118: Days since Denver last owned first place in the West (Nov. 16) before reclaiming the top spot on Wednesday

33: Number of consecutive buckets that Daniel Gafford has made, three shy of breaking Wilt’s record of 35

7: Games that had Playoff or Play-In implications on Wednesday

3: Legends passed by DeMar DeRozan on the all-time scoring list with his 46-point game

Let’s catch you up.

THE LINEUP 🏀

1. 📊 DEN 1st in West, 1st time in 118 days
2. 👑 Kings rise, Mavs win 4th straight
3. 📈 DeRozan nets 46, climbs all-time list
4. 🆚 Luka-SGA: Top 2 scorers meet
5. 3️⃣ Suns-Celtics: Trio of elite scorers

📺 Suns-Celtics (7:30 ET) and Mavs-Thunder (10 ET) meet on TNT tonight … with four more games in the NBA App, including Clippers-Bulls (8 ET) and Knicks-Blazers (10 ET)

1. NUGGETS CLIMB TO 1ST IN THE WEST

Nuggets win 4th straight: The Nuggets swept their two Finals rematches with the Heat thanks to big games from Michael Porter Jr. After scoring 30 in Denver’s win on Feb. 29, MPJ finished with 25 points, seven boards and five 3’s in Wednesday’s 100-88 win. Recap

• Star watch: Nikola Jokic (12 pts, 14 reb, 6 ast) and Aaron Gordon (16 pts, 8 reb) combined for 28 in the win, while Miami’s Bam Adebayo (17 pts, 13 reb) and Jimmy Butler (15 pts, 5 reb) totaled 32 in the Heat’s fourth-straight loss
• Denver coach Michael Malone: “We’re a family…we care for each other…the closest teams really do have a brotherhood”
• Playoff Race (DEN ⬆️): The Nuggets climb back to first in the West for the first time since Nov. 16, taking a half-game lead over OKC
• Play-In Race (MIA ↔️): The Heat remain in eighth in the East, one game back from sixth (Philly) and seventh (Indy)

Cavs snap Pelicans’ streak: Darius Garland (27 pts, 11 ast, 6 3s) and a returning Donovan Mitchell (14 pts, 5 ast, 4 3s) led the Cavs to a 116-95 win over the Pelicans to snap New Orleans’ four-game win streak. Zion Williamson (33) and Brandon Ingram (20) combined for 53 in the Pelicans loss. Recap

• Playoff Race (CLE ⬆️): The Cavs pull even with the Bucks at 42-24 and take over 2nd in the East via tiebreaker (better Central Division win percentage)
• Playoff Race (NOP ↔️): The Pelicans remain fifth in the West, but saw their lead over the No. 6 Kings and No. 7 Suns cut to one game

Magic never trail: Orlando ended a two-game slide with a wire-to-wire 114-106 win over the Nets. Paolo Banchero (21 pts, 9 ast) led seven Magic players in double-digit points in the win. Recap

• Playoff Race (ORL ↔️): The Magic remain fifth in the East but pull within a half-game of the Knicks for fourth

2. WEST PLAY-IN: KINGS RISE, MAVS WIN 4TH STRAIGHT

Kings climb to 6th: The Kings got 23 points and seven 3s from Harrison Barnes, 21 points from De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis’ league-leading 23rd triple-double (17 pts, 19 reb, 10 ast, 1 beam lit with the family) to defeat the Lakers 120-107. Recap

• Second sweep ever: The Kings swept the season series with the Lakers for just the second time in franchise history (2015-16)
• Reaves leads L.A.: Austin Reaves matched his career-high with seven 3s as he scored a game-high 28 points, while Anthony Davis added 22 points and LeBron James fell one dime shy of a triple-double (18 pts, 13 reb, 9 ast)
• Playoff Race (SAC ⬆️): The Kings pull even with the Suns at 38-27 and take over sixth place via tiebreaker (better Pacific Division win percentage)
• Play-In Race (LAL ↔️): The Lakers remain ninth in the West with a one-game lead over 10th-ranked Golden State, but fall 2.5 games back of eighth-ranked Dallas

Mavs win 4th straight: While Luka Doncic’s triple-double streak ended at seven games, the Mavs win streak continued with their fourth straight win. Kyrie Irving (23 pts, 8 reb, 10 ast) and Luka (21 pts, 9 ast) combined for 44 points to lead Dallas past Golden State, 109-99. Recap

• Gafford’s streak: Daniel Gafford went 5-of-5 for 10 points to improve to 33-of-33 over the past five games. If he makes his next three shots, he’ll break Wilt Chamberlain’s record for the most field goals made without a miss in a single season (35 in 1967)
• Luka’s early exit: Doncic left the game with 6:46 remaining in the fourth quarter with hamstring soreness and did not return
• Play-In Race (DAL ↔️): The Mavs stay eighth in the West, a half-game back of both the No. 6 Kings and No. 7 Suns, while increasing their lead over the No. 9 Lakers to 2.5 games
• Play-In Race (GSW ↔️): The Warriors remain 10th in the West, one game back of No. 9 L.A. and four games up on No. 11 Houston

3. ROUNDUP: DEROZAN DROPS SEASON-HIGH 46 PTS

DeRozan shines in OT thriller:  Rocking the Kobe 9 Beethovens, DeMar DeRozan composed a symphony on Wednesday night, scoring 18 of his season-high 46 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to lead the Bulls to a 132-129 win over the Pacers. Recap

