NBA Game Notes (April 14, 2024)

Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on April 14, 2024.

Apr 15, 2024

Three Stars

The three stars in ice hockey are the three best players in a game, with the “first star” considered the best of the three players, similar to the player of the match in other sports. Here are my “three stars” from yesterday’s NBA games.

First ⭐️

LeBron James recorded his 112th career triple-double, compiling 28 points (11-20 field goals, 6-6 free throws), a season-high 17 assists, 11 rebounds, and five steals in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 124-108 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. The two teams will meet again Tuesday night in the Play-In Tournament, with the winner moving on to the playoffs as the seventh seed.

James became just the fifth different player to record at least 25 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds, and five assists in a game since the NBA began tracking steals in 1973-74. He joins Chris Paul (twice), James Harden (twice), Magic Johnson, and Jason Kidd.

Second ⭐️

Bradley Beal scored a game-high 36 points as the Phoenix Suns beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-106. The Suns’ win coupled with the Pelicans’ loss moved Phoenix into the sixth seed in the Western Conference Playoffs, where they will face the Timberwolves.

Beal shot 14-21 from the field, sinking all six of his 3-point attempts. Beal tied the franchise record for most 3-pointers made in a game without a miss. He added six rebounds, five assists, and two steals, committing just one turnover in a team-high 38 minutes played.

Third ⭐️

Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 40 points as the New York Knicks edged the Chicago Bulls 120-119 in overtime. The Knicks’ win coupled with the Milwaukee Bucks’ loss to the Orlando Magic gave New York the second seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. They will face the winner of the Play-In Tournament matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat.

Brunson also had eight rebounds and a team-high seven assists, and was charged with just one personal foul in 41 minutes played. Brunson shot just 14-30 from the field, but connected on 11 of his 12 free throws.

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Milestones

James became just the fourth player in NBA history to reach 11,000 career assists (11,009 and counting). He joins John Stockton (15,806), Kidd (12,091), and Paul (11,894).
James recorded his fifth triple-double of the season, the 10th time he’s reached that mark. That ties him with Oscar Robertson and Kidd for the second-most such seasons in NBA history, trailing only Magic Johnson (11).
James is also the only player in NBA history to record at least five triple-doubles in a season after turning 35 years old. It’s the third time he’s done so, the other occurrences coming in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Brunson scored at least 30 points in a game for the 36th time this season. He tied the Knicks’ record for most 30-point games in a season previously shared by Richie Guerin (1961-62) and Patrick Ewing (1989-90).
GG Jackson produced career highs of 44 points and 12 rebounds (tied) in the Memphis Grizzlies’ 126-111 loss to the Denver Nuggets. At 19 years and 119 days old, Jackson became the youngest player in NBA history to record a 40-point, 10-rebound game. Only two other teenagers have recorded such a game: Cliff Robinson (March 9, 1980) and Kevin Durant (April 16, 2008).
Jackson also set a franchise single-game record by hoisting 36 shots from the floor. The previous record of 34 field goals attempted in a game was held by Ja Morant (March 11, 2022).
Jackson sank his 100th 3-pointer of the season (and career), becoming the youngest player in NBA history to reach that mark. He surpassed Kobe Bryant, who was 19 years and 176 days old when he attained the milestone.
Domantas Sabonis fell one assist shy of a triple-double, tallying 18 points (7-10 field goals), 11 rebounds, and nine assists in the Sacramento Kings’ 121-82 demolition of the Portland Trail Blazers. Two of Sabonis’ rebounds came on the offensive end, giving him 294 for the season. That breaks the franchise single-season record of 293 offense rebounds set by Sam Lacey in 1973-74 (the season the NBA began tracking the statistic).
Kyle Lowry handed out a game-high eight assists as the Philadelphia 76ers blew out the Brooklyn Nets 107-86. Lowry increased his career total to 7,003, becoming the 21st player in NBA history to reach 7,000 assists.
DeMar DeRozan scored a team-high 30 points to go with five rebounds, five assists, and four steals in the Bulls’ loss to the Knicks. DeRozan made 11 field goals, giving him 8,440 for his career. He passed Charles Barkley (8,435) and moved into 33rd place on the NBA’s all-time list for field goals made.
The Denver Nuggets beat the Grizzlies to pick up their 57th victory of the season, matching the most wins the franchise has recorded in a season since joining the NBA in 1976. Denver also won 57 games in the 2012-13 season.
The New York Knicks won their 50th game of the season, the first time they’ve reached that mark since the 2012-13 campaign. That was also the last time they finished with a top-two seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Indiana Pacers destroyed the Atlanta Hawks 157-115, matching the most points they’ve scored in a game since joining the NBA in 1976. It’s the 11th time the Pacers have scored at least 140 points in a game this season, breaking the NBA record for most such games in a season they shared with the 1981-82 Denver Nuggets.
The LA Clippers fell to the Houston Rockets 116-105, but that was enough points to break the franchise single-season scoring record. The Clippers scored 9,481 points this season, besting the previous mark of 9,442 set in 2018-19.
The Miami Heat beat the Toronto Raptors 118-103, dishing out 29 assists. Miami broke the franchise single-season records for points (9,032) and assists (2,116). The previous marks of 8,977 points and 2,090 assists had been set in the 2021-22 season.
The stumbling Milwaukee Bucks were routed by the Magic 113-88, their eighth loss in the last 11 games. However, Milwaukee did manage to break the franchise record for most points scored in a season with 9,756. The previous record of 9,741 points was set in 1969-70, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s rookie campaign.
The Oklahoma City Thunder walloped the Dallas Mavericks 135-86, setting a franchise single-season scoring record with 9,487 points. The previous mark of 9,732 points was set in 1967-68, the franchise’s first season (when they were known as the Seattle SuperSonics).
The Thunder picked up their fourth win by 40 or more points this season, tying the 2023-24 Boston Celtics for the most such wins in a single season in NBA history.
More importantly, the Thunder earned the number-one seed in the Western Conference for the fifth time in franchise history and the first time since the 2012-13 season.
The New York Knicks made 12 3-pointers in their win over the Bulls, raising their season total to 1,083. That was enough to surpass the previous franchise single-season record of 1,082 3-pointers made set in 2021-22.
The Rockets’ win over the Clippers squared their record at 41-41, making them the 19th team in the NBA to record a winning percentage of .500 or higher this season. That’s the most such teams in a season in league history, breaking the previous mark of 18 such teams set 10 times previously.
Six games were decided by 20 or more points yesterday, tying the NBA record for most such games in a single day (it’s happened four other times). That raised the season total to 235 games decided by 20 or more points, breaking the league record of 232 such games set in 2021-22.
Three games were decided by at least 35 points yesterday, just the second day in NBA history that’s occurred (April 3, 2021). All told, there were 47 games decided by at least 35 points this season, 17 more than any other campaign.

