Flying high to 51.
Cooper Flagg just threw down the NBA’s first 50-piece from a teenager ever.
Read on to learn all about last night’s impact on postseason positioning and get set for today’s Wemby-Joker showdown.
5 STORIES IN TODAY’S EDITION
April 4, 2026
Sizzling 5-Seeds: Hotlanta, Houston extend Friday’s longest win streaks with 140+ point eruptions
Flagg Scores 51: Rook nets NBA’s youngest 50-piece, but Orlando keeps up with Charlotte in East Play-In race
Bubble Battle: Sixers top Wolves in clash of 6-seeds, stay ahead of 7th-place Raptors for final Playoff spot
Friday Roundup: JB & JT guide Celtics, Knicks step up, Fears sets another NBA youth record
Saturday On Prime: Wemby and Joker’s first matchup this season, with longest-active win streaks on the line
BUT FIRST
Three games, big stakes
Saturday’s 3-game focus features a Prime matinee between the streaking Spurs and Nuggets (3 ET | Tap To Watch), and an NBA TV nightcap between the Pistons and Sixers (7 ET | Tap To Watch).
Latest On Luka: Lakers’ Dončić will miss the remainder of the regular season with a left hamstring strain, the team announced Friday.
WNBA Expansion Draft: Ahead of their inaugural seasons in 2026, the Toronto Tempo and Portland Fire each selected 11 players in Friday’s Expansion Draft. View the results here.
1. 5-SEEDS STAY HOT: HAWKS, ROCKETS DROP 140+ TO EXTEND STREAKS
The red-hot Hawks are rolling with the East’s longest active win streak amid their best stretch of basketball in over 10 years.
Hawks 141, Nets 107: Atlanta got out to a 10-0 start and never let up, with CJ McCollum (25 pts, 7 ast) leading the way, Nickeil Alexander-Walker (21 pts, 3 blk) staying hot and Jalen Johnson (18 pts, 11 reb, 5 ast) doing a bit of everything for a 4th straight win. | Recap
Hottest In A Decade: Seven Hawks reached double figures and 14 of 15 scored to extend an 18-2 hot streak that’s good for 5-seed Atlanta’s best 20-game stretch since 2015
Straight across the standings in the West’s 5-slot, Houston’s won five in a row to keep pace with San Antonio (W11) and Denver’s (W7) winning ways.
Rockets 140, Jazz 106: Kevin Durant (25 pts, 5 reb, 6 ast, 8-12 FG) propelled Houston to a fifth straight win, flanked by 40 more points from Amen Thompson (21 pts, 8 reb, 4 ast) and Alperen Sengun (19 pts, 5 ast) to match the team’s highest score and largest win margin (+34) of the season. | Recap
2. FLAGG’S 51: ROOK’S CAREER-HIGH DOESN’T SLOW MAGIC IN PLAY-IN RACE
A 50+ point NBA first.
Magic 138, Mavericks 127: Cooper Flagg (51 pts, 6 reb, 6 3s) became the first teenager in NBA history to reach 50 points in a game, pouring in 24 of Dallas’ 35 4th-quarter points, but couldn’t catch the Magic.
Led by Wendell Carter Jr. (28 pts) and Desmond Bane (27 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast), all five Orlando starters scored in double figures for 102 combined points, as the Magic maintained a double-digit lead throughout the 2nd-half. | Recap
“It just speaks to who I am and the confidence I have in myself,” Flagg said of his 51-point night. “Just the improvement. Grinding, getting better all year long.”
Bucket Getters: Flagg is the first rookie with a 50-piece since Brandon Jennings in 2009. He joins Jennings and Allen Iverson as the only rookies to score 50+ and hit 5+ 3s in a game
Fifty, Efficiently: Shooting 63.3 FG% (19-30), Flagg’s performance is the most efficient 50-ball from a rookie since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1970
With AI Again: This was the third time Coop crossed the 40-point mark this season, the most by a rookie since Iverson had five 40-pieces in 1996-97
9-seed Orlando moved a full game ahead of 10th-place Miami in the East, now within a half-game of 8th-place Charlotte.
