Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers dismantled the Chicago Bulls, while East premier Miami also won comfortably and celebrated the comeback of Victor Oladipo. Nikola Jokic set up the next triple-double in a duel with a Warriors rookie.
Detroit Pistons (18-47) – Atlanta Hawks (31-33) 113:110 OT (BOXSCORE)
- The Pistons and Hawks looked set to set a record for most silly mistakes in the shortest amount of time in the last 10 seconds of regulation time. After Young’s misthrow, Detroit rebounded about 6 seconds under his own basket, -1 back, but head coach Dwane Casey surprisingly waited several seconds before calling his final timeout. Detroit only had 1.6 seconds with a throw-in on the sidelines for what was supposed to be the last throw of the game.
- The Hawks did them a huge favor, however, when Bogdan Bogdanovic fouled Cade Cunningham before the thrown-in ball got to the rookie, but the Hawks had no more fouls to give. Cunningham converted both free throws, putting Atlanta in the same position: 1.6 seconds to play, throw-in at the halfway line, a point behind.
- The Pistons returned the favor when John Collins was sought out via lob pass. Marvin Bagley fouled him and sent Collins to the free throw line, but he only converted the second throw. Cunningham’s throw across the field missed and it went into overtime. There it was similarly chaotic with a lot of fouls and missed free throws, only Cunningham stayed cool. Young’s final attempt at equalization was a long three over Bagley’s outstretched arm, which bounced off the ring.
- Cunningham thus kept his nose in front in all respects in his first duel with Young. He scored 7 of his 28 points (10/25 FG) in overtime, played 10 assists and frustrated Young on defense. “Ice Trae” was literally stone cold with 5/20 from the field for 14 points and 12 assists.
- Jerami Grant had 23 points and a key goal in the final minute of overtime, with Bagley (19, 10 rebounds) providing strong support coming off the bench. He played 36 minutes after Isaiah Stewart left the game early with a knee injury and limped into the catacombs. Bogdanovic was the Hawks’ top scorer (22, 2/11 3P) but fouled out with his clumsy foul before overtime.
Philadelphia 76ers (40-24) – Chicago Bulls (39-26) 121:106 (BOXSCORE)
- Joel Embiid continues to send the Bulls down the Eastern Conference with 43 points (15/27 FG), 14 rebounds and 3 blocks. For Chicago it is the fifth loss in a row. “The last two games I started badly, so today I wanted to be aggressive and live in the zone,” Embiid said after the game.
- Nikola Vucevic was reported inactive due to a hamstring problem just before the start of the game, leaving Tristan Thompson (11) mainly as Embiid’s defender. He didn’t have much success, and midway through the third quarter he was dealt his fourth and fifth fouls in a matter of seconds, leaving Tony Bradley and Derrick Jones Jr. with even less success against Embiid.
- James Harden didn’t score very well (17, 5/15 FG), but he played 14 assists and made interesting progress with Matisse Thybulle (12, 4/5 FG). The elite defender without a constant shot was always noticed with good cuts to the basket and went into pick’n’roll with Harden several times, which means that he can be significantly more dangerous than stationary behind the three-point line.
- In addition, Thybulle caused DeMar DeRozan problems with his shot (11 of 23 points in the first quarter, 6/17 FG, 8 assists), Zach LaVine was better with 26 points in 3/6 threes. Coby White contributed 19 points coming from the bench, but after a good start Chicago only lagged behind from the second quarter onwards and no longer threatened to equalize.
- Phialdelphia hit 40 percent from Downtown (12/30) with Georges Niang (14, 4/7 3P) heavily involved. Tyrese Maxey had 17 points and 4 assists, DeAndre Jordan (2) made his debut as a sixer in the first quarter and was greeted with applause from the home fans. Danny Green left the game with a finger laceration in the second quarter and did not return.
Miami Heat (44-22) – Houston Rockets (16-49) 123:106 (BOXSCORE)
- After a sleepy start, Miami got serious, quickly turning a -13 deficit into a double-digit lead. This was primarily ensured by Tyler Herro with 21 points of his 31 points (12/18 FG) in the second quarter. The heat’s sixth man netted 5 of his 6 threes in the section and crowned his brilliant performance with a long buzzer beater during the break.
- Another reason to celebrate for Miami: Victor Oladipo came on as a substitute in the first quarter and made his first NBA game appearance since last April. Right in his first possession he recorded a charge – the ultimate comeback into the heat culture! He hit 2/3 threes for 11 points and distributed 4 assists in just under 15 minutes.
- Miami hit 45.2 percent from downtown (14/31), Jimmy Butler only needed 11 throws for 21 points. PJ Tucker (11, 12 rebounds) and Bam Adebayo (18, 10) had double-doubles, while Kyle Lowry (0/3 FG, 5 assists) went without points in 32 minutes. Gabe Vincent and Max Strus seem to have lost minutes to Oladipo, both only coming on in garbage time.
- On the other side, Jalen Green started off hot and sunk his first four shots – all from downtown! But it blew from a distance for him, he came up with 20 points and 3 assists. Kevin Porter Jr. trumped him with 22 points (5/11 3P), the rookies Alperen Sengün (13) and Josh Christopher (16) also scored in double digits. Dennis Schröder missed his fourth straight game with an ankle injury.