Statement!

The Raptors make a statement in the top game of the Eastern Conference and add a sensitive defeat to Celtics. The Cavs are completely off the roll and play a 21 point lead against the Magic (!) and the Knicks are worried about Kristaps Porzingis, who injured his knee.

Similar to the “first leg” a few weeks ago, the Cavaliers got off to a hot start and quickly gained a double-digit lead. Especially LeBron James and JR Smith did what they wanted – and didn’t get much resistance from the Magic Defense at first. The duo was mainly responsible for the fact that the Cavs already had 43 points after 12 minutes and also had a two-digit lead for the break tea. In the meantime, it was even 21 points ahead.

In the second half the guests had to do without coach Ty Lue, who was ill and therefore stayed in the Locker Room. His assistant Larry Drew took over the reins and had to watch as the team – so there were parallels to the last encounter – lost focus. Due to careless mistakes and reckless defences, the Cavs helped Orlando to reach 7 points in a run.

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The defense also scored well and managed to make several stops. On the other side Cleveland opened door and gate into the zone, which led to some open layups. 5 minutes before the end of the third quarter it was time: Two free throws by Jonathon Simmons brought the Magic into the lead. It was also Simmons who finished the third quarter with a Buzzer Beater to 92:89 for his team.

In the final section, the cavs fell apart completely. The offense was only static and seemed listless, a defensive resistance did not take place. That was almost a refusal to work, what they did there. The Magic went up to 18 points and brought home the victory effortlessly. Simmons ended the evening with a career-high of 34 points (22 of them in the third quarter), Evan Fournier contributed 19 points. On the other hand, LeBron scored 25 points and 10 rebounds.

In the absolute top game of the Eastern Conference the use of Kyrie Irving was questionable for a long time, he had to fight with problems at the quadriceps. However, Uncle Drew was obviously fit enough and took his place as a starter again, which Terry Rozier had taken over before.

However, Irving could be seen to have apparently not been at 100 percent. In the first quarter, he took a seat on the bench quite early and had to watch how his team experienced a five-minute dry spell and got stuck with 11 of their own points. Quite different for the Canadians: Led by Kyle Lowry, who caused ecstasy with early transition triads, they quickly found their rhythm.

With a run before the break, they took the lead with 21 points (58:37) and had previously kept Celtics out of the field at 37 percent. After the change of sides it went on with a very high intensity and the defence of the guests had better access. But that didn’t really help, because they continued to have no resources. One has to put it this way: Toronto’s defence this evening was too big for the leader of the standings, who now has as many defeats on his account as the Raptors in second place.

Top scorer of the game was Lowry with 23 points plus 8 rebounds and 4 assists, C. J. Miles scattered 20 points from the bank, DeMar DeRozan left it at 15. Jakob Pöltl stood 24 minutes on the floor for 4 points and 5 rebounds. On the other side Irving scored 17 points, Terry Rozier 18 and Daniel Theis (22 minutes) 10.

Up to the second quarter the atmosphere in the Garden was actually good. The Knicks had a top-notch team to keep up with, and two potential MVPs of the future, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kristaps Porzingis, also competed against each other. It could have been a great night.

However, when the second quarter was played for about four minutes, the mood changed abruptly. Porzingis had scored 31:30 on Giannis (Jubel!), but he landed extremely unhappy and twisted his left knee. His cries of pain were clearly audible in the abruptly silent MSG. The unicorn was accompanied to the Locker Room after a first treatment on the court and is to undergo an MRI examination in the hospital in the evening (local time).

After the shock, the Latvian colleagues showed a kind of defiant reaction and took the lead with 9 points. But this didn’t last long: the strong trio Antetokounmpo/Eric Bledsoe/Khris Middleton quickly turned the tables. They turned a 44:44 into a 74:54 – that was too much for the decimated Knicks. They still had isolated moments, but in the end they were without chance.

Giannis – who took care of the highlight of the evening by creating an alley-oop-dunk about Tim Hardaway Jr. finished – 23 points in the end, 11 rebounds and 6 assists, Bledsoe on 23 points and 8 dimes and Middleton on 20 points. Jabari Parker (10 points) had good moments from the bank. Top scorer of the Knicks was Enes Kanter (19 points, 16 rebounds).