2022-23 NBA season, Q3

In the third quarter of the NBA season:

>> LeBron James, 38 years old, broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record.

>> The Brooklyn Nets traded Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks and Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns.

>> The Milwaukee Bucks have won 12 straight games.

The favorites to win the NBA championship are:

>> Boston Celtics
>> Milwaukee Bucks
>> Denver Nuggets
>> Philadelphia 76ers
>> Phoenix Suns

The NBA season after three quarters (or at the All-Star break):

TEAMS

Best record >> Boston Celtics, 42-17

2. Milwaukee Bucks, 41-17
3. Denver Nuggets, 41-18

Worst record >> Houston Rockets, 13-45

2. San Antonio Spurs, 14-45

Best net rating >> Boston Celtics, 6.2

2. Cleveland Cavaliers, 5.9
3. Denver Nuggets, 4.4
4. Philadelphia 76ers, 4.0

Worst net rating >> San Antonio Spurs, -9.9

No. 1 draft pick favorite >> San Antonio Spurs

Trending up >> Milwaukee Bucks, 16-3 (in the third quarter)

>> Philadelphia 76ers, 14-4
>> Washington Wizards, 11-7

Trending down >> San Antonio Spurs, 1-18

>> Indiana Pacers, 3-16
>> Brooklyn Nets, 7-11

Home team >> Golden State Warriors

Road team >> New York Knicks

PLAYERS

Player rankings >> Nikola Jokic, Nuggets

2. Jayson Tatum, Celtics
3. Luka Doncic, Mavericks
4. Joel Embiid, 76ers
5. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks

Overrated >> Pascal Siakam, Raptors

Underrated >> Jimmy Butler, Heat

Sensation >> Mac McClung, 76ers

Most points, all time >> LeBron James, 38,411

Most points, single game (this season) >> Donovan Mitchell, 71

Injured >> Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Zion Williamson

Games missed >> Zion Williamson, 30

Devin Booker, 27
Kawhi Leonard, 27
Anthony Davis, 24
Chris Paul, 21
Stephen Curry, 20
Kevin Durant, 19

No games missed >> Julius Randle, Anthony Edwards

2022-23 NBA season, Q2

Donovan Mitchell scored 71 points last week in an overtime win over the Bulls — the eighth-highest total in league history and one of 14 50-point games this season:

                 min   2p 2pa   3p 3pa   ft fta  reb  ast  pts
Mitchell          50   15  19    7  15   20  25    8   11   71

A few hours later, Klay Thompson scored 54 points in a double overtime victory over the Hawks — his first 50-point game since returning a year ago from knee and achilles injuries.

Luka Doncic, who scored 50 points three times in nine days in December, had an unprecedented 60-21-10 triple-double in an overtime win over the Knicks. The league’s best player scored nine points in the final 33 seconds of regulation to send the game into overtime.

                 min   2p 2pa   3p 3pa   ft fta  reb  ast  pts
Doncic            47   19  25    2   6   16  22   21   10   60

This season’s other 50-point players: Joel Embiid (twice), Devin Booker (twice), Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, Pascal Siakam, Darius Garland and Stephen Curry.

The NBA season at halftime:

TEAMS

Best record >> Boston Celtics, 28-12

2. Brooklyn Nets, 27-13
3. Denver Nuggets, 26-13
3. Memphis Grizzlies, 26-13
5. Milwaukee Bucks, 25-14
5. Cleveland Cavaliers, 26-15

Worst record >> Houston Rockets, 10-30

2. Detroit Pistons, 11-32

Best net rating >> Boston Celtics, 5.8

2. Cleveland Cavaliers, 5.1
3. Memphis Grizzlies, 4.8
4. New Orleans Pelicans, 4.0
4. Brooklyn Nets, 4.0

Worst net rating >> San Antonio Spurs, -8.5

No. 1 draft pick favorite >> Houston Rockets

Trending up >> Brooklyn Nets, 17-2 in the second quarter

>> Memphis Grizzlies, 14-5
>> New York Knicks, 13-7

Trending down >> Phoenix Suns, 7-14 in the second quarter

>> Toronto Raptors, 7-14
>> Utah Jazz, 8-13

Home team >> Golden State Warriors

Road team >> New York Knicks

PLAYERS

Player rankings >> Luka Doncic, Mavericks

2. Nikola Jokic, Nuggets
3. Kevin Durant, Nets
4. Jayson Tatum, Celtics
5. Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers

Having their best season (age) >> Tyrese Haliburton (22), Luka Doncic (23), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (24), Lauri Markkanen (25), Donovan Mitchell (26)

Injured >> Joel Embiid, Stephen Curry, Devin Booker, Anthony Davis, Zion Williamson

2022-23 NBA season, Q1

Kyrie Irving tweeted a link to an anti-Semitic documentary, sucking the air out of the first quarter of the season. Steve Nash is gone. Ben Simmons is back.

Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla is the league’s top rookie.

The NBA season after one quarter:

TEAMS

Best record | Boston Celtics, 16-4

2. Milwaukee Bucks, 14-5
3. Phoenix Suns, 13-6
4. Cleveland Cavaliers, 13-7
5. Denver Nuggets, 12-7

Worst record | Detroit Pistons, 5-17

Best net rating | Boston Celtics, 7.0

2. Phoenix Suns, 7.0
3. Cleveland Cavaliers, 6.9
4. New Orleans Pelicans, 5.5
5. Milwaukee Bucks, 4.9

Worst net rating | San Antonio Spurs, -10.2

No. 1 draft pick favorite | San Antonio Spurs

Trending up | Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz

Trending down | Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat

PLAYERS

Player rankings | Stephen Curry, Warriors

2. Luka Doncic, Mavericks
3. Nikola Jokic, Nuggets
4. Jayson Tatum, Celtics
5. Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers

Having their best season (age) Tyrese Haliburton (22), Luka Doncic (23), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (24), Donovan Mitchell (26)

Playing hard | Anthony Davis, Lakers

Not playing | Jae Crowder, TBA

Why? Kyrie Irving, Nets