Streaking

Brunson has scored at least 30 points in each of his last seven games, tying Willie Naulls (1961-62) and Carmelo Anthony (2012-13) for the second-longest such streak in Knicks history. The franchise record of nine straight 30-point games is held by Amar’e Stoudemire (Nov. 28, 2010 to Dec. 15, 2010).
Brunson has also scored at least 20 points in 12 consecutive games, the second-longest such streak of his career. He’s averaging 36.0 PPG and 8.0 APG with 50/40/87 shooting splits over that span.
Brunson’s teammate, Donte DiVincenzo scored 25 points with five 3-pointers made, the 40th consecutive game in which he’s made multiple threes. It’s the longest such streak in franchise history (by 19 games) and ties Paul George (Nov. 30, 2018 to March 5, 2019) for the fourth-longest such streak in NBA history.
DiVincenzo also became the first player in franchise history to make at least one 3-pointer in 50 straight regular season games. John Starks ranks a distant second among Knicks with a 3-point streak of 33 games.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 18 points with three 3-pointers made in the Hawks’ loss to the Pacers, extending his streak of regular season games with at least one 3-pointer made to 90. That breaks a tie with Dana Barros (Dec. 23, 1994 to Jan. 10, 1996) for the seventh-longest such streak in NBA history.
De’Aaron Fox scored 24 points (10-14 field goals) and swiped three steals in the Kings’ rout of the Trail Blazers. Fox has recorded at least 15 points and one steal in each of his last 28 games, the longest such streak by a King since the NBA began tracking steals in 1973-74. Leaguewide, it’s the longest such streak since Harden also produced 28 such games in a row in 2012-13.
Fox’s pick-and-roll mate, Sabonis, has recorded double-digit rebounds in 39 consecutive games, the longest such streak by a King since Jerry Lucas had a 73-game run that spanned the 1967-68 and 1968-69 seasons. Leaguewide, the only player over the last 25 seasons to produce a longer such streak is Kevin Love in 2010-11 (56 in a row).
CJ McCollum scored a team-high 25 points in the Pelicans’ loss to the Lakers. McCollum has scored at least 25 points in each of his last seven games, the second-longest such streak of his career. He’s averaging 30.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 5.0 APG with 49/53/95 shooting splits over that stretch.
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games: Philadelphia 76ers (eight), New York Knicks (five), and Oklahoma City Thunder (five).
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Atlanta Hawks (six), Washington Wizards (six), Memphis Grizzlies (five), and Portland Trail Blazers (five).

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Jackson led all players yesterday with his career-high 44 points. He was followed by Brunson (40), the Boston Celtics’ Payton Pritchard (career-high 38), Beal (36), the Hawks’ Dejounte Murray (32), the Pacers’ Myles Turner (31), the Lakers’ Anthony Davis (30), and DeRozan (30).
The Trail Blazers’ Kris Murray and the Utah Jazz’s Omer Yurtseven were the day’s top board men, each hauling in a career-high 18 rebounds. The Detroit Pistons’ James Wiseman (career-high 17) and the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic (15) also had 15-rebound efforts.
James was the top playmaker, dishing out a season-high 17 assists yesterday. Five more players handed out double-digit dimes: the Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton (13), Pritchard (12), the Hawks’ Trae Young (12), the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Max Strus (career-high 11), and the Rockets’ Amen Thompson (career-high 10).
Pritchard (38 points, 12 assists) became the first Celtic to record back-to-back 30-point, 10-assist games since Larry Bird on Feb. 13 & 14, 1986.
Pritchard went 15-21 from the floor after going 14-22 in his previous outing. He’s the first player in franchise history to record at least 30 points and 10 assists with 60% shooting from the field in consecutive games.
Thompson notched his first career triple-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to go with his career-high 10 assists. At 21 years and 75 days old, Thompson is the second-youngest player in Rockets history to record a triple-double, trailing only Alperen Sengun (20 years, 170 days).
Strus also recorded his first career triple-double, accumulating 14 points and 10 rebounds to go with his career-high 11 assists. Strus is the only Cavalier to record a triple-double over the last two seasons.
Damian Lillard shot 2-14 from the field and did not make a 3-pointer in the Bucks’ loss to the Magic, snapping his 3-point streak at 150 regular season games. The only player in NBA history to record a longer such streak is Stephen Curry, with 268-game and 157-game runs.
The Wizards gave up at least 130 points in a game for the 31st time this season, tying the 1967-68 Seattle SuperSonics and the 1981-82 Denver Nuggets for the second-highest such total in NBA history. The record of 37 such games is held by the 1990-91 Denver Nuggets.