NBA
Jakob Pöltl achieved a personal best in points in the National Basketball Association (NBA) on Saturday (local time), but the new record was not enough for his Toronto Raptors to win. Despite 35 points from the 29-year-old center, the Canadians lost to the Boston Celtics in overtime 123:126. The Celtics’ home win was only determined in the final second.
In any case, it wasn’t Pöltl’s fault: in addition to the 35 points, there were twelve rebounds for the seventh double-double of the season. A steal in 37:14 minutes on the floor rounded off the statistics. Another new record for the local NBA pioneer was 16 hits from the field. Only three of Pöltl’s throws did not find their target on Saturday at the TD Garden. In addition to the center, RJ Barrett also shone in the Raptors’ uniform, scoring double figures for the first time in his career with 25 points, ten rebounds and 15 assists.
The fact that the Canadians suffered their seventh defeat in a row and their eighth abroad was ultimately due to Jayson Tatum. The forward scored the final score from distance with the final siren of extra time. He scored 24 points for the defending champions, while Jaylen Brown scored 27.
Pöltl: “It was a tough game for us”
In the ORF interview, Pöltl struggled with how the game went, although he was happy with his performance: “Unfortunately, that was a tough game for us. We gave everything in a difficult game against the reigning champions and presented ourselves very well. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough in the end. One or two shots didn’t fall, and they made a tough shot to win.”
“It went quite well for me, I had a good feeling in my wrist. It’s all the more unfortunate that we didn’t win. For me personally, I hope that things continue to go well and that I can play well,” said the Viennese.
Despite Pöltl’s recent top performance, Toronto is the only one of the 30 NBA teams to remain winless away from home and has a 2:12 record overall. The next chance for success is on Monday against the Indiana Pacers with former Raptors player Pascal Siakam.
Lakers celebrate labor victory in New Orleans
The Los Angeles Lakers struggled to a 104-99 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday. Anthony Davis scored 31 points and 14 rebounds. LeBron James scored 21 points. The Dallas Mavericks defeated the San Antonio Spurs, who were without young star Victor Wembanyama (knee bruise), 110:93. Kyrie Irving and Daniel Gafford each scored 22 points for the Mavs.
