Shaquille O'Neal: Triple-Double against Nets
On November 20, 1993, Shaquille O'Neal posted the first triple-double of his NBA career against the New Jersey Nets. O'Neal scored 24 points, grabbed a career-high 28 rebounds and blocked 15 shots. It was the first of O'Neal's two career triple-doubles. His second came on April 11, 2006, as a member of the Miami Heat, when he had 15 points, 11 rebounds, and a career-high 10 assists.
O'Neal, who was born in New Jersey, had dozens of his family and friends in attendance for the game.
''Some nights I play great, some I play like I'm still in college", O'Neal told the Orlando Sentinel after the game. "But I was glad I played well tonight. My family was up there, about 70 or 80 of them - uncles, cousins, aunts. I grew up in New Jersey. But I usually don't play as well in front of my family.''
Nets star Derrick Coleman, who was held to eight points in the game and suffered an ankle injury, was captivated by O'Neal's performance.
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''I watched what happened out there,'' Coleman said. ''Shaquille was just extraordinary.''
O'Neal, who was playing with a cold, said after the game that it is very difficult to play in different cities because of the change in weather conditions.
"It is hard to play from city to city, where it’s 40 degrees in one and 80 degrees in the next, but you keep playing. I knew I had about 7 or 8 blocks, but I didn’t know I had 15. If we had lost, my performance wouldn’t have meant anything."
O'Neal played "only" 36 minutes in that game, and in that playing time, he managed to have stats described above.
The 15 blocks are still a franchise record and tied for 2nd with Manute Bol for most in NBA history. The 28 rebounds were a franchise record until 2013 when Nikola Vucevic broke it (in OT) with 29.
