NBA Game Notes (Feb. 20, 2026)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on Feb. 20, 2026.
Three Stars
Here are my “three stars” from yesterday’s NBA games, with the “first star” considered the top performer.
First ⭐️
Luka Doncic scored a game-high 38 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 125-122 victory over the LA Clippers. Doncic shot 11-25 from the field (8-14 on threes) and 8-11 from the free throw line. He added a game-high 11 assists (tied with LeBron James), six rebounds, a game-high three steals, and one block in 38 minutes played.
Second ⭐️
Nikola Jokic scored a game-high 32 points as the Denver Nuggets walloped the Portland Trail Blazers 157-103. Jokic went 10-15 from the floor (3-4 on threes) and 9-11 from the charity stripe. He also contributed nine rebounds, a team-high seven assists (tied with Christian Braun), and a game-high four steals in 29 minutes of action.
Third ⭐️
Alondes Williams came off the bench to produce career highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds in the Washington Wizards’ 131-118 win over the Indiana Pacers. Williams was incredibly efficient, going 9-11 from the field and 5-5 from the free throw line. He added four assists, two blocks, and one steal, committing just one turnover and one personal foul in 29 minutes played.
Milestones
The Nuggets’ Tim Hardaway Jr. (4-7 on threes) made his 2,000th career 3-pointer, becoming the 19th player in NBA history to attain that milestone.
Doncic recorded his 237th career 30-point game, breaking a tie with Bob McAdoo for 25th place on the NBA’s all-time list. It was his 130th game with at least 35 points, tying Bob Pettit and Giannis Antetokounmpo for 19th place on the league’s career leaderboard.
The Lakers’ LeBron James (three defensive rebounds) increased his career total to 10,120 defensive rebounds, breaking a tie with Robert Parish for fifth place on the NBA’s all-time list (the statistic has been tracked since the 1973-74 season).
James Harden appeared in his 1,200th career regular season game as the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Charlotte Hornets 118-113. He’s the 50th player in NBA history to reach that mark.
The Denver Nuggets’ 54-point win over the Trail Blazers is the largest margin of victory in franchise history. The previous mark of plus-52 points was set on March 16, 2008 versus the Seattle SuperSonics.
Streaking
The Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard (31 points) recorded his 35th consecutive 20-point game, the longest such streak of his career by 13 games. He’s averaged 28.9 PPG with 49.2/38.0/89.9 shooting splits over that span.
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games: Cleveland Cavaliers (seven).
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Dallas Mavericks (10).
The Mavericks’ 10-game slide is the franchise’s longest losing streak since dropping 15 games in a row from Dec. 6, 1997 to Jan. 3, 1998. To put in perspective how long ago that was, Dirk Nowitzki had not yet been drafted and Luka Doncic had not yet been born.
The Portland Trail Blazers (15-47 on threes) have made 15 or more 3-pointers in each of their last seven games, breaking a tie for the longest such streak in franchise history. They had hit at least 15 triples in six straight games twice previously.
Miscellany
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards led the nightly scoring brigade, bagging 40 points. He was followed by Doncic (38 points), the Hornets’ Kon Knueppel (33), Jokic (32), the Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell (32), the New Orleans Pelicans’ Zion Williamson (32), and Leonard (31).
The Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert was the top board man, hauling in 17 rebounds last night. The Atlanta Hawks’ Jalen Johnson was runner-up with 16 rebounds, while the Cavaliers’ Jarrett Allen placed third with 14.
The Trail Blazers’ Deni Avdija was the night’s premier playmaker, handing out 13 assists. Also delivering double-digit dimes were Donic (11 assists), James (11), Johnson (11), the Pacers’ Kam Jones (career-high 11), and the Memphis Grizzlies’ Cam Spencer (10).
Johnson recorded his 11th triple-double of the season in the Hawks’ 128-97 loss to the Miami Heat. He scored 16 points to go with his aforementioned 16 rebounds and 11 assists. It wasn’t all good for Johnson, who shot just 6-22 from the field.