NBA Game Notes (March 20, 2024)

Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on March 20, 2024.

Mar 21, 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 ⭐️

Chet Holmgren scored a game-high 35 points, tied his career high with 14 rebounds, and blocked three shots as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Utah Jazz 119-107. Holmgren shot 12-18 from the floor and 10-12 from the charity stripe, establishing new career highs for free throws made and attempted.

It’s the 48th time Holmgren has recorded at least one 3-pointer made and one block in a game, the most such games in NBA history by a rookie. He may not hold the record for long, though, as fellow rookie Victor Wembanyama has produced 47 such games.

Second ⭐️

GG Jackson scored a career-high 35 points, but it wasn’t nearly enough as the Memphis Grizzlies were routed by the Golden State Warriors 137-116. Jackson went 11-19 from the field (7-14 on 3-pointers) and 6-7 from the free throw line, committing just one turnover in a game-high 35 minutes played.

Only three players in NBA history have recorded a 35-point game at a younger age than Jackson’s 19 years and 94 days: LeBron James (four times), Kevin Durant (twice), and teammate Jaren Jackson Jr.

Third ⭐️

Jarrett Allen scored a team-high 25 points and hauled in a game-high 20 rebounds in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 107-104 loss to the Miami Heat. Allen shot 10-13 from the floor and made five of his six free throw attempts. He became the first player in franchise history to record a 20-point, 20-rebound game whole shooting at least 75% from the field.

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Milestones

The Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant had 22 points (10-18 field goals), eight rebounds, and three blocks in a 115-102 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Durant increased his career point total to 28,610, passing Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal (28,596) to take over eighth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Damian Lillard scored a game-high 32 points in the Milwaukee Bucks’ 122-119 loss to the Boston Celtics. Lillard now has 20,947 career points, moving past Hall of Famer Walt Bellamy (20,941) and into 41st place on the NBA’s all-time leaderboard.
The Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander recorded his league-leading 50th 30-point game of the season, scoring 31 points to go with seven assists and four steals in a win over the Jazz. He’s the 13th different player in NBA history to produce at least 50 30-point games in a season, and the first to do so since James Harden in 2018-19.
Kyle Lowry handed out a team-high seven assists in the Sixers’ loss to the Suns, breaking a tie with Bob Cousy (6,955) to take over sole possession of 21st place on the NBA’s career leaderboard.
The Suns’ Grayson Allen scored a season-high-tying 32 points in a win over the Sixers, matching the franchise single-game record with nine 3-pointers made. It’s the third time in the last 76 days Allen has tied that record, a mark he shares with five others.
Stephen Curry sank four 3-pointers in the Warriors’ rout of the Grizzlies, reaching 300 3-pointers made in a season for the fifth time. Only two other players in NBA history have attained that milestone even once: James Harden (2018-19) and Klay Thompson (2022-23).
The LA Clippers’ Paul George scored a game-high 27 points with four 3-pointers made in a 116-103 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. George has made 205 3-pointers this season, breaking a tie with JJ Redick (2016-17) for the franchise single-season record.

Streaking

The Sacramento Kings’ Domantas Sabonis recorded his 24th triple-double and 64th double-double of the season, compiling 13 points, 17 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 123-89 demolition of the Toronto Raptors. Sabonis has produced a double-double in 51 consecutive games, tying Moses Malone for the second-longest such streak since the ABA-NBA merger. The leader over that span is Kevin Love with a 53-game streak in the 2010-11 season.
Gilgeous-Alexander has recorded 64 straight 15-point games and 28 straight 20-point games, the longest and second-longest such streaks of his career, respectively. He’s averaging 30.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 6.5 APG with 53/44/85 shooting splits over the latter span.
The Celtics’ Jayson Tatum scored a team-high 31 points in a win over the Bucks, his sixth straight 25-point game. He’s averaging 30.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 5.3 APG with 46/46/85 shooting splits over that span.
Tatum’s teammate, Jaylen Brown, scored 21 points to register his 12th consecutive 20-point game, the second-longest such streak of his career. He’s averaging 28.4 PPG over that stretch, shooting 53.3% from the field and 41.8% from 3-point range.
Lillard made six of his 10 attempts from 3-point range, extending his streak of regular season games with at least one 3-pointer made to 142. The only player in NBA history to record a longer such streak is Curry (268 and 157 games).
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games: Boston Celtics (seven).
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Toronto Raptors (eight).
The Indiana Pacers blew out the Detroit Pistons 122-103. The Pacers have scored at least 100 points in 78 consecutive regular season games, tying the New York Knicks (Oct. 23, 1966 to Oct. 17, 1967) and the Philadelphia 76ers (Nov. 8, 1966 to Oct. 27, 1967) for the eighth-longest such streak in NBA history.
The Pacers became the fourth team in NBA history to open a season with 70 straight 100-point games. They join the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, the 1979-80 San Antonio Spurs, and the 1981-82 Denver Nuggets.

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Holmgren and Jackson led all scorers with 35 points apiece last night (a career high for Jackson). Five more players recorded a 30-point game: Grayson Allen (season-high-tying 32), Lillard (32), Gilgeous-Alexander (31), Tatum (31), and the Heat’s Jimmy Butler (30).
Jarrett Allen was the night’s top board man with 20 rebounds. He was followed by Sabonis (17), the Suns’ Jusuf Nurkic (15), the Bucks’ Bobby Portis (15), Holmgren (career-high-tying 14), and the Sixers’ KJ Martin (season-high 13).
The Clippers’ James Harden and the Suns’ Chris Paul were the top playmakers, each dishing out 14 assists last night. The Cavaliers’ Caris LeVert (12), the Suns’ Devin Booker (11), the Pistons’ Cade Cunningham (10), and Sabonis (10) also recorded double-digit dimes.
Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 30 points with a true shooting percentage of 60% in 40 games this season. The only player in NBA history to produce more such games in a single season is James Harden with 41 in 2018-19.
The Celtics’ Tatum and Brown have each scored at least 20 points in the same game 163 times, tying Hall of Famers John Havlicek and Dave Cowens for the fourth-most such games in franchise history by a duo.