Note: Writing up recaps for every game was getting a little tedious, so I’m going to try something a little different with the format this week. Please let me know in the comments what you think about the changes. Thank you as always for your support.

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 ⭐️

Deni Avdija had a huge night, scoring a career-high 43 points and hauling in a season-high 15 rebounds in the Washington Wizards’ 133-126 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. He’s the first Wizard to record a 40-point, 15-rebound game since Moses Malone on Jan. 12, 1987 (when the franchise was known as the Washington Bullets).

Avdija also established new career highs for fields made and attempted (13-24); 3-pointers made and attempted (6-10); and free throws made and attempted (11-13). He’s averaging 23.0 PPG and 9.3 RPG in seven February games, shooting 61.5% from the field and 50.0% from 3-point range.

Second ⭐️

Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 34 points to go with nine rebounds and seven assists as the Dallas Mavericks routed the San Antonio Spurs 116-93. Irving recorded all of his points from the field, sinking 15 of his 22 attempts with four 3-pointers made. He committed just one turnover and one personal foul in a team-high 33 minutes played.

Third ⭐️

Zion Williamson tallied 36 points, eight assists, and six rebounds in the Pelicans’ victory over the Wizards, leading the team (outright or tied) in all three categories. Williamson connected on 15 of his 21 shots from the floor. It’s the 19th time he’s scored at least 30 points with 70% shooting from the field, the most such games in franchise history. The only player in NBA history to record more such games before their 24th birthday is Shaquille O’Neal with 29.

Milestones

The Wizards set a franchise single-game record with 21 3-pointers made. The previous mark of 20 had been achieved three times, most recently on Feb. 9, 2024. Avdija (six 3-pointers made), Corey Kispert (five), Jordan Poole (five) became just the second trio in franchise history to each make at least five 3-pointers in the same game. They join CJ Miles, Davis Bertans, and Bradley Beal, who did so on Nov. 17, 2019.
The Boston Celtics destroyed the Brooklyn Nets 138-86, becoming just the third team in NBA history with multiple 50-point wins in a single season. They join the 1978-79 Milwaukee Bucks and 1992-93 Sacramento Kings, each of whom also posted two such wins. It’s the Celtics’ third win by 40 or more points this season, tying an NBA record held by 12 other teams. Boston has recorded three 40-point wins in each of the last three seasons. No other franchise in NBA history has even done that in back-to-back seasons.
Celtics head man Joe Mazzulla picked up his 100th regular season win, tying the Minneapolis Lakers’ John Kundla as the fifth-fastest coach in NBA history to reach that mark. They each did so in 137 games.
Sacramento Kings center Domantas Sabonis recorded his league-leading 50th double-double of the season, producing 20 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals in a 102-98 win over the Denver Nuggets. Sabonis is the first King to record at least 50 double-doubles in consecutive seasons since Jerry Lucas produced six such seasons in a row from 1963-64 to 1968-69 (when the franchise was known as the Cincinnati Royals).
The Mavericks’ Irving and Luka Doncic (27 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists) each recorded at least 25 points, five rebounds, and five assists in the same game for the fourth time this season, tying the franchise record for the most such games in a season by a duo (Mark Aguirre and Rolando Blackman, 1983-84).

Streaking

Stephen Curry made nine 3-pointers in the Golden State Warriors’ 130-125 loss to the LA Clippers, becoming the first player in NBA history to make at least seven 3-pointers in four consecutive games. Curry’s 36 3-pointers made during that stretch are tied for the most over a four-game span in NBA history, matching his mark from April 2021.
Sabonis extended his career-long double-double streak to 37 games. It’s the second-longest such streak in franchise history (Lucas, 55) and tied for the fourth-longest such streak since the ABA-NBA merger. Over that span, Sabonis is averaging 20.8 PPG, 14.0 RPG, and 9.0 APG with a field goal percentage of 63.6%.
Jalen Brunson scored a team-high 33 points in the New York Knicks’ 118-100 loss to the Orlando Magic. Brunson has scored at least 20 points in 15 straight games, including 25 or more in each of his last nine games. Both are the longest such streaks of his career. The last Knicks guard to record at least 15 consecutive 20-point games was Walt Frazier in the 1971-72 season (22 in a row).
Jayson Tatum had 20 points, a game-high nine assists, and seven rebounds in the Celtics’ shellacking of the Nets, extending his streak of 20-point games to 12. Tatum is averaging 28.6 PPG, 9.3 RPG, and 6.1 APG with 50/36/88 shooting splits over that span.
Teams with winning streaks of five or more games: Boston Celtics (six) and Dallas Mavericks (six).
Teams with losing streaks of five or more games: Washington Wizards (eight).

Miscellany

Avdija led all players with 43 points last night. He was one of 12 players to score at least 30 points, the others being Curry (41), Anthony Davis (37), Paolo Banchero (36), Rui Hachimura (career-high 36), Williamson (36), Irving (34), Brunson (33), Coby White (32), De’Aaron Fox (30), Tyrese Maxey (30), and Donovan Mitchell (30).
Avdija also led all players with 15 rebounds, a total that was matched by Davis, Andre Drummond, and Aaron Gordon.
D’Angelo Russell dished out a career-high 17 assists, the most in the NBA last night. Four more players recorded a 10-assist game: Tyus Jones (15), Tyrese Haliburton (12), Trae Young (12), and Buddy Hield (career-high 10).
Spurs center Victor Wembanyama compiled 26 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and three block, giving him totals of 53, 23, 10, and 13, respectively, over his last two games. He’s just the third rookie to record at least 50 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 blocks over a two-game span since the NBA began tracking blocks in 1973-74, joining Ralph Sampson (Dec. 7 & 9, 1983) and David Robinson (March 19 & 20, 1990).
Davis and Hachimura combined for 73 points as the Los Angeles Lakers knocked off the Utah Jazz 138-122. They are the first Laker duo to each score at least 35 points in the same game since Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal achieved the feat on Nov. 6, 2003.
Banchero had six rebounds and five assists to go with his 36 points, hitting 15 of his 20 shots from the floor. He’s just the third player in franchise history to record a 35-point, 5-rebound, 5-assist game with a field goal percentage of at least 75%, joining Shaquille O’Neal (Jan. 26, 1994) and Dwight Howard (April 14, 2007).

NBA Game Notes (Feb. 14, 2024)