NBA Game Notes (April 3, 2026)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on April 3, 2026.
Three Stars
Here are my “three stars” from yesterday’s NBA games, with the “first star” considered the top performer.
First ⭐️
Cooper Flagg scored a career-high 51 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Dallas Mavericks fell to the Orlando Magic 138-127. Flagg shot 19-30 from the field (6-9 on threes) and 7-7 from the free throw line. He added six rebounds, three assists, a game-high three steals (tied with two others), and one block, and was charged with just one turnover in 34 minutes played.
Second ⭐️
OG Anunoby scored a game-high 31 points in the New York Knicks’ 136-96 demolition of the Chicago Bulls. Anunoby went 9-15 from the floor (7-10 on threes) and 6-6 from the charity stripe. He also recorded eight rebounds, one block, and only one turnover in 31 minutes of action.
Third ⭐️
Maxime Raynaud scored a game-high 28 points (tied with Jeremiah Fears) to lead the Sacramento Kings to a 117-113 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. Raynaud was very efficient, going 11-14 from the field and 6-7 from the free throw line. He also snagged a game-high nine rebounds and dished out four assists, committing just one turnover in 29 minutes played.
Milestones
At 19 years and 103 days old, Flagg became the first teenager in NBA history to record a 50-point game. He’s the ninth rookie* to achieve the feat, and the first to do since Brandon Jennings on Nov. 14, 2009. (* I’m not including George Mikan, who played two seasons in the National Basketball League.)
Jaylen Brown (7-17 field goals) reached 5,000 career field goals made as the Boston Celtics routed the Milwaukee Bucks 133-101. He’s the 11th player in franchise history to attain that milestone.
Brown’s teammate, Derrick White (5-9 on threes), connected on his 200th 3-pointer of the season, the second time he’s reached that mark. The only other players in franchise history to produce multiple such seasons are Jayson Tatum (four times) and Antoine Walker (twice).
The Bucks’ AJ Green (5-9 on threes) made his 200th 3-pointer of the season, becoming the fourth player in franchise history to reach that mark. He joins Ray Allen (twice), Malik Beasley, and Damian Lillard.
The New York Knicks set a franchise record with their third win by 40 or more points this season. They recorded two 40-point wins in the 1969-70 and 1993-94 campaigns, both of which ended in a trip to the NBA Finals.
The Atlanta Hawks (20-39 on threes) broke the franchise record for most 3-pointers made in a season in their 141-107 annihilation of the Brooklyn Nets. They’ve hit 1,140 triples this season, surpassing the previous mark of 1,125 set in the 2023-24 campaign.
The Hawks also set a franchise record with their fifth win by 30 or more points this season. They had posted four 30-point wins in three previous campaigns: 1960-61, 1964-65, and 1993-94.
Across the NBA last night, five of the nine games were decided by 30 or more points, tying a league record for the most such games in a single day (April 11, 2025). Eight of the nine games involved a team that was tanking (unofficially, of course, since no team would ever publicly admit to it).
Streaking
Brown (26 points) has scored at least 25 points in each of his last eight games, a stretch in which he’s averaged 32.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 6.1 APG with 45.3/37.0/84.2 shooting splits.
Tyrese Maxey (21 points) extended his streak of 20-point games to 17 in the Philadelphia 76ers’ 115-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. He’s posted figures of 28.2 PPG, 6.8 APG, and 1.8 SPG with a free throw percentage of 90.4% over that span.
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Houston Rockets (five).
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Utah Jazz (eight), New Orleans Pelicans (seven), and Chicago Bulls (six).
The New York Knicks picked up their 50th win of the season, joining the Boston Celtics and the Oklahoma City Thunder as the only teams to win at least 50 games in each of the last three seasons.
The Indiana Pacers (15-36 on threes) hit at least 15 triples for the seventh consecutive game in their 129-108 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. It’s the longest such streak in franchise history, surpassing a six-game run from Dec. 20–30, 2023.
The Hawks made 15 or more 3-pointers for the seventh straight game, tying a franchise record. They previously recorded seven such games in a row from Dec. 11–22, 2023.
Miscellany
Flagg led the nightly scoring brigade, bagging a career-high 51 points. He was followed by Anunoby (31 points), the Memphis Grizzles’ GG Jackson (30), the Pacers’ Pascal Siakam (30), the Magic’s Wendell Carter Jr. (28), the Pelicans’ Jeremiah Fears (career-high-tying 28), and Raynaud (28).
The Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert was the night’s leading rebounder, collecting 16 boards. The Sixers’ Joel Embiid was runner-up with 13 rebounds, while five players shared third place with 11 boards each: the Knicks’ Josh Hart, the Hawks’ Jalen Johnson, the Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson, the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum, and the Utah Jazz’s Cody Williams (tied career high).
The Knicks’ Jalen Brunson and the Pacers’ Kam Jones were the top playmakers last night, each delivering 10 assists. The Hornets’ LaMelo Ball, the Magic’s Jalen Suggs, and Tatum were next in line with nine dimes apiece.
The Hawks have won 19 of their last 22 games, with 17 of those wins coming by double digits. They’ve outscored their opponents by an average of 13.0 PPG over that span.
The Milwaukee Bucks have posted five 30-point losses in their last nine games. The only other team in NBA history to record five such losses in a nine-game span is the 2021-22 Portland Trail Blazers.
The Charlotte Hornets won their 42nd game of the season. They will finish with a winning record for just the second time in the last 10 seasons, going 43-39 in the 2021-22 campaign.