The final day of the NBA regular season was littered with lopsided numbers and unexpected contributions as playoff-bound teams and the league's basement dwellers alike sought to protect key contributors.
The opportunity gave some of the game's unheralded players a chance to shine. Here are some of the craziest and most unexpected statistics from Sunday's jam-packed slate.
0: Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant extended an impressive streak of absenteeism by not appearing in Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers. Grant has not appeared in a game after March 12 in three consecutive seasons.
1: Second-generation hooper Bronny James made his first career start in the Lakers' visit from the Blazers. It was a meaningless affair for the Lakers, who had already secured the No. 3 seed in the West. Regardless, James finished the game with four points on 2-of-10 shooting.
3: A trio of Cleveland Cavaliers registered career highs in their double-overtime loss to the Indiana Pacers. Jaylon Tyson (31 points), Emoni Bates (25), and Nae'Qwan Tomlin (24) will have to find a way to share ownership of the game ball.
20: Cavaliers big man Tristan Thompson grabbed 20 rebounds versus the Pacers, the most he's recorded since Jan. 2020. Truly a banner day for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.
20+: San Antonio Spurs veteran guard Chris Paul became the first player in league history to appear in every regular-season game in his 20th season or later.
31: Memphis Grizzlies forward Lamar Stevens posted a career-best 31 points on 14-of-25 shooting in the beatdown of the Dallas Mavericks. Stevens scored a combined 43 points on 15 made field goals in 16 outings before Sunday's contest.
41-41: The Orlando Magic suffered a 12-point defeat to their Southeast Division rivals, the Atlanta Hawks, to finish the campaign with a 41-41 record, becoming the first team since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976 to win its division without a winning record.
43: Milwaukee Bucks guard Pat Connaughton poured in a career-high 43 points in his team's overtime victory over the Detroit Pistons. Connaughton joined Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Kareem-Abdul Jabbar as the only Bucks to record a 40/10/5 game.
-44: Mavericks guard Jaden Hardy recorded a minus-44 against the Grizzlies. Somehow, it was only the fourth-worst tally this season, but third-worst this week after New Orleans Pelicans duo Jeremiah Robinson-Earl (minus-58) and Keion Brooks Jr. (minus-56) put up crooked numbers versus the Miami Heat on Friday.
82: Only 11 players appeared in all 82 games this season. A tip of the cap to Jalen Green, Mikal Bridges, Jarrett Allen, Harrison Barnes, Jaden McDaniels, Julian Champagnie, Bub Carrington, Nickeil-Alexander Walker, Malik Beasley, Buddy Hield, and the aforementioned Paul.
