Attention, members of the Enjoy Book Club! Kenny, Pierre, Mike, and Darrick will be discussing chapters five and six of The Anxious Generation on tomorrow’s episode of Numbers On The Board—use this form to submit any questions or comments about that section of the book to help guide their discussion!

Today’s Lineup

🎉 Happy birthday to Vasilije Micić and Enjoyers Chase and Neil! 🎉

Weekend Wrap-Up

Nuggets make history as Jokic, Westbrook each record triple-doubles in 124-105 win over Brooklyn

There’s stuffing the stat sheet, and then there’s whatever Denver did on Friday night. Against the struggling Nets, the Nuggets showed off the full extent of their bag as Nikola Jokic and Russell Westbrook recorded triple-doubles in the same game for the second time this season, making them the first teammates in NBA history to do so. Jokic led all scorers with 35 PTS to go along with 15 AST and 12 REB, while Westbrook added 25 PTS, 10 AST and 11 REB (and if you have Jokic in fantasy, we’re jealous.)

After a so-so start to the season, Denver has climbed back into the upper echelon of the West with wins in six of their last eight games. Jokic’s dominance has a lot to do with it (even if he was recently dethroned as the MVP favorite) but so does the play of Denver’s other former MVP—Brodie. Russ has found his rhythm in the Mile High City, averaging 17.3 PPG on 51% shooting in the month of January. And with Aaron Gordon returning, don’t count out the Nugs in the West…

Sabonis owns the glass, Kings win 6th and 7th straight over the weekend

Later in the newsletter, we’ll talk about the most prolific rebounder in league history. But right now, we’re talking about a guy that might be the most prolific rebounder in the game today: Domantas Sabonis. It was a beautiful weekend for Kings fans everywhere, with a pair of wins over the Celtics and Bulls bringing Sacramento’s win streak to seven games and pushing them back over .500 for the first time in nearly two months. But few enjoyed it as much as Domas, who pulled down a career-high 28 REB against Boston and 15 against Chicago to go along with his 22.5 PPG average over the two matches.

Interim HC Doug Christie has the Kings cooking, and it’s great to see a team with so much talent finally making the most of it. One of Christie’s best adjustments has been the integration of Keon Ellis, who has made a major impact defensively and galvanized SacTown’s starting lineup since being inserted at the start of January. Opposing passers, beware…

Elsewhere around the NBA…

• Paolo Banchero made his long-awaited return to the lineup after a 34-game absence, scoring 34 PTS in Orlando’s tight 109-106 loss to Milwaukee. Then, in Sunday’s 104-99 win over Philly, he added 20 PTS on just 8 shots to go along with 8 REB, 6 AST, and one mean drive and slam. The former #1 pick is back, baby!

• The Cavaliers’ win streak is no more. Andrew Nembhard (19 PTS) led the Pacers in scoring as Indiana took Cleveland down 108-93 last night. Props to Indy for doing what few teams have been able to do this year: beat the Cavs!

• It’s not often that 6’10” people get overlooked, but that’s what’s happening to Jaren Jackson Jr. this season. The former DPOY is quietly having one of the best seasons of his young career, and Saturday’s win over the Wolves was the perfect evidence—his 33 PTS and 8 REB led Memphis to a 127-125 win. Ja Morant overcame a poor shooting performance to deliver the tying and go-ahead buckets in the final minute—like Coach Jenkins says, he’s built for this.

• The Knicks absolutely BLEW OUT Milwaukee last night, as 44 from Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns’ 30-point, 18-rebound double-double suffocated the Bucks en route to a 140-106 New York win at MSG.

• Tyler Herro scored 32 PTS and nailed seven threes to lead Miami to a 119-98 win over Portland. While the Blazers nearly erased a 20-point halftime lead in the third, the Heat’s experience ultimately won out, allowing them to regain control heading into the fourth and cruise to their third straight win.

Lakers, Clippers expected to return Monday after wildfire-related postponements

The NBA postponed three games this week amid the tragic wildfires affecting the city of Los Angeles and its surrounding areas. On Sunday, the league informed the Lakers and Clippers that they were expected to return to their normal home schedule on Monday, with the Lakers hosting the Spurs and the Clippers hosting the Heat.

Lakers coach JJ Redick, who lost his home in the fire that affected much of the Pacific Palisades area, said Friday that he hoped the team could return to action soon to help ”give people hope” in the local community. Our thoughts are with the teams, as well as all those affected by the fires. 💙

Record Retrospective

There’s an old expression that goes, “if you don’t know who owns the record, Wilt does.” The mark for most rebounds in a game in NBA history, not unexpectedly, is one of those cases.

Wilt Chamberlain entered his second NBA season with a mountain of expectations. After breaking the scoring record with 37.6 PPG (along with 27 RPG) and winning MVP as a rookie, Wilt’s legendary status was already underway, and his sophomore year provided another opportunity to cement it.

On November 24, 1960, Wilt and the Philadelphia Warriors matched up with the reigning champion Boston Celtics, led by fellow legend Bill Russell. In a matchup between two titans of the game, Wilt made his presence known, scoring 34 PTS and corralling an NBA record 55 rebounds. But Russell’s impact didn’t go unnoticed, notching 18 PTS and 19 REB of his own while holding Wilt to just 36% shooting. In the end, it was Boston who had the last laugh, winning the game 132-129 and going on to win that year’s title (as well as the next six titles after that).

Many say that Wilt’s 100-point game is the NBA’s most unbreakable record, but we think this one is even more so. For context, no player apart from Wilt and Russell has ever grabbed more than 40 boards in a game, and only two other players (Moses Malone and Charles Oakley) have ever grabbed 35 or more. All in a day’s work for the legend! 💪

Three in the Key

Signing Off

And we out! Thanks for spending a portion of your day with us. This week, try to carve out some time to call someone you love, especially if you haven’t talked to them in a while. Odds are they’d love to hear from you too. See you soon!

-Walker Carnathan