NBA: Dennis Schröder leads the Lakers to victory against the Warriors

Franz Wagner and his Orlando Magic are learning the hard way against the Miami Heat, the Indiana Pacers are being passed on and a newcomer is fitting in splendidly with the New York Knicks.

Brooklyn Nets (33-23) – Philadelphia 76ers (36-19) 98:101 (BOXSCORE)

• James Harden lined up against the Nets for the first time since his move and was of course in the spotlight after the week’s events. Looking back, he described the Big 3 era as “frustrating” and wished that all parties could now “move forward”, but admitted that he “doesn’t look like the crazy guy now” because he was the first had wanted to leave. At least you could agree that he found a pretty good other star teammate in Joel Embiid.
• The MVP candidate was again the dominant figure in this game (37 points, 12/18 FG, 13 rebounds), with Harden also having a strong game (29, 9/20). While not much was going on with the supporting cast, the two stars alone were responsible for 22 of the 30 Sixers free throws and thus contributed a lot to the win. Appropriately, the last 4 points of the game were two free throws each from Embiid and Harden, only 5 seconds before the end Embiid gave his team a 1 lead at the line.
• Previously, the newly formed Nets had long looked like they could spoil Harden’s return. In the middle of the fourth quarter they were still leading with 9, especially Joe Harris (18, 6/9 threes) and Cam Thomas (14), coming from the bench, turned up the heat in the last quarter after Mikal Bridges (23) had previously impressed. It was almost enough for overtime – however, Spencer Dinwiddie’s potential equalizer from the line came a little too late, according to the official review.

Charlotte Hornets (15-43) – Denver Nuggets (39-18) 105:119 (BOXSCORE)

• Without two co-stars, Nikola Jokic had to work a little harder than desired with the weak Hornets, but as usual the Joker made it look relatively easy. Triple-double number 20 this season (30 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists) was ultimately enough to lead Denver to a dominant away win after the break. Charlotte was leading by 4 at the break, but Denver quickly took control after that and led by double digits for most of the final quarter.
• Despite missing Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon, Jokic certainly had support, with six other Nuggets scoring in double figures, including Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on 15. The Nuggets were cold from distance (5/23 threes), however, which led to them scoring these Game not decided early(r).
• For the Hornets, PJ Washington (22) and Gordon Hayward (21) scored best, while LaMelo Ball added 18 and 12 assists. Even with them, however, little came from outside (8/32). Charlotte has now lost seven games in a row.

Orlando Magic (23-34) – Miami Heat (32-25) 103:107 OT (BOXSCORE)

• Third win in a row for the Heat, who almost never win a game significantly this season but are increasingly experts at clutch situations. Their plus in experience showed against the young Magic in the closing stages as Miami dominated defensively and gradually put themselves in a position to win the game after all.
• It didn’t look like that for a long time. Orlando led by as much as 16 points at half-time and was up 10 midway through the last quarter, and Miami never led in regular time. But 12 seconds before the end, Gabe Vincent (20 points) equalized the game from the free-throw line, the last chance to win was missed by Paolo Banchero (16, 13 rebounds). So it had to go into overtime, where Miami took the lead directly after a Vincent three-pointer and two mid-range jumpers from Tyler Herro (23), without really convincing afterwards. It was enough, mainly because of the suffocating defense.
• Franz Wagner also had to struggle with this, even if he scored 4 of the 6 Magic points in overtime (10 points overall, 4/15 FG). Things went a little better for Moritz Wagner (14, 4/7), but the Magic top scorer was Markelle Fultz with 17. In addition to Herro and Vincent, the Heat featured Jimmy Butler (22, 7 rebounds, 6 assists) and Bam Adebayo ( 13, 17, 6) noticeable, especially Butler had his paws in the game almost everywhere in the final phase.

Washington Wizards (26-29) – Indiana Pacers (25-33-) 127:113 (BOXSCORE)

• The Pacers’ descent continues inexorably. It was Indiana’s 15th defeat in the last 17 games against the red-hot Wizards, and the gap to 10th place is slowly growing. And it was never close in this game, Washington had already 80 points after 24 minutes and led at the break with 23 points. As a team, the hosts shot an unbelievable 64 percent from the field, especially from the two-point area they hardly missed.
• Washington’s top scorer was Bradley Beal with 32 points (13/18 FG), six other players scored in double digits, including Kristaps Porzingis (plus 10 rebounds) and Monte Morris with 17 each. 15 of their 20 throws found their target in the first quarter, and that was the end it’s their best rate of the season despite an extended garbage time. And this time around, the Wizards also refrained from breaking a sweat, as they have so often lately, despite a 20+ point lead despite Indiana marking the first 10 points of the third quarter.
• Top scorer for the Pacers was Tyrese Haliburton with 21 points, Myles Turner came up with 20. Indiana didn’t play a really bad game on offense, but simply couldn’t create excitement with this defense.

