ELast February 25 the Chicago Bulls were imposed on the Atlanta Hawks (112-108) at the United Center and certified their first place in the Eastern Conference with 39 wins and 21 losses. An exciting balance that made us look back and returned the Illinois franchise to numbers that had not been seen since the time of Michael Jordan y Scottie Pippen.
However, that day something changed at the United Center and the gaseous effect disappeared in Billy Donovan’s team, which since then he has 11 defeats in the last 15 games. A balance that only get worse Thunder, Blazers and the defenestrated Lakers. In that period, the Bulls have gone from leading their conference with a three-game lead over the Sixers or Bucks to staying with a single rental game over the Hornets to enter the playoffs directly and avoid the play-in.
Little margin for error for a team whose regular season is taking too long and which has shown its lack of solidity, especially when it comes to fighting with teams from the noble zone (has not beaten any of the top three of both conferences with a record of 0-16) and has not shown forcefulness against teams with worse balance as they have shown in their last game against the Knicks (109-104).
“It’s frustrating”, assured DeMar DeRozan after a new offensive exhibition (37 points against the Knicks) in a team that has ended up missing Lonzo Ball a lot. The shooting guard does not hide his disappointment about the situation of some Bulls that looked like one of the great surprises of the season and that may end up being one of the great disappointments of the course.
Nikola Jokic knows that he needs his entire arsenal, which is not little, to sustain the race for the MVP with Joel Embiid, and against the Charlotte Hornets (109-113 for Colorado) nothing was kept in the inkwell. The Serbian center dazzled again with a triple double (26 points on 9-of-17 shooting, 19 rebounds and 11 assists). Jokic already has 76 triple-doubles and is just two short of the record for Wilt Chamberlain as the best center in this aspect.
After three straight losses, the Cavaliers they suffered to impose themselves on some Orlando Magic (107-101) who, despite being bottom in the East, put the Cleveland team in trouble. Darius Garland (25 points and 12 assists) was the beacon of some Cavaliers who reached 42 victories and close their first winning season since LeBron James’ departure in 2018.
Usman Garuba He has recovered from his sprained ankle and after running out of minutes in the Rockets’ last match, against the Spurs he enjoyed playing minutes again. The international center came off the bench to play 14 minutes in which he scored five points (one of two from the triple), capture three rebounds and give an assist.
RESULTS OF THE NBA DAY
- Hornets 109-113 Nuggets
- Cavaliers 107-101 Magic
- Pacers 123-132 Hawks
- Heat 123-100 Kings
- Knicks 109-104 Bulls
- Raptors 115-112 Celtics
- Rockets 120-123 Spurs
- Grizzlies 123-95 Warriors
- Trail Blazers 131-134 Thunder
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The Golden State Warriors They keep removing pages from the calendar to see how much is left for the return of Stephen Curry. The San Francisco team was completely blurred (123-95) for about Memphis Grizzlies that they did not have Ja Morantbut they did what they wanted with Steve Kerr’s team (4-6 in the last 10 games) who couldn’t put on the pitch either Klay Thompson o Draymond Green.
It is not being a comfortable end of season for the Miami Heat, more aware of internal problems than what happens on the field. For this reason, a match without excessive complications like the one they experienced is to be appreciated ante los Kings (123-100). A party that served for Jimmy Butler sharpened his aim again (27 points) with three triples, in his best game of the season in this aspect.
The bad news for Boston Celtics They didn’t come alone. to the injury of Robert Williams was joined by defeat on his visit to the Toronto Raptors (115-112). 40 points and 13 rebounds from Pascal Siakam In addition to an extension, it was necessary for the Canadians to beat the Celtics who, despite this defeat, have 24 wins in their last 30 games. Marcus Smart (28 points and 10 rebounds) was the best of Ime Udoka’s team in the field and in those who did not step on the court Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford and the aforementioned Williams.
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