The Warriors forget the heavy knockout with Milwaukee and overwhelm Chicago, Suns ok on the Pacers
In the Nba night, he redeems himself Golden State: after the beating against Milwaukee, the Warriors overwhelm Chicago 138-96. At the top in the West there is always Phoenix, who passes 112-94 on the Pacers field. Danilo Gallinari scores 18 points but Atlanta still loses 124-118 in Miami, while after eleven straight victories Memphis stops, beaten 112-85 at home by Dallas. Philadelphia and Cleveland smile, knocking out Boston (111-99) and San Antonio (114-109).
CHICAGO BULLS-GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS 96-138
Golden State forgets the terrible performance against Milwaukee and overwhelms Chicago with a final 138-96. Curiously, the ways in which the Warriors knock out the Bulls are almost the same as the knockout remedied against the defending champions: at the end of the first half, in fact, Curry and his teammates are at 78-41, against the 77-38 of the long interval of the Fiserv Forum. In short, the game ends well before the siren, as the advantage of Kerr’s team in the second half increases. With Klay Thompson resting and Curry improving his shooting (7/15 and 4/10 from the bow for a total of 19 points), the undisputed driver of Golden State is Kuminga, who finds a monstrous performance: 25 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks and a sensational 10/12 from the field, with the two errors coming from the arc (2/4). Numbers that, combined with Poole’s 22 and Wiggins’ 21, frustrate the efforts of the Bulls, which do not go beyond White’s 20 and Vucevic’s double double (19 with 14 rebounds), with DeRozan stopped at 17. The worst news , however, it is the knee injury of Zach LaVine, who comes out after less than 4 minutes of play. Chicago loses for the second time in a row (third in the last four) but stays first in the East, while Golden State is second in the West one game away from Phoenix.
INDIANA PACERS-PHOENIX SUNS 94-112
The Suns beat Indiana at home and confirmed themselves first in the Western Conference thanks to a 112-94 which matured especially in the final. The runners-up in office, in fact, close the long interval ahead 46-38 (with two identical quarters from 23-19), while at the end of the third the advantage is only 4 points (80-76). They are the 32-18 of the last period and a super Devin Booker (35 points with 6/13 from the perimeter and 11/25 from the field) to give the victory to the Williams team, who can also enjoy a Deandre Ayton in double double a 27 with 12 rebounds, with Chris Paul who stops at 12 with 9 assists and Payne who closes at 11. Big disappointment, however, among the ranks of Indiana: only three players go into double figures. The best is Holiday, who tries to keep the Pacers alive with 25 points and 7 triples, while LeVert stops at 20 and Sabonis does not go beyond 14 with 14 rebounds. Phoenix is confirmed as the team with the best record of the whole NBA (32-9) and remains ahead of the Warriors, while Indiana remedies the third knockout in a row and always remains third from last in the Eastern Conference.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES-DALLAS MAVERICKS 85-112
It takes a super Luka Doncic to end Memphis’s winning streak. After eleven consecutive victories, the Grizzlies stop, beaten at home 112-85 by Dallas and by a great performance by the Slovenian, who achieves a triple double of 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, as well as an excellent 12/22 shooting despite not getting points from the arc (0/6). Numbers that, for once, overshadow those of Ja Morant, who also shoots 8/15 from the field and ends his evening with 19 points. This time, however, they are not enough, because a second half from 62-30 knocks out Memphis, with Bane at 16 who is the shoulder to Morant but without giving the twelfth success in a row to his team. Among the ranks of the Mavs, on the other hand, 7 of the 8 players scored go in double figures: in addition to Doncic, Hardaway stops at 16, while there are 15 for Brunson and Chriss and 13 for Finney-Smith and Powell, with Bullock at 10. Memphis is now a record 30-15 and with three more games has the same win rate (0.667) as Utah at 28-14. Dallas, on the other hand, is confirmed fifth but with even 7 victories (but three games) less than the Grizzlies.