Atlanta Hawks (29-28) – San Antonio Spurs (14-43) 125:106 (BOXSCORE)

• Befitting success for the Hawks, who, after a balanced first half, got serious from the third quarter and didn’t look back. Trae Young (24 points, 17 assists) led a dominant offensive performance and was instrumental in Atlanta leading by +15 after three quarters and not really faltering after that.
• The newcomers Saddiq Bey, Garrison Mathews or Bruno Fernando have not yet played for the Hawks, but each starter scored at least 14 points. De’Andre Hunter shared 24 points with Young, and Atlanta have now won four of their last six games and are a long way from giving up direct playoff qualification.
• The Spurs are known to be in other spheres, for the Texans it was the 12th defeat in a row. Keldon Johnson (25) and Jeremy Sochan (18, 9 rebounds, 5 assists) provided a few bright spots, but in the end they couldn’t do anything against the next blowout.

New York Knicks (31-27) – Utah Jazz (28-30) 126:120 (BOXSCORE)

• On days like this, Madison Square Garden is worth its weight in gold. In an enthralling finale, New York prevailed at the end of a wild game and were duly celebrated for it, especially Jalen Brunson, who recorded 38 points overall and ended up being chanted “MVP, MVP” to himself. His old and new teammate Josh Hart also played a key role in this success.
• The midweek forward from Portland, who had played with Brunson in college, made a great debut. Coming off the bench, he put up 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. It was also him who, 1:42 minutes before the end after a crosscourt pass by the strong Julius Randle (31 points), made a three pointer for +9 and thus the preliminary decision. Brunson then eliminated the last doubts in the last 30 seconds at the free-throw line.
• The top scorer for the visitors was Lauri Markkanen with 29 points, Jordan Clarkson had 24 and Talen Horton-Tucker had 23 points, but this trio was also unable to prevent their fourth defeat in five games. With the Knicks, Isaiah Hartenstein still got 6 points and 14 rebounds coming from the bench.

Cleveland Cavaliers (37-22) – Chicago Bulls (26-30) 97:89 (BOXSCORE)

• For a long time, one of the Bulls’ better wins this season seemed within reach, late in the third quarter Chicago still held a +10 lead at division rivals. But you also have to bring the games to the end, and Chicago once again had a very difficult time with that. The Cavs ended the game with a 36:18 “run” and ended up keeping the win at home.
• Donovan Mitchell was in charge, the All-Star scoring 14 of his 29 points in the last 15 minutes of the game (plus 10 rebounds and 6 assists). He had strong support, particularly in the person of Jarrett Allen (23, 10 rebounds) and Darius Garland (19, 7 assists). Although the Cavs did not show an efficient offensive game, they forced 22 turnovers from the guests and ultimately took twelve field shots more than the Bulls.
• For the visitors, Zach LaVine started off strong but faltered a bit after the break (23 points total). DeMar DeRozan still had 16 points, Nikola Vucevic delivered a double-double (14, 14 rebounds). Cleveland has won six games in a row, the Bulls conceded their third straight loss.

Golden State Warriors (28-28) – Los Angeles Lakers (26-31) 103:109 (BOXSCORE)

• With pain in his foot, LeBron James sat on the sidelines again, but three newcomers made their debuts with the Lakers – but in the end two players who had been there for a long time were decisive for the win. Anthony Davis (13 points, 5/19 FG, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks) shook off a lousy shooting game and ended up dominating on the defensive, while Dennis Schröder was responsible for the offensive with one of his best performances of the season (26, 7/ 12 FG, 3/4 threesome).
• It was also Schröder who put 1:17 before the end with a floater worth seeing to +6. A little later he almost cleared the last doubts with a three, but this missed his target – Schröder then made up for it 11 seconds before the end at the free-throw line. It was the first win for the Lakers after three straight losses. Newcomers Rui Hachimura (16 points), D’Angelo Russell (15, 6 assists) and Jarred Vanderbilt (12, 8 rebounds, 4 assists) were also noticeable.
• The Warriors, who continued to play without Stephen Curry, alternated between light and shadow. The top scorer was Jordan Poole (29), who ran incredibly hot at the beginning of the fourth quarter. He scored 17 of the first 19 Warriors points in this segment, but he cooled down noticeably afterwards and seemed a bit overexcited at times. This was even more the case with Klay Thompson (15 points but only a 5/21 FG). The Warriors have lost four of their last six games.

Sacramento Kings (-) – Dallas Mavericks (-) -:-