At the 7:00 mark in the second quarter of the Dallas Mavericks’ 127-92 win over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night, Daniel Gafford scored on a dunk for his 23rd consecutive made field goal.
This means the Mavs’ newly acquired big man has now passed Derrick Favors for the most made shots in a row, since the play-by-play era began during the 1996-97 season.
Notably, Gafford has not missed a shot in his last four games, going 28-for-28. With this in mind, if Gafford makes his next eight shots, he will pass Wilt Chamberlain, who holds the all-time NBA record with 35 shots made in a row, which took place throughout a four-game span in the 1966-67 season. During this stretch, Chamberlain also set the single-game record with the most shots without a miss, as he went 18-for-18 on February 24 in a game against the Baltimore Bullets.
Gafford put on a dazzling performance against his former team tonight, as he ended the game 9-for-9, scoring 20 points and grabbing seven rebounds, to go along with two blocks and a steal in 23 minutes of playing time. In addition, Gafford’s teammate Dereck Lively II put up 22 points (11-for-12 shooting), seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals off the bench. Also, Luka Doncic had 27 points, 10 rebounds, and 14 assists, extending his triple-double streak to seven, and to point out, he was only three points shy of improving on his NBA record of six-straight 30-point triple-doubles, accomplished in the last game vs. the Detroit Pistons.
Since being acquired from the Washington Wizards before the February trade deadline, Gafford is already setting records and has brought much improvement to the Mavs’ frontcourt, as he is averaging 10.7 points (76.6 FG%), 7.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks for his new team in 18 minutes of playing time. Impressively, in a Mavs uniform, Gafford has only missed 18 shots on 77 attempts; he ranks first in the NBA this season in field goal percentage (69.9 FG%).
Moreover, in the last five years since entering the league, Gafford’s career FG% ranks second highest (70.4%), only trailing Mitchell Robinson (70.7%).
And to note, the efficiency has correlated with victories, as the Mavs have won three straight, bringing them to an 8-5 record since Gafford joined the team. With a 37-28 overall record, the Mavs are currently the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
Gafford has a chance at history, as he closes in on one of Chamberlain’s unbreakable records, needing only to not miss a field goal in his next eight attempts. The Arkansas native will have an opportunity to extend his consecutive made-shot streak vs. the Golden State Warriors (34-30) on Wednesday at 8:30 pm ET.
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