Starting 5 Daily Newsletter

NBA Starting 5, Dec. 19: Clippers win 8th straight; Inside Curry’s streak

James Harden fueled LA to its longest win streak since 2015-16, plus a deep dive on Stephen Curry's record 3-point streak.

Updated on December 19, 2023 1:39 PM

Happy Tuesday! 🏀☀️

One LA team won its eighth straight game on Monday. The other hung the first-ever In-Season Tournament Championship banner. And the league got its second 20-win team this year.

(Plus you gotta see these Steph Curry charts in Section 4)

THE LINEUP 🏀

👀 Must-see from Monday night
🔥 Harden, Clips get 8th straight W
🌀 Roundup: 10 games, 90 seconds
💦 Inside Curry’s 3-point streak
📸 Photos of the night

Tonight on TNT: Ja Morant is set to make his 2023-24 debut after serving a 25-game suspension when the Grizzlies take on Zion Williamson & the Pelicans in a battle of 2019’s top two picks at 7:30 ET…

While Stephen Curry looks to start a new 3-point streak when the Warriors host the Celtics at 10 ET on TNT…

NBA All-Star Voting presented by AT&T opens up today. Get the NBA App and turn your notifications on to get a heads-up when voting goes live, and use your NBA ID to vote…

NBA ID Member Days: Every vote gives fans in the U.S. a chance to win a trip to Indianapolis with the NBA ID All-Star Voting sweepstakes, presented by AT&T…

Tap for the full schedule.

1. TUESDAY MORNING MUST-SEE

🔥 If you like offense…

What inspired that reaction from James Harden? This four-point play as he erupted for 21 in the fourth in LA’s eighth-straight win
Let’s dance: First, Trae Young danced to get some space to launch the 3, then the ball danced on the rim before dropping
Hit the brakes: Watch Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stop on a dime, pause for a split second, then calmly stroke the open jumper
Spin cycle: Chet Holmgren with the slick spin move in the lane for the two-handed jam

❌ If you like defense…

JJJ got the blocks: Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. got a pair of blocks on Karl-Anthony Towns and Jaden McDaniels at the basket …
Chet spikes JJJ’s shot: After a real slick Euro in traffic, Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. was on the wrong side of this Holmgren spike-block
Ant Man and the Swat: Tyler Herro thought he had a layup over Mike Conley. Anthony Edwards had another idea
Both ends: Bam Adebayo got the steal on defense then threw down the alley-oop in transition

❤️ If you like heart-warming moments…

Tyrese Maxey received the best assist of the night before the Sixers even got to tip off
Courtside pup: Having your feet on the wood is one thing. This good boy was laid out for his courtside seat in LA

🏆 If you like banner nights…

Banner night in LA: The Lakers unveiled their In-Season Tournament championship banner before taking on the Knicks

2. RED-HOT CLIPPERS WIN 8TH STRAIGHT

Only two players in NBA history have led the league in both scoring and assists multiple times.

They both play for the LA Clippers.

James Harden: 3 scoring titles (2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20), 2 assist titles (2016-17, 2022-23)
Russell Westbrook: 2 scoring titles (2014-15, 2016-17), 3 assist titles (2017-18, 2018-19, 2020-21)

There is a balancing act that has to be perfected. When to look for your own shot. When to set up your teammates.

In Monday’s win over the Pacers, Harden flipped the switch from playmaker to scorer in the fourth quarter.

First 3 quarters: Harden 14 pts, 9 ast; Paul George and Kawhi Leonard: 55 combined points
Fourth quarter: Harden 21 pts, 0 ast; George and Leonard: 0 combined points

The trio scored 90 of LA’s 151 points – the fourth-most in franchise history – as LA won its eighth-straight game to continue its rise in the West

3. ROUNDUP: 10 GAMES IN 90 SECONDS

⚒️ Nuggets 130, Mavs 104

Dallas got another dominant game from Luka Doncic (38 pts, 11 reb, 8 ast) but it wasn’t enough to overcome Denver’s trio of 20+ point scorers (Jamal Murray 22, Aaron Gordon 21, Reggie Jackson 20)

