FloaterDaily Brief
Sunday, December 29, 2002Regular season · 3 games
← Dec 28CalendarDec 30 →

3 games, none went to overtime. Biggest comeback: HOU trailed NOH by 8 after three quarters and won 97–85.

Final
PHX103
CLE84
Q1 PHX +13; Q2 PHX +14; Q3 PHX +12; Q4 PHX +19
Final
NOH85
HOU97
Q1 HOU +12; Q2 HOU +9; Q3 HOU -8; Q4 HOU +12
Final
TOR88
LAL104
Q1 LAL +8; Q2 LAL +14; Q3 LAL +15; Q4 LAL +16
Bars under each score: who led after each quarter, from the winner's side. winner ahead behind behind in a 10+ point comeback tied
On this day · 2001–02Dec 29, 2001: 9 games. Top scorer: Michael Jordan (WAS vs CHH), 51 points.
The lead · NOH @ HOU

Houston rallies from 8 down to beat New Orleans

Trailing by 8 after three, Houston outscored the Hornets 38–18 the rest of the way. Final: 97–85. Cuttino Mobley led Houston with 24 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.

Game flow · HOU margin at each break
Quarter-end scores only (4 points), so swings inside a period don't show. Pink = the rally, from the biggest deficit to the final.
-20-100+10+20TipEnd Q1HalfEnd Q3Final0+12+9-8+12HOU AHEAD ↑NOH AHEAD ↓
By quarter
Q1Q2Q3Q4T
NOH2122241885
HOU331973897
Who led
Cuttino MobleyPoints, last 10 games: 14, 25, 19, 27, 14, 22, 12, 10, 8, 24HOU24 PTS · 8 REB · 3 AST
Steve FrancisPoints, last 10 games: 32, 29, 14, 21, 19, 23, 24, 26, 27, 23HOU23 PTS · 7 REB · 5 AST
Jamal MashburnPoints, last 10 games: 19, 21, 12, 22, 23, 30, 16, 8, 17, 25NOH25 PTS · 5 REB · 5 AST
Baron DavisPoints, last 10 games: 10, 18, 23, 21, 23, 20, 18, 11, 22, 14NOH14 PTS · 4 REB · 0 AST
Second story · TOR @ LAL

Lakers lead Toronto wire to wire

Lakers were ahead at every break and won 104–88. Best quarter: the second, 30–24. Shaquille O'Neal led Lakers with 35 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists.

The whole night · final margins
HOU over NOH12LAL over TOR16PHX over CLE19Final margin, points. Pink = LAL over TOR.
Fantasy angleRecent form and minutes against each player's season average from games before today.
Heating up
+4.9points, last 5 vs season avg
Points per game
11.1Season avg16.0Last 5

16.0 points a game over his last five games, against 11.1 in 29 earlier games. Today: 19 points in 38 minutes.

Losing minutes
−10.4minutes, last 3 vs season avg
Minutes per game
31.7Season avg21.3Last 3

21.3 minutes a game over his last three games, against 31.7 in 29 earlier games. Today: 5 points in 22 minutes.

Stepped-up role
+17.3minutes, today vs season avg
Minutes per game
8.7Season avg26Today

26 minutes today, against 8.7 a game in 27 earlier games. Line: 7 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assists.

Top performances

Shaquille O'Neal leads the day with 35

Sparkline: points in his last 10 games, tonight in pink. Black tag: most points in a game this season to date, or in his career when his whole career is in our box scores (after 5+ games). Plus/minus: points tonight against his average before tonight.
Shaquille O'NealPoints, last 10 games: 36, 28, 30, 17, 19, 26, 31, 27, 22, 35LAL vs TOR · W
26.4 PPG season to date · +9.1 vs his regular-season average before tonight
35 PTS · 10 REB · 3 AST
Jamal MashburnPoints, last 10 games: 19, 21, 12, 22, 23, 30, 16, 8, 17, 25NOH @ HOU · L
20.8 PPG season to date · +4.4 vs his regular-season average before tonight
25 PTS · 5 REB · 5 AST
Cuttino MobleyPoints, last 10 games: 14, 25, 19, 27, 14, 22, 12, 10, 8, 24HOU vs NOH · W
17.4 PPG season to date · +6.9 vs his regular-season average before tonight
24 PTS · 8 REB · 3 AST
Steve FrancisPoints, last 10 games: 32, 29, 14, 21, 19, 23, 24, 26, 27, 23HOU vs NOH · W
23.7 PPG season to date · −0.8 vs his regular-season average before tonight
23 PTS · 7 REB · 5 AST
Amar'e StoudemirePoints, last 10 games: 19, 8, 17, 15, 4, 18, 16, 11, 16, 19PHX @ CLE · W
11.3 PPG season to date · +7.9 vs his regular-season average before tonight
19 PTS · 13 REB · 3 AST
Morris PetersonPoints, last 10 games: 15, 18, 9, 21, 22, 5, 27, 22, 14, 18TOR @ LAL · L
15.4 PPG season to date · +2.7 vs his regular-season average before tonight
18 PTS · 5 REB · 2 AST
Hot and cold

Last 10 games against the season so far

Points per game in each player's last 10 games minus his season average through tonight. Regular season, players with 20+ games and 20+ minutes a game.
Hot
Eddie JonesMIA+5.6 23.8 last 10 · 18.2 season
Bonzi WellsPOR+5.4 21.6 last 10 · 16.2 season
Lucious HarrisNJN+4.8 17.5 last 10 · 12.7 season
Yao MingHOU+4.0 17.1 last 10 · 13.1 season
Sam CassellMIL+3.7 24.1 last 10 · 20.4 season
Cold
James PoseyHOU−4.6 7.7 last 10 · 12.3 season
Allen IversonPHI−4.2 23.4 last 10 · 27.6 season
Allan HoustonNYK−4.1 18.2 last 10 · 22.3 season
Doug ChristieSAC−3.6 7.7 last 10 · 11.3 season
Erick DampierGSW−3.5 5.7 last 10 · 9.2 season