jonathan Out Injury/Illness – Left Knee; Injury recovery Mane, Karim Out G League – Two-Way Okeke, Chuma Out Injury/Illness – Left Knee; Bone bruise Toronto Raptors Anunoby, OG Out Injury/Illness – Left Calf; Strain Harris, Jalen Out G League – Two-Way McCaw, Patrick Out Injury/Illness – Left Knee; Surgery – rehabilitation Powell, Norman Doubtful Injury/Illness – Right Quadriceps; Contusion
RAPTOR NOTES • The Toronto Raptors host the Orlando Magic at Amalie Arena on Sunday evening. The game was moved up to a 7 p.m. tipoff as part of multiple schedule changes by the NBA for the coming weeks. Toronto has won five straight games against Orlando, including a four-game season-series sweep last year. This is the first meeting between the two teams since Toronto had to relocate to the Sunshine State due to Covid-19 restrictions in Canada. • Sunday’s game vs. Orlando marks the fourth time this season Toronto will face the same opponent in consecutive games. The Raptors are 4-2 in these ‘series’ games, which includes a two-game sweep over Charlotte. Toronto split with both Miami and Indiana. The two game set against Orlando is the only home-and-away series on the Raptors first half schedule. Toronto will also face Milwaukee (Feb. 16-18 at Fiserv Forum) and Philadelphia (Feb. 21-23 at Amalie Arena) consecutively before the midseason break. • Following Sunday’s game vs. Orlando, the Raptors will embark on a season-high six game road trip over the next 10 days (Feb. 2-11) as Super Bowl LV arrives in the Tampa. The trip will include stops in Orlando (Feb. 2), Brooklyn (Feb. 5), Atlanta (Feb. 6), Memphis (Feb. 8), Washington (Feb. 10) and Boston (Feb. 11). The Raptors will return to Tampa for one game Feb. 14 vs. Minnesota before leaving on a three-game trip (Feb. 16-19) to Milwaukee and Minnesota. Overall Toronto is facing 16 of the next 19 nights on the road (Feb. 1-19). • Toronto has missed at least one starter due to injury in five consecutive games (Jan. 24-29). Toronto has used five different starting lineup in each game. OG Anunoby (strained left calf) and Norman Powell (right quad contusion) both missed Friday’s game vs. Sacramento. Powell had started four straight games prior to his injury and was replaced in the starting lineup by Terence Davis. Fred VanVleet is the only player to start all 19 games for the Raptors this year. • Pascal Siakam scored a team-high 32 points Jan. 29 vs. Sacramento. He shot 11-for-20 from the field and 10-for -14 at the free throw line against the Kings, becoming the first Raptor this season to shoot 10+ free throws in multiple games. Siakam also attempted 14 free throws Jan. 6 at Phoenix. Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby and Chris Boucher are the only Raptors to attempt 10 free throws in a game this season, compared to 10 different opposing players – last: Giannis Antetokounmpo on Jan. 27 vs. Milwaukee. • CANADIAN CONTENT: Sunday’s game includes several players from the Montreal area including Khem Birch and Chris Boucher. Rookie Karim Mane is also from Montreal but was recently assigned to Orlando’s G League team in Lakeland. Toronto is in the middle of a stretch where they will face a Canadian head coach or player in six -of-eight games (Jan. 29 – Feb. 12) – Cory Joseph (Sacramento), Steve Nash (Brooklyn), Dillon Brooks (Memphis), Brandon Clarke (Memphis) and Tristan Thompson (Boston). • MISCELLANEOUS: Terrence Ross was originally selected eighth overall by Toronto in the 2012 NBA Draft … Ross averaged 9.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and shot .369 from three-point range in five seasons with the Raptors …His 51-point performance Jan. 25, 2014 is tied for the second-most points scored in a game in team history …Ross is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer off the bench (1,925 points) and ranks third with 598 three-point fields goals … Adrian Griffin was an assistant coach with Orlando during the 2015-16 season … Jeff Weltman served in the Raptors’ front office for four seasons, most recently as general manager, prior to being named President of Basketball Operations for the Orlando Magic in May 2017.
