Brooklyn complicates life: the Nets find themselves in 10th place in the East, synonymous with complicated dams outside, after their defeat in Atlanta (122-115), Saturday in the NBA, where Miami consolidated its leadership of the conference, beating Chicago.
Kevin Durant did everything, but his 55 points, including eight out of ten baskets from behind the arc (personal bests broken), didn’t change anything. Because apart from Kyrie Irving, in tune (31 pts), the rest of the team did not follow and once again the defense sinned with the New Yorkers, punished by Trae Young (36 pts, 10 passes).
And here are the Hawks climbing two ranks to 8th place and Brooklyn sliding two ranks lower. There are four games left for the Nets to reverse the positions, otherwise they will have to play, away from home, two play-off matches to hope to reach the play-offs in last position.
This scenario, if it materializes, would make them meet in the 1st round Miami, which consolidated its first place, by imposing itself in beefy at the Bulls (127-109).
Last week’s storm with four defeats in a row and as a bonus a clash between coach Erik Spoelstra and star Jimmy Butler is well forgotten. He may even have done some good, because the Florida collective is once again united and very solid, since six players finished between 13 and 22 points.
Opposite, the duo Zach LaViine (33 pts) DeMar DeRozan (26 pts) performed in vain.
Philadelphia, which has gone through a zone of turbulence with three defeats in a row and already questions about James Harden, reassured itself by crushing Charlotte (144-114), relying in particular on Joel Embiid.
– Warriors final fireworks display –
The Cameroonian pivot, engaged in the final sprint for the MVP trophy race, with current owner Nikola Jokic (Denver) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee) who was in 2019 and 2020, was dominant (29 points, 14 rebounds , 6 pass).
In its wake, the Sixers collective fired from behind the arc, since no less than 21 attempts (out of 43) hit the mark, a franchise record equaled.
In this favorable context, James Harden did not however particularly stand out, even if he was active and altruistic (12 pts, 13 assists, 8 rebounds). An offensive performance still below expectations, from the three-time leading scorer in the league (2018, 2019, 2020), which coach Doc Rivers did not hesitate to criticize, after the loss against Detroit on Thursday.
Philadelphia (4th in the East) will officially enter the play-offs on Sunday, in the event of victory over Cleveland, which is also seeking to qualify there, without going through the play-offs. But the Cavs have a good chance of playing them, because they currently occupy the 7th position, slightly behind Toronto (5th) and Chicago (6th).
Nevertheless, they did the job by winning (119-101) at Madison Square Garden, with the Knicks already out of the race, thanks in particular to Darius Garland (24 pts, 13 assists). New York side, Evan Fournier was in his standards (19 pts, 3 assists).
Finally in the West, Golden State (3rd), led by 13 points at the break, overthrew Utah (111-107), thanks to a fiery money-time during which the Warriors scored six consecutive award-winning baskets, inflicting a 18-0 fatal to Jazz (5th).
Klay Thompson scored eight alone over the entire match to finish with 36 pts, well supported by Jordan Poole (31 pts). Opposite, Rudy Gobert dominated inside (14 pts, 19 rebounds), in vain.
