NBA’s Greatest Day Ever

NBA
NBA
Courtesy of Erik Drost (Flickr CC0)

The NBA in 2023

Coming into the new year, the NBA has had many standout performances from many players. Lebron James was part of the group playing and displayed his greatness even in his 20th season. Anthony Davis, injured with a stress injury in his right foot, has made Lebron take on a more prominent role, and he is ready for it.

January 2 was a day to watch, though, as eleven games provided entertainment all day for basketball fans. James and the Lakers faced off against the Charlotte Hornets, and they were able to come up on top with a score of 121-115. Lebron James ended the game with 43 points shooting a consistent 61% from the field. James added eleven rebounds and six assists to follow an excellent scoring performance.

The Golden State Warriors were in a close game, facing off against Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks. The Warriors have been without their main star Stephen Curry for a few weeks due to a shoulder subluxation. The Warriors still have been able to hold their own by winning four of their last five games. The Hawks and Warriors were in a heated battle that resulted in double overtime. The Warriors were able to slightly edge over the Hawks following behind a fantastic outing from Klay Thompson.

Thompson ended the game with 54 points and made ten threes shooting nearly 50% from three. He also added eight rebounds with three assists to lead the Warriors to another win.

Best Performance of the Season?

NBA
Courtesy of Kim Stovring-Flickr CCO

The Cleveland Cavaliers were also in an intense game facing off against the Chicago Bulls. These teams faced off right before this game resulting in one point win for the Cavaliers. This vigorous game resulted in overtime, but the Cavaliers came on top again with a score of 145-134. DeRozan had put up a fight, scoring 44 points and shooting 50% from the field.

The best performance of the whole night came from Donovan Mitchell, though he ended the game with 71 points. This was a historic night for him as he went into the books for scoring the 8th most points in a single game ever. Mitchell also almost had a triple-double, adding eleven rebounds and eight assists.

Joel Embiid and the 76ers had a challenging game facing off against the hot Pelicans, who are third in the Western Conference. The 76ers did not back down, though, and had two good performances from their best players. James Harden scored 27 points with eight assists, and Embiid followed with 42 points and eleven rebounds. This was a close game to the end, but the 76ers came up on top with a score of 120-111.

The young prodigy Luka Doncic faced off against the Houston Rockets, ending in an exciting battle. The Rockets came out hot and had Luka struggling in the first half, scoring only six points. The Mavericks came out energized in the second half, following behind Doncic.

He scored 33 points in the second half and pushed the Mavericks forward to victory. The end score resulted in the Mavericks winning 111-106 as Doncic helped lead the comeback. Doncic also had 12 rebounds and eight assists on the night, close to a triple-double.

These are all fantastic performances from players that happened in one day. January 2 was a day for the records, with eleven players scoring at least 30 points in one day. There are still performances that weren’t talked about on this day, which was great too, which shows how players were performing. So far, 2023 is off to a great start already; if this keeps up, it will be one of the most entertaining seasons of all time.

Written By Willie Hurt

Sources:

ESPN- NBA Daily Stats Leaders

Basketball Reference- NBA Single Game Leaders and Records for Points

Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Erik Drost Flickr Page – Creative Commons License

Inset Image Courtesy of Kim Stovring Flickr Page – Creative Commons License

Share:

Send Us A Message