RAPTORS NOTES • The Toronto Raptors continue a three-game homestand (Jan. 27-31) by hosting the Sacramento Kings on Friday at Amalie Arena in Tampa. The Raptors won 144-123 on Jan. 8 at Sacramento to extend its winning streak against the Kings to seven straight games. Toronto has swept the season-series with Sacramento each of the past three seasons (2017-20). The last time the Raptors lost to the Kings was Nov. 20, 2016 when a game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer by Terrence Ross was overturned on video replay. • Toronto set a regular season franchise record by scoring 144 points earlier this month when they faced Sacramento. The Raptors shot a season-best .582 (53-for-91) from the field and .513 (20-for-39) from three-point range in the victory. Fred VanVleet scored 19 of his game-high 34 points in the second-half as the Raptors scored a season-high 72 points. Toronto scored 150 points Aug. 24, 2020 in Game 4 of its first round playoff series against Brooklyn. • The Raptors enter Friday’s game with a 2-6 record against Western Conference opponents. Chicago (10) is the only Eastern Conference team who has played more cross-conference games this season. Indiana has also played eight games vs. the West. The Raptors will face three more Western Conference opponents – Minnesota (twice), Memphis and Houston – before the midseason break. • Norman Powell scored a season and team-high 26 points in his fourth consecutive start Wednesday vs. Milwaukee. Powell has now started in seven games this season and scored 20+ points five times. He had a 22-point performance Jan. 8 at Sacramento. Powell has scored at least 20 points in four straight games (Jan. 15-27). His career-high for consecutive games with 20 points is five (Feb. 28 – Mar. 8, 2020). • Kyle Lowry (10,019) joined DeMar DeRozan (13,296) and Chris Bosh (10,275) as the only players in franchise history to score 10,000 career points Jan. 27 vs. Milwaukee. Golden State’s Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Washington’s Bradley Beal and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo are the only active players with 10,000 points with their current team. Lowry is Toronto’s all-time leader in three-pointer made (1,431), assists (4,035) and steals (842). • Pascal Siakam (5) and Chris Boucher (4) lead the team in double-doubles this season. The last time Toronto faced Sacramento on Jan. 8 the frontcourt duo combined for 40 points, 14 assists and 19 rebounds, while both recording a double-double. • OG Anunoby has scored at least 10 points in a career-long nine consecutive games (Jan. 10-25). Anunoby scored a season-high 30 points during Toronto’s Jan. 24 win at Indiana. He is averaging 16.8 points and is shooting .515 (53-103) from the field, .577 (30-52) from three-point range and .833 (15-18) at the free throw line, during this streak. • Toronto has missed at least one starter due to injury in each of the last four games (Jan. 24-27). As a result, the Raptors have used a different staring five in each of their last five games. Toronto has used eight different staring lineups through the first quarter of the season. Fred VanVleet is the only player to start all 18 games for the Raptors this year.
