NBA: Brooklyn Nets return to swimming! Hot Zach LaVine sinks Durant and late comrades

The Brooklyn Nets also lost their first game after manager Steve Nash was fired. Zach LaVine’s fireworks in the fourth quarter are too much for Kevin Durant and company, while Kyrie Irving disappoints across the board. The Suns continue their winning streak against Minnesota.

Brooklyn Nets (2-6) – Chicago Bulls (4-4) 99: 108 (BOXSCORE)

• A day to forget for the Nets, from cover to cover. The bad news began with the firing of manager Steve Nash and continued into the evening when Brooklyn gave up a 12-point lead and suffered another high. How come? Because Zach LaVine (29 points) was very strong in the fourth quarter.
• Under the guidance of interim manager Jacque Vaughn, Kevin Durant got off to a great start. In the interval he was highly efficient 20 points, while co-star Kyrie Irving was exactly 0: for the first time since 2018, the point guard didn’t score a single point in the first half after causing a lot of unrest off the pitch. The third star, Ben Simmons, was again absent (knee).
• KD received the support of Royce O’Neale, among others, who established his career with 20 points (4/6 three). The two gave the hosts a slight advantage in the interval and extended their lead to 12 points in the third quarter. In the final stretch, however, it went steeply downhill.
• Chicago burned a 22-10 run to start the fourth quarter, 15 of which went to LaVine. The guard was unstoppable by the weak perimeter defense of the Nets. In this round alone he soldered 4 triples through the trap and scored more points (20) than the entire Nets team (19). So the Bulls turned the game around, at the latest after taking a 12-point lead midway through the first half, things were over.
• Behind LaVine, DeMar DeRozan was the Bulls top scorer with 20 points, even though his shot didn’t go as planned (8/21 FG). Ayo Dosunmu (17, 7/11 FG) and Goran Dragic (15) were convincing, Nikola Vucevic took 15 rebounds with 7 points. Durant, on the other hand, is confirmed as the top scorer (32, plus 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 turnovers). Irving doesn’t get his first points until just under ten minutes to go, but ends up with just 4 and 7 assists 2/12 from the field.

Miami Heat (3-5) – Golden State Warriors (3-5) 116: 109 (MATCH REPORT)

Oklahoma City Thunder (4-3) – Orlando Magic (1-7) 116: 108 (BOXSCORE)

• It looked like the Magic had already helped win. Eventually, however, they had to leave the floor with their heads down, as Thunder fans celebrated Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with “MVP, MVP” calls. The SGA scored 13 of its 34 points in the last period leading the home team to a fourth straight win from a 15-point gap.
• Florida hosts scored nearly 55% of their shots from the field in the first half and also had significantly better odds than the OKC midway through the third round. Thus was born the comfortable advantage, with Franz Wagner in particular (20 points, 7 assists, 1 hammer-crushed) and Wendell Carter Jr., who set a career record (30 and 12 rebounds), had their fingers in the pie. Paolo Banchero scored 15 points (6/13 FG) and 8 rebounds.
• The big problem with the Magic, still weak in the backcourt, was the loss of the ball. Orlando gave the ball a total of 25 times (OKC: 17 turnovers), which the Thunder converted to 30 straight points. Banchero had 4 turnovers, Bol Bol and his double double (13, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks) 6 losses. The OKC has come back and even when Carter Jr. again smashed the Magic in double digits in the last period, Oklahoma City didn’t give up.
• Gilgeous-Alexander pulled out one strong attack after another and reached the free throw line (7/8 FT in the fourth quarter). Equally good Aleksej Pokusevski (16, 9 rebounds) took his colors from the center into the lead, the SGA followed suit and finally Luguentz Dort (14) sank the dagger from the center in the last minute. The story of the match was obviously Gilgeous-Alexander, who in addition to his 34 points (12/18 FG) also had 6 assists and 3 steals with 5 turnovers. “I still don’t think he’s playing his best basketball,” coach Mark Daigneault later said.