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What you missed on the night in the NFL, NBA and NHL
Leon Draisitl.
Foto: dpa/Corey Sipkin
Düsseldorf While most Europeans are asleep, the North American professional leagues are buzzing. What Happened That Night in American Football, Basketball, and Ice Hockey. Among other things today: Leon Draisaitl for the third time in the NHL All-Star Team.
Basketball: Antetokounmpo convinces in a duel with Curry
Basketball superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Milwaukee Bucks to a convincing win over title contenders the Golden State Warriors in the North American professional league NBA. The previous year’s champion prevailed with 118: 99, the Bucks had already led with 39 points at the break. Antetokounmpo came up with a triple double with 30 points, twelve rebounds and eleven assists.
For the highly traded Warriors it was the fourth defeat in the last five games, the gap to the Phoenix Suns at the top of the Western Conference is getting bigger. Superstar Stephen Curry remained pale with twelve points, Andrew Wiggins was the best thrower with 16 points.
The Brooklyn Nets, again weakened in terms of personnel, were clearly defeated 109: 130 in their own hall Oklahoma City Thunder. Vaccine skeptic Kyrie Irving was absent again due to the regulation in New York, Kevin Durant was spared. Of the “Big Three” of the Nets, only James Harden was on the field and scored 26 points.
Basketball: Bucks clearly beat Warriors in NBA – Nets lose without Durant
NBA championship favorites Golden State Warriors suffered an unexpectedly clear defeat against defending champions Milwaukee Bucks. The Warriors lost 99:118 against Giannis Antetokounmpo’s team on Thursday evening (local time) and were already 39 points behind at half-time. While the Greek Antetokounmpo put on a triple double with 30 points, twelve rebounds and eleven assists, the Warriors professionals all remained pale. The best scorer for the guests was Andrew Wiggins with 16 points, Steph Curry had 12 points and Klay Thompson eleven.
It was only the 11th loss of the season for the Warriors, putting them slightly further behind the Phoenix Suns at the top of the Western Conference about halfway into the season. The Bucks, on the other hand, stayed close to the top of the Eastern Conference and closed the gap to the fourth-placed Brooklyn Nets after an unexpected loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Without the rested Kevin Durant, the Nets conceded a 109:130 in front of their own audience, in front of which Kyrie Irving is not allowed to appear because he has not been vaccinated against the corona virus. James Harden was the only player among the three top stars, scoring 26 points.
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34 pics That’s how the NFL teams get their names
Foto: AP/Charles Krupa
Football: No doubt about the Super Bowl in Los Angeles despite the Corona numbers
For the NFL and the organizers, the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles is not an option, despite the increasing number of corona infected people in the area. The National Football League and local organizers made that clear on Thursday, a month before the Feb. 13 game. “All of our plans for the Super Bowl remain unchanged,” said NFL director Katie Keenan. “We’re working with everyone here, with the LA Department of Health, to make sure all of our events are safe.”
At the 56th edition of the Super Bowl, the final for the NFL championship will be played in the southern California metropolis for the eighth time. The first Super Bowl at the downtown Coliseum went to the Green Bay Packers in 1967.
Opened in 2020, SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, an independent city south of the LA city limits, is home to the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers. In the 17 games of this season, there was a vaccination and mask requirement for visitors, but both teams consistently exhausted the capacity of the stadium, which holds more than 70,000 spectators. Only a few universities in Southern California recently limited the capacity of their home games, but did so on their own initiative.
The NFL playoffs begin next weekend. The Rams are still in the game and could play in their Super Bowl stadium like defending champions Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year.
Ice hockey: Leon Draisaitl for the third time in the NHL All-Star team
Leon Draisaitl is the only German ice hockey professional to be selected for the NHL All-Star Team. The Edmonton Oilers forward is one of 36 players scheduled to play in a mini-tournament in Las Vegas on February 4-5. One more player per team is added by votes from fans. None of the other German professionals in the National Hockey League is available for selection. For the 26-year-old Draisaitl from Cologne, it is the third time that he is one of the NHL All-Stars. The Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin has the most of any pro selected this time with eight appearances.
Ice hockey: NHL talent Reichel celebrates successful debut for Chicago
Ice hockey talent Lukas Reichel has celebrated a successful debut in the NHL. The 19-year-old attacker clocked 15:55 ice time in his first game for the Chicago Blackhawks, and his team won 3-2 in overtime against the Montreal Canadiens. Although Reichel did not have a scorer point, he still gave three shots on goal. After six losses in a row, Chicago has now won three times and could rely on goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 27 saves.
On the other hand, national player Moritz Seider and his Detroit Red Wings are not doing well at all. In the 3-0 loss to the Winnipeg Jets, the team conceded their fourth bankruptcy in a row. “It’s frustrating because we had a lot of chances but we didn’t take them,” Detroit captain Dylan Larkin said. “We’re making progress, but we have to find a way to turn them into results.”
The Blackhawks picked Reichel 17th in the 2020 draft. In the summer, the former Berliner signed his NHL contract with the former Stanley Cup winner, but shortly before the start of the season he was first sent to the Rockford IceHogs in the American Hockey League. Reichel drew attention to himself there, becoming his team’s top scorer with 20 goals in 20 games.
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