The Miami Heat scored an important victory against the Philadelphia 76ers, a direct competitor for the playoffs. The Charlotte Hornets, on the other hand, will probably say goodbye to the race for the postseason, while the Oklahoma City Thunder celebrate a relaxed success.
That’s it for good with the soft playoff hopes of the Hornets. You have to win a home game against Brooklyn, the franchise from North Carolina did not. Instead, the Nets dominated the action thanks to a furious Allen Crabbe (29,11/21 FG).
“Nets coach Kenny Atkinson said,” Our point guards found him. Especially Spencer Dinwiddie (6,10 Assists) and Caris LeVert (22,8 Assists) found the shooting guard again and again, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson from the bank with 18 points and 12 rebounds played a good game.
The Nets took control in the second quarter and steadily extended their lead. Charlotte, 16 points behind Kemba Walker (21.7/11 FG), was down to 6 points after 7:30 minutes, but Brooklyn countered this with an 11:0 run and the game was over.
In addition to Walker, Dwight Howard (19) played an acceptable game, while Rookie Malik Monk scored 13 points at 14 throws, but remained cold from a distance (1/6). Jeremy Lamb contributed another 15 points.
This matchup was thrilling throughout the entire season, with the Heat 2-2 after the win, the overall score was 409:407 in favour of Heat. After Dwyane Wade scored the victory a few days ago only shortly before the end, this time the Heat provided clear conditions a little earlier.
The outstanding Hassan Whiteside (26,8 Rebounds) scuttled two free throws, after that Wade (16) hammered an Alley Oop after Josh Richardson’s pass through the Reuse. Fifty seconds before the end, the Heat scored 9 points, at the end of the game, the subsequent threesome of Joel Embiid (17) did not change anything.
Miami provided a homogeneous team performance, all 10 players scored and got at least 2 rebounds. The sixers were kept out of the field at a meager 39.5 percent. Robert Covington gave away all his 10 litter attempts, also Embiid (5/18 FG) was clearly limited by Whiteside.
The Heat led in the first half with 12 points in the meantime, but could never set themselves apart decisively, because J. J. J. among other things. Redick (18,4/6 threesome) had a hot hand again. Top scorer of the guests was Dario Saric with 20 points and 10 rebounds, but also 6 ball losses. One less successful was Ben Simmons, who played 10 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.
Finally it was another easy win for the Thunder, who after a well-balanced start overtook the guests from Phoenix. OKC coach Billy Donovan made a change and ordered Corey Brewer for Josh Huetis in the Starting Five.
The recently committed Shooting Guard was also able to convince and contributed 17 points (6/11 FG) to the victory. Led by Russell Westbrook (27,11/14 FG, 8 Rebounds, 9 Assists) all starters of the Thunder scored double-digit points. Steven Adams played a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Paul George (21,4/7 threesome) caught fire again from the three-line.
With the exception of Devin Booker (who played for the first time in the NBA with a headband) this could not be said of any of the players. Three-Point contest winner hung up 30 points (10/22 FG), but after him Tyson Chandler (10) already collected the most points. As a team, the Suns hit an unbelievably bad 33.7 percent out of the field. This was only undercut 16 times in almost 1,000 seasonal matches this season. The weak rate was mainly due to Josh Jackson (6.1/8 FG), Elfrid Payton (6.3/13 FG) and Troy Daniels (6.2/15 FG).
OKC’s sixth-place finish and the Minnesota Timberwolves close to victory, while the Suns continue to have the worst bianz in the league after Memphis.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login