Daniel Gafford nearly had it. He was so close to tying and breaking the great Wilt Chamberlain’s record for most consecutive field goals made, but he fell short of that goal Thursday night game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Daniel Gafford Awfully Fellt Short Of Wilt Chamberlain’s Record In Dallas Mavericks’ Loss To Thunder
Gafford entered the Thunder game having made all of his last 33 attempts from the field over the course of five games. He needed just two more consecutive made tries from the floor to tie Chamberlain’s record of 35-straight buckets drained set way back in 1967.
However, he missed his very first attempt against the Thunder, failing to convert on a follow-up try off of a miss by teammate Dante Exum.
DANIEL GAFFORD MISSES A SHOT 😭
His streak of 33 consecutive FGs is the 2nd longest in league history behind Wilt Chamberlain's 35 pic.twitter.com/X1AHO08lRU
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 15, 2024
So much for the record.
However, it doesn’t seem that his failed pursuit of Chamberlain’s record is going to cause Gafford sleepless nights.
“I was a bit butt-hurt when I missed the first layup attempt of the game, but it’s all good,” the Dallas Mavericks big man told reporters in the postgame press conference (h/t Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News).
Despite that brutal miss so early in the contest, Gafford was able to get it together the rest of the way, finishing with still an efficient 19 points on 8/11 shooting from the floor.
He can be expected to produce solid offense for the Mavericks, who are benefiting from his great play around the rim as a low-usage, high-efficiency weapon for Luka Doncic.
Since being traded by the Washington Wizards to the Mavs last February, Gafford has averaged 11.2 points and 7.5 rebounds, while posting a 77.4 field goal percentage and 77.5 true shooting percentage.
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