Last Night’s Numbers – 11/9/10

Welcome to Last Night’s Numbers, a new daily feature where we run through the NBA games from the night before, highlighting one or two numbers I found particularly interesting from each game. Think of it as Kelly Dwyer’s Behind the Box Score from Ball Don’t Lie, except shorter, less informative, less informed, less witty, less enjoyable and less well written. All the stats are from Hoopdata’s box scores, which contain some additional advanced stats not available in traditional box scores.

Chicago 94 – Denver 92

• Carmelo Anthony had another game of solid scoring efficiency for the Nuggets. He scored 32 points on a 61.6% TS%. He scored 10 points in the paint and 9 at the free throw line while settling for only 6 long jumpshots.
• Chicago took 34 16-23ft. jumpshots last night. That’s only one less then they took from all areas of the floor 15ft. and closer. Picking up 21 points at the free throw line and knocking down 5 three pointers helped them overcome this questionable shot selection.

Dallas 89 – Boston 87

• Dallas shot the ball really well and did a great job of getting to the line. Dallas shot 50% from the field and attempted 20 free throws compared to only 7 for Boston. They had a 10 point advantage on made free throws.
• One of the things that kept Boston in the game was their terrific offensive rebounding. Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo grabbed 4 apiece and the team had an Offensive Rebound Rate of 29.2.
• Rondo continued his masterful offensive orchestration, garnering 15 assists, 8 of which led to either three pointers or layups.

Orlando 93 – Atlanta 89

• Dwight Howard continued to demonstrate his expanding offensive repertoire. Only 4 of his 20 shots came at the rim last night. He was 7 of 14 on those shots not at the rim.
• Atlanta couldn’t stop Orlando around the basket, allowing them to shoot 72.3% on shots at the rim.
• Atlanta turned the ball over on15.4% of their possessions and recorded an assist on only 50% of their made baskets.

Golden State 109 – Toronto 102

• Golden State shot 52.8% from the field and had a FTR of 0.432. Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry were in full isolation mode last night, as only 48.8% of Golden State’s made baskets were assisted on. In spite of their offensive efficiency they had more turnovers than assists.
• Amir Johnson played only 29 minutes for Toronto and picked up 5 fouls. He did score 12 points, grab 5 rebounds and post a +13, best on the team, during that time.

Memphis 109 – Phoenix 99

• Zach Randolph was a monster for the Grizzlies. He had 23 points, 20 rebounds, including 8 offensive boards and was a +12 in his 41 minutes on the floor.
• Phoenix struggled shooting the three last night, making only 9 of 31. If they had shot even close to their season average of 41% this game would have been a lot closer.

San Antonio 95 – Charlotte 91

• Richard Jefferson had a tough night shooting the ball, going 3 of 9 from the field and missing all 3 of this three pointers. He found other ways to contribute though, grabbing 7 rebounds with 4 assists, 1 steal, no turnovers and a +6, best on the team, in his 33 minutes.
• Gary Neal continues to make the Spurs front office look like geniuses as he knocked down 5 of 7 three pointers last night.
• The Bobcats starters really struggled last night, shooting only 17 of 54 from the field.