On Saturday night, the Spurs beat the Rockets at home, 121-103. That in and of itself isn’t notable—the Spurs are a much better team than the Rockets, and easily the second-best team in the NBA behind the Warriors. But something happened in the game that hasn’t happened in 19 years: Tim Duncan failed to score a point. He was held scoreless for the first time in his career, just barely edging out Karl Malone for the longest such streak, according to ESPN:
Most Consecutive Games with a Point - To Begin Player's Career
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 3, 2016
Tim Duncan 1,359 (0 vs Rockets)
Karl Malone 1,356
(via @eliassports)
It’s a pretty mind-blowing stat, not only because his number and Malone’s are so close, but the idea that Duncan has played 19 seasons and never once not scored a point before Saturday. That’s unreal.