Julius Randle shoots the New York Knicks against the Philadelphia 76ers in overtime, but awards the throw to victory there. The Raptors lose their eighth game in a row and the Lakers go down without LeBron James against the Suns, who celebrate a milestone from Chris Paul.
The Pacers also win the second duel in three days on South Beach, the bankruptcy series of the Rockets continues. Brandon Ingram excels in crunchtime, securing New Orleans a win in Denver.
Miami Heat (22-21) – Indiana Pacers (19-22) 106:109 OT (BOXSCORE)
- Just two days ago the Indiana Heat were beaten up (110: 137), this time it was tighter and Indiana needed an overtime to win a real crime thriller. Domantas Sabonis was the best scorer with 17 points (5/13 FG), 11 rebounds and 3 steals, but fouled out in extra time. Here you can find the highlights of the game in the video!
- Indiana started hot and hit 6/12 from distance in the first quarter, while the Heat had big problems from the perimeter for the entire game (9/37 3FG). Miami was therefore increasingly looking for the zone, but was behind by 8 points at the break. A 7-0 run by Bam Adebayo brought the Heat back on, among other things, the soul of Sabonis had to believe in this monster slam.
- Sabonis then seemed to get the Pacers onto the winning road 1:30 before the end. The Lithuanian first stole the ball from Butler and then made it 98:92 in the fast break. Miami scored the last 6 points, with Butler missing the possible game winner with just 12 seconds, on the other hand LeVert left out the decision.
- The heat run continued in extra time, but two three pointers from Justin Holiday stopped the run and brought the lead back. Malcolm Brogdon increased to +4, after which the hosts did not come close. Butler had another chance for a second extension with the siren, but his three over Brogdon was clearly too short.
- But the best scorer of the Heat was the outstanding Adebayo (29, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks), who fought thrilling duels with Sabonis and Myles Turner (16, 5 blocks). Butler put on 21 counters, 15 rebounds and 7 assists, but this time the forward lacked luck in the crucial moments. Holiday (15) sank five threes for Indiana, Brogdon (12, 10 assists) delivered a double-double and Doug McDermott delivered a good game from the bench.
Houston Rockets (11-30) – Oklahoma City Thunder (18-24) 112:114 (BOXSCORE)
- The Rockets really wanted to win this game, but in the end the Texans were left empty-handed for the 20th time in a row. Lu Dort was not only the top scorer of Thunder with 23 points, but also played the game, when, 8 seconds before the end, at a score of 113: 112, John Wall did a bad job at the lay-up.
- Aleksej Pokusevski (9, 2/9 FG, 9 rebounds), who only took (and sunk) eight free throws in the entire season, but then left one free throw. So Houston still had a chance to win, but a three from Wall over the outstretched arms of Dort did not find its target.
- The Rockets competed with a full band for their standards, John Wall, Victor Oladipo and Christian Wood all played together and yet it was the Thunder who swung the baton. The guests led for almost the entire season, but they couldn’t really break away. In the second quarter the lead was times 13 points, but subsequently it was mostly single digits. Interesting: According to Thunder, their starting lineup was the second youngest in NBA history with an average age of 21 years and 36 days.
- In the final section, Oladipo brought the hosts back into play. Wall then even took the lead again after what felt like an eternity with just under three minutes to go. Theo Maledon (12) countered this immediately, after which there were terrible possessions that ultimately led to this dramatic end.
- OKC even had to do without its best player in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (shoulder problems), this was absorbed as a collective. Isaiah Roby put on 18 points and 8 rebounds, Moses Brown (13, 14 rebounds) managed a double-double. For Houston, the “Big Three” from Wall (24, 7/18 FG, 7 assists), Oladipo (23, 9/15 FG) and Wood (27, 8 rebounds) were responsible for most of the offensive production.
Denver Nuggets (25-17) – New Orleans Pelicans (18-24) 108:113 (BOXSCORE)
- The Nuggets have been one of the hottest teams in the league in the past few weeks, but against New Orleans it set Nikola Jokic and Co. a setback. Brandon Ingram (30 points, 8 assists) delivered a remarkable shootout with the Serb in the fourth quarter and also got the upper hand in the end. In the meantime, the forward made 8 points in a row in crunchtime.
- Ingram scored all these 8 points in the last 93 seconds of the game and ultimately gave Denver no chance. Before that, it was Jokic who brought his colors back. The center recorded 23 of his 27 points (12/18 FG) after the break, plus 10 rebounds and 11 assists. In the first half, Steven Adams (4, 13 rebounds) had given the MVP candidate big problems. Jamal Murray had 25 points (10/17 FG), Isaiah Hartenstein delivered a solid 10 minutes with 4 points (1/2 FG), 3 rebounds and 3 blocks.
- The Pelicans scored points from the free-throw line again and again in their weak phases and had clear advantages there with 23/30 hits (8/10 for Denver), which Murray apparently did not consider to be guaranteed. “30 freethrows to our 10, in the last four minutes they just threw free throws continuously. That’s crazy,” said the guard after the game, although he was not asked about the free throws. “We can play as much defense as we want, but we cannot defend free throws.”
- The nuggets started well, but from the second quarter at the latest, the guests also began to play defense. The Pels led by up to 10 points, even though Lonzo Ball with hip problems was missing. Denver came back, mostly because New Orleans struggled with the nuggets zone.
- That worked for a long time because New Orleans only hit 28 percent from a distance (8/28 threesomes). Zion Williamson, on the other hand, hit his only throw from distance, but otherwise it was again extremely efficient 30 points (9/13 FG, 11/14 FT). Ball replacement Nickeil Alexander-Walker contributed 20 points to the win, Jaxson Hayes also delivered the next highlight dunk, this time his victim was PJ Dozier.
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