It's not every day in the NBA that a team comes from 25 points down to win with a buzzer-beater, capping a game where a player lands 10 or more three-pointers.
In fact, it happened for the first time in league history on Thursday as the New York Knicks stormed back to beat the Boston Celtics 108-105 at Madison Square Garden.
From 57-32 adrift in the second quarter, the Knicks were inspired by Evan Fournier's remarkable shooting from behind the line against his former team, and RJ Barrett came up with the last-gasp glory shot.
Each of the three standout facets of the Knicks' win had been achieved in isolation, but they had never all come in the same game, Stats Perform said.
The Knicks were able to celebrate their biggest comeback win since coming from 26 behind against Milwaukee in March 2004, while Fournier's 10 threes matched a franchise record set by JR Smith.
Barrett's buzzer-beater was the Knicks' first for over nine years, with Smith the last player to grab a win at the death with his shot against Phoenix on December 26 in 2012.
Fournier finished with 41 points, a career-best haul, and he has shone brightest in games against Boston this season, after his short-lived spell with the Celtics last season.
Only three times has Fournier topped 30 points for the Knicks, and each time Boston have been the opponents. He had 32-point games against them in October and December, and stepped it up in the latest meeting.
Fournier said, quoted in the New York Post: "Maybe there is a little bit of extra motivation, but it is not something that I do on purpose against the Celtics. But yes, three times in a row, so it is hard to say no, it is not a coincidence."
Jayson Tatum responded with 36 points for Boston, together with six rebounds and nine assists, before Barrett's pull-up jump shot for a three-pointer soared over him at the end of the game to win the day.
Barrett said: "Man, that was crazy – I didn't even really see it because I fell. I didn't see it go in but from everyone else's reaction, I knew it did."
Fournier's own feats were made all the more remarkable by the fact he failed to register a point in almost 22 minutes on court during the Knicks' previous game, a win over the Indiana Pacers two days earlier.
The Frenchman is still averaging a patchy 13.5 points per game this season, and has had scathing reviews, but for one night that disappointing start to his Knicks career did not seem to matter.
Cam Johnson warned the Phoenix Suns are "starting to click" after they extended their winning run to three games at the expense of the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
The Suns have the best record in the NBA of 30-8 following a 106-89 triumph over the Clippers at Footprint Center.
Johnson scored a career-high 24 points, while Chris Paul finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists to leave the Suns sitting pretty at the top of the Western Conference.
Forward Johnson says there is more to come from Phoenix
"We're having a lot of fun playing together," Johnson said. "Things are starting to click."
Paul's tally of rebounds was a career-best for the 36-year-old in what his 1,128th regular-season NBA game.
The 11-time NBA All-Star said: "Some teams' biggest issue is that they don't know what they want to run or who they want to go to down the stretch.
"I think we have a good sense of that. We know what our go-to plays are."
Suns head coach Monty Williams says his players deserve great credit for the way they are going about their business.
He said: "I just think the players have done a really good job of driving our culture. We have unreal guard play, which really helps."
The Clippers are 19-20 following back-to-back defeats, but head coach Tyronn Lue could not fault the application his players showed.
He said: "We scrapped and competed. That is a good ball club over there and they played well. Their stars took over down the stretch and took over the game."
Chris Paul recorded his first triple-double of the season with a career-high 13 rebounds in the Phoenix Suns' 106-89 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday.
Paul finished the game with 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists as the NBA-leading Suns improved to 30-8, while the Clippers slipped below .500 at 19-20 for the first time since they were 3-4 earlier this season, while Phoenix became the first team to reach 30 wins this season as they moved a game ahead of the Golden State Warriors.
The rebounding feats of Paul, playing his 1,128th NBA game, were complimented by the Suns veteran bringing up 41 assists from Phoenix's past three games.
Paul (474) also moved past NBA legend Oscar Robertson into third overall for most games with 10 or more points and 10 or more assists, behind John Stockton (714) and Magic Johnson (543).
Cameron Johnson had a career-high 24 points with seven rebounds for the Suns as Devin Booker went none-of-seven from beyond the arc for his 11 points.
Marcus Morris Sr had 26 points with eight rebounds and three assists for the Clippers who were without Paul George, Nicolas Batum and Kawhi Leonard.
Warriors lose without Curry and Green
The Warriors struggled in the absence of injured All-Star duo Stephen Curry (quad) and Draymond Green (hip), going down 101-96 to the New Orleans Pelicans.
Brandon Ingram scored 32 points with 11 rebounds and six assists for New Orleans.
