With a tough victory after two overtimes in Boston, the Knicks extended their magnificent run with nine straight wins on Sunday as Anthony Davis revived the Lakers’ play-in hopes and Kevin Durant defeated Kyrie Irving in their first duel since both left the Brooklyn Nets.
Knicks 131, Celtics 129 (2TE)
Immanuel Quickley (38 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists) was the best of the Knicks in their impressive victory after two overtimes in Boston against the Celtics who have lost three of their last games and who have lost twice this week against the new yorkers.
For the Celtics, the top scorer was Jayson Tatum with 40 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists although he was not inspired from the triple (6 of 17) while the Dominican Al Horford added 20 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists.
Suns 130, Mavericks 126
Kevin Durant, with 37 points and 7 rebounds and a key shot in the finale, decided the confrontation against his former teammate in Brooklyn Kyrie Irving (30 points and 7 assists).
Luka Doncic (34 points and 9 rebounds on a gray 8 of 23 shooting) and Devin Booker (36 points and 10 assists) met at the end of the game to add more spice to the recent rivalry between the Mavericks and Suns.
Lakers 113, Warriors 105
The Lakers embittered the return of Stephen Curry and took a fundamental victory in their aspirations for the play-in thanks to 39 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists from a huge Anthony Davis.
Curry, who had missed the past month with the Warriors through injury, was his team’s leading scorer with 27 points and 6 assists.
Clippers 135, Grizzlies 129
After five consecutive losses since Russell Westbrook arrived, the Clippers finally celebrated their first win with the point guard thanks to Paul George (42 points and 11 rebounds) and Kawhi Leonard (34 points and 10 rebounds).
Desmond Bane (30 points and 6 assists) was the best for Memphis in a volcanic game as it went from 30-51 for the Grizzlies in the third quarter to 38-17 in the fourth quarter for the Clippers.
The Spanish Santi Aldama got 9 points in the visitors.
Bucks 117, Wizards 111
With a triple-double by Giannis Antetokounmpo (23 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists) and six players over 10 points, the Bucks subdued the Wizards at home and opened a gap in front of the East due to Boston’s stumble.
Bradley Beal (33 points and 9 rebounds) stood out for the Wizards.
Pacers 125, Bulls 122
The Bulls are staying in no man’s land, without conviction to enter the Eastern play-in and with too many resources to throw the season away and this time they succumbed to the Pacers.
Tyrese Haliburton (29 points and 11 assists) hit a huge 3-pointer with just 2.7 seconds left to spoil Zach LaVine’s big run in Chicago (42 points).
Also for the Pacers, Chris Duarte contributed 15 points with five sets of three.
Nets 102, Hornets 86
Mikal Bridges (33 points and 8 rebounds) was the Nets’ battering ram in their beating of the Hornets who were already down 37 points in the third period.
Kelly Oubre Jr. (17 points and 7 rebounds) was Charlotte’s most productive on offense.
Blazers 122, Magic 119
All the Blazers’ hopes for the final stretch of the season go to Damian Lillard, who pulled another fantastic performance (41 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists) out of his hat to defeat the Magic.
Paolo Banchero (26 points) led an Orlando quintet with all its members in double-digit scoring.
Rockets 142, Spurs 110
The Texan duel between the last one in the West and the penultimate one was taken by the Rockets, bottom and who beat the Spurs for the second consecutive day thanks to a surprising and unstoppable aim (61.2% in field goals, 54.2% in triples).
Jalen Green (31 points) led the Rockets with seven players with more than 10 points while Keita Bates-Diop (17 points) stood out in San Antonio.
Spaniard Usman Garuba had 5 points, 2 rebounds and an assist in Houston.
Thunder 129, Jazz 119
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shone with 38 points and 7 rebounds in his return after several games out due to injury and the Thunder scored a direct duel for the West play-in.
Without Lauri Markkanen, Utah had Jordan Clarkson as the top scorer (18 points and 12 assists).
. Classifications:
. Eastern Conference:
.1. Milwaukee Bucks 46-18
.2. Boston Celtics 45-20
.3. Philadelphia 76ers 41-22
.4. Cleveland Cavaliers 40-26
.5. New York Knicks 39-27
.6. Brooklyn Nets 36-28
.7. Miami Heat 34-31
.8. Atlanta Hawks 32-32
.9. Toronto Raptors 32-33
10.Washington Wizards 30-34
11. Indiana Pacers 29-36
12. Chicago Bulls 29-36
13. Orlando Magic 27-38
14. Charlotte Hornets 20-46
15. Detroit Pistons 15-49
. Western Conference:
.1. Denver Nuggets 45-19
.2. Memphis Grizzlies 38-25
.3. Sacramento Kings 37-26
.4. Phoenix Suns 36-29
.5. Golden State Warriors 34-31
.6. Minnesota Timberwolves 34-32
.7. Dallas Mavericks 33-32
.8. Los Angeles Clippers 34-33
.9. New Orleans Pelicans 31-33
10. Utah Jazz 31-34
11. Los Angeles Lakers 31-34
12. Oklahoma City Thunder 30-34
13. Portland Trail Blazers 30-34
14. San Antonio Spurs 16-49
15. Houston Rockets 15-49
NEXT DAY (Monday, March 6)
Cleveland Cavaliers – Boston Celtics
Indiana Pacers – Philadelphia 76ers
Detroit Pistons – Portland Trail Blazers
Miami Heat – Atlanta Hawks
Denver Nuggets – Toronto Raptors
Sacramento Kings – New Orleans Pelicans