The Chicago Bulls continue to confirm their good form and win the Milwaukee Bucks. The Detroit pistons also set an exclamation mark with their victory over Indiana. The Phoenix Suns win a dramatic game against the Memphis grizzlies thanks to an incredible dark from Tyson Chandler.
Both teams have almost the same balance sheet, but it was a clear matter. The reason for this was Tobias Harris (30,10/11 FG), who overcame his slump and could not be stopped in the first quarter. 21 points (7/7 FG, 5/5 threesomes) after the first quarter on the account and Detroit had set itself apart with 40:19.
After that, Indiana wriggled a little bit, but didn’t get any closer than eight points and fell apart again after the change. The performance of Victor Oladipo was disappointing, taking only eleven throws and scoring 13 points. He was still the best scorer of the Pacers, who did not achieve much in offensively, also because the pistons knew how to take the tempo out of the game. So the guests only earned 6 Fast Break Points.
Alongside Harris, Detroit was also strong with Reggie Jackson, who repeatedly found the forward skillfully free on the three-line. In addition to his 8 points, the Point Guard played 13 assists – a season record (previously: 8). However, the Guard turned in the third quarter and never returned. Coach Stan van Gundy explained that the playmaker will be investigated in more detail.
Andre Drummond also scored 21 points (9/13 FG) and 18 rebounds, which helped the pistons win five of the last six games.
Both Miami and Orlando are among the teams with the most injured players, so it was a good thing that the Magic Evan Fournier returned and the Heat Hassan Whiteside had their comback after eleven games. However, the influence of the center was still small. In just under 18 minutes he contributed 7 points and 8 rebounds.
In the decisive fourth quarter he was no longer on the field, it was the time when Miami moved away after a balanced 36 minutes (68:68). Once again it was Wayne Ellington (18) who scuttled four threesomes in the final section and thus played a big part in the 35:15 run. Josh Richardson also scored 14 of his 20 points in this quarter.
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Previously, Orlando had held on well, partly because Fournier (14) playmaker Elfrid Payton (19.8 Assists) could be better relieved. On the other hand, Nikola Vucevic’s failure is particularly problematic. Replacement Bismack Biyombo grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked 5 throws, but was offensive no factor at all (3 points, 1/7 FG).
Miami, on the other hand, could rely on a balanced team performance. Kelly Olynyk (15.12 rebounds) recorded a double-double, with Tyler Johnson (17) and Goran Dragic (14.6 assists) delivering solid guard play.
Page 1: Harris on fire – Whiteside makes a comeback
Page 2: Mirotic Bulls roll again – Easy game for the Spurs
Page 3: Nuggets beat up Utah – Chandler Game Winner per Alley Oop