Rounding the Bases, Dec. 27: 4 Game-Winning Hits, 1 Epic Night & a Storm of Record-Breaking Moments

Scoot. Stop. Pop. Ball game.

Just one of four signature game-winners from a thrilling Thursday.

5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION

Dec. 27, 2024

At The Buzzer! Four wild finishes, four deciding shots and a night that hadn’t been seen in seven years

Scoring Outbursts: SGA goes for 45, a historic Hawks rally and a Grizzlies’ franchise-high

Roundup: Rockets roll, Nets dub and a standings update after Thursday’s nine matchups

ECF Rematch: Can the surging Pacers bounce back and make a statement in Boston?

Best vs. Best Part II: The Kia NBA MVP Ladder leader faces the NBA’s top team — again

BUT FIRST … ⏰

Thursday’s scores, Friday’s slate and a monster #NBAXmas…

Friday delivers eight games, including a marquee doubleheader on NBA TV. To start, the Celtics host the Pacers in a 2024 Eastern Conference Finals rematch (7:30 ET). Then, Steph Curry and the Warriors meet James Harden and the Clips at the Intuit Dome (10 ET).

All Eyes On #NBAXmas: The NBA delivered its most-watched Christmas Day in five years, with viewership up 84% vs. last year across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, Disney+ and ESPN+. NBA on Christmas Day averaged 5.25 million viewers per game in the U.S.

NBA All-Star voting is live until Jan. 20. Fans can vote for starters every day via the NBA App and NBA.com with their NBA ID. Tap here to cast your ballot.

Countdown To 2025: With the New Year right around the corner, we’re counting down the top 25 dunks of the last 25 years and more beginning today… stayed tuned!

1. 4 GAMES, 4 MUST-SEE WINNERS, 1 HISTORIC NIGHT

2,565 days. That’s how long it had been since we last saw four games with a game-winning bucket or free throw in the final 10 seconds on the same night.

Then, Thursday happened.

Heat 89, Magic 88: The lowest-scoring game this season ended with a must-see bucket as Tyler Herro pulled up for a tough game-winning jumper with 0.5 seconds left to lift Miami over Orlando in thrilling fashion. | Recap

Herro led the Heat with 20 points as Miami outscored its rivals 28-17 in the final frame after trailing by as many 17“I just wanted to get to my sweet spot,” said Herro on his fourth career game-winner inside the final 15 seconds. “I got the shot I wanted in rhythm.”

Blazers 122, Jazz 120: Same plot. Different game. Another dagger. After trailing by 15 in the 3rd, the Blazers outscored the Jazz 41-32 in the 4th, and Scoot Henderson said goodnight by splashing a slick turnaround J with 0.1 seconds left to send the Moda Center into a frenzy. | Recap

Blazer Buckets: Henderson finished with 18 points, while Shaedon Sharpe and Deni Avdija notched 27 apieceScoot On The Winner: “You dream of plays like that.”

Wizards 113, Hornets 110: LaMelo Ball tallied 31 points to will the Hornets back from 21 down, but Jordan Poole refused to let the win slip away from Washington, as he drained a clutch 3 with 8.1 seconds left to put the Wizards up for good, marking their second win over Charlotte in seven days. | Recap

“I’ve always felt like I’ve been the man for the moment,” said Poole on his second career game-winner. “I make big shots all the time.”

Pistons 114, Kings 113: In another electric finish, with the Pistons down three and 3.1 seconds left, Jaden Ivey buried a triple while getting fouled and converted the four-point play at the line to give Detroit a wild win over De’Aaron Fox (26 pts) and Sacramento. | Recap

Pistons’ Fuel: Down 19 midway through the 3rd, Detroit stormed back behind Cade Cunningham (33 pts, 10 ast), Malik Beasley (22 pts) and Ivey (19 pts)

2. OUTBURSTS: SHAI DROPS 45, HAWKS’ HUGE 4TH, GRIZZLIES’ FRANCHISE-HIGH

In a battle between two of the hottest teams in hoops, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander caught fire — and made history.

