Wizards 133 – Pacers 123
Kristaps Porzingis finally debuted with the Washington Wizards. The Latvian, who had not played a single minute in the entire month of February, was on court 21 in his debut with the capitals, but it was more than enough time for his impact on the game to be noticed: 25 points with great percentages shooting. A performance that helped his team beat the Indiana Pacers in which Malcolm Brogdon scored 27 points. The Wizards are two wins away from three teams, the Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks, all of whom are in play-in spots.
Rockets 123 – Girzzlies 112
The surprise of the night came in Houston, where the Rockets received the fashionable team of the NBA, some Grizzlies that premiered their brand new second position in the West. Since they have lost after falling to a rival who had 12 consecutive losses. That streak ended and it did so after the Rockets had to overcome a 14-point deficit before halftime, when it seemed that the game would inevitably fall on the side of Memphis. This time there was no miracle from Ja Morant (22 points but poor percentages). Kevin Porter Jr. (29 points) and Christian Wood (28 and 13 rebounds), the best in the locals.
Thunder 103 – Jazz 116
Bojan Bogdanovic was the absolute protagonist in Oklahoma when equaling the individual record of triples in a game of the Utah Jazz. The Croatian got 11 (in 18 attempts). He is the first player in NBA history to make 11 shots and all of them are 3-pointers. The Thunder focused on stopping the all-star pairing Mitchell-Gobert, but left the forward very loose on many of the 3s he made. Important victory for the Jazz, who have the Mavs hot on their heels in the fight for fourth place, but they also see Warrios and Grizzlies quite close (two games).
Cavs 104 – Raptors 96
The Cavs won a very important game (now they have three wins over the Raptors and if they had lost they would have been left with a one-win lead), but they sure didn’t celebrate too much because bad luck hits them again. Jarrett Allen, starting center who this year has played his first All Star, has broken a finger during the match and according to a source quoted by journalist Shams Charania, he is expected to be out indefinitely. Another hard blow for a team that has done everything in its power to complete a great season, and that is how the Cavs are going, but injury after injury is going to be much less than it could have been. . The Raptors, meanwhile, lose the seventh game of the last ten and are getting closer to having to earn their place in the playoffs through the play-in.
Nuggets 138 – Pelicans 130
Nikola Jokic put in 30 of his 46 points between the fourth quarter and overtime to rescue a team that was out of the game. The Pelicans’ streak, snapped. Read the chronicle here.
Clippers 93 – Knicks 116
The New York Knicks’ seven-game losing streak is over. It was in Los Angeles, in a surprisingly good game for those from the Big Apple, who used great scoring starts in the second and fourth quarters to put land in the middle with the Clippers. RJ Barrett, with 24 points and 9 rebounds, was the best on the visitors.