🐺 Wolves 112, Heat 108

20-win club: Minnesota overcame a 17-point deficit and a returning Tyler Herro (25 pts) to join Boston as the NBA’s only 20-win teams. Anthony Edwards scored 10 of his 32 in the fourth, including this turnaround fadeaway dagger with 25.6 seconds left. Watch the final 6:10

🐂 Bulls 108, Sixers 104

One streak extended, another ended: Joel Embiid (40 pts, 14 reb, 6 ast) extended his 30/10 streak to 11 games (most since Shaq in 2001), but Chicago snapped Philly’s six-game win streak behind a combined 47 points from Coby White and Nikola Vucevic

👑 Kings 143, Wizards 131

The Kings (16-9) are off to their best start since 2004-05 after beating the Wizards behind a combined 83 points from De’Aaron Fox (30), Domantas Sabonis (28 pts, 13 reb, 12 ast) and Keegan Murray (25)

⛈️ Thunder 116, Grizzlies 97

Chet 🤝 Duncan: SGA did a bit of everything (30 pts, 9 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl), while Chet Holmgren had another block party (17 pts, 7 blk) becoming the first rookie with back-to-back games with 7+ blocks since Tim Duncan in 1998

🗽 Knicks 114, Lakers 109

The Knicks got a combined 56 points from Jalen Brunson (29) and Julius Randle (27) to overcome LeBron James’ second triple-double (25 pts, 11 reb, 11 ast) and Anthony Davis’ eighth 30/10 game of the season

⚔️ Cavs 135, Rockets 130 (OT)

Donovan Mitchell scored 20 of his 37 points in the third quarter, while Sam Merrill scored five of his career-high 19 in OT to help the Cavs win despite a 27-point 17-assist night from Fred VanVleet

🦖 Raptors 114, Hornets 99

The Raptors got 20+ point games from Pascal Siakam (27), Gary Trent Jr. (22) and Scottie Barnes (22 pts, 17 reb, 7 ast) as they rallied past the Hornets

🅰️ Hawks 130, Pistons 124

Trae Young (31 pts, 15 ast) posted his fourth-straight game with 30+ points and 10+ assists – the longest streak in team history – as Atlanta overcame a career-high 43 points from Cade Cunningham

🎷 Jazz 125, Nets 108

Matching 27-point, 6-assist, 3-rebound games from Talen-Horton Tucker and Collin Sexton led the Jazz to the win

4. JUST HOW WILD WAS CURRY’S RECORD 3-POINT STREAK?

For more than five years — from Dec. 1, 2018 until Dec. 17, 2023 — Stephen Curry made at least one 3-pointer in 268 consecutive games.

That’s 1,842 days of never having an 0-for night in the NBA
Best of the streak: Check out Steph’s best 3-pointer from EVERY ONE of the 268 games
Curry’s 268-game run is the longest in NBA history, 111 games longer than the second-longest streak held by … Steph Curry
That’s right. Before he made at least one 3 for five years, he had another run that lasted nearly two (Nov. 14, 2014 to Nov. 3, 2016)

Before Steph looks to start his next 3-point streak tonight when Golden State hosts Boston (10 ET, TNT), let’s look back at what happened in the NBA during Curry’s latest run.

5 champions: Raptors (2019), Lakers (2020), Bucks (2021), Warriors (2022), Nuggets (2023)
3 MVPs: Giannis Antetokounmpo (2019, 2020), Nikola Jokic (2021, 2022), Joel Embiid (2023)
59 teammates: The Warriors had 59 other active players on their roster over the course of Steph’s streak
Leader in points: Antetokounmpo: 10,058
Leader in rebounds: Rudy Gobert: 4,828
Leader in assists: Trae Young: 3,439
Leader in steals: Chris Paul and Jimmy Butler: 546
Leader in blocks: Gobert: 773
Leader in 3-pointers: Buddy Hield: 1,416
Leader in triple-doubles: Nikola Jokic: 98

So with Steph’s run coming to an end, who currently holds the title for the longest active 3-point streak in the NBA?

Damian Lillard’s streak started on Nov. 6, 2021 in Portland. Dame is now in Milwaukee, but the 3s never stopped, as his 102-game run doubles up second-ranked Cam Johnson of Brooklyn (51).

Steph’s run got us thinking of other notable active streaks in the NBA, beginning with a LeBron streak that literally can’t be challenged for at least 12 years.

🔥 Consecutive games with 10+ points