Thunder 120, Pacers 114: Facing a Pacers squad that had won five straight games, SGA put on a scoring clinic to match a season-high of 45 points, along with eight dimes and seven boards to rally the Thunder for their ninth straight dub, their longest single-season streak since 2014. | Recap

Elite Efficiency: SGA went 15-of-22 (68.2%) from the floor, 4-of-5 from 3 (80%) and 11-for-11 (100%) from the line, marking just the fifth 45+ point game on a 65/80/100 shooting split or better in NBA historyRare Company: The only other players to achieve the feat? Carmelo Anthony, Jamal Crawford and Kiki VanDeWeghe (2x)Closing Time: Entering the 4th down one, SGA dropped 16 points, as OKC finished the game on a 17-7 run to extend its league-best win streak

Hawks 141, Bulls 133: After trailing by 21 points in the 3rd quarter, the Hawks erupted in the 4th, outscoring the Bulls 50-25 in the final frame, capped by a 31-7 closing run in the final 5:23 to stun Zach LaVine (37 pts) and the Bulls in Atlanta. | Recap

Unprecedented: The Hawks’ 50 points are the most in a 4th quarter in the franchise’s play-by-play history, and they are the first team to commit just one turnover in a 50+ point 4th quarter since 1997-98Unstoppable: Trailing by 16 with 5:23 left, Atlanta rattled off 20 straight points to take the lead and never looked backDynamic Duo: Jalen Johnson (30 pts, 15 reb) and Trae Young (27 pts, 13 ast) led the way with monster double-doublesIce Trae The Big O: Playing in his 436th career game, Young reached 11,000+ points and 4,000+ assists, trailing only Oscar Robertson (379 games) as the fastest player to ever reach the marks

Grizzlies 155, Raptors 126: In another historic points parade, the NBA’s highest-scoring offense went off for a franchise record 155 — the most points scored by any team this season — as the red-hot Grizz ran away from the Raptors to improve to 13-3 in their past 16 games. | Recap

Bear Balance: Rookie Zach Edey (21 pts, career-high 16 reb) and Jaren Jackson Jr. (21 pts) led the way, while Ja Morant (15 pts, 9 ast) and five other Grizzlies finished in double figuresBear Bombardment: Averaging 123.7 ppg, Memphis has scored 140+ points an NBA-best four times this season, doubling its previous franchise record of two such games in 2022-23

3. THURSDAY ROUNDUP: ROCKETS ROLL, NETS DUB

Rockets 128, Pelicans 111: Jalen Green (30), Cam Whitmore (27) and Fred VanVleet (25) combined for 82 points as the Rockets jumped out to a 39-22 lead in the 1st quarter and never looked back for their fourth straight W. | Recap

Nets 111, Bucks 105: Cameron Johnson cooked up an efficient 29 points, Noah Clowney and Shake Milton each added 20 apiece, and the Nets rallied late to top Khris Middleton (21) and the Bucks, who were without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. | Recap

4. ECF REMATCH TIPS OFF MARQUEE DOUBLEHEADER ON NBA TV

In last year’s East Finals between the Pacers and Celtics, Indiana held a 4th-quarter lead in three of the four games. Yet, Boston won all of them to take the series 4-0 on its way to a record 18th championship.

In their first meeting this season, on Oct. 30, the Pacers made a statement — overcoming a relinquished 24-point lead to outlast the defending champs in OT, capped by Pascal Siakam’s game-winning 3 with 6.1 seconds left for a 135-132 win.

“We fought, that’s what we got to do,” said Siakam after the win. “We’ve got to be that team that fights until the end.”

Indiana — coming off its first ECF appearance since 2014 — has fought all season. Fought through defensive struggles, fought through turnover issues and fought to remain in contention.

The Struggles: In their first 25 games of the season, the Pacers ranked 24th in DefRtg (116.0) and 19th in turnovers per game (15.1)The Result? A 10-15 record, marking the first time they were five games below .500 since the 2022-23 seasonThe Turnaround: Since then, Indiana ranks 11th in DefRtg (107.7) and first in turnovers (11.8), resulting in five wins in its last six games“The thing that we’re doing better is taking care of the ball,” said Pacers coach Rick Carlisle after the team committed just nine turnovers in a win in Phoenix last week.“That’s a winning number, especially on the road … and it’s a big part of improved defense.”

