NBA Game Notes (March 1, 2026)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on March 1, 2026.
Three Stars
Here are my “three stars” from yesterday’s NBA games, with the “first star” considered the top performer.
First ⭐️
Neemias Queta scored a career-high 27 points and grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 114-98 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. The efficient Queta shot 10-14 from the field and 7-10 from the free throw line. He also blocked a game-high three shots and swiped one steal in 27 turnover-free minutes.
Second ⭐️
Nikola Jokic scored a game-high 35 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Denver Nuggets fell to the Minnesota Timberwolves 117-108. Jokic made 15 of his 26 attempts from the floor. He added a team-high 13 rebounds, a game-high nine assists, a game-high two blocks (tied with Anthony Edwards), and one steal in 37 minutes of action.
Third ⭐️
Onyeka Okongwu scored a game-high 25 points in the Atlanta Hawks’ 135-101 blowout win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Okongwu shot 9-15 from the field, hitting seven of his 12 attempts from 3-point range. He also contributed a team-high 10 rebounds, six assists, a game-high two steals (tied with three others), and one block in 27 minutes played.
Milestones
James Harden (8-12 free throws) reached 8,535 career free throws made in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 106-102 win over the Brooklyn Nets, passing Moses Malone to take over third place on the NBA’s all-time list.
Karl-Anthony Towns (12 points) reached 16,000 career points as the New York Knicks halted the San Antonio Spurs’ 11-game winning streak with a 114-89 victory. He’s the second player from the 2015 NBA Draft class to attain that milestone, joining Devin Booker.
The Celtics’ Jaylen Brown (27 points) became the 11th player in franchise history to reach 13,000 career points. His 222 career 25-point games rank fifth in franchise history.
Josh Giddey (20 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists) recorded his 15th triple-double as a member of the Chicago Bulls in a 120-97 rout of the Milwaukee Bucks, tying Scottie Pippen for second place on the franchise’s career leaderboard.
Streaking
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (30 points) extended his streak of 20-point games to 123 in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 100-87 win over the Dallas Mavericks. It’s the second-longest such streak in NBA history, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain’s record 126-game run from Oct. 19, 1961 to Jan. 19, 1963.
Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 59 road games, breaking a tie with Chamberlain (Oct. 28, 1961 to Jan. 19, 1963) for the longest such streak in NBA history.
Kawhi Leonard (23 points) recorded his 37th straight 20-point game as the LA Clippers routed the New Orleans Pelicans 137-117. It’s the longest such streak of Leonard’s career, a stretch in which he’s averaged 29.0 PPG with 49.3/37.2/89.3 shooting splits.
Brown has scored at least 20 points in each of his last 21 games, matching the longest such streak of his career. He’s averaged 28.1 PPG, 8.4 RPG, and 5.0 APG over that span.
Jokic has registered 11 consecutive 20-point games, averaging 27.4 PPG, 14.5 RPG, and 9.7 APG over that stretch. He’s recorded 10 double-doubles and six triple-doubles in those games.
The Sixers’ Tyrese Maxey (33 points) produced his 10th straight 25-point game, matching the second-longest such streak of his career. Over that run, he’s posted figures of 30.4 PPG, 6.8 APG, and 2.3 SPG .
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Brooklyn Nets (eight) and Indiana Pacers (six).
The Atlanta Hawks (34-point margin of victory) have won back-to-back games by 30 or more points for just the second time in franchise history. They previously achieved the feat Feb. 11–12, 1965, when the franchise was located in St. Louis.
Miscellany
Jokic led the daily scoring brigade, bagging 35 points. He was followed by Maxey (33 points), Gilgeous-Alexander (30), the Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham (29), the Los Angeles Lakers’ Luka Doncic (28), and the Pelicans’ Jeremiah Fears (career-high 28).
Queta was the chairman of the boards, pulling down 17 rebounds yesterday. The Trail Blazers’ Donovan Clingan and the Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert were runners-up with 15 rebounds apiece.
The Memphis Grizzlies’ Walter Clayton Jr. was the day’s premier playmaker, handing out a career-high 14 assists. Also delivering double-digit dimes were Cunningham (11 assists), Giddey (10), and the Pacers’ Kam Jones (10).