Mavs 126 – Suns 130
A mistake by Doncic in a simple action ended the duel between the Mavericks and Suns, which was spicy from start to finish. A shock to follow. Read the chronicle here.
Bulls 122 – Pacers 125
The Pacers do not drop out of the fight for the play-in and remain a game and a half from tenth place, the same distance at which they leave their rival tonight, a Chicago Bulls who were in an ascending line but who hit a braking against a direct rival. Tyrese Haliburton was the hero for the visitors, hitting the decisive three-pointer with 2 seconds remaining.
Lakers 113 – Warriors 105
The Lakers win with merit and a huge Anthony Davis against the Warriors who recovered Stephen Curry but had a bad morning. Read the chronicle here.
Nets 102 – Hornets 86
The Brooklyn Nets, who had just starred in the biggest comeback of the season (they lost by 28 against the Celtics and won), achieved their second consecutive victory against the Hornets to remain firm in sixth position in the East. Mikal Bridges, now an absolute benchmark for this team, links two games of 30 or more points for the first time in his career. Today he reached 33 after an immaculate first quarter in which he scored 19 points without a miss.
Magic 119 – Blazers 122
The Blazers break a three-game losing streak with a great game from Lillard (41 points, 9 rebounds, 8 free throws made in the last 3 minutes) and Jerami Grant (20 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists), who hit the triple that broke the tie with 35 seconds to go. That was the last basket in play of the match. The Blazers find themselves at the bottom of a wagon of teams ranked between 5th and 13th in the West, all separated by 3 1/2 games.
Rockets 142 – Spurs 110
The Houston Rockets beat the San Antonio Spurs for the second night in a row and still don’t catch up with them in the standings. It’s the best possible example of the Houston team’s disastrous season. Jalen Green, with 31 points, was the top scorer. Usman Garuba had 5 and 2 rebounds in the 14 minutes he was on the court.
Thunder 129 – Jazz 119
The Thunder win a key game in the fight to enter the play-in, the second they have taken from the Jazz in three days. The match marked the return of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to the courts after an absence of five games and he did it in style, with 38 points and 7 rebounds. Josh Giddey was left on the brink of the triple-double (24+9+9) and Jalen Williams, one of the sensations of the season in Oklahoma, is the third rookie in team history to achieve a game with at least 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists behind Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant.
Celtics 129 – Knicks 131
It can be the game of the night in a night with several big parties. The New York Knicks are currently the fittest team and to prove it they won their ninth straight game in Boston and after two overtimes. And on top of that without one of its two stars, Jalen Brunson. His place was taken by Immanuel Quickley, who had the best game of his career. 38 points (8 of them in the second overtime), 8 rebounds and 7 assists in 55 minutes! The Knicks are already threatening the fourth position of some Cavs that until not so long ago seemed very comfortable in that place. But now they have those from the Big Apple just one game away.
Wizards 111 – Bucks 117
The Bucks return to winning ways in Washington with Antetokounmpo’s self-forced triple-double. At 23 points and 13 assists (personal record this season) he had 9 rebounds. With a second left to finish the game, he purposely missed a shot next to the basket to catch the rebound and reach 10. The Milwaukee men open a small gap of a game and a half between them and the Celtics.
Clippers 135 – Grizzlies 129
After five losses, the Clippers won with Russell Westbrook. The Grizzlies played a magical third quarter and went under afterward. Read the chronicle here.