Tuesday night’s NBA slate included an exciting affair between two lottery-bound teams, Orlando and Philadelphia, and thanks in no small part to two top rookies from the widely-panned NBA Draft class of 2013. But so far this season, it’s clear that Michael Carter-Williams and Victor Oladipo missed the memo on how they were expected to perform this season (the same could also be said for their teams, by virtue of playing in the putrid Eastern Conference). Carter-Williams is the early front-runner for rookie of the year, while Oladipo — after missing the beginning of the season — is trying to make up ground.
The two squared off for the first time Tuesday, and made it a debut match-up for the record books. Both notched triple-doubles — MCW with 27/12/10, Oladipo with 26/10/10 — in a 126-125 double-overtime win for the 76ers. According to the intrepid researchers over at Ball Don’t Lie, the two triple-doubles marked the ninth time since the 1985-86 season that two players have recorded a triple-double in the same game, and the seventh time it’s been accomplished by players on opposing teams — the most recent being Caron Butler and Baron Davis on November 23, 2007.
The two breakout performances overshadowed a tremendous showing from Magic guard Arron Afflalo, who put up a career-high 43 points in the losing effort.
[BDL]
