Good morning. Happy Election Day, my fellow Americans. (Happy popcorn day, my international friends.) Let’s basketball.
WAIT, THERE WAS A THREE-POINTER RECORD HE DIDN’T HAVE? Stephen Curry broke the record for most threes in a game by hitting 13 of them on Monday against the Pelicans in a 116-106 Warriors win. He’s really good. I mean, really good.
THAT MEANS ... the Pelicans are still winless at 0-7. The Sixers still haven’t won, either. The Pacers are 3-4 with some bad losses, the Hornets are 5-1 with some convincing wins, the Thunder are damn good and the Wizards are not. James Harden has *four* 30-15 games this season. There were three in the entire NBA last season.
OFF THE WALL: John Wall got ejected on what looked like a dicey second technical. It turns out he tossed a vulgarity at the ref after being warned. Welp.
ACCIDENTAL SUPERSTAR: I wrote about how the Suns tanked twice in the last five years but earned their best young prospect the season they were completely average.
SCORES GALORE ...
Jazz 109, Sixers 84
Rockets 114, Wizards 106
Pacers 100, Hornets 122
Magic 80, Bulls 112
Heat 85, Thunder 97
Pistons 82, Clippers 114
Pelicans 106, Warriors 116
DONE: Andrew Sharp wants you to let the Lakers into your heart. I’m already there.
YOUR DAILY EMBIID. Man, he’s so smooth! Here are Kevin Pelton and Chad Ford discussing just how good Embiid can be.
THE ITALIAN HOUDINI: Nice no-look pass Marco Belinelli.
THE AMERICAN HOUDINI: Kemba Walker shows his teammate how it’s actually done.
NICE: Boogie Cousins and several other Kings held a forum with law enforcement reps and inner-city high school kids in Sacramento. It included conversations between the groups and a mock traffic stop. Kudos to everyone involved. This shouldn’t be necessary, but it is, so I’m glad someone prominent is taking up the mantle.
D’AWW: Gregg Popovich, obviously joking, says he and Tim Duncan send emoji texts to each other. I’m going to believe it anyway. But seriously, Pop is the greatest.
NEITHER CAN LIVE WHILE THE OTHER SURVIVES: David Aldridge on the eternal link between the Warriors and Thunder.
WHEN IN DOUBT, BLAME ROBOTS: Mark Cuban’s decision to revoke the season media credentials of ESPN’s Marc Stein and Tim MacMahon is somehow related to Mark Cuban’s fears of future automation of basketball journalism. More on this bizarre story is coming on Mavs Moneyball early Tuesday.
TERRY STOTTS VIDEOBOMBS A SIDELINE REPORTER.
25 YEARS LATER: Magic Johnson announced he had tested HIV-positive 25 years ago. Bill Oram looks at the legacy. (David Stern also says that one other NBA player, who has since died, tested HIV-positive after retiring during Stern’s tenure.)
AND FINALLY: A hero created a Chrome extension that vastly improves the ESPN box score. A hero, I say. Via Kevin Arnovitz.
NEXT UP: The NBA will indeed do its typical Tuesday doubleheader on NBA TV with Hawks-Cavaliers (7 p.m. ET) and Pelicans-Kings (10:30 p.m.), but we’ll understand if you’re busily refreshing Vox.com instead. We’ll let you know if Boogie or The Brow do anything crazy. (Spoiler alert: they’ll probably do something crazy.)
Happy Tuesday. Bless you all, and be excellent to each other.