The Best of the Day: January 4th, 2021

The ‘Best of the Day’ is a daily PSO original series showcasing the most significant stories, highlights, and facts going on in the land of the NFL, NBA, & MLB every day. Get a recap on EVERYTHING that happened on 1/4 here.

The NBA took center stage Monday night with no Monday Night Football due to the conclusion of the NFL regular season. 18 teams took the floor, with most of the games finishing with double-digit margins. However, the first overtime action of the season occurred when the Pacers defeated the Pelicans on Malcolm Brogdon’s game-winning floater with 1.7 seconds remaining. Meanwhile, Toronto’s Pascal Siakam, expected to be the team’s best player after an exceptional 2019-20 season, has had a tough start to this year with his production down across the board for the struggling 1-5 Raptors.

Here is the best of the day from January 4, 2021:

Story of the Day

Pacers outlasted the Pelicans in OT thanks to Brogdon’s GW

The Indiana Pacers came away with a tough 118-116 win on the road over the New Orleans Pelicans thanks to G Malcolm Brogdon’s basket with 1.7 seconds left in OT. The one-handed floater capped a 21-point, 11-assist night for Brogdon, who’s been excellent so far, leading Indiana (5-2) in scoring with 22.0 PPG. His backcourt mate, Victor Oladipo, led the team in scoring Monday night with 25 points on 5-of-11 from three while Domantas Sabonis recorded his seventh straight double-double to open the season with his 19-point, 11-rebound performance. All three players are averaging 20+ PPG, forming one of the most underrated Big 3’s in the NBA.

Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans (4-3) in scoring with 31, but hit just 12 of his 31 shots. Despite the inefficient night, Ingram has been New Orleans’ best player this season, leading the team in points (25.0) and assists (5.7). Zion Williamson recorded his fourth double-double this season with 24 points and 10 boards. This was the second straight game the Pelicans, who led 104-94 in the fourth, held a double-digit lead in the final frame. But, unlike against the Raptors, their late-game collapse cost them this game. Though New Orleans is as young and talented as any team in the NBA, they will need to learn from this experience and not make it a habit.

This Pacers-Pelicans ending was wild 😳

Malcolm Brogdon called game. pic.twitter.com/tyB3lnkZ9I
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 5, 2021

Victor Oladipo buries the 3, comes up with the steal, and Myles Turner ties it for the @Pacers from deep!

Headed to OVERTIME on NBA LP pic.twitter.com/8uhqUWPKJ6
— NBA (@NBA) January 5, 2021

Malcolm Brogdon hit the game-winner in OT.

21 PTS
7 REB
11 AST
3 STL

He’s averaging 22/5/7 on 52/45/83 shooting this season. pic.twitter.com/Hbnoa1W221
— StatMuse (@statmuse) January 5, 2021

Related: Stories of the Day

Takeaway of the Day

Pascal Siakam is not playing like an All-Star, and the Raptors will miss the playoffs if he’s not

Pascal Siakam had a meteoric rise to greatness in the NBA. He came out of seemingly nowhere in 2019, and was awarded the Most Improved Player as a key piece to the Raptors Championship team. Last season, following Kawhi’s departure, Siakam took over the reins of the team, and did not disappoint, averaging just under 23 points and 7.3 rebounds on 50% shooting from the field. He led the Raptors to the two seed in the East, and was voted into his first all-star game as a starter, cementing himself as a top player in this league.

The Raptors were expecting him to continue to trend upward this year after signing him to a 4y/$130M extension a year ago. That hasn’t been the case, and the Raptors are struggling because of it. Siakam is averaging just 17.6 points on 41% shooting, and has led the Raptors to an abysmal 1-5 record to open the year. He sat out the team’s December 31st contest against the Knicks, which has been the Raptors’ only victory this season. If the Most Improved Player can’t show some signs of improvement soon, the Raptors may be in for an extremely disappointing 2021 campaign in Tampa Bay.

Falling 126-114 to the Celtics, the #Raptors are off to a 1-5 or worse start for the 7th time in franchise history but 1st time since 2012-13. The 661 points opponents have scored during this slow start are the most ever allowed by a TOR team through its first 6 games of a season pic.twitter.com/yO9jk7uoXP
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) January 5, 2021

Related: NBA Takeaways of the Day

Highlight of the Day

Steph threaded the needle for this assist

Steph with the behind-the-back dime through traffic!

30 PTS, 8 REB, 8 AST for Curry as we go to the 4th on League Pass. pic.twitter.com/aFukHrapV4
— NBA (@NBA) January 5, 2021

Player of the Day

G Luka Doncic, DAL (@HOU): 33 PTS (12-25 FG | 3-10 3PT), 11 AST, 16 REB, 0 BLK, 0 STL, 8 TO

#PlayerOfTheDay (1/4/21) - G Luka Doncic, DAL
THE FACTS:
- Most 30 PTS/15 REB/10 AST GP (4) before turning 22
- Most triple-doubles (26) before turning 22
- 4th fastest (139 GP) with 1,000 PTS/1,000 REB/1,000 AST
- 1st triple-double of the 2020-21 NBA season https://t.co/5KN7mhJX6N
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) January 5, 2021

Related: Players of the Day

Game of the Day

Indiana Pacers (118) [GW-FG in OT] vs. New Orleans Pelicans (116)

PACERS (+113; $11.20) d. @PELICANS (-113; $10.18) 118-116 [IND +1.5 | o216]

Related: Games of the Day

Fact of the Day

This was the highest-scoring season in NFL history

The 2020 NFL season had the most total PTS (12,692) and TDs scored (1,473) in a single season in NFL history

Related: Facts of the Day

PSO Post of the Day

Reviewing Every NFL Week 17 Game by Matthew DelDonna

With the regular season in the books, check out the full review from a wild Week 17 that had a lot of teams’ seasons come down to the wire.

Full review of NFL Week 17 including the Browns finally making the playoffs, many teams playing their last game of the season, and some historic performances to end the year on a high note ⬇️ https://t.co/qEOTuoHjOM
— Pro Sports Outlook (@PSO_Sports) January 6, 2021

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