The San Antonio Spurs have celebrated an important victory over New Orleans Pelicans, a direct competitor, in the battle for the playoffs. But the competition from Denver and Utah doesn’t get naked either, while the Clippers are defeated by the Houston Rockets only after a hard fight.
Dwight Howard has a new favorite opponent and that’s not his ex-team by chance. In the fourth match since the summer trade, Superman marked a double-double for the fourth time. As if that wasn’t enough, the center scored 33 points (13/20 FG, 7/8 FT) this time, which was a new season record for D12.
The guests started with an early run that melted down to just 3 points in the second quarter. Thanks to Kemba Walker (24, 8 assists) and Nicolas Batum (10, 10 rebounds, 16 assists), who besides his triple double also set a career record in direct templates, however, the guests rattled quickly. At the break the lead was again 8 points, after the change the lead even increased up to 23 points.
Dennis Schröder scored 17 points (7/18 FG) and 8 assists for the Hawks, but was once won by Howard in a three-way attempt. A bright spot for coach Mike Budenholzer were the performances of Taurean Prince (22, 10 rebounds) and John Collins (21, 9 boards). The rookie scored more points than ever before in his career.
It must have been easier for the Sixers to imagine. A good five minutes before the end, the Knicks led 104:98 after a Jumper by Emmanuel Mudiay (12), but then the guests beat back. The Sixers countered with a 15-3 run won by two J.J. threesomes. Redick and Dario Saric. That was ultimately too much for the Knicks, who had bravely opposed Joel Embiid and Co. against it.
Especially the Cameroonian was one of the few guest players with normal form in the first half. With 19 of his 29 points the center wore his colors and kept the gap with eight points at the break in a tolerable frame. After the change the shooters of the Sixers woke up. Robert Covington (15, 5/7 trio) and Saric (21, 4/8 trio, 12 rebounds) played a big part in the important comeback victory. Ben Simmons (13, 10 rebounds, 12 assists) played his second triple-double in a row.
Michael Beasley (24, 13 boards, 7 assists) was the most hard-working points collector at the Knicks, but he suffered a momentous loss in the final phase, which ended in a Redick trio. Trey Burke and Courtney Lee each scored 16 points, while Enes Kanter (14, 10 rebounds) scored another double-double.
Page 1: Howard towers above former team – Sixers wake up late
Page 2: Rockets struggle – Spurs with important victory
Page 3: Nuggets and Jazz don’t give themselves naked