The Brooklyn Nets also narrowly win in Portland thanks to James Harden. Philadelphia gambled away a huge lead in the Golden State Warriors, but was slow to reflect. The Los Angeles Lakers get the next attrition without LeBron James.
Denver is back on the road to success after the bankruptcy against New Orleans, the Knicks mopping the floor with Washington.
Orlando Magic (14-29) – Denver Nuggets (26-17) 99:110 (BOXSCORE)
- After the slip-up against New Orleans, the Nuggets found their way back on track in Orlando. Nikola Jokic recorded his 53rd triple-double with 28 points (11/17 FG), 15 rebounds and 10 assists and clearly decided the matchup against his all-star buddy Nikola Vucevic.
- And the Joker had a lot of fun. There were no-look passes again and also a threesome with the siren shortly before the break. The Nuggets were already leading with 61:39 and seemed to be preparing for a comfortable second half. But the Magic, in which Aaron Gordon (13) and Evan Fournier are stuck in numerous trade rumors, fought their way back again.
- With a 20: 4 run at the beginning of the third quarter, the hosts were fully in the game again, also because Fournier (31, 10/18 FG, 6 assists) and Vucevic (18, 8/25 FG, 7 rebounds) were better off came. The nuggets took too many unmotivated threesomes that didn’t want to fall (1/9 in the third quarter).
- In the final section, however, the guests dressed again at the right time. Jokic dominated the zone against Vucevic, and Michael Porter Jr. (18, 8/14 FG) ran hot in time and decided the game 2:30 minutes before the end with two threes in a row (92: 104). Jamal Murray contributed 21 points (8/21 FG) to the success, Facundo Campazzo came up with 6 dimes and played that fine no-look pass. Isaiah Hartenstein was not used.
New York Knicks (22-22) – Washington Wizards (15-27) 131:113 (BOXSCORE)
- The Washington Wizards are falling further and further behind in the playoff race, against a possible competitor it was a juicy bankruptcy. The outstanding player in Madison Square Garden was Julius Randle, who laid 37 points (13/24 FG) against the capital city and set up a new career record with seven converted three-pointers.
- The hosts had the matter completely under control and were already leading with up to 31 points in the third quarter, while the guests were late in improving their results. Nevertheless, it was astonishing that Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, for example, sent Randle onto the field for 5:39 minutes in garbage time.
- In addition to Randle, Immanuel Quickley was also able to shine, who in addition to his 14 points in twelve minutes also provided a highlight, when he threw Raul Neto completely off balance with a stepback move and then netted the threesome as ice cold. RJ Barrett put on 21 points, Alec Burks was the bank’s top scorer with 20 points. Mitchell Robinson came from here, but it was enough for a double-double (16, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks).
- Among the guests, Bradley Beal (22, 6/15 FG) was the busiest point collector, Russell Westbrook (14, 12 assists) booked a double-double with disastrous odds (3/14 FG). Moritz Wagner had 11 points (3/4 FG) and 4 rebounds in 23 minutes, Isaac Bonga used his almost 16 minutes to 4 points (2/3 FG) and 5 boards.
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