LeBron James is back and yet the Los Angeles Lakers are defeated by the Sacramento Kings. At the top there is a change after the Suns win against Utah, and Portland achieves a real big point at the Brooklyn Nets thanks to Damian Lillard.
The Sixers have no trouble in their second duel with Atlanta, while the Wizards remain the hottest team in the league.
Philadelphia 76ers (42-21) – Atlanta Hawks (34-30) 126:104 (BOXSCORE)
- The Philadelphia 76ers also won their second game in three days against the Hawks with ease, with the return of Trae Young and Tony Snell of little help for the guests. Joel Embiid (18) and Ben Simmons (18, 8/10 FG) scored at will, especially in the second quarter, and ensured that the hosts were leading with 65:46 after just 24 minutes.
- The guests got off to a really strong start and, thanks to Young, gained a 13-point lead. After that, Clint Capela (11, 15 rebounds) got into foul problems and the game turned over immediately. The Sixers now dominated the boards, there were stops and Simmons flourished in transition. Even after the change, the run of the hosts continued, thanks to Young (16 points in the third section) the Hawks won the third quarter (31:29).
- But the problem for the Hawks was the bank and again the Sixers built with their second unit around the strong Shake Milton (13), Matisse Thybulle (10, 4 Steals) and Dwight Howard (19, 11 rebounds in 17 minutes) took the lead. The starters didn’t even have to go on the field, Howard managed several three-point games against the overwhelmed rookie Onyeka Okongwu (12, 5 fouls).
- With 32 points (10/19 FG, 10/10 FT) Young was the most diligent point collector of the guests, Danilo Gallinari also got 16 points. Due to the bankruptcy, the Hawks’ gaze has to be turned a little downwards again. The Celtics now have the same record, but the Hawks hold the tiebreaker (2-1).
Boston Celtics (34-30) – San Antonio Spurs (31-31) 143:140 OT (BOXSCORE)
Click here for the detailed match report!
Cleveland Cavaliers (21-42) – Washington Wizards (29-34) 93:122 (BOXSCORE)
- The Washington Wizards are still making up ground in the east, even eighth place is within reach with only 1.5 games left. In Cleveland, a strong third quarter (33:16) was enough to complete the mandatory task. Russell Westbrook put on a triple-double with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists, number 177 in his career.
- All of this succeeded in 31 minutes because the Wizards star was no longer needed in the final section, and of course the same applied to backcourt colleague Bradley Beal (19, 8/24 FG), who has already played more efficient games this season. The rest of the Wizards did better, Raul Neto scored 17 points (6/7 FG), Daniel Gafford 13.
- The big advantage of the guests was their defense, which has been acting surprisingly well for several months now. Cleveland was kept out of the field at 36 percent in the first three quarters, as the return of top scorer Collin Sexton (22, 7/19 FG), who was able to participate again after his concussion, didn’t help.
- Instead, Darius Garland (12) injured his ankle at the beginning of the third quarter, which caused a visible break in the hosts’ game. Also noticeable was Jarrett Allen (13, 11 rebounds), who also unpacked this monster block against Rui Hachimura, while Kevin Love didn’t take a single throw in 22 minutes, but grabbed 10 rebounds and actually had the best plus-minus rating of all Cavs (+5). Isaiah Hartenstein was still absent due to a concussion.
– .
