Back from the All-Star break, the Kings and Clippers returned to the hardwood in style Friday night, making up for lost time by putting on a scoring clinic, combining for the second-most points in NBA history. Anticipating rust after a weeklong hiatus, Caesars Sportsbook set the over/under at a conservative 238.5 points, a number Friday night’s combatants eclipsed with 10 minutes to spare in the fourth quarter.
Picking up where the All-Star Game left off (Team Giannis won by a cartoonish final score of 184-175), Friday featured 40-point performances from Malik Monk, Kawhi Leonard and De’Aaron Fox, upping the league tally to 143 (accomplished by 50 individual scorers) for the season, which are both NBA records. No star shined brighter than Monk, whose 45 points were a career-high and the most by a Kings player off the bench since Mike Woodson in 1983. According to ESPN Stats and Info, Friday’s trio of 40-point scorers were the most in a game since Kevin Love (51), Kevin Durant (40) and Russell Westbrook (45) accomplished the same feat in 2012.
Speaking of Westbrook, the former MVP made his presence felt Friday night, contributing 17 points and 14 assists—albeit with six fouls and seven turnovers—in his Clippers debut. Westbrook was acquired by Utah at the trade deadline but was bought out by the Jazz without ever playing a game for them, ultimately resurfacing in Los Angeles, which, ironically enough, he had just left on the heels of a brief but eventful 130-game stint with his hometown Lakers. The move reunites Westbrook with his former Oklahoma City teammate Paul George, who delivered 34 points on 9-of-18 shooting (5-of-8 from three-point range) in the losing effort.
Led by All-Stars De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, the Kings have been a surprise juggernaut this year, leading the NBA in points per game (120.6) while ascending to third in the Western Conference, putting them on track to end the league’s longest active playoff drought (16 seasons). Mike Brown deserves much of the credit for Sacramento’s impressive turnaround, emerging as a legitimate Coach of the Year candidate following a six-year run as Steve Kerr’s top assistant at Golden State. League-wide, teams are averaging 114.5 points per game this season, the NBA’s highest scoring output since 1970 (116.7 ppg).
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