NBA Game Notes (April 7, 2026)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on April 7, 2026.
Three Stars
Here are my “three stars” from yesterday’s NBA games, with the “first star” considered the top performer.
First ⭐️
Jeremiah Fears scored a career-high 40 points as the New Orleans Pelicans outscored the Utah Jazz 156-137. Fears shot 17-29 from the field and 5-5 from the free throw line. He also contributed six assists, five rebounds, and a team-high three steals (tied with two others) in 38 minutes played.
Second ⭐️
Kennedy Chandler scored a career-high 31 points in the Jazz’s loss to the Pelicans. Chandler went 11-18 from the floor (2-3 on threes) and 7-8 from the charity stripe. He added eight assists, seven rebounds, and two steals, and did not commit a personal foul in 43 minutes of action.
Third ⭐️
Kawhi Leonard scored a game-high 34 points to lead the LA Clippers to a 116-103 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Leonard shot 11-19 from the field, hitting six of his 10 attempts from 3-point range. He also recorded four rebounds, three assists, and one steal, and was not charged with a personal foul in 30 minutes played.
Milestones
Fears set a New Orleans Pelicans record for most points scored in a game by a rookie with 40. The previous mark of 37 points was set by Marcus Thornton on Feb. 23, 2010.
At 19 years and 175 days old, Fears is the eighth teenager (14th instance) in NBA history to record a 40-point game. With a listed height of 6 feet 3 inches, he’s the shortest player in that group.
Jaylen Brown (35 points) reached the 2,000-point mark for the season as the Boston Celtics beat the Charlotte Hornets 113-102. It’s the first time he’s attained that milestone.
The New Orleans Pelicans set franchise records for most points scored (156) and most field goals made (61) in a game, surpassing the previous marks of 153 points and 60 field goals made set on Jan. 23, 2024.
The Pelicans scored 50 points in the third quarter, breaking the franchise record for most points scored in a period. The previous mark of 48 points was achieved twice, first on Nov. 4, 2019 and again on March 1, 2024.
The Pelicans’ 95 second-half points broke the franchise record for most points scored in a half, surpassing the 85 points they scored in the second half on Dec. 17, 2023. Leaguewide, the last team to score at least 95 points in a half was the Phoenix Suns with 107 first-half points on Nov. 10, 1990.
The Pelicans (15 steals) also broke the franchise record for most steals in a season with 711, eclipsing the previous mark of 708 steals set in 2003-04.
The Washington Wizards were destroyed by the Chicago Bulls 129-98, their 27th loss by 20 or more points this season. That breaks a tie with the 1992-93 Dallas Mavericks for the most such losses in a single season in NBA history.
The Houston Rockets knocked off the Phoenix Suns 119-105, their seventh straight win and 50th overall this season. It’s their 11th 50-win season this century, trailing only the San Antonio Spurs (19), the Dallas Mavericks (14), and the Los Angeles Lakers (12).
The Miami Heat (33-91 field goals) broke the franchise record for most field goals attempted in a season in their 121-95 loss to the Toronto Raptors. Their 7,381 attempts surpasses the previous mark of 7,345 set in 1989-90, the franchise’s second season of existence.
Streaking
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (25 points) extended his NBA-record streak of 20-point games to 139 in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 123-87 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers. He’s averaged 32.2 PPG and 6.5 APG with 53.8/38.5/89.0 shooting splits over that span.
Leonard has recorded 55 consecutive 20-point games, tying George Gervin (March 10, 1981 to Feb. 12, 1982) for the 18th-longest such streak in NBA history. Over that stretch, he’s averaged 28.8 PPG on 50.7/38.7/88.7 shooting.
Brown has scored at least 25 points in each of his last 10 games, matching the longest such streak of his career. He’s posted figures of 32.2 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 5.5 APG over that run.
Stephen Curry (4-11 on threes) extended his 3-point streak to 90 games in the Golden State Warriors’ 110-105 win over the Sacramento Kings. He broke a tie with Dana Barros (Dec. 23, 1994 to Jan. 10, 1996) for the ninth-longest such streak in NBA history.
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games: Houston Rockets (seven) and Oklahoma City Thunder (six).
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Utah Jazz (10) and Washington Wizards (seven).
The Thunder became the first team in NBA history to win three straight games by 35 or more points. They beat the Lakers by 43 points on April 2, the Jazz by 35 points on April 5, and the Lakers by 36 points last night.
Miscellany
Fears was the night’s leading scorer, dropping a career-high 40 points. He was followed by the Hornets’ LaMelo Ball (36 points), Brown (35), Leonard (34), and the Pelicans’ Jordan Poole (34).
The Rockets’ Alperen Sengun was the chairman of the boards, pulling down 14 rebounds last night. Five players shared second place with 12 rebounds apiece: the Warriors’ Charles Bassey; the Hornets’ Miles Bridges; the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert; and the Pelicans’ Kevon Looney and Derik Queen.
The Raptors’ Jamal Shead took home nightly honors in assists, handing out 11 helpers. The only other player to deliver double-digit dimes was the Jazz’s John Konchar with a career-high-tying 10 assists.
Konchar recorded his second career triple-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds to go with his aforementioned 10 assists.
The Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg (25 points) is just the third rookie since the ABA-NBA merger to average at least 40 PPG over a three-game span. He joins Allen Iverson (1996-97) and Trae Young (2018-19).
The Jazz surrendered 156 points, the most they’ve given up in a game since moving to Salt Lake City in 1979. The franchise record of 158 points allowed was set on March 14, 1979, when the franchise was located in New Orleans.