NBA Notes: Who's hot, and who's hotter
Trend-setters
James Harden:His sizzling start for the Rockets includes three games with at least 30 points and 15 assists. There wasa total of three such gamesin the NBA last season.
T.J. Warren:This season, the Suns’ third-year forward has already recorded the first 30-point game of his career and his first back-to-back games with at least 20 points. He is averaging 22.4 points in five games.
Brook Lopez:The 7-footer made four three-pointers as part of a 34-point performance in the Nets’ victory over the Pistons on Wednesday. He came into the night with four career threes in 490 games.
DeMar DeRozan:The two-time All-Star guard has matched a Raptors record with four consecutive 30-point games. DeRozan (36.3 ppg) has only one three-pointer among his 56 field goals, but he is shooting 55.4 percent from the floor.
George Hill:In his first season with the Jazz, the nine-year veteran is averaging 21.4 points on 54.8 percent shooting.
Tobias Harris:The 24-year-old forward is off to a terrific start as a scorer (20.8 ppg) and shooter (58.2 percent from the field and 52.9 percent from three-point range).
Malcolm Brogdon:The 2016 second-round pick (36th overall) by the Bucks has earned a spot in the rotation, and he finished with 14 points, four assists and four steals in Tuesday’s win over the Pelicans.
Mike Muscala:The NBA’s early leader in field goal percentage (71.4), Muscala has helped the Hawks win three of their first four games.
Milestone Watch
Chris Paul:The nine-time All-Star needs eight assists to pass Randy Smith (3,498) as the franchise’s all-time leader.
Dirk Nowitzki:One more regular-season victory will give him 853 for his career and equal Derek Fisher for the sixth most all time. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the NBA record with 1,074.
Talking Points
Rob Mahoney, SI.com:“Rare are the opponents who can detach from [San Antonio’s Kawhi] Leonard consistently enough to score at an efficient clip and rarer still are those who would still have energy left to slow Leonard’s own roll after doing so.”
Stephen Curry, Warriors guard:“Big congrats to [Ray Allen], the greatest shooter to play the game, on an impressive career. More than just a shooter, but you showed how lethal that part of the game can be! Thank you!”
Jim Souhan, Minneapolis Star Tribune:“Always able to dunk with flair, [Minnesota’s Zach] LaVine has developed a three-point shooting stroke that makes him all but impossible to guard.”
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