The Los Angeles Lakers show morale in Miami, but ultimately lose. The Wagner brothers both play great and tease the front runner in the East. The Golden State Warriors win the top game in the west – despite a weak Stephen Curry.
New York Knicks (23-24) – L.A. Clippers (23-25) 110:102 (BOXSCORE)
- After the last three sometimes disastrous home defeats in a row, the Knicks were able to reconcile a little with their home crowd against the Clippers. The much criticized Julius Randle also showed increasing form, the power forward scored 24 points (8/15 FG, 3/7 three), 9 rebounds and 5 assists in 40 minutes. The 7 ball losses were the small blemish of his good performance.
- Both teams started unusually hot for the early tip-off (1 p.m. local time), the hosts hit eight of their first eleven triples, with the Clippers it was at least 60 percent (6/10) in the first twelve minutes. Of course, the players couldn’t keep that up, in the second half both teams didn’t even hit 35 percent from the field.
- The Knicks had a double-digit lead early on and never gave it up. In the fourth section, the lead temporarily increased to 14 points. The best break was once again RJ Barrett (28, 14 rebounds, 6 assists), while Cam Reddish, who recently came from Atlanta via Trade, was used for the first time. In just over five minutes, 2 points and 2 rebounds were recorded for the forward.
- In the case of the Clippers, Reggie Jackson (26, 10/18 FG, 5 assists) in particular defended himself, otherwise the guests lost the game on the free-throw line (only 20/30 FT) and on the boards (40:52). Ivica Zubac (17, 14 boards) posted a good double-double, while Isaiah Hartenstein (1 rebound, 1 block) was only allowed to play just under four minutes in the first half this time. Instead, Serge Ibaka (9, 4/6, 5 rebounds) got the lion’s share of backup minutes on the five.
Washington Wizards (23-24) – Boston Celtics (24-24) 87:116 (BOXSCORE)
- throwing crisis? Jayson Tatum quickly pushed this topic aside in the capital. Before the game, the Celtics All-Star had missed all of his last 20 three-pointers, while the Wizards had the top four. With 31 points, the forward also set a season record, no player had so many points this season after 24 minutes.
- And who knows, maybe the career high of 60 points would have wobbled if the game had been open a little longer. At the end of the third quarter, the visitors from Boston already led by 22 points, Tatum had 48, but came back just a good 180 seconds with seven minutes left. In the end it was 51 points (18/28 FG, 9/14 threes, 6/6 FT, plus 10 rebounds, 7 assists) in just under 33 minutes, with the nine converted threes being a personal best.
- “When you miss that many throws and you know what you’re capable of, sometimes you just have to laugh about it,” Tatum said of his slump. “It’s so simple, sometimes you just miss throws. There are a lot of games.”
- It was the best game for the Celtics in weeks, who also played defensively. For most of the time, the Wizards stayed under 40 percent out of the field, and Bradley Beal (19, 7/17, 7 assists) could do little to change that. The hosts stayed cold, especially from a distance, with only Kyle Kuzma (12) and Thomas Bryant (11) scoring more than one try (8/34 as a team).
- Boston had all players on board for the first time in what felt like forever, in addition to Tatum, Jaylen Brown (18, 4/9 threes, 10 boards) and Marcus Smart (11, 6 assists, 4 steals) did their job well. Dennis Schröder (7, 2/5 FG, 5 assists) remained quite inconspicuous in his 22 minutes.
Orlando Magic (9-39) – Chicago Bulls (28-17) 114:95 (BOXSCORE)
- Surprise in Orlando and mainly responsible for it were the Wagner brothers. Moritz Wagner was the Magic’s top scorer with 23 points (9/13 FG, 4 assists) and also benefited from Mo Bamba’s early foul problems, who was subsequently penalized by Magic coach Jamahl Mosley. Franz Wagner contributed another 18 points (7/14 FG) and 5 assists in 38 minutes, among other things, there was also the direct brother connection to see.
- The focus was mostly on the older Wagner, who could annoy ex-Magic star Nikola Vucevic again and again. The Berlin offensive fouled several times against the Bulls center, which frustrated 3:30 minutes before the end with 13 points (4/19 FG, 13 rebounds). It just wasn’t the Montenegrin’s evening, although decimated Bulls urgently needed the center.
- Chicago played just 10 assists in the entire game, and it wasn’t until the middle of the third quarter before any of the visitors’ benchers scored. Instead, most of the time it was the one-man show by DeMar DeRozan (41, 15/21 FG), who cracked 40 points for the first time in the Bulls jersey. Otherwise, only Coby White (22, 8/18) scored in double digits.
- Orlando temporarily led by 20 points in the third quarter before the Bulls responded with a 13-0 run. But the hosts had an answer, including enthusiastic No.5 pick Jalen Suggs (15, 7 assists) with that dunk over DeRozan. Cole Anthony (11, 4/13), on the other hand, played a little more inconspicuously, Wendell Carter Jr. put up 19 points and 7 rebounds.
- “We work so hard in the first half, which we’ve done a lot in the past, but we have to get better at breaking the opposing team and not bringing them back into the game after the break,” revealed Moritz Wagner recipe for success.
