The Atlanta Hawks surprised thanks to a strong Dennis Schröder and beat the New Orleans Pelicans. Kent Bazemore sinks the winner of the game. The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers remain hot as the Toronto Raptors end their mini-crisis. Carmelo Anthony has a hot hand for the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Lakers.
Steve Clifford was sitting on the Hornets bench for the first time after his health problems and his team gave the coach a nice present. Thanks to a furious first half with 77 points (franchise record!), success never came at risk:”Even though we were leading with 25 points, he shouted at us,”said a laughing Nic Batum (11),”I missed him. It’s great to have him back.”
This was noticeable on the field, Charlotte started like the fire brigade. 12 of the first 13 throws went through the Reuse, plus two four-point games of Kemba Walker (19) and Marvin Williams (12) in the first half. Even after the change, the Hornets did not burn anything anymore and led with up to 28 points. When Dwight Howard (18,15 Rebounds) scored two free throws in a row in the fourth quarter, the mood was more than exuberant. The center also sent personal greetings to the Wizards-Bank with a kiss in the air.
Wizards coach Scott Brooks couldn’t like that, of course. Though he was delighted with Clifford’s return and praised the hosts’ performance, he also took his men to court,”It’s all about giving everything on the court. It’s not about minutes or the number of litters. It’s about the unconditional commitment” Brooks didn’t see this in his team.
Especially in the Zone, Washington was without any chance (50:30). Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, with 21 points, convinced D12 and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist with 14 points, of which he scored close to the basket. In the wizards, only Bradley Beal (26,10/19 FG) reached his normal form, while John Wall (11,9 Assists) remained inconspicuous. Mike Scott (18) and Kelly Oubre Jr. (16) brought a little scoring from the bank.
It was a strange atmosphere in Atlanta. Due to a snowstorm the schools and numerous shops were closed and due to the bad road conditions few fans visited the Philips Arena. The upper tier was not even opened and the Hawks reported a season’s loss with only 10,894 viewers (it was rather less).
But all this must not be an excuse for the pels, who have to win such a game if they want to be part of the playoffs. Especially when you consider that New Orleans was still in the lead with 19 points at the beginning of the third quarter. But then the Hawks woke up and overrun the pelicans, so that after 36 minutes everything was open again.
Dennis Schröder played a major role in this development, scoring a small number of goals in the second half, but handing out 10 assists. At the end there were 13 points (4/16 FG) and 15 assists (adjustment Career High) and not a single ball loss. Really strong! 0 Turnover and 15 Dimes came last Chris Paul barely a year ago, at that time still in the Clippers jersey.
The game was exciting until the final phase. Ersan Ilyasova (15) equalled with a threesome one minute before the end, but then DeMarcus Cousins (19.6/17 FG, 14 rebounds, 7 assists) pulled the foul against the strong John Collins (18), but left a free-throw. The Hawks drew up a play for Ilyasova, but Schröder found Kent Bazemore (20), whose jumper went through the reuse at 2 seconds on the clock, but “My threesome didn’t fall, but otherwise I felt good on the court,”explained the hero of the evening.
The Pelicans still had a chance to win, but Boogie’s hook shot did not find his target. In addition to the center, Jrue Holiday (22) and Darius Miller (17) were convincing for the Pels. The performance of Anthony Davis, on the other hand, was inexplicable. After scoring 48 points against the Knicks and 45 against the Celtics, the Hawks kept their eyebrows at a paltry 8 points (2/8 FG),”We’ve got everything we had on him,”Mike Budenholzer explained the Hawks’ strategy. Obviously it worked.
It goes on and on for the Spurs, even if it became known that Kawhi Leonard will be missing again for a longer time. San Antonio still has an outstanding LaMarcus Aldridge (34,13/24,8 Rebounds), which also made the difference in Brooklyn “L. A.”. is our best player every night,”coach Gregg Popovich said,”Sometimes someone else has a good game, but he’s a real warrior. We’d have the water up to our necks if he didn’t play like that.”
Big words from Pop, but it’s true. The Spurs led with up to 17 points, but Brooklyn was still lagging behind and were back to three points two minutes before the end. The Texans were looking for LMA, of course, and he delivered with a transformed basket. There was a foul on top and the following free-throw. The preliminary decision.
Patty Mills (25) was that night’s support for the Power Forward and gave the Nets seven threesomes (at eight attempts). In addition, he scored two important free throws in the last few seconds. A good game was also played by Pau Gasol with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists.
Brooklyn wasn’t rewarded for the fight, and the Spurs defense was too strong. The Nets only hit 41.5 percent of the field and threw only 19 threesomes on the basket (9 goals), as few as never before in this season. The top scorer was Allen Crabbe (20), Joe Harris (18) was able to draw attention to himself.
Page 1: Bazemore Game Winner and strong Schröder
Page 2: Melo catches Cream Day – Next damper for the Knicks
Page 3: Whiteside monstrous – Mitchell electrifying