NBA Game Notes (April 22, 2026)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on April 22, 2026.
Three Stars
Here are my “three stars” from yesterday’s NBA games, with the “first star” considered the top performer.
First ⭐️
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dropped a game-high 37 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns 120-107 to take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference First Round series. Gildeous-Alexander shot 13-25 from the field (2-5 on threes) and 9-9 from the free throw line. He also contributed a game-high nine assists, five rebounds, and one steal in 38 minutes played.
Second ⭐️
Cade Cunningham scored a game-high 27 points to lead the Detroit Pistons to a 98-83 victory over the Orlando Magic, knotting their Eastern Conference First Round series at one game apiece. Cunningham made 11 of his 19 attempts from the floor, including one 3-pointer. He added a game-high 11 assists, six rebounds, one steal, and one block in 37 minutes of action.
Third ⭐️
Dillon Brooks scored a team-high 30 points, but it wasn’t enough in the Suns’ loss to the Thunder. Brooks shot 12-23 from the field, hitting five of his nine 3-point attempts. He also grabbed six rebounds and committed just one turnover in 38 minutes played.
Milestones
The Orlando Magic set a franchise record for most steals in a playoff game with 16, easily surpassing the previous mark of 12 thefts achieved three times. Nine Magic players recorded at least one steal, led by Franz Wagner with four.
Streaking
Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 11 playoff games, a stretch in which he’s posted figures of 31.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 6.6 APG, 1.5 SPG, and 1.2 BPG.
The Phoenix Suns have lost eight consecutive playoff games, the longest such streak in franchise history by three games. They have been outscored by an average margin of 18.6 PPG over that span, with seven of those losses coming by double digits.
Miscellany
Gilgeous-Alexander was the night’s top bucket getter, netting 37 points. He was followed by Brooks (30 points), Cunningham (27), and the Suns’ Devin Booker (22).
The Pistons’ Tobias Harris was the leading rebounder last night, securing 11 boards. The Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein was runner-up with 10 rebounds, while the Pistons’ Jalen Duren and the Suns’ Royce O’Neale shared third place with nine boards apiece.
Cunningham took home nightly honors in assists, handing out 11 helpers. Next in line were Gilgeous-Alexander (nine assists), the Magic’s Paolo Banchero (eight), and the Suns’ Collin Gillespie (six).
Cunningham produced his second career 25-point, 10-assist playoff game. The only other player in Detroit Pistons history to record multiple such games is Isiah Thomas with 10.
The Detroit Pistons snapped an 11-game home playoff losing skid, the longest such streak in NBA history. It was Detroit’s first home playoff win since Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals.