C.J. McCollum plays the game of his life in a duel against the Chicago Bulls and also sets a season record. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers show that they can still win. Daniel Theis celebrates a victory while Dennis Schröder is overshadowed. Dirk Nowitzki delivers a double-double, but can’t change the Mavericks’ bankruptcy.
The grizzlies made the headlines even before the match: Tyreke Evans, who was heavily involved in trade rumours, was not even seen in the hall and this of course fuelled speculation – he is supposed to be on the cards with several teams, including Celtics. But even without their most consistent players this season (together with Marc Gasol) the grizzlies were able to present themselves at least respectably in Indiana. They even nearly caused a surprise.
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34 seconds on the clock were still to play when Myles Turner (15 points, 11 rebounds) gave the Pacers a 102:101 lead with two free throws. So the grizzlies still had a chance, which in this case went to Wayne Selden – but his floater missed his goal two seconds before the end. Previously Gasol hadn’t even hit Gasol with a jumper. Indiana secured the rebound and was then able to bag victory on the free-throw line.
It was already the third win in a row for the Pacers, with all starters scoring double-digit points. Top scorer was Bojan Bogdanovic with 21 points. In the grizzlies, Selden (24) and Gasol (23) were the busiest collectors of points.
The Magic are a far from strong team at the moment, they had won three victories from the last 23 games before this match. But if the threesome falls, they can also be really dangerous – at least against a team that is not necessarily as dangerous as the Lakers. This was shown in this case in the third quarter. Even though Orlando had been the better team before – all the dams suddenly broke down (43:30).
“Mario Hezonja later said,” The threesome is a momentum throw,”added Marreese Speights (21 points).” You meet a few of them and realize that you can beat a team so easily. The outstanding yield of the Magic in total: proud 18 threesomes in 32 attempts!
Seven players of the Magic, who had to play without Aaron Gordon, scored double-digit points. In addition to Speights, Evan Fournier (19 points, 5/7 3FG) was particularly appealing. The Lakers did not have much to contend with this avalanche. Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson showed good games with 20 points each, but that’s also what it was for the guests who are eagerly awaiting the comeback of Lonzo Ball.
Supposedly Kemba Walker is supposed to be available via trade. Potential customers are likely to be satisfied, especially if you look at this game: The Point Guard scuttled nine threes against Atlanta, which meant Career High and at the same time Franchise High for the Hornets. All in all, this was enough for 38 points, 18 of which came in the third quarter when Walker played into a frenzy.”The ball just fell in,”he remarked afterwards.”I got good looks and then just hit it.”
Walker also played 6 assists and pocketed 12 of his 20 throws. It wasn’t a one-man-show at the Hornets that day: Dwight Howard liked returning to his old hometown with 20 points and 12 rebounds, Nicolas Batum even got a triple double (10 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists). Of course, the Dagger was still provided by Walker, of course:”He just hit in every conceivable way,”said Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer in amazement.
Atlanta had nibbled on the comeback several times after an earlier guided tour. In the third quarter Dennis Schröder even managed to get his team to just 1 point with a jumper, but again it was Walker who initiated the Hornets with a threesome. The Hawks didn’t get closer after that.
Schröder showed a decent match (13 points, 9 assists), even if the threesome did not want to fall (0/5). Top scorer of the Hawks was Kenz Bazemore with 25 points, Marco Belinelli 22 points from the bank.
Page 1: Walker record too much for Schröder’s Hawks
Page 2: Celtics dominate without Kyrie, Cleveland can still dominate it
Page 3: Monster-McCollum delivers season record