Basketball On The Internet.

BOB'S CORNER: The times they are a changin' according to our US correspondent BOB CRAVEN who this week reports for your weekend read that it's all quiet on the western front. And the eastern, northern and southern. So yes, prepare yourself for a hefty read as he recounts the action since Christmas.

IT might be my imagination, but it seems that the basketball season this year in the US is very quiet, for the most part.

In the NBA, the Detroit Pistons have set a new league record, but not one that anybody would want - they lost 29 consecutive games this season for a new record, breaking the old mark of 26 consecutive losses in a single season, and the old all-time mark of 28, set over parts of two seasons by the Philadenlphia 76ers.

And the Denver Nuggets will miss forward Aaron Gordon indefinitely as a result of an unusual injury. He needed 21 stitches after suffering lacerations to his face and right hand while being bitten by a family dog.  He was averaging just under 14 points and seven rebounds a game.

On Christmas night, Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks scored 50 points and added six rebounds, 15 assists, four steals and three blocks in a historic effort. 

His 50 points tied the record for points scored on Christmas previously held by Rick Barry, Bernard King and Wilt Chamberlain.  Almost exactly two years ago, Doncic registered a line of 60-21-10, making it the first 60-point triple double in league history, and also the first 60-point game in Dallas franchise history.  And he has stayed hot, leading Dallas' rout of the Trailblazers by scoring 41 points, 30 off them before halftime.

Early this week, Denver's Nikola Jokic had his 116th regular season triple double, which ranks fourth all-time in league history.  He's now 22 behind Magic Johnson for third on that list. 

That same night, NBA assist leader Tyrese Halliburton of the Pacers had 20 assists in a game, with zero turnovers.

The OKC Thunder were next-to-last in Western Conference in the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons but have really turned things around since then.  Beginning last season through yesterday, their record has been 63-52, including a very warm 23-10 this season, good for fourth best in the league and second best in the West. 

Signature wins are piling up for them lately, including wins in eight of their past nine games.  During that stretch, they twice beat defending champion Denver, ended a nine-game winning streak by the Clippers, and beat both the Western Conference leading Timberwolves and the Eastern Conference leading Celtics. 

Their starting five, led by emerging Canadian supoerstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, newcomer Chet Holmgren, Luguentz Dort (another Canadian) and Aussie Josh Giddey, are all averaging in double figures, led by Gilgeous-Alexander's 31.4 ppg.

A trio of interesting year end NBA anniversaries:

1990--Orlando point guard Scot Skiles dishes out an NBA-record 30 assists in a 155-116 victory against the Nuggets.  He breaks the previous record of 29 set by Kevin Porter of the Nets in 1978.
2016--Little Isaiah Thomas of the Celtics scores 29 of his career high 52 points in the fourth quarter, setting a new club record for points in a quarter.
2020--San Antonio assistant Becky Hammond becomes the first female to coach an NBA team after Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is ejected in a loss against the Lakers.

IN NCAA women's action, USC first year player JuJu Watkins seems poised to become the next star of women's basketball. 

She is the nation's second leading scorer at 26.8 ppg, behind Iowa's Caitlin Clarke.  She's won the Pac-10's Freshman of the Week award in each of the league's first five weeks, and has surpassed Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie's program record for most 30-point games by a freshman, with five in her first seven games. 

She has led USC to a No. 6 ranking and an undefeated record leading up to a game against undefeated archrival UCLA, also undefeated.  USC lost.

Caitlin Clark made a 3-pointer from the No. 4 Iowa Hawkeye logo at the buzzer to give them a 3-point win over Michigan State this week. 

She only went 14-of-34 from the field in the game and went more than 14 minutes without a point over the second and third quarters. 

Despite the dry spell, she had 19 of Iowa's first 33 points and ended up scoring 40 for the game.

Connecticut's Paige Bueckers' 24 points led the Huskies to their fourth win this year over a top 25 team.  Undefeated South Carolina continues as the unanimous No. 1 team in the women's poll, while the men's No. 1 team continues to be Purdue U. with their giant 224cm post Zach Edey.

Purdue recently ended Maryland's 19-game home winning streak.  They go to 13-1 on the year, including their past six since their only loss.

TOMORROW: Bob's Bonus as Bob Craven revisits the many cultural icons we lost in 2023.