NBA Game Notes (April 9, 2024)

Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on April 9, 2024.

Apr 10, 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 ⭐️

Anthony Edwards recorded his first career 50-point game, pouring in a game-high 51 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves outscored the Washington Wizards 130-121. Minnesota’s victory coupled with the Denver Nuggets’ 111-95 win over the Utah Jazz sets up a showdown for first place in the Western Conference tonight in Denver (both teams are 55-24).

Edwards shot 17-29 from the field — including 6-13 from 3-point range — and made all 11 of his free throws. He added a game-high seven assists (tied with teammate Jordan McLaughlin) and six rebounds, and did not commit a personal foul in 38 minutes played.

Second ⭐️

Jalen Brunson produced game highs of 45 points and eight assists in the New York Knicks’ 128-117 victory over the Chicago Bulls. The Knicks moved into third place in the Eastern Conference standings, one game ahead of the Orlando Magic and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Brunson went 13-24 from the field (7-12 on 3-pointers) and a perfect 12-12 from the free throw line. He committed just one turnover and no personal fouls in 42 minutes of action.

Third ⭐️

Luka Doncic recorded his 21st triple-double of the season, notching game highs of 39 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists as the Dallas Mavericks routed the Charlotte Hornets 130-104. The Mavericks improved to 49-30 on the season, clinching at worst the sixth seed in the Western Conference.

Doncic shot 13-25 from the floor, making eight of his career-high 17 attempts from 3-point range. He’s made at least five 3-pointers in a franchise-record 24 games this season.

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Milestones

Doncic recorded his 50th 30-point game of the season, the first time he’s reached that mark. He’s one game behind the league leader in that category, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored a game-high 40 points in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 112-105 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Doncic and Gilgeous-Alexander are just the third pair of players in NBA history to each record at least 50 30-point games in the same season, joining Wilt Chamberlain & Walt Bellamy (1961-62) and Chamberlain & Elgin Baylor (1962-63).
Doncic increased his season point total to 2,341, breaking the Mavericks’ single-season record of 2,330 points set by Mark Aguirre in 1983-84.
Doncic’s teammate, Daniel Gafford, scored 26 points on perfect 12-12 shooting from the floor. He set a franchise record for most field goals made in a game without a miss, breaking the previous mark of 10 set by Brandan Wright on April 4, 2014.
Joel Embiid compiled 37 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, three steals, and two blocks as the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Detroit Pistons 120-102. It’s the 20th time Embiid has recorded at least 30 points, five rebounds, and five assists in a game this season. The only other players in franchise history to produce at least 20 such games in a season are Wilt Chamberlain (33, 1965-66) and Julius Erving (20, 1979-80).
The Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic recorded game highs of 28 points (tied with teammate Jamal Murray), 13 rebounds, and seven assists in their win over the Jazz. Jokic surpassed 2,000 points in a season for the second time in his career, becoming the fourth player in franchise history with multiple such seasons. He joins Alex English (eight), David Thompson (three, one of them in the ABA), and Kiki VanDeWeghe (two).
Paul George scored a game-high 23 points in the LA Clippers’ 105-92 win over the Phoenix Suns, surpassing 18,000 for his career. George has by far the most career points among players in the 2010 NBA Draft class, 5,220 more than DeMarcus Cousins (18,022 to 12,802).
George’s teammate, Russell Westbrook, racked up 16 points, 15 rebounds, and 15 assists for his 199th career triple-double. Westbrook raised his career point total to 25,207, passing Hall of Famer Jerry West (25,192) to take over 24th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
The San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama tallied 18 points, seven rebounds, seven blocks, and six assists in a 102-87 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Wembanyama blocked his 250th shot of the season, becoming just the sixth rookie to reach that mark since the NBA began tracking blocks in 1973-74. He joins Mark Eaton (1982-83), Manute Bol (1985-86), David Robinson (1989-90), Alonzo Mourning (1992-93), and Shaquille O’Neal (1992-93).
Wembanyama recorded his 10th game with at least five points, five rebounds, five assists, and five blocks this season, the most such games by a rookie since the NBA began tracking blocks in 1973-74. The only player over the last 40 seasons to produce more such games in a season is David Robinson with 13 in 1993-94.
The Chicago Bulls’ Coby White scored 24 points with two 3-pointers made in a loss to the Knicks. White has made 205 3-pointers this season, surpassing Zach LaVine’s franchise single-season mark of 204 set last season.
Brunson made his 200th 3-pointer of the season, the first time he’s reached that mark. Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo are the first duo in Knicks history to each make at least 200 3-pointers in the same season.
The Boston Celtics did not attempt a free throw in their 104-91 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the first time that’s ever happened in an NBA game. The two teams combined for just two free throw attempts, by far the lowest such total in a game in league history. The previous mark of 11 was set on Nov. 10, 2019 in a game between the Orlando Magic (six attempts) and the Indiana Pacers (five).
The Indiana Pacers raced past the Toronto Raptors 140-123, the 10th time they’ve scored at least 140 points in a game this season. That ties the NBA record for most such games in a season set by the Denver Nuggets in 1981-82.
The Sacramento Kings attempted a franchise-record 58 3-pointers in their loss to the Thunder, making 20 of them. They easily surpassed the previous mark of 52, which was established on March 20, 2023. The Kings also broke franchise single-season records for 3-pointers made and attempted last night, pushing their season totals to 1,135 and 3,109, respectively.
The Golden State Warriors shot a blistering 26-41 from 3-point range (63.4%) in a 134-120 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. That’s the highest 3-point field goal percentage in NBA history by a team with 25 or more 3-pointers made in a game. It’s also the most 3-pointers ever made in a game by a Laker opponent.
The Phoenix Suns trailed the Clippers 37-10 at the end of the first quarter, matching the largest opening-period deficit in franchise history. They also trailed the Sacramento Kings by 27 points after one quarter of an eventual 122-105 loss on Dec. 4, 2018.
The Washington Wizards gave up at least 130 points in a game for the 30th time this season. Only three other teams in NBA history have reached that mark in a season: the 1990-91 Denver Nuggets (37), the 1967-68 Seattle SuperSonics (31), and the 1982-82 Denver Nuggets (31).

