NBA Game Notes (March 27, 2024)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on March 27, 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 ⭐️
Jalen Green continued his recent scoring tear, pouring in a game-high 37 points as the Houston Rockets defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 132-126 in overtime. The Rockets have won 10 straight games and stand just a game behind the Golden State Warriors for the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.
Green shot 14-24 from the field, making seven of his 11 attempts from 3-point range. He added 10 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals in a game-high 46 minutes played.
Second ⭐️
Rui Hachimura scored a game-high 32 points in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 136-124 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. Hachimura went 11-14 from the floor, hitting a career-high-tying seven of his eight 3-point attempts. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked two shots in 36 turnover-free minutes.
Hachimura’s effective field goal percentage was 103.6%, the second-highest such figure in franchise history by a player in a 30-point game (Doug Christie). It’s the sixth-highest such figure in NBA history by a player in a 30-point, 10-rebound game.
Third ⭐️
Dejounte Murray produced team highs of 30 points and seven assists as the Atlanta Hawks knocked off the Portland Trail Blazers 120-106. Murray made 13 of his 20 shots from the field, including a 4-8 performance from 3-point range. He added two steals and two blocks, committing just one turnover and no personal fouls in 36 minutes of action.
In his 16 games since taking over for the injured Trae Young at point guard on February 25, Murray is averaging 25.4 PPG and 9.1 APG with shooting percentages of 47.0% from the field and 38.7% from 3-point range. The Hawks are 9-7 over that span compared to a 24-32 record prior to Young’s injury.
This newsletter is produced by a team of one, but provides more “NBA statistical goodness” (Marc Stein) than most, if not all, major media outlets. Sign up using the special “March Madness” link below and you’ll get 25% off your first 12 months.
Milestones
DeMar DeRozan scored a game-high 27 points in the Chicago Bulls’ 125-99 win over the Indiana Pacers. DeRozan increased his career point total to 23,340, passing Hall of Famer Robert Parish (23,334) to take over 31st place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
The LA Clippers’ Russell Westbrook made just two field goals in a 108-107 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, but that was enough to break a tie with Hall of Famer Jerry West (9,016) and take sole possession of 23rd place on the NBA’s career leaderboard.
Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren recorded his 40th double-double of the season, tallying 11 points and 11 rebounds in a 106-91 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. At 20 years and 130 days old, Duren is the third-youngest player in NBA history to reach that mark in a season, trailing only Dwight Howard (2005-06) and Karl-Anthony Towns (2015-16).
Walker Kessler blocked two shots in the Utah Jazz’s 118-111 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, raising his season total to 150. Kessler is the first player to block at least 150 shots in each of his first two seasons since Andrei Kirilenko in 2001-02 and 2002-03.
Murray swiped his 100th steal of the season, the fifth straight campaign he’s reached that mark. He’s the only player to record at least 100 steals in each of the last five seasons.
The Philadelphia 76ers’ Buddy Hield scored 17 points with three 3-pointers made in a loss to the Clippers. Hield sank his 200th 3-pointer of the season, the sixth time he’s reached that mark. The only players in NBA history with more such seasons are Stephen Curry (11), Klay Thompson (nine), and Damian Lillard (nine).
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 18 points on 7-11 shooting from the field (4-5 on 3-pointers) as the New York Knicks destroyed the Toronto Raptors 145-101. Bogdanovic now has 1,498 career 3-pointers made, enough to pass Hall of Famer Manu Ginobili (1,495) and move into 50th place on the NBA’s all-time leaderboard.
Mike Conley recorded two steals in the Timberwolves’ win over the Pistons, giving him 1,510 for his career. He surpassed Hall of Famer Julius Erving (1,509) and took over 50th place on the NBA’s all-time list (steals have been tracked since the 1973-74 season).
The Minnesota Timberwolves reached 50 wins for just the fifth time in franchise history and the first time since the 2003-04 season. They are tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder for second place in the Western Conference, just a half-game behind the Denver Nuggets.
Streaking
Green has scored at least 25 points in each of his last seven games, the longest such streak of his career. He’s averaging 33.7 PPG with 53/49/81 shooting splits over that span.
Donte DiVincenzo made five 3-pointers in the Knicks’ rout of the Raptors. DiVincenzo has made multiple 3-pointers in each of his last 30 games, the longest such streak in franchise history (by nine games) and tied for the eighth-longest such streak in NBA history.
