The Dallas Mavericks clinched another win in the battle for third place in the west. The Brooklyn Nets also win – despite a very weak first half. The Boston Celtics set another exclamation mark.
Detroit Pistons (23-57) – Dallas Mavericks (50-30) 113:131 (BOXSCORE)
- It was the expected awkward task for the Mavs against a Detroit team that had recently won three games in a row. The Pistons only had one big man available in Isaiah Stewart (19, 3/3 three, 13 rebounds), but they put up a good fight for a long time. Luka Doncic scratched a triple-double with 26 points (8/21), 8 rebounds and 14 assists, but had to work very hard for it.
- The Slovenian also posted 6 turnovers and eventually gave up mismatch hunting against Stewart, who did terrific in those situations. With Jalen Brunson (24, 9/15), Doncic also had sufficient support, the guard especially helped in the third quarter, when the guests pulled away a little for the first time.
- Dallas scored 34 points at 82 percent from the field (14/17 FG) in this section. 5 turnovers prevented a higher lead (+13), also because Cade Cunningham (25, 7/19, 9 assists) could annoy Doncic in a one-on-one and also put his stamp on the game in attack. 11 free throws was also a record for the top pick from the 2021 draft.
- In the fourth quarter, the Mavs didn’t let anything burn. Davis Bertans (9) netted three triples in a row, and Josh Green (12) also made plays. In the end, six guest players scored double digits, the other three regular rotation players used scored 9 points each. Doncic still had some time to do magic like with that no-look pass over the head. Maxi Kleber missed again with ankle problems.
- The win pushes the Mavs back past Golden State in third place. The Warriors can change that again tomorrow when they host the Los Angeles Lakers at the Chase Center.
New York Knicks (35-45) – Brooklyn Nets (42-38) 98:110 (BOXSCORE)
- That wasn’t from the Nets for a long time, but in the middle of the third quarter Steve Nash’s men decided to launch another attack on seventh place in the East. With a 25:4 run, the guests catapulted themselves back into the game in the Subway Series and were then able to rely on Kevin Durant’s closing qualities.
- Not only did the forward score 13 of his 32 points (plus 10 rebounds, 11 assists) in the fourth quarter, he also spent most of his time as a small-ball center. 3 blocks were noted in the box score, plus numerous defended throws. The Knicks, once up 21 points, were down 30 points after the break.
- In general, the hosts didn’t manage a single field goal in the last 7:10 minutes, the Nets ended the game with another 18:3 run. Patty Mills (15) hit four of his five three-pointers in the closing stretch, while Kyrie Irving had 24 points and 7 assists. Seth Curry (15, 5/10) came on again after a two-game break.
- For the Knicks, Alec Burks was the most diligent point collector with 24 points (7/14), while RJ Barrett (23, 7/27 FG, 7/12 FT, 7 assists) once again left a lot to be desired in terms of efficiency. Obi Toppins (19, 7/13) performance in the absence of Julius Randle was again encouraging.
Atlanta Hawks (42-38) – Washington Wizards (35-45) 118:103 (BOXSCORE)
- The Atlanta Hawks also did their homework, but they too had some difficulties with the Wizards already eliminated. In the end, it was once again Trae Young who led his colors to victory. 30 points (8/17 FG, 11/12 FT), 11 assists and a plus-minus +28 were noted for the Hawks All-Star Guard.
- It was also Young who set the course for victory at the end of the third quarter. Within 126 seconds, the guard scored 14 points in a row for the hosts, Washington made 6 in the same period. Six free throws, two deep threes and a successful drive – the Hawks had achieved a double-digit lead in no time at all.
- The Wizards held back for a long time with good shooting. Kristaps Porzingis put on a strong double-double with 26 points (8/16 FG) and 18 rebounds, this time the Latvian also scored a three (4/8). In addition, the guests scored a lot from the middle distance, in addition to the Einhorn, Ish Smith (9, 6 assists) was a highlight here.
- Atlanta didn’t let anything burn in the final section, alongside Young, Danilo Gallinari (26, 11/19, 10 rebounds) also had a hot hand. The same was true for Bogdan Bogdanovic (18, 6/9 threes), the Serb seems to be back in rhythm just before the playoffs.
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