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Tune-In Tidbits: ESPN Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021

Get ready for Wednesday's ESPN doubleheader with five key stats to know about each matchup.

Domantas Sabonis is one of four players to average at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists this season.

Warriors (17-15) at Pacers (15-14)
7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

• The Pacers won their first meeting with the Warriors on Jan. 12 behind double-doubles from Domantas Sabonis (18 pts, 14 reb, 6 ast), Myles Turner (22 pts, 12 reb, 6 blk) and Aaron Holiday (16 pts, 12 ast, 2 stl). Sabonis ranks second in the league in double-doubles with 22 on the season.

• The Pacers held Stephen Curry to 20 points – his fifth lowest-scoring game in 31 played this season. The Warriors are 2-5 this season when Curry scores fewer than 25 points.

• In their first meeting, Edmond Sumner was the primary defender on Stephen Curry for a team-high 4:38 (42% of Curry’s offensive matchup time) and held him scoreless on 0-2 shooting. Justin Holiday allowed Curry five points on 1-3 FG, 2-2 FT in 2:35 of matchup time and Malcolm Brogdon allowed no points on 0-2 shooting in 1:48.

• T.J. McConnell ranks seventh in the league in deflections (3.3 per game), first in defensive loose balls recovered (1.0 per game) and second in steals (1.7 per game). He’s doing so while playing just 23.9 points per game. No other player in the top 10 leaders in steals averages fewer than 28 minutes per game.

• Stephen Curry ranks second in the NBA in scoring with a career-best 30.2 points per game. He is shooting 42.6% from 3-point range this season and is shooting better on 3-pointers between 30-39 feet (16-34, 47.1%) than he is from the corners (9-30, 30%).

 

Rudy Gobert (298) and Mike Conley (280) rank first and second in total plus/minus so far this season.

Lakers (22-10) at Jazz (25-6)
10 p.m. ET, ESPN

• The Jazz are the only team in the league to rank in the top five in both offensive efficiency (116.6, 4th) and defensive efficiency (107.1, 2nd). While the Lakers have the top-ranked defense in the league (105.5), they rank 15th on offensive (111.5).

• After dropping each game of a three-game homestand, the Lakers return to the friendly confines of the road. So far this season, the Lakers are 9-7 at home (11th in NBA) and 13-3 on the road (1st in NBA). The key to the Lakers’ road success has been their defense as they have a league-best 103.8 defensive rating on the road compared to fifth-ranked 107.1 at home.

• This is the first meeting of the season between the Jazz and Lakers, with Los Angeles winning the past four matchups dating back to March 2019. The Lakers swept the three-game series last season with LeBron James averaging 24.7 points on 50.8% shooting and 10.3 assists per game. Anthony Davis (who will miss Wednesday’s game due to injury) led the Lakers with 29.7 ppg vs. Utah.

• The Jazz lead the NBA in 3-pointers made (16.8 per game) and attempted (42.5 per game) and rank third in 3-point percentage (39.7%). The Lakers hold opponents to 34.9% shooting from 3-point range, which is the third-lowest percentage allowed in the league.

• The Jazz average a league-high 25.2 points per game on pick-and-roll ball handler plays. The Jazz and Mavericks are tied for the league-lead not only in pick-and-roll ball handler plays run per game (25.0), but they are also the most efficient, scoring 1.01 points per possession on those plays. The Lakers allow just 0.83 points per possession on pick-and-roll ball handler plays, the second-lowest mark in the league.

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