NBA Game Notes (March 6, 2024)

Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on March 6, 2024.

Mar 07, 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 ⭐️

De’Aaron Fox tied his career high with 44 points in the Sacramento Kings’ 130-120 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Fox’s scoring was almost evenly distributed, with nine points in the first quarter, 11 in the second, 12 in the third, and 12 in the fourth.

Fox made a career-high 19 of his 32 attempts from the field, adding four rebounds, four assists, and two steals in a game-high 39 minutes played. He has recorded seven 40-point games this season, the most by a King since Nate Archibald produced 18 such games in 1972-73.

Second ⭐️

LeBron James scored a team-high 31 points, dished out a game-high 13 assists, and collected five rebounds in the Lakers’ loss to the Kings. James made 10 of his 16 shots from the field and sank all 10 of his free throws.

James now has 99 career 30-point, 10-assist games, the third-most such games in NBA history behind Oscar Robertson (230) and James Harden (100). He’s the only player in NBA history to record at least 30 points and 10 assists in a game after turning 38 years old (he now has four such games).

Third ⭐️

Alperen Sengun recorded his fourth career triple-double, scoring a team-high 23 points to go with game highs of 19 rebounds, 14 assists (also a career high), and two steals (tied with two others) in the Houston Rockets’ 122-116 loss to the LA Clippers.

Sengun connected on 10 of his 19 field goal attempts, but made just three of his eight free throws. He led all players with 42:26 of playing time, the second-highest such figure of his career.

If you are a free subscriber who is enjoying these posts, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. 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.

Milestones

James appeared in his 1,477th regular season game, breaking a tie with Karl Malone for sixth place on the NBA’s all-time list. James has scored in double figures in all but eight of those games, six of them coming in his rookie season.
Nikola Vucevic scored 23 points and snagged a team-high 12 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls edged the Utah Jazz 119-117. He surpassed 15,000 career points, becoming the 20th active player to reach that mark. The only players in that group with more rebounds than Vucevic’s 9,246 are LeBron James (11,062) and Kevin Love (9,357).
Lakers center Anthony Davis recorded his 50th double-double of the season, scoring 14 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in a loss to the Kings. That matches Davis’ career high for double-doubles set in the 2017-18 season with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Stephen Curry produced game highs of 29 points and eight rebounds to go with five assists as the Golden State Warriors pounded the Milwaukee Bucks 125-90. Curry increased his career assist total to 6,030, breaking a tie with former Warrior Baron Davis (6,025) to take over sole possession of 40th place on the NBA’s all-time list.
Curry made six of his 10 attempts from 3-point range to raise his league-leading total to 287, the 10th-highest single-season figure in NBA history. Curry occupies seven of the top-12 spots on the NBA’s list for most 3-pointers made in a season.
Damian Lillard scored 20 points in the Bucks’ loss to the Warriors, increasing his career total to 20,794. Lillard moved past David Robinson (20,790) and into 44th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

Streaking

The Kings’ Domantas Sabonis recorded his 22nd triple-double of the season and 44th consecutive double-double, compiling 16 points, a game-high 20 rebounds, and a team-high 12 assists in a win over the Lakers. Sabonis tied Moses Malone (1982-83) for the third-longest such streak since the ABA-NBA merger. The top two double-double streaks over that span belong to Kevin Love (53 games) and Malone (51).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander extended his streak of 20-point games to 22, scoring a game-high 37 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Portland Trail Blazers 128-120. Gilgeous-Alexander shot 13-23 from the field and made 11 of his 12 free throws.
Lillard has made at least one 3-pointer in each of his last 136 regular season games, the third-longest such streak in NBA history. The top two 3-point streaks belong to Curry (268 and 157 games).
Team(s) with winning streaks of five or more games: Orlando Magic (five).
Team(s) with losing streaks of five or more games: Washington Wizards (16).
The Wizards’ 16-game losing skid matches the longest such streak in franchise history (March 3-30, 2010). They are just the third team in NBA history to allow at least 2,000 points over a 16-game span, all losses. The others are the 2022-23 San Antonio Spurs and the 2023-24 Detroit Pistons.

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.

Fox paced all scorers last night with a career-high-tying 44 points. He was followed by Gilgeous-Alexander (37), the Thunder’s Jalen Williams (31), James (31), and the Memphis Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr. (30).
Sabonis led the night’s board brigade with 20 rebounds. Next up were the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Jarrett Allen (19), Sengun (season-high 19), and the Thunder’s Chet Holmgren (career-high 14).
Sengun was the top playmaker last night, handing out a career-high 14 assists. Three other players recorded double-digit dimes: James (13), Sabonis (12), and the Orlando Magic’s Paolo Banchero (10).
Jackson Jr. tallied 30 points, 11 rebounds, and six blocks in the Grizzlies’ 115-109 win over the Philadelphia 76ers. He’s just the fourth player in franchise history to record at least 30 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks in a game, joining Bryant Reeves (twice), Pau Gasol (twice), and Marc Gasol.
Jackson Jr. made just 10 of his 25 shots from the floor (40.0%). The last player to record a 30-point, 10-rebound, 5-block game with a field goal percentage of 40% or lower was Patrick Ewing on March 2, 1999.
The Golden State Warriors became just the third team in NBA history to lose a game by 35 or more points and then follow that up with a win by 35 or more points. The Warriors lost to the Boston Celtics 140-88 on Sunday and beat the Bucks 125-90 last night. The two other teams to accomplish this feat are the 1966-67 Los Angeles Lakers (Nov. 11 & 12, 1966) and the 2019-20 Indiana Pacers (Feb. 23 & 25, 2020).