Streaking

Brunson has produced at least 35 points and five assists in each of his last four games. He’s the first player in Knicks history to record four such games in a row.
Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox had 33 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and two steals in a loss to the Thunder. Fox has recorded at least 15 points and one steal in each of his last 25 games, the longest such streak by a King since the NBA began tracking steals in 1973-74. Chris Webber is a distant second with an 18-game run in 2001-02.
Deandre Ayton scored a team-high 30 points (15-22 field goals) and snagged a game-high 13 rebounds in the Portland Trail Blazers’ 110-100 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. Ayton has produced five straight 20-point, 10-rebound games, the longest such streak of his career. The last Trail Blazer to record at least five such games in a row was LaMarcus Aldridge in January 2014 (seven).
Bogdan Bogdanovic went just 1-11 from 3-point range as the Atlanta Hawks fell to the Miami Heat 117-111 in double overtime. However, that was enough to extend his streak of regular season games with at least one 3-pointer made to 87, tying Buddy Hield for the eighth-longest such streak in NBA history.
The Bucks’ Damian Lillard was held to 12 points with two 3-pointers made in a win over the Celtics, but that was good enough to extend his 3-point streak to 149 regular season games. It’s the third-longest such streak in NBA history, trailing only 268-game and 157-game runs by Stephen Curry.
DiVincenzo scored 21 points with three 3-pointers made in the Knicks’ win over the Bulls, the 37th consecutive game in which he’s made multiple threes. It’s the longest such streak in franchise history (by 16 games) and ties James Harden for the sixth-longest such streak in NBA history.
Doncic has scored at least 15 points with one 3-pointer made in 69 straight games, the longest such streak in NBA history.
Wembanyama has recorded at least 10 points and one block in each of his last 38 games, the second-longest such streak by a rookie since the NBA began tracking blocks in 1973-74. The rookie record of 41 such games in a row is held by David Robinson (1989-90).
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games: Philadelphia 76ers (six).
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Utah Jazz (13) and Detroit Pistons (five).

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Edwards led all scorers with his career-high 51 points last night. He was followed by Brunson (45), Gilgeous-Alexander (40), Doncic (39), Embiid (37), the Houston Rockets’ Fred VanVleet (season-high 37), the Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan (34), Fox (33), the Heat’s Tyler Herro (33), the Lakers’ LeBron James (33), the Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III (31), Ayton (30), and the Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton (30).
The Grizzlies’ Jordan Goodwin was the night’s top board man, hauling in a career-high 19 rebounds. Next in line were the Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert (16), the Spurs’ Sandro Mamukelashvili (career-high 16), Westbrook (season-high 15), Ayton (13), the Knicks’ Josh Hart (13), Jokic (13), the Hawks’ Dejounte Murray (season-high-tying 13), the Kings’ Domantas Sabonis (13), and the Clippers’ Ivica Zubac (13).
The Trail Blazers’ Scoot Henderson and Westbrook were the leading playmakers last night, each dishing out a season-high 15 assists. Four more players handed out double-digit dimes: Murray (13), James (11), Doncic (10), and the Warriors’ Draymond Green (10).
Sabonis was held to eight points in the Kings’ loss to the Thunder, snapping his double-double streak at 61 games. Sabonis ends up with the longest such streak in franchise history (by six games) and the longest such streak since the ABA-NBA merger (by eight games).
Murray recorded his 19th career triple-double (and first this season), scoring a team-high 29 points to go with his game highs of 13 rebounds and 13 assists. Murray is averaging 24.8 PPG, 9.2 APG, and 5.7 RPG in his 23 games since injured backcourt mate Trae Young last played (Feb. 23, 2024).