NBA season has been a mix of surprises and milestones

There were a lot of surprises and notable performances in the NBA before the All-Star break.

The Atlanta Hawks’ 19-game win streak is tied for the sixth-longest NBA history.

Dallas Mavericks All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki moved from 10th to seventh on the league’s all-time scoring list. He has 27,718 career points.

Here’s a look at this season’s top storylines thus far:

1. Atlanta’s win streak

The Hawks have been the talk of the league during and after their franchise-record 19-game winning streak, in which their average margin of victory was 11.4 points. The streak began on Dec. 26, 2014, and ended on Feb. 2, 2015, with a 115-100 loss at New Orleans. From Nov. 28 until the last victory of their streak, they won 33 of 35 games. Four Atlanta players were named to the All-Star Game — Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap and Al Horford were selected as East reserves, while Kyle Korver replaced the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade. Atlanta begins the season’s stretch run with an Eastern Conference-leading 43-11 record.

2. Popovich gets to 1,000

Gregg Popovich became the ninth coach in NBA history with 1,000 wins when the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Indiana Pacers 95-93 on Feb. 9. Popovich, in his 19th season as Spurs coach, became the third-quickest to achieve the milestone behind Phil Jackson and Pat Riley and joins Jerry Sloan as the only coaches to do so with one team. The future Hall of Fame coach has taken the Spurs to 17 consecutive postseason trips, winning five NBA titles, and is a six-time coach of the year.

3. Dirk keeps scoring

Dirk Nowitzki continues to climb the ranks of all-time NBA greats. Most notably, he entered the season 10th in career scoring. At the All-Star break, Nowitzki has scored 932 points and has passed three greats in Hakeem Olajuwon (Nov. 11), Elvin Hayes (Dec. 26) and Moses Malone (Jan. 5) for seventh all-time. He has 27,718 points and is 878 away from tying Shaquille O’Neal for sixth all-time. The Big German also has moved past several legends in career field goals made, including Malone, Oscar Robertson, Robert Parish and Patrick Ewing for 14th in NBA history.

4. Durant recovers from injuries

Kevin Durant, last season’s MVP, missed the first 17 games of the season, and the Thunder went 5-12 in his absence. Oklahoma City lost to New Orleans 112-104 in his season debut despite Durant’s 27 points. Durant has missed 10 more games since, with the Thunder going 6-4 in those games. In his first month, he averaged 24.6 points in 10 games and is averaging 25.9 points at the break, which would be good for second in the league if he had logged enough time to qualify. The Thunder is 17-9 when Durant plays and 28-25 overall, a half-game out of the playoff picture.

5. Kerr flourishing in Oakland

Steve Kerr, a five-time NBA champion as a player, 3-point specialist and longtime broadcaster, was picked to replace Mark Jackson as the Golden State Warriors’ head coach this season. Surprisingly, the former sharpshooter has turned Golden State into a good defensive squad in his first season. The Warriors lead the league in points per game (110.6), and they’re 15th in points allowed (99.6). The Warriors began 21-2 and won 19 consecutive games at home from Nov. 13 until a 113-111 overtime loss to Chicago on Jan. 27. At 42-9, the Warriors have the best record in the league and a four-game lead atop the Western Conference. They were 31-22 at the break last season.

6. LeBron returns, but Cavs shaky to start

This big news last summer was LeBron James returning to Cleveland. With the King back, the acquisition of Kevin Love and a new coach in David Blatt, the Cavs looked like the favorites to win it all. But as the Heat did in James’ first season in Miami, the Cavs struggled early and faced media scrutiny over whether there was turmoil inside the locker room. Cleveland started 1-3 and 5-7 before winning eight consecutive games in December. Then it lost eight of nine entering 2015 and fell to 19-20. The Cavs are getting back to form, having won 14 of 16 heading into the break and are 33-22, fifth in the East. As for James, he’s averaging 25.9 points per game, second in the NBA, 7.3 assists and 5.6 rebounds.

7. Knicks and Lakers

in the basement

The New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers have struggled, going a combined 23-83 (.217 win percentage). The 10-43 Knicks are last place in the East, while the 13-40 Lakers are two games ahead of last-place Minnesota in the West. Each team entered the season with a new coach — Derek Fisher in New York, Byron Scott in Los Angeles — and high hopes. The Knicks hired Phil Jackson as team president and re-signed Carmelo Anthony in the off-season, and Kobe Bryant returned to the Lakers after missing all but six games in 2013-14. But the two superstars have battled injuries. Bryant has been shut down for the season, while Anthony has hinted he might be, too. New York is on a a five-game losing streak. The Lakers are on a six-game skid.

This story was originally published February 17, 2015 at 6:35 PM with the headline "NBA season has been a mix of surprises and milestones."