Luka Doncic and Dallas Mavericks shoot LeBron-less Los Angeles Lakers out of the hall

The Dallas Mavericks didn’t show any weakness against the Los Angeles Lakers without LeBron James. Luka Doncic shines, the Lakers set a new negative record. Paul George celebrates an outstanding comeback for the LA Clippers, and Isaiah Hartenstein also shines in the comeback against Utah.

Philadelphia 76ers (46-29) – Milwaukee Bucks (47-28) 116:118 (SPIELBERICHT)

Washington Wizards (32-43) – Chicago Bulls (44-32) 94:107 (BOXSCORE)

• Important victory for the Bulls, who still have a tough program ahead of them in the fight for a direct playoff spot. The Wizards were the last opponent to be located outside of the play-in spots. And yet the Bulls struggled again, but in the end DeMar DeRozan could be relied on again. The All-Star scored 14 of his 32 points (12/27) in the fourth quarter, missing just one of his seven attempts. All four throws from the middle distance sat.
• The Bulls had a narrow lead going into the final section before DeRozan put on a small run. The forward gave Chicago’s first double-digit lead of the night with a transition dunk in the middle of the fourth quarter, after which the guests played it down confidently.
• In the first half, however, it was Nikola Vucevic who shone offensively for the Bulls. The center scored 20 of his 27 points in the first 24 minutes, while Zach LaVine (14, 4/10) remained pale most of the time. Accordingly, the guests were harmless from a distance, only six of the 18 attempts went through the trap.
• The Wizards did even worse, sinking just 23 percent (6/26) after blowing the lights out against Golden State two days ago. Rookie Corey Kispert (10, 1/7 threes) hit little, as did Kristaps Porzingis (14, 6/14, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks). The hosts’ top scorers were Rui Hachimura (21, 8/10) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (20).