Anthony Davis led the New Orleans Pelicans to a comeback victory against OKC Thunder – although DeMarcus Cousins flew out of the hall. For the Hawks around Schröder there is nothing to be gained from the Spurs, the Knicks exacerbate the Clippers crisis and the Cavs roll over Detroit.
Thanks to an outstanding Dwight Howard, the Hornets won their second consecutive victory. The Big Men duel against Karl-Anthony Towns (18 points, 5/10 FG, 12 rebounds) was won by Howard with 25 points (8/10 FG), 20 rebounds and 4 blocks. In addition, it also proved to be accurate from the line (9/14 FW). At 40 percent, the free-throw rate at the 2008 slam-dunk champion’s 2008 slam-dunk champion was a very gloomy one,”I’m just trying not to be so tense anymore,”Howard explained.
The Hornets deserved a clear victory, especially in the last quarter, where Frank Kaminsky (24 points, 9/15 FG) led his team with 9 points.”The ball just kept going in and I had to keep attacking”, Kaminsky said happily.
At the Timberwolves nobody could really leave his stamp on the game. Jamal Crawford was the bank’s most successful scorer with 19 points (6/12 FG). Andrew Wiggins (11 points, 5/14 FG) and Jimmy Butler (14 points, 6/15 FG) showed a rather weak offensive performance.
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For Minnesota, this was the third game in four days, but Crawford didn’t look for excuses after the game:”You shouldn’t come up with excuses after such a game. We still have a lot of work to do in the near future, and we’re a long way from what we want to be.”
The fifth victory in a row for the Cleveland Cavaliers was already decided after the first half: With a 28-point lead, the Cavs were able to walk into the cabin in a relaxed manner and were actually able to give LeBron James, who leads the entire league with almost 39 minutes per game, a short break. Against Detroit all starters of the Cavs stayed under 30 minutes.
One reason why James’ stats (18 points, 8 assists) read a little less spectacular. Best Cav was Kevin Love with 19 points (8/12 FG) and 11 rebounds. With 11 points Tobias Harris (4/10 FG) was the best scorer of the pistons. In addition, Andre Drummond was not able to rebound double-digit for the first time this season – his previous season’s low was 12 bouncers.
The victory over the pistons represents the high point of the Cavs season so far and James was completely satisfied after the game for the first time:”That was 48 minutes in which we followed our tactical route at all times. We haven’t had such a victory in a long time. That’s what happens if you don’t let up during the game.”
Pistons coach van Gundy could hardly be mad at his team because of Cleveland’s dominant performance:”It’s not like our boys just gave up. After the start of the game, we were just a little shaken.”
Indiana went into the cabin with a gap, but then held the Magic at 17 points in the third quarter and reclaimed the lead. Victor Oladipo was symbolic of the Pacers’ fighting performance: With 29 points (8/19 FG), 9 rebounds and 7 steals he showed an outstanding performance against his old team. After the game, however, he emphasized that he didn’t need any additional motivation at all:”To be honest, I’m going into every game this season with fire.”
Bojan Bogdanovic (26 points, 9/15 FG) helped Oladipo during the 16:3 race in the third quarter and helped him make the preliminary decision:”He was hot for us today,”said his coach Nate McMillan about Bogdanovic,”He’s the reason why we’re only playing an eight-man rotation – to get minutes on the four. Most of the praise, however, went to Oladipo, who was often accused in Oklahoma:”He takes on the role of leader for us,”explained colleague Lance Stephenson.
Orlando is currently on the descent and has lost five games in a row. At some point in the third quarter we lost our rhythm, started to dribble too much and then our offensive stagnated,”analyzed Nikola Vucevic, who with 25 points and 13 rebounds was still the best player of his team.
Magic Coach Frank Vogel is well aware of his team’s precarious situation:”Nobody is happy with how we play at the moment. We know we just have to fight our way out of this crisis.”
Page 1: Cavaliers overpower pistons, Howard annoys Wolves
Page 2:76ers continue to be fun, clips devastating in New York
Page 3: Anthony Davis completes OKC, Wizards beat bucks
Page 4: Nothing to get for the Hawks, winning limited nuggets