NBA Game Notes (April 4, 2024)

Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on April 4, 2024.

Apr 05, 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 ⭐️

Tyrese Maxey fell one rebound shy of a triple-double, compiling team highs of 37 points, 11 assists (matching his career high), and nine rebounds as the Philadelphia 76er picked up a crucial 109-105 win over the Miami Heat. Philadelphia moved to within a half-game of Miami for seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Maxey shot 15-26 from the field, making five of his career-high 14 attempts from 3-point range. He logged a game-high 41:22 of playing time, committing just one turnover.

Second ⭐️

Jalen Brunson produced game highs of 35 points, 11 assists, and three steals (tied with De’Aaron Fox) as the New York Knicks rallied to defeat the Sacramento Kings 120-109. New York trailed by 21 points with less than 8:30 remaining in the second quarter, but outscored Sacramento 95-63 the rest of the way.

Brunson shot 12-20 from the floor and made nine of his 10 free throws. He became the sixth player in franchise history to record at least 30 30-point games in a season, joining Richie Guerin (36, 1961-62), Patrick Ewing (36, 1989-90), Bernard King (33, 1984-85), Bob McAdoo (32, 1977-78), and Carmelo Anthony (31, 2013-14).

Third ⭐️

Nikola Jokic recorded his 24th triple-double of the season, notching game highs of 36 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists in the Denver Nuggets’ 102-100 loss to the LA Clippers. The Nuggets fell a half-game behind the Minnesota Timberwolves for the top spot in the Western Conference.

Jokic went 14-24 from the field (3-8 on 3-pointers) and 5-6 from the free throw line. He has 13 career 30-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist games, the third-most such games in NBA history behind Oscar Robertson (29) and Wilt Chamberlain (20).

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Milestones

Maxey made his 200th 3-pointer of the season, becoming the fourth player in Sixers’ history to reach that mark. He joined JJ Redick (240, 2018-19), Kyle Korver (226, 2004-05), and Robert Covington (203, 2017-18).
Jokic surpassed 14,000 career points, becoming the first player from the 2014 NBA Draft class to reach that mark (he was the 41st overall pick). Jokic also leads all players from that draft in rebounds (7,189) and assists (4,625).
James Harden had 20 points, a team-high eight assists, and six rebounds in the Clippers’ win over the Nuggets. Harden collected his 6,000th career rebound in the second quarter, becoming the 10th player in NBA history to reach marks of 6,000 rebounds and 6,000 assists.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 12 points in 12 minutes as the Knicks beat the Kings, going 5-7 from the field with two 3-pointers made. His 3-pointer with 10:20 remaining in the second quarter was the 1,500th of his career, making him the 50th player in NBA history to reach that mark.
The Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry scored a game-high 29 points (tied with teammate Klay Thompson) in a 133-110 rout of the Houston Rockets. Curry went 9-14 from the floor and 9-9 from the free throw line, increasing his career total to 8,048 field goals made. He passed Hall of Famer George Gervin (8,040) and Terry Cumming (8,040) to take over 40th place on the NBA’s all-time list.
Curry and Klay Thompson each scored at least 25 points in the same game for the 75th time. They became the second duo in franchise history and the 10th duo in NBA history to reach that mark. Hall of Famers Wilt Chamberlain and Paul Arizin hold the franchise record with 79 such games.
Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 26 points in the Dallas Mavericks’ 109-95 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. Irving made three 3-pointers, enough to pass Dale Ellis (1,719) and move into 31st place on the NBA’s career leaderboard with a total of 1,720.

Streaking

Kings center Domantas Sabonis recorded his 59th straight double-double, tallying 17 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists in a loss to the Knicks. It’s the longest such streak in franchise history and the longest such streak in the NBA since Elvin Hayes’ 60-game run during the 1968-69 season (Hayes’ rookie campaign).
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 17 points with three 3-pointers made in the Hawks’ loss to the Mavericks. Bogdanovic has made at least one 3-pointer in each of his last 85 regular season games, the ninth-longest such streak in NBA history.
The Knicks’ Donte DiVincenzo scored 21 points in a win over the Kings, making five of his nine 3-point attempts. DiVincenzo has made multiple 3-pointers in each of his last 34 games, tying Stephen Curry for the seventh-longest such streak in NBA history. It’s also the longest such streak in franchise history by 13 games.
Luka Doncic had 25 points (6-15 on 3-pointers), a team-high 12 rebounds, and a game-high eight assists as the Mavericks beat the Hawks. Doncic has scored at least 15 points with one 3-pointer made in each of his last 67 games, the longest such streak in NBA history.
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games: Golden State Warriors (six).

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Maxey led all scorers with 37 points last night. He was followed by Jokic (36), Brunson (35), the Knicks’ Josh Hart (season-high 31), Curry (29), the Sixers’ Joel Embiid (29), the Kings’ De’Aaron Fox (29), and Thompson (29).
Jokic was the night’s top board man, hauling in 17 rebounds. The Hawks’ Jalen Johnson (career-high-tying 16), the Heat’s Kevin Love (season-high 16), the Clippers’ Ivica Zubac (15), the Hawks’ Clint Capela (13), Doncic (12), the Heat’s Bam Adebyao (11), and Sabonis (11) also secured double-digit boards.
Brunson and Maxey were the leading playmakers, dishing out 11 assists apiece last night. Jokic was the only other player to record double-digit dimes with 10.
Sabonis has recorded 72 double-doubles this season, the most by a player since Hakeem Olajuwon in 1992-93 (also 72). Sabonis’ 137 double-doubles over the last two seasons are the most by a player over a two-season span since Kevin Garnett had 140 in 2003-04 & 2004-05.
Hart recorded a team-high nine rebounds and eight assists to go with his season-high 31 points. He shot 14-19 from the floor (73.7%), the second-highest field goal percentage he’s posted in a game with at least 10 attempts.