MIAMI HEAT-ATLANTA HAWKS 124-118
Miami takes full advantage of the Chicago knockout and hits the fourth success in a row by beating Atlanta 124-118: a result that allows the Heat to equalize the number of victories (27) of the Bulls, who, however, have two fewer games. Match with many changes in the result in the field, as well as from the uncertain trend until the end: Miami starts better and closes the first quarter on +10, but a great second period of the Hawks allows Young and his teammates to close the first half at 70- 64. The gap remains almost unchanged before the 12 minutes of play, in which however Miami comeback and with a partial of 30-19 stretches Atlanta. Despite the 18 points with 3/6 from the bow and 5/12 from the shot, Danilo Gallinari fails to avoid the ko to the Hawks. Coming off the bench very well, the Gallo equals his best performance of the season, but that’s not enough. Trae Young’s 24 points (7/13 from the field) are also useless, while Miami smiles thanks to Herro’s 24 points (4/8 from the perimeter) and Jimmy Butler’s 23 points, who with 10 assists allows himself the triple double. 7 of the 8 players who scored exceed 10 points: among these also PJ Tucker (17 as Yurtseven) and Lowry (13). Fourth defeat in a row for Atlanta, which moves further away from the valid placements for the post season.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS-BOSTON CELTICS 111-99
Ready redemption also for Philadelphia, who forgets the knockout with Charlotte and wins 111-99 at home against Boston, knocked out after three wins in a row. The Sixers smile thanks to a great start to the game, as the final +12 matures mainly thanks to the 32-14 in the first quarter and the +20 (55-35) at the end of the first half. Joel Embiid still proves to be the driver of Philadelphia with 25 points and 13 rebounds, with 8 shooting errors (7/15) including 5 from long range (2/7). Maxey’s 23 and Seth Curry and Tobias Harris’s 17 are enough to knock out Boston, which instead does not go beyond Brown’s 21 and Tatum’s 20, in double doubles with 11 rebounds as well as Robert Williams (12 with 14 rebounds). With this defeat, Boston temporarily moves away from the play-in area of the Eastern Conference: 21-22 the record of the Celtics, against 21-21 of the New York Knicks who, however, have one game less than Udoka’s men. Philadelphia, on the other hand, is confirmed fifth in the East, with the possibility given the three fewer games to hook the reigning champions of Milwaukee to the fourth.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS-CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 109-114
Cleveland smiles again, beating the Spurs in one stroke and off Charlotte in the playoff area. The Cavs, in fact, overtake San Antonio in the last quarter and take full advantage of the Hornets’ knockout against Orlando: if the Spurs, between the second and third period, complete the comeback after the initial +9 (35-26) of the guests, it is Bickerstaff’s men who overturn the result again with the 30-23 of the final 12 minutes and win 114-109. Cleveland hits the third win in a row and remains sixth stretching over Charlotte, while for the Spurs it is the fifth consecutive knockout, the ninth in the last ten games. The Cavs can smile thanks to a 32-point super Garland who arrive with 11 hits on 25 attempts and 4 triples (out of 8), but also Allen, in double doubles with 17 points and 16 rebounds, contributes to the success, with Mobley who closes at 15 and Osman at 14. The usual Dejounte Murray, 30 points and 14 rebounds, is not enough for Popovich’s team, with Johnson at 18 and Forbes at 15.
CHARLOTTE HORNETS-ORLANDO MAGIC 109-116
Bad stop for Charlotte, who after four consecutive wins loses 116-109 at home against the worst NBA team for performance in this first half of the Regular Season and lets Cleveland escape: the Hornets, to date, would play the play-in in the East for enter the playoffs. A knockout that matures especially in the last part of the game, given that in the first three quarters the hosts always impose themselves by one point (36-35, 27-26 and 28-27), but the Magic find a last period to 28-18 which proves decisive for the final victory. Orlando smiles thanks to a great performance by the Wagner brothers: Moritz scores 26 points by mistaking only 6 conclusions (11/17) and shooting with 50% (4/8) from the arc, while rookie Franz puts 19 on the scoresheet with 7 assists Numbers that obscure the trio of Charlotte composed of LaMelo Ball (23), Bridges (20) and Rozier (19), with Hayward (18) and Plumlee, in double double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, to delude the Hornets. Orlando, on the other hand, sends six players in double figures and returns to smile after ten knockouts in a row, but is still very last in the East with 8-35 records.
DETROIT PISTONS-TORONTO RAPTORS 103-87
Bad ko for Toronto, which after the defeat against the Suns loses again and gets beaten 103-87 by Detroit. In a match closed well before the final siren, the Pistons close the first half ahead of 13 points (56-43) and keep the Raptors at a distance until the end thanks to 21 points from Lyles and 18 from both Cunningham and by Diallo, with Bey and Jackson respectively at 15 and 13. Toronto, on the other hand, tries to cling to VanVleet (24 with 10 assists and 6/14 from the arc) and Siakam, in double double with 23 points and 11 rebounds, but only Anunoby and Boucher (16 and 10) exceed the double digits. With this knockout, Toronto slips to ninth place with a score of 20-19 and, with three games less than the Knicks and Celtics, it is not far from the eleventh place that does not allow the post season. Third success in the last four games for Detroit, which is confirmed, however, penultimate in the Eastern Conference.
SACRAMENTO KINGS-HOUSTON ROCKETS 126-114
The NBA night ends with Sacramento’s victory over Houston: 126-114 which allows the Kings to cancel a bad start (40-31 in favor of the Rockets) and to hit the second consecutive success after the 125-116 at the Lakers. The hosts recover in the rest of the match and already at the long interval (65-60) they are ahead of the guests, then the 61-54 of the second half does the rest. At the end of the game, there are 27 with 6 rebounds and 8 assists for De’Aaron Fox, with Bagley in double double at 26 with 13 rebounds and 12/20 shooting. Hield (19), Barnes (16) and Davis (14) also close in double figures, while among the ranks of Houston Christian Wood is the best with 26, Tate nearly double the triple (17 with 10 rebounds and 8 assists) and Gordon and Porter stop at 16, with Augustin and Green at 11 to complete the six players over 10 for the Rockets, knocking 32 in the Regular Season. Sacramento, on the other hand, overtakes Portland and enters the playoff zone with a score of 18-27: the Blazers, however, are at 16-25 and therefore with four games less than the team that, together with Memphis, has played the most (45 matches) between the 30 of the NBA.
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