Dallas (2-1) almost had to win in Denver (1-2) in order not to give up early in the NBA Cup and thanks to a furious final phase, this was achieved. At the start of the third quarter, the guests were still ahead by 24 points before Denver turned up the heat and was suddenly five points ahead again with three minutes left.
Nikola Jokic (33 points, 13/22 FG, 17 rebounds, 10 assists) was back in the game for Denver and led his team back into the game. In the end, Dallas was able to stop the three-time MVP, including Dereck Lively II (11), who breathed new life into Dallas with two blocks in crunch time. Dallas took the lead again with a 9-0 run, after which it was Naji Marshall (26, 11/15) who gave the Mavs the decisive advantage with a heavy layup with 18 seconds left.
Luka Doncic was missing again, but other role players besides Marshall, PJ Washington (22, 13 rebounds) and Quentin Grimes (14), shone. Kyrie Irving (19, 7/19) had good moments, but wasn’t dominant either.
Golden State (3-0) remains first in Group C West, but they struggled for a long time in New Orleans. The Warriors were also very lucky that Trey Murphy III couldn’t score after a turnover by Draymond Green, which would have given them the lead with four seconds left. Instead, Green made everything clear in return from the free throw line.
Andrew Wiggins scored 30 points for the Warriors, Stephen Curry (19, 6/13) remained rather pale. Daniel Theis played 18 minutes as a starter for the Pelicans and had three points (1/5 FG), five rebounds and three blocks.
NBA: Schröder with Nets almost out
The Nets sniffed at a win in Philadelphia for a long time, but the Sixers were again without Joel Embiid, who was missing with swelling in his knee. The guests were still in the lead in the middle of the fourth quarter, but then the two guards Tyrese Maxey (26, 11/17) and rookie Jared McCain (30, 11/20) turned things up. The duo scored 19 points in a row for the hosts, while Brooklyn only scored eight points in the last eight minutes.
The red-hot Cam Johnson (37, 9/13 threes) also didn’t have a counterattack ready for the Nets, while Dennis Schröder (8, 3/7, 7 assists, 7 TO) didn’t have a good evening this time. Backcourt partner Cam Thomas (18, 6/15) also had seven turnovers. Group A in the East is still led by Orlando and New York (both 2-0), both teams had no games this time.
In Group B of the Eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks (2-0) took the lead with a win against Indiana, with Giannis Antetokounmpo (37, 14/21, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) achieving a triple-double. For the Bucks, who have recently been in crisis, it was the fifth win from the last six games, while the trend for the Pacers is pointing in the other direction.
Last year the Pacers had won eight of eleven games against Indiana, this time it was a start-to-finish victory for Milwaukee, who hit 47 percent of their threes (17/36). Gary Trent Jr. converted six long-distance throws coming off the bench, Damian Lillard recorded a double-double with 24 points and 13 assists. Pascal Siakam (25, 8 rebounds) was the top scorer for Indiana.
NBA: Celtics win lackluster
In Group C, the Boston Celtics (2-1) kept their chance of advancing, while the Washington Wizards (0-2) had a mediocre performance. Jayson Tatum didn’t make a single three-pointer (0/10), but still put up 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Finals MVP Jaylen Brown (31) pulled the coals out of the fire; his jumper shortly before the end was ultimately the preliminary decision.
The Celtics also benefited from the mistake of the Atlanta Hawks (2-1), who sensationally won in Boston at the start. The Hawks lost in Chicago (1-1), so three teams in Group C with Atlanta, Boston and Cleveland could win the group. Even Chicago still has a chance.
In the West, the Houston Rockets (2-0) currently have the best cards in Group A, while the Texans had no problems against Portland (1-1). Dillon Brooks (28) converted six of his eight three-pointers, and Tari Eason (22) shone coming off the bench. The forward had a plus-minus rating of +33 in 22 minutes, and Amen Thompson (10, 11 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks) also filled the box score.
In the other game of the group, the LA Clippers (1-1) prevailed against Sacramento. This game was also quite one-sided, as the Kings (0-2) hardly managed to do anything offensively. As a team, the guests only shot 38.6 percent from the field, so the Clippers still won easily with a weak three-point percentage of 24 percent. James Harden had 22 points and nine assists, but posted poor percentages (5/18 FG, 2/10 three-pointers).