• Turner put Indy up: Myles Turner hit back-to-back 3s to give Indy the lead with 55 seconds left. Pascal Siakam chased down Coby White for a rejection to preserve the lead. Until…

• DeRozan took over: DeMar hit a baseline fadeaway jumper off the inbounds that splashed through with 0.2 seconds left in regulation to force overtime, then scored nine of Chicago’s 15 points in OT. Watch the Finish
• Leaping legends: With his 46-point night, DeRozan passed Elgin Baylor, Dwyane Wade and Adrian Dantley to climb to 32nd on the NBA’s all-time scoring list
• Playoff Race (IND ⬇️): The Pacers drop from sixth to seventh in the East and into the Play-In field, elevating Philly to sixth
• Play-In Race (CHI ↔️): The Bulls remain ninth in the East, 3.5 games back of No. 8 Miami and 2.5 games up on No. 10 Atlanta

Simons, Ayton lead Blazers: Anfernee Simons (36 pts, 7 reb, 8 ast, 5 3s, 1 buzzer-beater) and Deandre Ayton (33 pts, 19 reb) combined for 69 points to lead the Blazers to a 106-102 win over the Hawks despite Dejounte Murray’s 40 points. Recap

• Play-In Race (ATL ↔️): The Hawks remain 10th in the East, 2.5 games behind No. 9 Chicago and 3.5 games up on No. 11 Brooklyn

20x20x3=Duren: Detroit’s Jalen Duren (24 pts, 23 reb, 5 ast) posted his league-leading third 20-20 game of the season to spearhead the Pistons to a 113-104 win over the Raptors. Recap

• A new landmark: Duren (3) passed Andre Drummond (2) for most 20-20 games in franchise history for a player age 20 or younger

Hornets handle Grizzlies: Miles Bridges (27 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast) and Vasilije Micic (25 pts, 8 ast) combined for 52 points to lead the Hornets to a 110-98 win over the Grizzlies. Recap

4. LUKA VS. SGA: TOP 2 SCORERS MEET IN OKC

The NBA’s top two scorers – Dallas’ Luka Doncic (34.3 ppg) and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31.1 ppg) – will meet for the third time this season tonight in OKC (10 ET, TNT).

• Luka’s status: Doncic left Dallas’ win over Golden State on Wednesday in the fourth quarter with hamstring soreness. Keep an eye on the injury report for the latest on his status for tonight’s game
• If Luka and SGA finish the season 1-2 in scoring, it would be the first time the NBA’s top two scorers were 25 or younger since Kevin Durant and LeBron James in 2009-10

While the teams split their first two games, Luka has the scoring advantage over SGA in these matchups. Luka has averaged a triple-double (34.0 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 13.5 apg), while Shai has been held to 21.0 ppg (his lowest scoring average against any opponent this season).

• Triple-Double streak: Luka had his seven game triple-double streak snapped on Wednesday. His 17 triple-doubles (including one against OKC on Dec. 2) rank third in the league
• 30 vs. everybody: SGA has scored at least 30 points against all but three teams so far this season and has a chance to finish that gauntlet run over the next 10 days: Dallas (tonight and Apr. 14), Toronto (Mar. 22) and Milwaukee (Mar. 24)

Luka and SGA rank 1-2 in isolation scoring this season, as both can orchestrate one-man shows that give opposing players and coaches fits. While both players score in a variety of ways, they each have a signature move they can unleash at any moment.

Luka’s step-back 3: Showcasing his handles and his footwork, Luka works his magic to create the separation he needs to launch from beyond the arc. Here are a few examples from this season:

SGA’s stop on a dime: Shai’s move is also predicated on handles and footwork, but adds a speed element that often leaves defenders frozen. The league-leader in drives (24 per game), Shai uses his speed to get defenders on their heels as he drives toward the basket.

Once the defender begins to retreat, Shai slams on the brakes to create the separation he needs to get off a jumper – often inside the paint or in the midrange. Here are a few examples:

5.  ELITE SCORERS MEET IN BOSTON

When the Celtics host the Suns tonight (7:30 ET, TNT), three of the top eight scorers in the league will share the court – Phoenix’s Kevin Durant (28.5 ppg, 4th) and Devin Booker (27.5 ppg, 6th) and Boston’s Jayson Tatum (27.0 ppg, 7th).

• That three of eight not only applies to this season
• When looking at all players through age 25, the same three players also rank in the top eight: Durant second, Tatum seventh and Booker eighth. Here’s the full list:

• Durant when asked how to slow down Tatum in 2022: “Oh, that’s a tough question. He’s one of those players, you just gotta play hard and see what happens. He’s just so talented and skilled and efficient at what he does. We gotta just play hard, man.”

Tatum scored a team-high 29 points to lead a balanced Celtics offense to a win over Durant and the Suns last Saturday. KD scored a season-high 45 in the loss – showing he’s just as unstoppable of a scorer at 35 as he was at 25 – as the Suns were without Booker (ankle).

Booker returned on Monday and dropped 27 points in a win at Cleveland to open a four-game road trip with the second stop in Boston.

Durant enters Thursday’s game needing 53 points to pass Shaquille O’Neal for eighth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. KD’s consistency has been key to his rise up the scoring ranks. His 27.3 career scoring average ranks fourth all-time among players with at least 500 games.

As Tatum and Booker progress from their mid 20s to their late 20s and into their 30s, can they follow the blueprint that Durant has drawn as one of the top scorers in NBA history?