KINGS NOTES
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES GAMES POSTPONED: On Thursday, January 21, 2021, the NBA announced that the Sacramento Kings games at Memphis on Jan. 24 and Jan. 25 have been postponed in accordance with the NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols. The games are being postponed due to unavailable players for the Grizzlies and contact tracing for other players on their roster, and in order to ensure the health and safety of players on both teams. A date for the rescheduled games will be announced at a later time. SHOOTERS SHOOT: Buddy Hield currently has the longest active streak in the NBA for making at least one three-pointer a game. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Hield has a streak of 83 games with at least one made three-pointer in a game. ACTIVE CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH AT LEAST ONE 3-POINTER 83 Buddy Hield 11/03/2019 – 1/27/2021 80 Stephen Curry 12/01/2018 – 1/27/2021 79 Joe Harris 11/12/2019 – 1/25/2021 (Ended on 1/27/21) 48 Fred VanVleet 12/20/2019 – 1/27/2021 39 Karl-Anthony Towns 10/23/2019 – 1/13/2021 Hield is also second in the NBA in three-point field goals made with 67. Hield has taken 2,057 three-point attempts as a member of the Sacramento Kings and has passed Mike Bibby for third in the Sacramento-era on the Kings All-Time three-point attempts list. HOLMES IS WHERE THE BASKET IS: Richaun Holmes ranks second the NBA in field goal percentage with .681 percent. Holmes now ranks second in franchise history through the teams first 15 games for the highest field goal percentage (min. 100 FGA), trailing Otis Thorpe who shot .731 percent during the 1985-86 season. LEAGUE-WIDE RANKINGS: Individually, Richaun Holmes ranks second in the League in field goal percentage with .681 percent. Rookie Tyrese Haliburton is tied for third amongst all rookies in scoring (11.1 ppg) and second in assists (5.0), 6th in field goal percentage (.485), tied for third in three-point field goal percentage (.457), fifth in steals (1.1) per game and is 16th amongst all players in the NBA in threepoint percentage (.457) per game. As a team, Sacramento is tied for second in the NBA in free throws attempted (25.2) and eigth in free throws made (18.1) per game. The Kings also rank 10th in the NBA in pace and are tied for 14th in points per game (112.9) while also being ranked 7th in turnovers (13.8), tied for 9th in fast break points per game (14.1 ppg). To round it out, the Kings rank fourth in the NBA in points in the paint per game (52.7). NO FOX GIVEN: De’Aaron Fox set a new career-high with 43 points on a career-high tying 17 made baskets to go along with a season-high 13 assists vs. New Orleans on Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Fox is the first player in the Sac-Era and first player in franchise history to score at least 40 points and have 10 assists in a game since Tiny Archibald did so on March 13, 1973 for the Kansas City Royals. Also vs. New Orleans on Sunday, Jan. 17, Fox entered the fourth quarter with 33 points and 11 assists. Fox is the first Kings player to score at least 30 points and have at least 10 assists through three quarters in a game since Mike Bibby had 31 points and 10 assists at LA Clip- pers (12/27/05). HOT ROOKIE TYRESE: Tyrese Haliburton returned to the lineup Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 after missing two games to injury. Haliburton finished with 17 points but scored 15 points in the fourth quarter to help the Kings secure victory. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Hali- burton is the first Kings rookie since Buddy Hield scored 15 points in a fourth quarter. Hield scored 15 points vs. Phoenix on Apr. 11, 2017. Additionally, Haliburton is the second rookie to score at least 15 points in a fourth quarter this season. Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves scored 15 points on Jan. 1, 2021 vs. Washington. BLOCK PARTY: Richaun Holmes recorded a career-high six blocks Monday, Jan. 11 vs. Indiana. The sixth block coming on a goal-tending call that was then overtuned on an official review. JANUARY HOME SLATE: The Sacramento Kings opened a 7-game homestand on Wednesday, January 6, 2021 with a 128-124 victory over the Chicago Bulls. This is the second instance in Sac-Era that the Kings have had a 7-game homestand. In January of 2017, the Kings were on a 7-game homestand between Jan. 4, 2017 and Jan. 18, 2017. The Kings went 1-6 in that stretch. HOT SCORING START: According to ESPN Stats & Info, Sacramento has scored 455 points through the first four games are the most points in the first four games in the Sac-Era and the second most in Franchise History (Most: 486 points in 1960-61 in Oscar Robertson’s rookie season) SEASON OPENER THRILLER: Sacramento defeated the Denver Nuggets 124-122 in Overtime in the season opener: The Sacramento Kings 124-122 OT win over the Denver Nuggets was the first win in the Mile High City since Jan. 3, 2017 (116-110 win) and snaps a 6-game losing streak in Denver. Per @EliasSports, Wednesday night’s overtime victory for the Kings is the first season opening game to go into overtime in the Sac-era and the second time in franchise history (Nov. 5, 1955, a 100-98 loss to the New York Knicks in Rochester). Since tracking began in 96-97, Buddy Hield’s game-winner is the second game-winner on opening night in Kings franchise history. Jason Thompson had a go ahead put back dunk with :42 seconds left, also against the Nuggets on Oct. 30, 2013.
