New NBA day with up to 8 games played and interesting things. The Western Conference squeezes the maximum with the victories of the Blazers and Suns and the defeats, on the other hand, of Wolves (which had a great brawl) and Jazz. From fourth to thirteenth place there are only 3 victories difference, a minimum distance when we have already passed the middle of the season and we are facing, in fact, the final stretch. The results bring the Lakers even closer, who increase their options without playing. In the rest of the matches, the Pistons, Pacers, Raptors and Sixers win, the latter with another great game by Joel Embiid. All this and much more, in the summary of the day:
DETROIT PISTONS 118 – 112 CHARLOTTE HORNETS
The duel between the two worst teams in the East ended with victory for the Pistons, bottom, led by Jaden Ivey (24 points and 7 assists). LaMelo Ball and Terry Rozier added 23 points per head in a Hornets that are penultimate of the Eastern Conference.
INDIANA PACERS 107 – 104 SACRAMENTO KINGS
The Pacers bounced back from their tight loss Thursday to the Los Angeles Lakers. with a victory against the Kings led by Buddy Hield (21 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists). Domantas Sabonis (15 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists) stood out in Sacramento.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS 116 – 124 PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
The comeback of the day was sealed by the Blazers, who were down 20 points before the break and who ended up taking the match against the Wizards who saw their streak of six consecutive wins snapped. Anfernee Simons (33 points and 6 assists) and Bradley Beal (34 points) were the best for Portland and Washingtonrespectively.
BOSTON CELTICS 94 – 106 PHOENIX SUNS
The Suns storm the Garden with a great performance. Check the chronicle here.
HOUSTON ROCKETS 111 – 117 TORONTO RAPTORS
Fred VanVleet, with 32 points, propelled the Raptors in their victory against the Rockets, bottom of the West and who had Eric Gordon (28 points) as a reference. The Spanish were not lucky: Juancho Hernangómez played 5 minutes in Toronto without leaving a mark on the statistics and Usman Garuba found no place in Houston’s rotation.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES 120 – 127 ORLANDO MAGIC
Five players were ejected this Friday in the game between the Timberwolves and Magic after a brawl that began with a fight between Mo Bamba and Austin Rivers. At 1.32 in the third quarter, Bamba (who was not playing at the time) and Rivers (who was on the court) began to fight practically in front of the Magic’s bench.. While the punches between Bamba and Rivers flew, numerous players and members of the coaching staff of both teams joined the brawl. When the massive tangana ended, the referees decreed the expulsion of Bamba and Jalen Suggs in the Magic and Rivers, Jaden McDaniels and Taurean Prince in the Wolves. The game ended with a victory for the Magic with Cole Anthony (20 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists) as Orlando’s top scorer. D’Angelo Russell (29 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists) was the standout for Minnesota. This brawl at Wolves-Magic came just one day after another fight in which Dillon Brooks and Donovan Mitchell were ejected in Thursday’s game that ended in the victory of the Cavaliers against the Grizzlies (128-113). Brooks, who punched the Cavaliers star in the crotch, was suspended for one game while Mitchell was fined $20,000.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS 125 – 137 PHILADELPHIA SIXERS
With Joel Embiid (33 points and 10 rebounds) leading six players with more than 10 points, the Sixers beat some Spurs hopelessly and they already have eight consecutive defeats. Malaki Branham (26 points) was the standout for San Antonio.
UTAH JAZZ 108 – 115 ATLANTA HAWKS
The Hawks, who were already up by 22 points in the second quarter, signed a remarkable victory in Utah thanks to Trae Young’s 27 points and 6 assists. Lauri Markkanen (25 points and 10 rebounds) led the offense for the Jazz.