Giannis, Wembanyama and Towns deliver a historic night of scoring in the NBA

There was no shortage of high-profile events in the NBA on Wednesday.

Three players – Victor Wembanyama, Karl-Anthony Towns and Giannis Antetokounmpo – scored at least 45 points. Antetokounmpo had the highest point total (59 points) and Wembanyama set a career high (50) for the San Antonio Spurs.

The three games with more than 45 points were the most in a single day in NBA history, along with seven other games. The last time this happened was on March 14, 2022, when Towns (60), Trae Young (46) and Stephen Curry (47) each dropped more than 45 points.

Wembanyama led the Spurs to a 139-130 victory over the Washington Wizards. Antetokounmpo gave the Milwaukee Bucks a 127-120 lead in overtime against the Detroit Pistons. Towns’ big game wasn’t enough as the New York Knicks lost 124-123 to the Chicago Bulls.

Here are the key numbers from a memorable evening at the club.

59: The Milwaukee Bucks needed all 59 of Antetokounmpo’s points against the Detroit Pistons. This score is the second-highest of his career (64) and the most of any player in a game this season.

Antetokounmpo – who single-handedly outscored the Pistons in overtime – now has three 55-point games in the regular season. Every other player in Bucks history has combined with three.

It was also the two-time MVP’s ninth 50-point, 10-rebound game of his career, the third-most in NBA history, behind Wilt Chamberlain (118) and Elgin Baylor (16).

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Five: Wembanyama’s goal break puts him in rare company. He joins LeBron James (twice), Brandon Jennings, Kevin Porter Jr. and Devin Booker as the fifth player 20 years old or younger to score 50 points in a game.

At 20 years and 314 days, the San Antonio center is the fourth-youngest player to reach 50, behind Booker, James and Jennings.

He is also the second player in Spurs history to score 50 goals in his first two seasons – George Gervin is the other, although the Ice Man played four seasons in the ABA before the NBA merger.

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Four: Town’s high-scoring game included plenty of history.

For one thing, it was his fourth career game with 40 points, 10 rebounds and 5 3-pointers. This breaks the tie with DeMarcus Cousins ​​for most centers in NBA history.

Towns is the first Knicks player with 45 points and 10 rebounds since Carmelo Anthony in 2014 – the feat came a month after Anthony’s career-high 62 points.

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Three: Before Wednesday, there had only been three 45-point games this season from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (45), Paolo Banchero (50) and Tyrese Maxey (45).

Wembanyama and Banchero – who turned 22 on Tuesday – are linked in league history.

This is the first season in which a pair of players aged 21 or younger scored 50 points in a game. The only other season this happened was 2005-06, and LeBron James was responsible for both.

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6-foot-11: Wednesday marked the first day in league history that three players 6 feet tall or taller scored 45 points each.

At 7-foot-4, Wembanyama is the tallest player in NBA history to score 50 points.

ESPN Research contributed to this story.