NBA: Lakers lose crime in city duel against the Clippers

The Dallas Mavericks lost a high-class game in Utah, in Los Angeles the Lakers lost to the Clippers late in the city duel. The Knicks lost to Miami in front of their home crowd. San Antonio wins after double overtime in an offensive spectacle.

Indiana Pacers (20-41) – Oklahoma City Thunder (19-41) 125:129 OT (BOXSCORE)

• The Pacers were able to test their new backcourt against OKC with the return of Malcolm Brogdon, who had to sit out the last few weeks due to an Achilles tendon injury. Brogdon was on the court for the first time with newcomer Tyrese Haliburton. The two guards together scored 29 points (12/24 FG), Buddy Hield was the hosts’ best scorer with 29 points.
• But Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stole the show that night, the playmaker finishing the game with 36 points (13/24 FG, plus 8 rebounds). Six OKC players were able to record double-digit points, with the Pacers there were even seven players in the double-digit range.
• SGA had the hot hand from the start, played every 12 minutes of the first quarter (14 points), and also received support from Tre Mann, who sank three triples in the period. However, the Pacers threw 62 percent out of the field and went into the second quarter with a 6-point lead (36:29).
• Here OKC turned the tables and made the baskets burn (15/22 FG), on top of that the hosts lost five balls. So it went for the Thunder with an 8-point lead in the dressing room.
• The end of the game was tough, so let’s jump straight to the final phase: Both teams made mistakes here, SGA missed two free throws in the clutch, Jackson made an unnecessary turnover when he stepped onto the sideline in the corner. In the end, Stephenson equalized with a triple just under a second before the end (123:123) and it went into overtime. Here, Gilgeous-Alexander crowned his outstanding performance with an and-one layup with 20 seconds left to make the decision.

Orlando Magic (14-47) – Houston Rockets (15-44) 119:111 (BOXSCORE)

• Two crisis teams met in Orlando: Houston recently lost seven games in a row, and Orlando has not been able to win any of its last four games either. It was also a game with plenty of German involvement, with Franz Wagner on the Magic side and Dennis Schröder on the Rockets side. Moritz Wagner is currently out due to a rib injury.
• Wagner won the small German duel, the rookie scored 13 points (4/11 FG) and also grabbed 8 rebounds. With 26 points (career high), Chuma Okeke was the best thrower from the bench for the hosts. As sixth man, Schröder had 27 minutes and ended up with 10 points and 6 assists.
• The hosts made a terrible start, the Rockets were ahead 15:2 early on, Jalen Suggs collected 3 fouls in the first three minutes, Christian Wood on the Rockets side also had foul problems to contend with. However, Orlando slowly got into the game and managed to reduce the deficit to six points before the end of the first quarter (33:27).
• In the second quarter, the Rockets were stone cold (8/22 FG) and Orlando turned the game around in the episode. For the hosts, the strong scoring of the second guard was particularly noticeable (59 bank points). Orlando went into the break with a 58-51 halftime score.
• The Rockets made a slightly better impression in the third quarter and reduced the gap to 3 points (86:83) before the last quarter, but Orlando was able to regain some breathing space in the final section and thus achieved the home win. 23 points from rookie Jalen Green and another 21 points from Christian Wood weren’t enough for the guests in the end.