Despite the loss of three of their four All-Stars, the Golden State Warriors were able to clinch another victory against the Lakers. In the Eastern Conference, the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat missed the chance to climb the table in a disappointing way.
After the disgraceful defeat in the final game against San Antonio Spurs, Orlando Magic – to the disappointment of Milwaukee Bucks – showed a strong reaction. Led by Jonathon Simmons, who set a new career record with 35 points (11/22 FG), they surprised Milwaukee, who went into the game as a household favorite.
Simmons met seven threesomes and was on his way to victory mainly from D. J. Augustin (32 points, 9/15 FG)”The game against the Spurs was tough for us – but it happens to be the best,”explained Augustin:”We just left it behind, went out there, moved the ball well, supported each other and played with a lot more energy” Nikola Vucevic was the only other Magic player with 22 points (8/14 FG), who scored double-digit points.
The unexpected defeat of the Bucks was of course a big disappointment in the playoff squad and left a disgruntled Bucks coach,”Cruel,”Joe Prunty described his team’s performance,”It was pretty obvious that they had three people who dominated the game. But you can’t give them these litters just like that. You have to get closer and let them work for their litters.”
After a basket from Eric Bledsoe (20 points, 8/16 FG) in the middle of the third quarter, the guests had regained the lead again, but then immediately let it be torn down again and could not reach the Magic anymore. This also left Giannis Antetokounmpo’s monster performance (38 points, 16/29 FG, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals) without value.
With eight minutes to play, the Sacramento Kings led with 15 points, but then won a 21:5 heat run. After Miami extended the lead, Buddy Hield followed suit and after a turnover of the Heat, Zach Randolph even had the chance to take care of the potential game winner – but missed the hook shot. However, Kelly Olynik only hit a free-throw on it and so one of De’ Aaron Fox’s baskets was enough while the siren sounded to send the game into extra time. There, Buddy Hield then sealed the defeat of the favourite heat with two successful excursions to the free-throw line.
The laurels of this work victory were divided between Fox (20 points, 9/14 FG), Hield (24 points, 9/16 FG) and Randolph (22 points (9/16 FG), who were the most successful collectors of the kings’ points and all had their key moments in the last quarter and overtime.
In addition to defeat and disappointment, the strong performance of Goran Dragic, who scored 11 consecutive points in the fourth quarter and ended the game with 33 points (Season High), was lost. James Johnson also presented an at least individually impressive performance with 18 points (7/11 FG), 10 rebounds and 7 assists.
Thanks to Kevin Durant, wounded warriors have been able to build on their winning streak against the Los Angeles Lakers – their seventh consecutive victory against the Lakers. Durant scored 26 points (10/19 FG) and was top scorer of the game. The losses of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green were offset by strong team performance.
The Lakers held their ground in the first half, but then took a 15:2 run at the beginning of the third quarter. Nick Young scored 8 of his 18 points during this run. Although the guests did not give up, they were unable to shorten the gap considerably.
“It’s fun to watch guys who don’t play much else get a chance and can really do something,” commented a satisfied Warriors coach Steve Kerr,”Soetwas strengthens the team.” Quinn Cook (13 points), who replaced the injured Stephen Curry in the starting line-up, was also happy about his longer outreach:”That’s what makes the Warriors so great in recent years,” he said.
Julius Randle was with 22 points (8/10 FG) and 10 rebounds the best man of the Lakers, Isaiah Thomas (6/14 FG) and Brook Lopez (8/15 FG) came on 20 points each. Lonzo Ball struggled with his litter (1/8 3FG), but managed to score 11 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.