NBA results for Friday, October 23, 2026: the day in numbers
Tyler Herro's 34 points on Friday were his most in a game since April 16, 2025. It was still not enough. CHI beat MIL 132-125 in the higher-scoring of the night's two NBA games, and MIL fell to 0-2. In the other game, ATL beat CHA 128-81 and is the only unbeaten team in action on Friday at 2-0.
NBA
Herro's 34 points in a losing effort were the best individual line of the night, and the longer view makes them stand out even more. According to our database, no game of his since April 16, 2025 had produced that many points. He went 12-of-24 from the field, an even 50 percent, and made 5 3-pointers. He also had 5 rebounds and 4 assists. His 34 points made up a little over a quarter of MIL's 125. It's too early for season-average comparisons, because Herro had played fewer than three games before Friday. Still, the 34 was the most by any player on either night's game.
CHI got its scoring from several players instead. Norman Powell led the team with 25 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist. He made 7 of 20 shots, including 2 3-pointers. Caleb Wilson added 21 points and 6 rebounds on 7-of-14 shooting with 2 3-pointers. Leonard Miller came next with 19 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists on 7-of-11 shooting, also with 2 3-pointers. Together the three scored 65 points, almost double Herro's total. They also outshot him from the field, combining for 21-of-45 compared with his 12-of-24.
The win evened CHI's record at 1-1 and started a one-game winning streak. MIL is 0-2 and has lost both games so far. Both teams came in 0-1, so one of them was always going to get its first win. CHI got it, and MIL is now one of the teams still looking for one.
The CHI-MIL game was also the highest-scoring game of the night by a wide margin. The two teams combined for 257 points. The season's average combined score going into Friday was 225.1 over 16 games, so this one beat it by 31.9 points. That's a big jump this early, because only 16 games had been played before Friday.
The other game went the other way. ATL beat CHA by 47 points, 128-81, so CHA scored only 81 in a game where its opponent topped 120. The combined 209 points came in 16.1 below the season average of 225.1. Almost all of that shortfall was on CHA's side, since ATL's 128 was the second-highest team score of the night behind CHI's 132.
Jalen Johnson had the most complete line of the night. He finished with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals, shooting 9-of-16 without a 3-pointer. Nobody else in either game matched his combined points, rebounds and assists, and he was the only player listed with steals. He also fell just short of double figures in both rebounds and assists. Like everyone else in Friday's standout group, Johnson had played fewer than three games before, so there are no season averages to compare against yet.
Aaron Wiggins matched Johnson's 19 points and did it very efficiently. He went 7-of-9 from the field, made 3 3-pointers and added 1 rebound and 1 assist. His 19 points on nine shots were the most efficient scoring line of the night. Between them, Johnson and Wiggins scored 38 points on 16-of-25 shooting.
ATL is now 2-0 with a two-game winning streak. CHA also came in 1-0, so this was a matchup of unbeaten teams, but the score was never close. CHA is now 1-1 and has a one-game losing streak right after winning its opener.
Overall, the night split cleanly. In MIL, a big individual scoring game came with too little help and the team stayed winless. In ATL, a lopsided win came from Johnson's all-around game and Wiggins's efficient shooting. The two final scores also fell on opposite sides of the season average, one 31.9 points above it and the other 16.1 below.
Numbers to know
34: Tyler Herro's points against CHI, his most in a game since April 16, 2025, in a loss that dropped MIL to 0-2.
47: ATL's winning margin over CHA (128-81). ATL is 2-0, and CHA fell to 1-1 after winning its opener.
257: Combined points in CHI-MIL, 31.9 above the season average of 225.1, while ATL-CHA came in 16.1 below it at 209.
7-of-9: Aaron Wiggins's shooting for 19 points, the night's most efficient scoring line.
65: Points from Powell, Wilson and Miller together, as three CHI players scored 19 or more in the team's first win.
NBA final scores
| Game | Final | Records now |
|---|---|---|
| ATL @ CHA | 128-81 | ATL 2-0 (W2) · CHA 1-1 (L1) |
| CHI @ MIL | 132-125 | CHI 1-1 (W1) · MIL 0-2 (L2) |
NBA standout games
| Player | Line |
|---|---|
| Tyler Herro MIL vs CHI | 34 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast (12-24 FG, 5 3PM) scoring leader |
| Norman Powell CHI vs MIL | 25 pts, 4 reb, 1 ast (7-20 FG, 2 3PM) scoring leader |
| Caleb Wilson CHI vs MIL | 21 pts, 6 reb, 1 ast (7-14 FG, 2 3PM) scoring leader |
| Jalen Johnson ATL vs CHA | 19 pts, 7 reb, 8 ast, 3 stl (9-16 FG, 0 3PM) scoring leader |
| Aaron Wiggins ATL vs CHA | 19 pts, 1 reb, 1 ast (7-9 FG, 3 3PM) scoring leader |
| Leonard Miller CHI vs MIL | 19 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast (7-11 FG, 2 3PM) scoring leader |
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