smile Chicago, Cleveland and Philadelphia, ok also Utah

CHICAGO BULLS-MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES 134-122
The main pursuer in East Miami, along with Cleveland, is not wrong: Chicago knocks out Minnesota and remains one game away from the Heat thanks to the 134-122 against the T’Wolves in a challenge where the main protagonists are DeRozan for the Bulls and Edwards for the guests: the Chicago driver scores 35 points with 14/22 from the field, nullifying the 31 points with 6 rebounds and 8 assists from “Ant-Man”. In the shade LaVine: only 12 points with 5/14 shooting. The difference, in the final +12, is made by the whole 42-31 of the last quarter, with Chicago ahead of one point both at the long interval (60-59) and before the final period (92-91). The Bulls therefore rise to 35-21, exactly like Cleveland and with leaders Miami at 36-20.

INDIANA PACERS-CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 113-120
Behind Miami there is also Cleveland, who remains second thanks to 120-113 at Indiana. A success that matures in comeback and in the final, given that the Cavs start with a heavy -19 (47-28) at the end of the first quarter, a partial that however gradually decreases: from -11 (74-63) in the middle of the race at -8 with which the last period begins, which Cleveland wins for 32-17. Drivers are Allen and LeVert, both at 22 but with the former closing with 75% shooting (8/12), while the great ex of the day makes 10 shots out of 19 attempted. Well, but that’s not enough, Haliburton: the new arrival in the Pacers house is top scorer with 23 points, which however does not prevent him from the fifth consecutive knockout.

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS-OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 100-87
Waiting for James Harden, Philadelphia beats Okc and remains fully in the playoff zone in the Eastern Conference. The 76ers are waiting for Barba, but continue to enjoy a Joel Embiid format Mvp: 25 points and 19 rebounds for the Cameroonian in the 100-87 given to the Thunder, a success that matures between the second and third period (53-37 overall). Also doing well Maxey with 24 points and Tobias Harris, in double double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Okc, on the fourth consecutive knockout, collapses despite Favors’ 16 and Dort and Pokusevski’s 15. Philadelphia thus remains fifth with a record 33-22.

UTAH JAZZ-ORLANDO MAGIC 114-99
In the West, however, Utah wins again and beats the Magic 114-99, finding the fifth success in a row. Despite an excellent start (28-12), the guests fully return to the game before the last quarter (77-74), which however goes to the Jazz driven by a 24-point Donovan Mitchell but imprecise shooting (6/19), but Clarkson (18) also makes an excellent contribution. Carter (22) and Anthony (18) cannot revive the fortunes of Orlando, with the knockout number 44 in 57 Regular Season games. The Jazz, on the other hand, are fully confirmed fourth in the West behind Phoenix, Golden State and Memphis with the record of 35-21.

BOSTON CELTICS-DENVER NUGGETS 108-102
The usual Nikola Jokic this time is not enough: the triple double of 23 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists of the Serbian fails to avoid the ko in Denver, with Boston winning 108-102 at the TD Garden and continuing the march towards the playoff area of the Eastern Conference. Match in the balance until the end that sees the Celtics come back -9 (60-51) behind in the second half, with 32-23 in the last quarter to act as a decisive set. Boston smiles thanks to 24 points from Tatum and 22 from Smart, while the Nuggets, in addition to Jokic, send in double figures Gordon (17), Campazzo (14), Barton (13) and Hyland (10). Denver still remains sixth in the West with a 30-25 record.

ATLANTA HAWKS-SAN ANTONIO SPURS 121-136
A super Dejounte Murray shows off an incredible performance: in the 136-121 of San Antonio at Atlanta, in fact, the leader of the Spurs, fresh from the call for the All-Star Game, closes with a triple double. 32 points, 10 rebounds and 15 assists for Murray, who also finds an excellent 11/18 from the field. A performance that helps Popovich’s team to close the games in the first half (73-56) and manage in the second. Johnson also did well with 26 points, while among the Hawks’ ranks, in addition to Bogdanovic’s 23 and 18 with 11 assists by a not exciting Trae Young, there is also Danilo Gallinari, third best scorer of his with 16 points and 9 rebounds, as well as two triples and a perfect 6/6 for free. However, these numbers are not enough: Atlanta remains tenth in the East with a record of 26-29, just above Washington.

DETROIT PISTONS-CHARLOTTE HORNETS 119-141
Away victory for Charlotte, who wins 141-119 in Detroit with a super LaMelo Ball: 31 points, 12 assists and 7/9 from the arc for the driver of the Hornets, who in the area instead finds an excellent 3/5 in a perfect evening. The 25 of Bridges also help the guests to mortgage the match already in the first half, closed at 79-55. The 7 players in double figures are not enough for the Pistons: the best is Bey at 25. Charlotte thus returns to win after six losses in a row and now has the same number of wins (but with two more games) as Brooklyn: 29 Detroit, on the other hand, increasingly last in the East after the seventh consecutive knockout.