Franz Delivers: On his second night back after missing 22 games (ankle), Franz Wagner (18 pts) had his best scoring performance since the NBA Berlin Game on Jan. 15
Hornets 129, Pacers 108: Brandon Miller (22 pts, 4 3s) and Kon Knueppel (20 pts, 3 3s) led six double-digit Hornets scorers in a barrage of 24 made 3-pointers to clear Pascal Siakam (30 pts, 7 reb) and the Pacers. | Recap
Piling 3-Pointers: Buzz City shot past 20 made 3s for the 14th time this season, improving to 12-2 when they do. They tie Golden State for the 2nd-most games of 20+ triples this season
Charlotte remains in 8th place in the East, 1.5 games back of the 7-seed Raptors, and at 42-36, has secured its first finish of .500-or-better since 2021-22
3. EAST BUBBLE: SIXERS WIN 6-SEED CLASH, STAY AHEAD OF 7TH-PLACE RAPS
Sixers 115, Wolves 103: Paul George (23 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast), Tyrese Maxey (21 pts, 6 reb, 8 ast) and Joel Embiid (19 pts, 13 reb, 7 ast) teamed up again, combining for 63 points to outlast Julius Randle (21 pts, 7 reb) and the Wolves. | Recap
Thriving In The 3rd: Embiid paired with Maxey (17 pts) for 30 points in Philly’s 42-24 3rd-quarter blitz, which gave them the lead for good after rattling off a 15-1 close to the period
Kelly Oubre Jr. (21 pts, 4 3s) sealed the game with back-to-back triples in the final 70 seconds, capping a big night and denying the Wolves’ 18-7 last-ditch run
PG’s Red-Hot Return: Paul George has scored under 20 points just once in his five-game return, averaging 27.0 ppg on 50.0/42.6 shooting splits
Ant Back In: Anthony Edwards returned from illness, chipping in 8 points in 26 limited minutes
Six vs. Six: The Sixers remain 6th in the East, 1.5 games back from 5th, while the TWolves drop to 2 full games behind the 5th-place Rockets in the West
Raptors 128, Grizzlies 96: RJ Barrett (25 pts, 4 3s) led six Raps in double figures past GG Jackson’s game-high 30 points and the Grizz, as 7th-place Toronto trailed by no more than 1 point in stopping a two-game skid to keep pace with the Sixers in 6th. | Recap
BI With Franchise Faves: Brandon Ingram (17 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast) has surpassed 1500+ points, 400+ rebounds and 250+ assists this season, joining Vince Carter and Pascal Siakam as the only Raptors to do so in a single season
4. ROUNDUP: WINS FOR EAST ELITES KNICKS & CELTICS, KINGS CLIP PELS
Knicks 136, Bulls 96: OG Anunoby (31 pts, 8 reb, 7-10 3FG) led all scorers, Mitchell Robinson (17 pts, 11 reb, 7-7 FG) didn’t miss while starting in place of KAT (elbow), and Jalen Brunson (17 pts, 10 ast) returned from a one-game absence (ankle) for New York’s 50th win of the season. | Recap
What A Run: New York ignited for 20 straight points on the way to a 38-16 1st quarter, a 78-point half, and a third 40+ point win this season
50/50/50: The Knicks reach 50 wins for the third season in a row, their longest streak of 50+ win seasons since 1991-94
Holding tight in 3rd place in the East, New York stretches its advantage to 1.5 games over the 4-seed Cavs
Celtics 133, Bucks 101: Jaylen Brown (26 pts) guided the C’s scoring and Jayson Tatum (23 pts, 11 reb, 9 ast) was a dime shy of a second straight triple-double as Boston started hot and never trailed in topping Taurean Prince (18 pts) and the Bucks. | Recap
Getting Comfortable: Tatum is averaging 26.5 ppg, 11.5 rpg and 8.3 apg in his last four games, 13 games into his return (Achilles)
More Early Fire: Boston drained eight of their first nine 3-point attempts in a 43-point 1st quarter, building a 17-point lead
Four games behind East-leading Detroit with five games remaining, the 2nd-place Celtics maintained their 1.5-game edge over the Knicks
Kings 117, Pelicans 113: Fresh off West Rookie of the Month honors, Maxime Raynaud (28 pts, 9 reb, 4 ast) paced the Kings offense and sank the eventual game-winning layup with 44.2 remaining to put away Jeremiah Fears (28 pts, 8 reb, 6 ast, 5 3s) and the Pelicans. | Recap
Another Youth Record: Fears (age 19) became the youngest player in NBA history to log 25+/5+/5+ in a game with 5+ made 3s, beating LaMelo Ball’s previous mark by 20 days
5. ON PRIME: STREAKS, COMEBACKS AND THE SEASON’S FIRST WEMBY-JOKER BATTLE
If you think you’ve seen it all at this point of the season, think again.
Two of the game’s most unique talents in Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokić collide today (3 ET, Prime), for the first time since Jan. 2025.
These transcendent bigs and their top-4 teams carry in the two longest-active win streaks in the league.
Winners of 11 straight, Wemby’s 2-seed Spurs are 27-2 in their last 29 games, seeking their best 30-game stretch in franchise history. One more win grants them their first 60+ win season since 2016-17
Seven W’s in a row have the 4th-place Nuggets a win away from their fourth straight 50+ win season, as they eye the No. 3 seed held by Los Angeles, one game ahead in the standings
“He’s a special player now. You need to do special or extra things to score against those guys,” Jokić said of Wemby. “He’s working hard and he’s still hungry. I think that’s a really good combination.”
By looking at new advanced metrics from Inside the Game, powered by AWS, we can quantify Joker and Wemby’s on-court impacts as two of the largest in the game this season.
Scoring Ringleader: Jokić leads the NBA in Offensive leverage (1.77), meaning his offensive contributions improve the Nuggets’ win% by 17.7%
Fire & Ice: Wemby’s defensive contributions lead the league in Defensive leverage, with his presence improving the Spurs’ win% by a whopping 29.3%
This is the 3rd matchup of four this season between Denver and San Antonio, with the teams splitting two contests Wembanyama was not available for, and each winner coming back late from 15+ point deficits:
Nov. 28: Devin Vassell shot 7-of-9 from 3 for a season-high 35 points and Julian Champagnie scored a then-season-high 25 as the Spurs roared back from an 18-point 3rd-quarter deficit
March 12: Jokić (31/20/12), Murray (39 pts, 7a) and the Nuggets overpowered Castle’s triple-double (30/11/10), as Denver came back from 20-down. Murray outscored the Spurs alone 13-12 (18-12 overall) in the final 5 minutes to seal the win. That was the last time San Antonio lost a game
Count On A Comeback? San Antonio leads the league with seven comeback wins of 15 or more points, while Denver is tied for the most 20+ point comebacks this season (2)
Now they’ll see each other twice in the season’s final eight days, starting today in the Mile High City, and again on the regular season finale April 12th.
Roundup: The Pistons visit the Sixers on NBA TV (7 ET), plus the Heat welcome the Wizards (3 ET).
