The winning streak of the Houston Rockets is over. The Los Angeles Lakers win thanks to a strong Kyle Kuzma in the Toyota Center and survive James Harden’s gala. Chris Paul must be out injured by now. The Miami Heat win at the Boston Celtics and Dennis Schröder plays a weak first half against the Indiana Pacers. The Chicago Bulls are expanding their winning streak.
In spite of an upgradable balance sheet, the Hornets played respectable basketball at home and that’s what it looked like at first. The hosts ended the first quarter with a 14:2 run and led 26:22 against the third power of the Eastern Conference. But the Raptors then exploded and gave Charlotte 41 points, setting the course for victory.
DeMar DeRozan (28 points, 10/15 FG, 8 assists) then put the lid on it in the third quarter by scoring 18 points and stopping the Hornets. Thus, the final quarter went to a long garbage time, in which the good Raptors bank didn’t let anything burn any more.
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Head coach Dwane Casey will have particularly enjoyed the shooting of the Canadians. 16 changed threesomes in only 33 attempts were strong and the basis for the sovereign away success. Rookie OG Anunoby (20.6/7 threesomes) was the best in this discipline and finished the game with the best plus-minus score (+28). In his tenth win in the eleventh game, Serge Ibaka (24) also convinced with a Season High. Kyle Lowry (11 points, 8 assists) could take it easy.
Jakob Pöltl came in 22 minutes, in which he scored 6 points and 8 rebounds, but also had to take a seat on the bench early with 6 fouls. For Charlotte, Jeremy Lamb (32,11/17 FG) surprised Charlotte with a strong game, while Kemba Walker (15,4/12 FG) remained pale. Dwight Howard (15.5/6 FT) convinced at least on the free-throw line.
It’s the same thing: Atlanta can’t win two games in a row. Head coach Mike Budenholzer’s team got off to a good start, but after the switch it became a clear affair for the Indiana guests. Especially Dennis Schröder got nothing after the break at all on the chain and missed all his seven throwing attempts. 8 points (4/15 FG) and 8 assists were scored over the whole game. After all, he only lost a ball.
But not only Schröder had problems in the second 24 minutes. Atlanta sunk only 39 percent of her throws and couldn’t score a single lead. The result is a bit flattering for the hosts, who scored the last ten points of the game.
Indiana had already shifted down a gear. Victor Oladipo scored 13 of his 23 points after the break and presented himself again in excellent form. This time the Guard had enough support, because Bojan Bogdanovic (19) and Myles Turner (20,3 Blocks) also hit their throws.
In Atlanta, five players scored double-digit points, but when Kent Bazemore becomes the top scorer with 13 points, this is clearly not enough. Coming from the bank, Rookie John Collins was the best man with 18 points and 9 rebounds.
The Heat were once again the spoilsport for Boston. After Miami finished the Celtics’ winning streak at South Beach, Erik Spoelstra’s team also took the victory from TD Garden. Kelly Olynyk, an ex-Celtic with 32 points (12/15,6/8 threesome) was responsible for this development.
“This was very satisfying for us,”admitted the Canadian after the game,”and not only how this game went, but also because we held it against them in the end,” but the guests had a bit of luck as Kyrie Irving climbed up with the buzzer on the right side of the court. But his jumper just clapped on the ring. Previously, Uncle Drew was very much in favour of Celtics having another chance to win.
The Heat led with 87:76 just 150 seconds before the end, but Irving scored 9 of his 33 points (11/24 FG) and made the three-time champion tremble again. There was no longer Al Horford (6 points, 8 rebounds). The Big foul was a good eight minutes to go. He picked up his last two fouls within 4 seconds. Daniel Theis stayed without points in just under 20 minutes, grabbed 4 rebounds, played 2 assists and blocked a throw.
Marcus Smart pocketed five threes for 15 points and Jaylen Brown scored 16 points. Miami, on the other hand, had to give up Goran Dragic (Ellenbogen), James Johnson (Ankle), Justise Winslow (Knie) and Hassan Whiteside (Knie) and played almost exclusively with seven players. Josh Richardson won next to Olynyk with 19 points. Dion Waiters (10,6 Assists) had problems with his litter again.
Page 1: Weak Schröder – Olynyk shoots off old love
Page 2: Chicago continues not to stop – Rockets lose despite 51 points from Harden against Lakers
Page 3: OKC beat up Utah – Spurs wring Portland down
Page 4: Warriors don’t give themselves nakedness