At times, stat lines can be deceiving. This was not one of those times.

On Friday, Michael Carter-Williams notched his third triple-double of the season in a 103-94 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, scoring 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting to go along with 10 assists and 10 rebounds. On their face, the numbers are impressive, but the 6’6” point guard’s poise, confidence, and coolness on the court were perhaps more striking.

“I think I’ve relaxed a little bit,” the reigning Rookie of the Year admitted. “When we start getting into a little bit of trouble, or the other team starts going on a little bit of a run, I have tried to keep my composure a little bit more.”

Over the first 24 games of the 2014-15 season, the 23-year-old point guard shot over 45.0% from the floor just seven times. In his last nine games, including Friday night, he’s done so on six occasions. But it’s not just his offensive production that has impressed as of late. His defensive contributions have been equally significant.

In last three games (96 total minutes), Carter-Williams has held his assignment to exactly one made basket on 12 attempts that he has defended. That number is staggering, and frankly unsustainable, but it’s indicative of a larger trend in the Syracuse alum’s game.

He’s holding opponents below their average shooting percentages from every area of the floor this season, from the restricted area to the three-point line, and is allowing just 3.9 makes on 9.2 opponent attempts per game (40.0 FG%) that he defends. Last year, he allowed opponents to convert above their average rate from every area of the floor and allowed 4.7 makes per game on 10.0 attempts (47.0 FG%). That’s helped him reduce the average player efficiency rating of his opponents from 17.1 last year to 12.3 this year, according to 82games.com.

But Carter-Williams wasn’t the only young Sixer whose gaudy raw stats have stood out as of late.

After finishing with 14 points (7/8 FG), six rebounds, three assists, six blocks, and four steals in 31 minutes against the Timberwolves on Friday, Nerlens Noel became just the seventh player since 2000 to hit 14/6/3/6/4 in a game; he was the only one to shoot better than 75.0% from the floor while doing so, notching an 87.5% conversion rate.

Over the past week, the rookie big man has shown off some of what made him one of the most dynamic defensive players in NCAA history as a freshman at Kentucky two years ago, blocking 3.3 shots and notching 2.7 steals per game in the Sixers’ last three games.

“He’s unbelievable, especially on the weak side, blocking shots,” Carter-Williams said of Noel. “When he’s active, and I’m active, and we really set the tone.”

Against Minnesota, the 6’11” big man allowed just three makes on the 12 shots that he defended at the rim (25.0 FG%). On the season, Noel ranks second in the league in opponent field-goal percentage at the rim amongst players defending at least 8.0 shots per game in that area. On average, players convert just 45.9% of the shots they take within five feet of the basket with Noel guarding them, and in the Sixer’ last three games, that number fell to just 35.0%.

It should be noted in Philadelphia’s last three games, their defensive rating has been third best in the NBA, at 93.7 points allowed per 100 possessions.

The Sixers’ two young bookends will be tested on Saturday, when they travel to Atlanta to face the first-place Atlanta Hawks, who rank atop the Eastern Conference in effective field-goal percentage (53.4%) and second in offensive rating (107.5 points per 100 possessions). The action tips at 7:30pm (EST).