• The Toronto Raptors play the second of consecutive games at Indiana on Monday night. OG Anunoby scored a season-high 30 points to help Toronto defeat the Pacers, 107-102, yesterday afternoon. The Raptors have now won four in a row against Indiana. Toronto will not face the Pacers again during the first half of season. • The NBA has incorporated steps to reduce travel this year, including the use of a “series” model where a team will play twice in one market. The Raptors will play five “series” in the first half; they have already swept Charlotte and split with Miami with both “series” being played at home in Tampa. • The Raptors have won two straight and five of their last six games (Jan. 14-22) after starting the season 2-8. Since Jan. 14, the Raptors rank third in the NBA in points allowed (101.3) and second in opponent field goal percentage (.436). Toronto has held its opponent below 44 percent shooting four times in the last six contests. OG Anunoby and Norman Powell lead the team in scoring, averaging 18.8 and 17.0 points, respectively, during this stretch. The duo combined for 50 points in Sunday’s victory over the Pacers. • Toronto’s Nick Nurse and Indiana’s Nate Bjorkgren faced each other as head coaches in the NBA for the first time Sunday. Bjorkgren was hired by the Pacers following two seasons as an assistant coach on Nurse’s staff and was a part of Toronto’s first NBA championship in 2019. Bjorkgren also served as an assistant on Nurse’s staff with the Iowa Energy from 2007-11, where they won an NBA G League championship together in 2011. • Following the 2011 NBA G League title, Nick Nurse became head coach for Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Nate Bjorkgren became head coach for the Dakota Wizards (which later became the Santa Cruz Warriors). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Nurse and Bjorkgren met head-to-head seven times in G League action between 2011-2013. Bjorkgren’s teams held a 3-2 edge in five regular-season games, however, Rio Grande Valley and Santa Cruz met at the 2013 NBA G League Finals with Nurse’s squad prevailing 2-0. • Former Indiana Hoosier OG Anunoby has scored at least 10 points in a career-high eight consecutive games (Jan. 10-24). Anunoby is averaging a team-high 17.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.5 steals during this stretch. He is shooting .516 (49-95) from the field, including .571 (28-49) form beyond the arc, over the last eight contests. • OG Anunoby recorded a season-high 30 points (9-16 FG, 4-6 3PT, 8-10 FT), eight rebounds and tied a season best with five steals Sunday afternoon at Indiana. Anunoby joined Kawhi Leonard as the only players in franchise history with multiple games of at least 30 points, five rebounds and five steals. Anunoby tallied career highs of 32 points and seven steals, along with seven rebounds, Mar. 1, 2020 at Denver. • Chris Boucher led the reserves with 12 points Sunday against the Pacers. Boucher has now led the bench in scoring in nine games, something he did 13 times in 62 contests in 2019-20. Boucher currently ranks fifth among reserves in the NBA (min. 10 games off bench) averaging 14.6 points – behind Jordan Clarkson (17.4), Terrence Ross (15.2), Derrick Rose (14.8) and Shake Milton (14.6). • Kyle Lowry needs 14 points to join DeMar DeRozan (13,296) and Chris Bosh (10,275) as the only players in franchise history to score 10,000 career points. Golden State’s Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, Portland’s Damian Lillard, Washington’s Bradley Beal and Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo are the only active players with 10,000 points with their current team. Lowry is Toronto’s all-time leader in three-pointer made (1,424), assists (4,031) and steals (841).
.Kyle Lowry will play after missing two games with an infected toe. Pascal Siakam (left knee swelling) will not play for the second game in a row.