The Grizzlies’ Desmond Bane scored a team-high 26 points and dished out a career-high 16 assists in a loss to the Lakers. Bane went 4-9 from 3-point range, extending his streak of games with multiple 3-pointers made to 27. It’s the second-longest such streak in franchise history (Bane holds the record of 30) and tied for the 13th-longest such streak in NBA history.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 16 points with two 3-pointers made in the Hawks’ win over the Trail Blazers. He’s made at least one 3-pointer in 80 straight regular season games, the second-longest such streak in franchise history and the 10th-longest such streak in NBA history.
Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama compiled 19 points, eight rebounds, six assists, and five blocks in a victory over the Jazz. He’s recorded at least 10 points and one block in each of his last 32 games, the second-longest such streak by a rookie since the NBA began tracking blocks in 1973-74. The rookie record of 41 such games in a row is held by David Robinson (1989-90).
Team(s) with a winning streak of five or more games: Houston Rockets (10) and Los Angeles Lakers (five).
Team(s) with a losing streak of five or more games: Toronto Raptors (12), Detroit Pistons (eight), Portland Trail Blazers (eight), and Utah Jazz (seven).
The Rockets have posted a 10-game winning streak for the 10th time in franchise history and the first time since the 2017-18 season. Their average margin of victory over that span is 14.1 PPG.
Do you have a friend or family member who loves the NBA as much as you do? Please consider sharing this free post with them.
Miscellany
Eleven players scored at least 30 points last night, led by the Washington Wizards’ Jordan Poole and the Brooklyn Nets’ Cam Thomas with 38 apiece (a season high for Poole). They were followed by Green (37), the Pistons’ Cade Cunningham (32), Hachimura (32), the Trail Blazers’ Dalano Blanton (career-high 31), the Thunder’s Josh Giddey (career-high-tying 31), the Charlotte Hornets’ Brandon Miller (31), the Spurs’ Devin Vassell (31), the Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant (30), and Murray (30).
Rockets rookie Amen Thompson was the night’s leading board man, snagging a career-high 15 rebounds. Eight more players hauled in at least a dozen boards: the Warriors’ Trayce Jackson-Davis (14), the Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert (14), the Lakers’ LeBron James (14), the Nets’ Nic Claxton (13), Durant (season-high 13), the Knicks’ Precious Achiuwa (12), the Wizards’ Deni Avdija (12), and the Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic (12).
Bane was the top playmaker last night with his career-high 16 assists. Also recording double-digit dimes were the Clippers’ James Harden (14), the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Darius Garland (season-high 12), James (12), the Hornets’ Vasilije Micic (career-high 12), the Lakers’ Austin Reaves (11), the Warriors’ Stephen Curry (10), the Knicks’ Josh Hart (10), the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic (10), the Wizards’ Kyle Kuzma (10), and the Thunder’s Jalen Williams (10).
James recorded his 111th career triple-double, scoring 23 points to go with his 14 rebounds and 12 assists. James has produced 23 triple-double since turning 35 years old, 15 more such games than any other player in NBA history (Jason Kidd, eight).
In addition to his game highs of 30 points and 13 rebounds, Durant blocked a season-high five shots in the Suns’ 104-97 win over the Nuggets. The last Sun to record at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks in a game was Shawn Marion on Jan. 22, 2006.
Wembanyama has compiled at least five points, five rebounds, five assists, and five blocks in seven games this season, the most such games by a rookie since the NBA began tracking blocks in 1973-74. The last player to record at least seven such games in a season was Kirilenko in 2005-06 (nine).
Wembanyama has recorded at least five blocks and one 3-pointer made in 20 games this season, five more such games than any other player in NBA history. Raef LaFrentz is second, accomplishing the feat 15 times in the 2001-02 season.
Thompson scored 25 points to go with his career-high 15 rebounds, becoming the first Rockets rookie to record at least 25 points and 15 rebounds in a game since Yao Ming on Dec. 3, 2002.
The Indiana Pacers were held to 99 points in a loss to the Bulls, snapping a streak of 80 straight regular season games with at least 100 points. They end up tied with the Cincinnati Royals (Nov. 18, 1960 to Nov. 21, 1961) for the fifth-longest such streak in NBA history.
The San Antonio Spurs recorded assists on 40 of their 44 made field goals (90.9%) in a win over the Jazz. That’s the third-highest assist percentage in franchise history, and the team’s highest such figure since April 5, 2001 (94.3%).
The New York Knicks’ 145 points versus the Raptors were the most the franchise has scored in a non-overtime game since Nov. 11, 1980 (a 149-118 rout of the Detroit Pistons).
The Knicks’ 44-point victory over the Raptors was the 18th win by 40 or more points in the NBA this season. That’s three more such wins than any other season in league history (15, 2021-22).
There have been 71 instances in which a team has scored at least 140 points in a game this season, by far the most such instances in a single season in NBA history. The previous mark of 52 was set last season.