There are literally hundreds of game days in a typical NBA calendar year and just the rush of basketball action day after day seems enough to make any fan nauseous.

But for the purists, however, what happened on Friday night is the exact reason every outing is worth keeping an eye on.

In a 13-game schedule on January 24, 2014, two records were set nearly 2,000 miles apart: New York Knicks’ Carmelo Anthony set the most points scored by a Knick while also passing Kobe Bryant by the highest point total of any player at Madison Square Garden. Chandler Parsons of the Houston Rockets, meanwhile, imprinted his name in the history books for drilling the most three-pointers in one half.

Although their teams experienced different results, both feats are amazing.

First: ‘Melo.

Syracuse’s scoring machine made it all look so easy and light-hearted when he made 23 field goals en route to 62 points. By halftime he had 37 by virtue of a 45-foot jerk just before the buzzer expired. Right at that moment, everyone knew this was going to be special for the former scoring champion.

‘Melo surpassed Kobe’s MSG record of 61 set five years ago and eclipsed Bernard King’s 60 for the franchise record. Notably, ‘Melo and his friend Kobe were the last two people to score at least 62 in the past seven years (Bryant set Portland on fire with 65 in 2007).

Anthony could have scored a lot more if he had stayed off the right flank, as the shot chart showed, but hey, he’s not going for 80, is he? ‘Melo could have put a swipe at another Bryant record (second most points scored in NBA history with 81), but Mike Woodson opted to shut him out for the final 7:23 with the game out of reach. Bobcats.

Now, NBA.com writer John Schumann has attributed the improved spacing of the Knicks’ offense to the absence of Andrea Bargnani. Bargnani, the Italian big man who hasn’t seen a shot he didn’t like, probably would have gobbled up an attempt too many, but Anthony had every opportunity for himself on Friday night against a pretty solid defense for the season. team like the Bobcats.

(Look at each of Carmelo Anthony’s 23 field goals.)

You also have to give the guards credit for repeatedly finding the hot striker throughout the night. Nine of his 23 marks were assisted by teammates and many of those situations allowed Anthony to do nothing more than catch and shoot.

“It’s just a zone you get into at some point, and only a certain group of people know what that zone feels like,” said Anthony, who also had 13 rebounds and didn’t record a turnover.

The Tale of Two Halves by Chandler Parsons

Quite the opposite of Melo’s scorching start, the former Florida Gator was icy cold in the first half, missing all three tries from deep and finishing with just four points against a stifling Grizzlies defense.

And then, less than sixty seconds after the third, he drilled one. A minute later, he hit another, and then another, and another, and another, and another.

He’s officially sweeping a third quarter of 18 points, all on 3-pointers, and he hasn’t missed on all six attempts.

Parsons also made his next four in a back-and-forth game between Southwest Division foes, but scored one with 73 ticks remaining that would have given the Rockets the lead.

“They came out and made the catch, and I was going to give it back to James, and James cut,” the 6-foot-9 forward recalled on that final play. “I guess he was denied, and he really couldn’t give it to Dwight [Howard], so I got stuck and picked up my dribble. I should have kept my dribbling alive.”

Still, it was an impressive display of shooting prowess from Parsons, who is averaging just under 18 points per outing this season for less than the league average salary.

I just have to say that.