PACERS NOTES
• The Pacers will play on the second night of a back-to-back for the fourth time this season. Indiana is 2-1 this season in the second night. • Malcolm Brogdon led the Pacers with 23 points in the win over the Magic, and sank the game-winning 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds remaining to lift Indiana to the win. Brogdon has made the game-winner in both of the Pacers’ overtime wins this season. • Brogdon is Indiana’s leading scorer this season with 21.9 points per game, an improvement of 5.4 points per game off his previous career-high average he set last season (16.5). He also leads the Pacers with 7.1 assists and is averaging a career-best 1.6 steals per game. • After missing the previous two games with a right hand injury, Defensive Player of the Year candidate Myles Turner has averaged 23.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocks per game and shot 65.4 percent (17-26) from the field and 53.8 percent (7-13) from 3-point range over the last two games. Turner returned to the court Friday against Orlando and scored 22 points to go with nine rebounds and three blocks in 43 minutes. He set a new season high with 25 points and recorded three steals and six blocks Sunday against Toronto. • Despite missing two games, Myles Turner leads the NBA this season with 59 blocked shots, a total of 16 more than the NBA’s second-ranked player (Utah’s Rudy Gobert, 43). Turner has ranked in the NBA’s top four in blocks per game in each of the last four seasons. • Domantas Sabonis has opened the season by recording 16 consecutive double-doubles. Sabonis’ streak is the longest of his career and the longest streak in NBA franchise history. With his 109th double-double as a member of the Pacers Wednesday against Dallas, he passed Roy Hibbert (108) into seventh place for the most double-doubles in franchise history. • Sabonis is one of six players since the ABA-NBA merger to record a double-double in at least 15 straight games to open the season (Basketball-Reference). He joins Bill Walton (34, 1976-77), Moses Malone (16, 1981-82), Kevin Love (15, 2011-12), Giannis Antetokounmpo (19, 2019-20) and Nikola Jokic (16, 2020-21) on that list. Joining Denver’s Nikola Jokic with 15 double-doubles through 15 games this season, this is the first NBA season since 1967-68 that two players had 15 double-doubles in the first 15 games of a season in the same year when Nate Thurmond and Wilt Chamberlain did so. • Sabonis leads the NBA in minutes per game as he has averaged 38.3 minutes played. He logged a career-high 45 minutes in Friday’s overtime win over Orlando as he tallied 18 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and a career-high five steals. • After missing the first 13 games this season, and 29 straight regular season games after suffering a torn left ACL on Feb. 23 last season, Jeremy Lamb returned to the court Wednesday against Dallas. He finished with 10 points off the bench, and made his first four shots from the floor. Lamb followed that by posting 22 points on 7-for-14 from the field and 7-for-8 from the free throw line to go with seven rebounds in 28 minutes of Friday’s win over Orlando. • Doug McDermott has scored in double figures in five straight games and 12 of his 16 outings overall this year. He has started each of the last four games and has averaged 16.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 45.8 percent from 3-point range over that span. • McDermott made his first start of the season Sunday against the Clippers (and only his second start in his three seasons with the Pacers), and led all scorers with a season-high 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting and 5-for-7 from 3-point range. He made his first six shots from the field including his first three triples. • After starting the season shooting 5-for-19 (26.3 percent) from 3-point range over the first four games, McDermott has shot 25-for-61 (42.6 percent) over the last 12. • Justin Holiday has started the last seven games and has averaged 11.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 41.0 percent from 3-point range over that span. • T.J. McConnell missed three games from Jan. 9-12 due to personal reasons. Over the five games since his return, McConnell has recorded 33 assists and 12 steals and has only committed six turnovers over 24.6 minutes per game. He finished with six points, three rebounds, six assists and three steals with only one turnvover in 31 minutes (the most he has logged in his two seasons with the Pacers) in Friday’s win over Orlando.