Now, after a hard-fought loss to OKC in Indy, they return to TD Garden for the first time since the 2024 East Finals.

“We had four games against those guys (Boston) where we felt three of those were the same situation as now,” said Siakam after the rollercoaster OT win in October. “I just thought the guys stayed together…“With the turnovers and not taking care of the ball, and being able to come out of it with a win — it’s big, it’s huge, it shows growth.”

Tonight’s rematch (7 ET, NBA TV) offers Indiana a chance to show how far it’s come since last year’s heartbreak — an opportunity to turn early-season lessons into a statement against the defending champs.

More Fireworks: The second leg of NBA TV’s doubleheader features the top two all-time 3-point leaders, as Steph Curry and the Warriors take on James Harden and the Clips in LA (10 ET).

A Steph Spark? Coming off both a season-high and career Christmas-high 38 points in a loss to the Lakers, Curry will look to get Golden State back on track after dropping five of its last six gamesBeard Boost: On the other side, the Clips have won three of their last four, with Harden averaging 26.3 points and 6.3 assists in that span

Can the Dubs earn a timely dub, or will the Clips — looking for a win to jump the Lakers for the No. 6 seed — stay hot?

5. MUST-SEE TV: JOKIĆ & THE NUGGETS HOST NBA-BEST CAVS

Tonight on League Pass, the NBA’s top team faces the Kia MVP Ladder leader, as the 26-4 Cavs battle Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets in Denver (9 ET).

Twenty-two days ago, the two sides met in Cleveland. The result? A historic night — with a side of can’t-miss highlights.

Rewind: In a 27-point, 20-rebound, 11-assist masterpiece, Nikola Jokić dazzled with moves like this:

And coast-to-coast dimes like this:

The performance marked Jokić’s 139th career triple-double, surpassing Magic Johnson for the third most all-time. It was also his eighth career 20+ point, 20+ rebound and 10+ assist game, tying Oscar Robertson for the third-most in NBA history.

“His touches continue to amaze me.” said his teammate Jamal Murray after the game. “He does everything on the court with a great attitude and has a will to win.”

Yet, on a night when Jokić rewrote the record books, it was Cleveland that earned a 126-114 victory. The NBA’s leader in 3-point percentage (40.6%) hit a season-high 22 treys at a 45.8% clip, improving to 20-3 for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

The Cavs ‘08-09 squad, led by that season’s Kia MVP LeBron James, went on to notch 66 wins — the most in franchise history.

But tonight, this year’s Cavs squad has a chance to do something that not even the ‘08-09 team achieved — win 27 of its first 31 games.

“The results will take care of itself,” said Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson on his team’s historic start. “We’re just going to keep going and keep focusing on our habits and improvement day-to-day.”

Today’s challenge? A red-hot Jokić, averaging a near 30-point triple-double 30.7 ppg, 12.6 rpg, 9.4 apg), and a Nuggets squad that hasn’t lost in Denver since Nov. 25.

Five more matchups tip off tonight on League Pass, including a matchup between the Spurs and Nets (7:30 ET), with Victor Wembanyama coming off a historic #NBAXmas performance with 42 points, 18 rebounds, four blocks and six 3s.

Christmas Magic: In his #NBAXmas debut, Wemby didn’t just break the Spurs’ Christmas scoring record, he became the first player in NBA history to record 40+ pts, 15+ reb, 4+ blk and 5+ triples in a gameUnprecedented Run: Over his last five games, Wemby is averaging 32.0 points, 10.4 rebounds, 6.6 blocks, and 4.8 3s — a stat line no player has ever matched in that spanA Special Start: Entering his 97th career game, Wemby (353 blk, 213 3s) is the only player in NBA history with 350+ blocks and 200+ 3s through his first 96 outings

Remaining League Pass Schedule

Knicks at Magic (7 ET)Wolves at Rockets (8 ET)Grizzlies at Pelicans (8 ET)Mavericks at Suns (9 ET)