The Denver Nuggets lose ground in the playoff fight because they are killed by Isaiah Thomas. Karl-Anthony Towns dominates the capital, the Pacers keep the Sixers at bay and the Cavs celebrate a blowout. There are also compulsory victories for the Spurs, Clippers and Pelicans, while the pistons against jazz are completely off the hook.
That was important for the Pacers! They not only defended their third place in front of the Cleveland Cavaliers, but also secured the tiebreaker in a direct duel in the third and final duel with the Sixers, who are not far away.
However, this was not an automatic runner, even if Indiana should never be behind in the first quarter since 15:14 at still 4 minutes. Only one draw (71:71 in the third) was still possible for Philly – otherwise they mostly followed a two-possession gap. In the crunchtime they almost had the chance to turn the tables. 7 seconds before the end Victor Oladipo (11 points, 4 rebounds) made an offensive foul in a three-point lead of his team, so that the sixers had the chance to equalise.
From a throw-in, Joel Embiid took a threesome, but only hit the ring. In the fight for the ball, Oladipo won a jump-ball against Saric – that’s it. The man of the evening was Turner with 25 points, Thaddeus Young came to 19. The top scorer of the 76s was Embiid (29 points, 12 rebounds), Ben Simmons managed a triple double with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Canadians remain the hottest team in the East, leading their ninth consecutive victory and 16th in the overall standings. from the last 17 games – this is how a top seed presents itself. However, the outsider from Brooklyn came to more resistance this evening than expected. And that had a lot to do with D’ Angelo Russell.
Before the game, D-Loading had apparently drunk literally target water: He managed almost everything at first. In the first quarter he scored 7 out of 8 threesomes and 3 out of 3 free throws for 24 points, the Barclays Center was upside down. And since his colleagues were not to be left out in the cold and met one or the other litter, a 40-32 lead of Brooklyn was on the scoreboard after 12 minutes.
This lead initially continued or even increased, even though Russell cooled down noticeably. At the start of the second half, it was 74:59, before the Raptors started a 15:0 run, which led to equalization. The Nets didn’t want to give up yet, but another run in the fourth quarter – initiated by C. J., who was temporarily in heat. Miles (12 points) – was still the favourite win. Brooklyn scored only 2 points in the last 5 minutes of the game.
Center Jonas Valanciunas contributed 26 points and 14 rebounds, while DeMar DeRozan and Fred VanVleet scored 15 points. Jakob Pöltl was a solid factor (8 points, 6 rebounds) of another strong second unit. Russell finished the match on the other side with 32 points, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson came to 19.
Actually, the Bulls could have gone into the halftime break with a good feeling and a tight lead – but it didn’t work out. Coach Fred Hoiberg as well as Zach LaVine lost their ability a few seconds before the buzzer and at 62:60 they each took a technical one. They didn’t want to understand why Los Angeles’ Sindarius Thornwell was awarded free throws after an alleged foul.
Due to the overdue freebie orgy, the favoured clips took a small but fine lead into the Locker Room – and there was no further change of leadership in quarters three and four. The guests from Tinseltown knew how to generate runs again and again and thus counteract any uprising of the Bulls.
In addition, they found their way to the free-throw line much more often: 30 goals in 41 attempts could be seen, even DeAndre Jordan’s (7/12) quota was worthy of an NBA player. Speaking of Jordan: With 29 points and 18 rebounds, he was the most dominant player on the court. Support came from Lou Williams (26 points) and Tobias Harris (18), Bulls top scorer was Bobby Portis with 19 points, Kris Dunn scored 18 and 6 assists.
Page 1: Pacers with key win over Philly, Raptors counter Russell show
Page 2: Towns dominate in Washington, Pelicans avert crisis
Page 3: Jazz dismantle frightening pistons, Cavs create blowout