NBA Game Notes (March 21, 2024)

Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on March 21, 2024.

Mar 22, 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 ⭐️

Nikola Jokic recorded his 22nd triple-double of the season, scoring 30 points to go with game highs of 14 rebounds and 11 assists as the Denver Nuggets beat the New York Knicks 113-100. The Nuggets have won 13 of their last 15 games to move into a virtual tie with the Oklahoma City Thunder atop the Western Conference standings (the Thunder are percentage points ahead).

Jokic made 12 of his 23 shots from the floor and hit six of his seven free throw attempts. He committed just one turnover and one personal foul in a team-high 39 minutes played.

Second ⭐️

Luka Doncic produced game highs of 34 points, nine rebounds (tied with Walker Kessler), eight assists, and four steals as the Dallas Mavericks knocked off the Utah Jazz 113-97. The Mavericks have won seven of their last eight games to move into sixth place in the Western Conference standings.

It’s the fourth time this season Doncic has been a game’s leader — either outright or tied — in all four of those categories. The only other player to record multiple such games this season is Jokic with five. Doncic has recorded 10 such games in his career. The only other player in franchise history to produce even one such game is Mark Aguirre (Nov. 23, 1985).

Third ⭐️

Michael Porter Jr. scored a game-high 31 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the Nuggets’ win over the Knicks. He shot 13-16 from the field, including a perfect 10-10 from 2-point range. Porter Jr. was charged with just one turnover and one personal foul in his 37 minutes of action.

Porter Jr. increased his season total to 193 3-pointers made, breaking the franchise single-season record. The previous mark of 192 had been established by Dale Ellis in 1996-97.

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Milestones

Kevin Durant scored 19 points with two 3-pointers made in the Phoenix Suns’ 128-115 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, becoming the 16th player in NBA history to reach 2,000 career 3-pointers made. He joined LeBron James as the only players in NBA history with at least 2,000 3-pointers made and 1,000 blocks.
Damian Lillard posted game highs of 30 points and 12 assists as the Milwaukee Bucks held off the Brooklyn Nets 115-108. Lillard made five of his 11 attempts from 3-point range, raising his season total to 202. He’s just the second player in franchise history to reach 200 3-pointers made in a season, joining Ray Allen (twice). It’s the ninth time Lillard has made at least 200 3-pointers in a season, tying Klay Thompson for the second-most such seasons in NBA history (Stephen Curry, 11).

Streaking

The Sacramento Kings’ Domantas Sabonis had 14 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists in a stunning 109-102 loss to the woeful Washington Wizards. Sabonis has produced a double-double in 52 consecutive games, breaking a tie with Moses Malone for the second-longest such streak since the ABA-NBA merger. The longest double-double streak over that span belongs to Kevin Love, who recorded 53 in a row in the 2010-11 season.
Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied 21 points, nine rebounds, and five assists in the Bucks’ win over the Nets, his 14th consecutive 20-point game. Antetokounmpo is averaging 30.4 PPG, 10.9 RPG, and 6.8 APG with a field goal percentage of 63.5% over that span.
Antetokounmpo’s teammate, Lillard, extended his streak of regular season games with at least one 3-pointer made to 143. The only player in NBA history to produce a longer such streak is Curry (268 and 157 games).
Doncic has scored at least 15 points with one 3-pointer made in each of his last 61 games, breaking a tie with James Harden for the second-longest such streak in NBA history. The record of 63 such games in a row is held by Harden, a streak which spanned multiple seasons.
Donte DiVincenzo made three 3-pointers in the Knicks’ loss to the Nuggets, his 27th consecutive game with multiple 3-pointers made. It’s the longest such streak in franchise history (by six games) and tied for the 12th-longest such streak in NBA history.
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games: Houston Rockets (seven) and Orlando Magic (five).
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Brooklyn Nets (five).

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The Chicago Bulls’ Ayo Dosunmu led all players with a career-high 35 points last night. He was followed by Doncic (34), the Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma (31), Porter Jr. (31), the Suns’ Devin Booker (30), Jokic (30), and Lillard (30).
The Wizards’ Richaun Holmes was the top board-getter with a season-high 16 rebounds. Seven more players hauled in at least 10 boards: Jokic (14), Sabonis (14), the Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic (14), the Rockets’ Jock Landale (career-high 12), the Orlando Magic’s Paolo Banchero (10), the Hawks’ Clint Capela (10), and the Suns’ Jusuf Nurkic (10).
Lillard and the Rockets’ Fred VanVleet were the night’s leading playmakers, handing out 12 assists apiece. Banchero (career-high-tying 11), Jokic (11), and the Hawks’ Dejounte Murray (10) also delivered double-digit dimes.
Banchero recorded his second career triple-double, scoring 20 points to go with his 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a 121-106 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. The Magic improved to 42-28, clinching just their second winning record in the last 12 seasons (and first since 2018-19).
The Mavericks’ Daniel Gafford scored 24 points on 10-11 shooting from the field in a win over the Jazz. Over his last nine games, Gafford is averaging 15.4 PPG and 8.1 RPG with a field goal percentage of 87.0%. He’s the only player in NBA history to average at least 15 PPG on 85% shooting from the field over a nine-game span.