NBA Game Notes (Feb. 9, 2024)

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

Sabonis Outduels Jokic

The Sacramento Kings’ Domantas Sabonis took over the NBA lead in triple-doubles, compiling 17 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 135-106 rout of the Denver Nuggets. Sabonis now has 16 triple-doubles this season, breaking a tie with Denver’s Nikola Jokic.

Sabonis made seven of his nine attempts from the floor, his 11th career triple-double in which he’s shot at least 75% from the field. That’s the third-most such games in NBA history, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain (18) and Jokic (15). No other player has more than six such triple-doubles.

Sabonis extended his career-long double-double streak to 34 games. It’s the second-longest such streak in franchise history (Jerry Lucas, 55) and tied for the seventh-longest such streak since the ABA-NBA merger. Over that span, Sabonis is averaging 20.4 PPG, 14.0 RPG, and 8.8 APG with a field goal percentage of 63.8%.

Kings guard De’Aaron Fox scored 15 points, handed out a game-high 10 assists (tied with Sabonis), and swiped a game-high five steals. Malik Monk came off the bench to score a game-high 23 points (tied with Jokic) in just 20 minutes played, making nine of his 13 field goal attempts. Monk leads the league with 16 20-point games coming off the bench this season.

The Kings have scored at least 130 points in a game 33 times over the last two seasons, tied with the Milwaukee Bucks for the most such games in that span. The last team to record at least 33 such games over a two-season stretch was the Denver Nuggets in 1987-88 and 1988-89 (36).

Jokic produced team highs of 23 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and three steals for the Nuggets. It’s the 162nd game in which he’s led his team — either outright or tied — in points, rebounds, and assists. The only player in NBA history with more such games is LeBron James with 232.

Jokic has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 14 games, the second-longest such streak of his career. He’s averaging 28.3 PPG, 13.1 RPG, and 8.3 APG with 62/44/82 shooting splits over that stretch.

The Nuggets committed 21 turnovers, their second-highest total of the season. Those turnovers led to 37 Sacramento points. Denver also shot just 10-29 (34.5%) from 3-point range and 20-28 (71.4%) from the free throw line, while the Kings went 17-34 (50.0%) and 16-18 (88.9%), respectively.