PACERS • After losing consecutive games for only the second time this season, the Pacers bounced back to earn a 120-118 overtime win over the Orlando Magic Friday night. Indiana is now 2-0 this season in overtime contests. • Malcolm Brogdon led the Pacers with 23 points in the win over the Magic, and sank the game-winning 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds remaining to lift Indiana to the win. Brogdon has made the game-winner in both of the Pacers’ overtime wins this season. • Brogdon is Indiana’s leading scorer this season with 22.5 points per game, an improvement of 6.0 points per game off his previous career-high average he set last season (16.5). He also leads the Pacers with 7.2 assists and is averaging a career-best 1.6 steals per game. • After missing the previous two games with a right hand injury, Defensive Player of the Year candidate Myles Turner returned to the court Friday against Orlando and tied his season high with 22 points to go with nine rebounds and three blocks in 43 minutes. • Despite missing two games, Myles Turner leads the NBA this season with 53 blocked shots, a total of 11 more than the NBA’s second-ranked player (Utah’s Rudy Gobert, 42). Turner has ranked in the NBA’s top four in blocks per game in each of the last four seasons. • Domantas Sabonis has opened the season by recording 15 consecutive double-doubles. Sabonis’ streak is the longest of his career and the longest streak in NBA franchise history. With his 109th double-double as a member of the Pacers Wednesday against Dallas, he passed Roy Hibbert (108) into seventh place for the most double-doubles in franchise history. • Sabonis is one of six players since the ABA-NBA merger to record a double-double in at least 15 straight games to open the season (Basketball-Reference). He joins Bill Walton (34, 1976-77), Moses Malone (16, 1981-82), Kevin Love (15, 2011-12), Giannis Antetokounmpo (19, 2019-20) and Nikola Jokic (15, 2020-21) on that list. Joining Denver’s Nikola Jokic with 15 double-doubles through 15 games this season, this is the first NBA season since 1967-68 that two players had 15 double-doubles in the first 15 games of a season in the same year when Nate Thurmond and Wilt Chamberlain did so. • Sabonis leads the NBA in minutes per game as he has averaged 38.2 minutes played. He logged a career-high 45 minutes in Friday’s overtime win over Orlando as he tallied 18 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and a career-high five steals. • After missing the first 13 games this season, and 29 straight regular season games after suffering a torn left ACL on Feb. 23 last season, Jeremy Lamb returned to the court Wednesday against Dallas. He finished with 10 points off the bench, and made his first four shots from the floor. Lamb followed that by posting 22 points on 7-for-14 from the field and 7-for-8 from the free throw line to go with seven rebounds in 28 minutes of Friday’s win over Orlando. • Doug McDermott has scored in double figures in four straight games and 11 of his 15 outings overall this year. He has started each of the last three games and has averaged 17.3 points, 5.0 reboundsa nd 3.0 assists while shooting 47.6 percent from 3-point range over that span. • McDermott made his first start of the season Sunday against the Clippers (and only his second start in his three seasons with the Pacers), and led all scorers with a season-high 23 points on 9-for-12 shooting and 5-for-7 from 3-point range. He made his first six shots from the field including his first three triples. • After starting the season shooting 5-for-19 (26.3 percent) from 3-point range over the first four games, McDermott has shot 25-for-58 (43.1 percent) over the last 11. • Justin Holiday has started the last six games and has averaged 10.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 steal per game while shooting 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range over that span. • T.J. McConnell missed three games from Jan. 9-12 due to personal reasons. Over the four games since his return, McConnell has recorded 26 assists and 10 steals and has only committed five turnovers over 24.8 minutes per game. He finished with six points, three rebounds, six assists and three steals with only one turnvover in 31 minutes (the most he has logged in his two seasons with the Pacers) in Friday’s win over Orlando. • After totaling just 17 points and six assists over the first five games in January, Aaron Holiday provided a burst off the bench in the win at Golden State, 1/12, with 16 points and 12 assists, his first double-double of the season. He tallied nine points and six assists in the fourth quarter. Holiday finished with 13 points in 26 minutes off the bench in Wednesday’s loss to Dallas.
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Toronto Raptor and Rockford native Fred VanVleet donated winter coats to elementary students on Friday. Students at Welsh Elementary School, 2100 Huffman Blvd, filed into the gym one-by-one today and were able to choose the color of their new coat. Assistant principal Tessa Hufalin said the gift offers more than warmth. […]
The view from left field 