NBA BASKETBALL
Los Angeles (USA), March 31 (EFE).- The Phoenix Suns and the Miami Heat, leaders of the West and the East, respectively, hit the table in a day that saw how the Dallas Mavericks from a Brilliant Luka Doncic overtook a depressed Golden State Warriors in the West.
WARRIORS 103 – SUNS 107
Chris Paul scored 8 of his 15 points in total in the last four minutes to the despair of the Golden State Warriors who squandered a magnificent performance by Jordan Poole (38 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists).
Facing the nine wins in a row for the Suns, the Warriors added their fourth straight loss, played for the seventh straight game without the injured Stephen Curry, have only won one of their last eight games and fell to fourth in the West for the benefit of some Mavericks who are now third.
The Mexican-American Juan Toscano-Anderson did not have minutes in the Warriors
CELTICS 98 – HEAT 106
Max Strus, with a sensational block on Jaylen Brown and a forced offensive foul on Jayson Tatum, was the unexpected hero in the final stretch of the game that the Miami Heat took in Boston against the Celtics to reinforce their leadership in the East.
Kyle Lowry (23 points and 8 assists) and Jimmy Butler (24 points) were the best for the Heat while Jaylen Brown stood out for the locals (28 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists).
The Dominican Al Horford played 34 minutes in which he got 6 points, 15 rebounds and 4 assists.
CAVALIERS 112 – MAVERICKS 120
With the umpteenth recital of Luka Doncic (35 points, 9 rebounds and 13 assists), the Dallas Mavericks added their third victory by defeating a Cleveland Cavaliers in trouble and who seem doomed to the play-in after their fourth loss in five games.
Caris LeVert (32 points and 6 rebounds) led a Cavaliers that crashed in the third quarter (22-39).
SPURS 111 – GRIZZLIES 112
A layup on the buzzer by Keldon Johnson that went practically out of the box left the San Antonio Spurs in tears, who bordered on the feat against the Memphis Grizzlies, who secured their second position in the West.
Tyus Jones (25 points and 6 assists) guided the overwhelming Grizzlies who have won six in a row while Dejounte Murray (33 points and 13 rebounds) shone for the Spurs, who are still fighting with the Los Angeles Lakers for the last place in the play-in. .
PACERS 118 – NUGGETS 125
Nikola Jokic was on the brink of a triple-double (37 points, 13 rebounds and 9 assists) and his extraordinary performance was essential for the Denver Nuggets, who led by 31 points in the second quarter, to take their third victory in a row at knock down some Indiana Pacers who came to take the lead in the last quarter.
Buddy Hield (20 points) was one of seven Pacers players above 10 points as the Nuggets are now fifth in the West after passing the Jazz.
RAPTORS 125 – TIMBERWOLVES 102
Driven by a great second half (63-42), the Toronto Raptors added their fourth straight win thanks to Pascal Siakam’s triple-double (12 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists) and Gary Trent Jr.’s 29 points.
The Dominican-American Karl-Anthony Towns had 16 points and 10 rebounds in 32 minutes while the Argentine Leandro Bolmaro played 4 minutes in which he got a rebound.
BLAZERS 107 – PELICANS 117
In his return to Portland, CJ McCollum showed no mercy for his former team and, with 25 points, led the New Orleans Pelicans to a very important victory that consolidated their ninth position in the West.
Drew Eubanks (21 points and 9 rebounds) was the best for a decaying Blazers who have lost their last five games.
Willy Hernangómez of Spain had no place in the Pelicans’ rotation.
THUNDER 118 – HAWKS 136
With 41 points and 8 assists, Trae Young masterfully led the Atlanta Hawks in their walk against the ruinous Oklahoma City Thunder who were already down by 33 points in the second quarter.
Lindy Waters III (25 points) was one of the least salvageable for the Thunder while the Hawks, after three wins in a row, have practically confirmed play-in in the East.
KNICKS 114 – HORNETS 125
After four wins in a row and still with the distant dream of reaching the play-in, the New York Knicks came back to reality and fell to the Charlotte Hornets with a great Miles Bridges (31 points and 6 rebounds).
Evan Fournier (30 points) excelled at the New Yorkers.
ROCKETS 118 – KINGS 121
Spaniard Usman Garuba played his first game as a starter for the Houston Rockets and had 8 points and 7 rebounds in 26 minutes in his team’s loss to the Sacramento Kings.
Davion Mitchell, Damian Jones and Trey Lyles, all with 24 points, were the Kings’ benchmarks.
WIZARDS 127 – MAGIC 110
In a game with almost nothing at stake, Kristaps Porzingis (35 points and 8 rebounds) beat Franz Wagner (28 points) to give the Washington Wizards the victory.
Brazilian Raul Neto played a minute for the Wizards and grabbed a rebound.
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
.1. Miami Heat (49-28)
.2. Milwaukee Bucks (47-28)
.3. Philadelphia 76ers (46-29)
.4. Boston Celtics (47-30)
.5. Chicago Bulls (44-32)
.6. Toronto Raptors (44-32)
.7. Cleveland Cavaliers (42-34)
.8. Brooklyn Nets (40-36)
.9. Charlotte Hornets (40-37)
10. Atlanta Hawks (39-37)
11. New York Knicks (34-43)
12. Washington Wizards (33-43)
13. Indiana Pacers (25-52)
14. Detroit Pistons (20-56)
15. Orlando Magic (20-57)
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
.1. Phoenix Suns (62-14)
.2. Memphis Grizzlies (54-23)
.3. Dallas Mavericks (48-29)
.4. Golden State Warriors (48-29)
.5. Denver Nuggets (46-31)
.6. Utah Jazz (45-31)
.7. Minnesota Timberwolves (43-34)
.8. Los Angeles Clippers (37-39)
.9. New Orleans Pelicans (33-43)
10. Los Angeles Lakers (31-44)
11. San Antonio Spurs (31-45)
12. Sacramento Kings (28-49)
13. Portland Trail Blazers (27-49)
14. Oklahoma City Thunder (22-54)
15. Houston Rockets (20-57).
NEXT DAY (Thursday, March 31)
Detroit Pistons – Philadelphia 76ers
Atlanta Hawks – Cleveland Cavaliers
Brooklyn Nets – Milwaukee Bucks
Chicago Bulls – Los Angeles Clippers
Utah Jazz – Los Angeles Lakers.
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