Joel Embiid led the Philadelphia 76ers to a hard-fought win after overtime in Charlotte. The center set a season high. The Milwaukee Bucks remain undefeated with their Big Three and the Atlanta Hawks set a new franchise record.
Charlotte Hornets (14-12) – Philadelphia 76ers (13-11) 124:127 OT (BOXSCORE)
- Looking at this position, it was predictable that Joel Embiid would dominate, the center position remains the great weakness of the Hornets. And so it was, Embiid was the towering man on the field and led the Sixers to a win against a direct competitor for a playoff place. 43 points (15/20 FG, 12/14 FT), 15 rebounds and 7 assists were noted for the Cameroonian in the box score.
- The Sixers had to tremble for a long time and were allowed to thank Embiid that it went into overtime at all. During the last attack by the Sixers, the center took matters into their own hands, dribbled the ball forward, straightened out his opponent and coldly hit the jumper to the TDC. There Embiid posted six of Philly’s eight counters, while the Hornets missed another overtime with a three from Kelly Oubre Jr.
- The Hornets started again weakly, with LaMelo Ball, Jalen McDaniels, Mason Plumlee, Terry Rozier and Ish Smith there are still five players in the corona protocol. Coach James Borrego only played a rotation of eight with two rookies. One of them was JT Thor, who scored his first NBA field goal – and that was a poster slam about Andre Drummond.
- And despite the many failures, the hosts sold dearly in Atlanta, as they did yesterday. Charlotte quickly led in double digits and didn’t buckle when Philly got serious, thanks to Embiid, and won the second quarter with 44:28. The guests led by up to 13 points, but Charlotte came back into the game with the well-known fast game and continued to produce highlights like this putback dunk by James Bouknight.
- The Hornets’ top scorer was Kelly Oubre Jr. (35, 13/24), however, what he fabricated at the beginning of the OT simply cannot be explained. Gordon Hayward (12, 1/8 threesome, 9 assists) couldn’t find a rhythm from a distance. PJ Washington (16) cut a good figure as a backup big. In addition to Embiid, Tobias Harris (21, 11 rebounds) and Shake Milton (16, 6/8 FG) also knew how to please the Sixers.
Detroit Pistons (4-19) – Oklahoma City Thunder (7-16) 103:114 (BOXSCORE)
- Two of the worst teams in the league (both had lost eight games in a row) met here and the game was correspondingly tough for a long time. Lots of turnover, lots of fouls, little flow of the game, but there was an almost absurd final quarter in which OKC’s veterans were finally ripped off. A late 12-0 run by the guests was the decision of this game, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in particular having his fingers in the game almost everywhere.
- The Thunder star guard put on 30 points (9/20 FG, 12/15 FT) and 13 assists and could only be stopped by the Pistons with fouls. In the last five minutes of the game alone, SGA put on 8 counters and 5 assists and was thus directly involved in eight of the last ten OKC buckets.
- But now again to this absurd 42:22 final quarter in favor of the Thunder. We can’t confirm it, but a throw rate of 89.4 percent in those twelve minutes smells like a record. Only the layup attempts by SGA and Darius Bazley were blocked.
- A bright spot at Detroit was top pick Cade Cunningham, who set a new personal best with 28 points (6/11 threesomes), 11 rebounds and 5 assists. This makes him the first Pistons rookie with a 20/10/5 statline since Greg Monroe in the 2010/11 season. Jerami Grant (20) and Saddiq Bey (15) now scored double digits. On the Thunder side, SGA had enough support in the person of Lu Dort (28, 5/10 threesome).
Indiana Pacers (10-16) – Washington Wizards (14-11) 116:110 (BOXSCORE)
- The Wizards are passed through a little in the east, with the Pacers it was the third clear defeat in a row. The guests found no answer to Domantas Sabonis, who in the presence of his legendary father Arvydas put on 30 points (11/15 FG), 10 rebounds and 6 assists. After four defeats in a row, Indiana was able to win again.
- The Pacers controlled the game over long phases and led with up to 17 points. It was noticeable that both teams hardly pulled the trigger from a distance. The hosts took 23 triples, the guests only 15 (7 hits). Instead, scoring was primarily done in the zone and there the Pacers had a clear advantage thanks to Sabonis.
- At the Wizards, Bradley Beal was the best scorer with 34 points (12/19 FG), but even he could not lead his colors to a comeback. The All-Star temporarily shortened to -8 in the fourth quarter, but the guests only came closer when the game was decided in the last few seconds. Caris LeVert (19) and Malcolm Brogdon (17, 8 assists) delivered solidly for Indiana, while the Wizards still knew how to please Kyle Kuzma (14) and Montrezl Harrell (11).
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