Evan Fournier shot 10 three-pointers as he haunted his former side with 41 points and eight rebounds as the New York Knicks overcame the Boston Celtics 108-105 but it was RJ Barrett who hit a buzzer beater to clinch the win. Jayson Tatum had 36 points, six rebounds and nine assists.
Pistons pumped as Cunningham struggles
The Detroit Pistons were hammered by 30 points in the 118-88 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies with no player scoring more than 14 points.
The Pistons hold a 7-30 record this season with only three road victories from 20 games. They shocked the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this week but were no match for in-form Memphis, who extended their winning streak to seven.
Top draft pick Cade Cunningham shot five-of-19 for his 12 points.
Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert has tested positive for COVID-19 once again after his diagnosis prompted the NBA to shut down for four months in March last year.
Gobert has entered the league's health and safety protocols and will miss Friday's game against the Toronto Raptors.
The three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year had missed the Jazz's win at the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday for an unspecified illness.
The Jazz said Gobert returned two negative results for two rapid tests on the day of that game but the result of a PCR test returned on Thursday is positive.
Utah, who are 28-10, had managed to avoid having any players enter protocols this season until Joe Inglis entered earlier this week, with Gobert the second Jazz player to test positive.
Clear your schedule. There's some appointment viewing in the NBA this week as the Milwaukee Bucks visit the Brooklyn Nets.
The defending NBA champion Bucks renew acquaintances at Barclays Center on Friday with the team they edged in an engrossing Eastern Conference semi-final series last year.
Both Milwaukee and Brooklyn are looking up at the Chicago Bulls, with the Eastern Conference's surprise package continuing to lead the way.
Yet the Bucks and the Nets remain favourites to contest the Conference Finals this season, and their second meeting of the campaign will provide another measuring stick as to who has the edge.
The Nets will not have the unvaccinated Kyrie Irving, who made his season debut against the Indiana Pacers but cannot play in home games due to New York's vaccine mandate.
However, in Kevin Durant they have the NBA's leader in points per game (30.0), and his tussle with Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo - himself averaging 27.9 - promises to be unmissable.
Durant, team-mate James Harden and Antetokounmpo will be the star attractions in Brooklyn, yet some supposed lesser lights could have a decisive say in this marquee matchup.
PIVOTAL PERFORMERS
Milwaukee Bucks - Jrue Holiday
Holiday has been key to the Bucks' recent surge, scoring at least 20 points in five of their last eight games, registering three double-doubles in that span.
Excelling as both a scorer and facilitator, the Bucks will likely need Holiday firing on all cylinders for the offense to perform at its best against the Nets.
Brooklyn Nets - LaMarcus Aldridge
Veteran big Aldridge recently revealed he is still suffering from coronavirus symptoms despite clearing the NBA's protocols.
The Nets could certainly use Aldridge at full strength given what he has offered on the defensive end this season. His 4.3 defensive rebounds per game trail only Durant and Harden among Nets players, and he is second on the team in blocked shots with an average of 1.11.
KEY BATTLE - Can Nets bridge three-point gap?
The Bucks were among the most prolific teams in the NBA from the three-point line last month, attempting the second most (603) shots from beyond the arc and converting the third most (217).
Their three-point field goal percentage of 36 was only good enough for 14th. However, with the Nets shooting 32 per cent from deep in December, there is something of a disparity for the home side to make up.
Steve Nash's team are not short of the talent to bridge the gap, though, with Durant, Harden and Co. more than capable of going blow for blow with the Bucks should they get hot from deep.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Having lost to the Bucks back in October, the Nets will be hoping to avoid a fourth straight regular-season defeat in games against Milwaukee.
Stephen Curry is "not optimistic" about being fit for the Golden State Warriors' game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday after suffering a quad contusion.
Warriors superstar Curry did the thigh damage during a 99-82 loss at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
The seven-time NBA All-Star was hobbling in the second half but spent 36 minutes on court as he scored 14 points, took nine rebounds and provided five assists.
Curry is not hopeful over his chances of facing the Pelicans at Smoothie King Center.
Asked about his injury, he told reporters: "Yeah, it sucked.
"The way it feels right now, I'm not optimistic [about playing in New Orleans], but we'll see."
Golden State head coach Steve Kerr is prepared for the prospect of being without key man Curry.
Kerr said: "Yeah, there's a chance [Curry will miss out], He got a pretty good quad contusion and those generally get worse overnight.
"With a flight and everything, there's a chance he won't play tomorrow."
The Warriors remain top of the Western Conference on 29-8, a record the Phoenix Suns can also boast.
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