Kevin Durant is back in basketball, but the Brooklyn Nets still can’t win. Luka Doncic is still in great shape, the Lakers are not. The NBA on Friday morning.
All-Star jump shot: Kevin Durant in the game against the Heat.
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The Brooklyn Nets had to play 21 games without their protagonist. During this time, the team from the “Big Apple” suffered many defeats and lost James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers. Now Kevin Durant is back on board, but it wasn’t enough for the ambitious franchise to win against East leaders Miami Heat. Despite the All-Star’s 31 points, the final result was 107:113 on the video cube – also because Durant didn’t place the balls in crunch time.
Adebayo leaves little behind
With 32 defeats under their belt, the Nets are gradually having to reach for the ceiling, otherwise there is a risk of an uncomfortably long summer break. The Heat (42:22), for which Bam Adebayo played brilliantly (12/15 from the field, 30 points, eleven rebounds), on the other hand extended their top position in the Eastern Conference ahead of the Chicago Bulls (39:24) with the win , who previously lost 124-130 to the Atlanta Hakws.
The Boston Celtics climbed to fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 120-107 home win over the Memphis Grizzlies (Ja Morant at 38). Jayson Tatum had a whopping 37 points on his 24th birthday and had a particularly strong final quarter with 21 points. Coming off the bench, Daniel Theis contributed six points and six rebounds to victory. Because the seventh-placed Toronto Raptors lost their home game to the Detroit Pistons 106-108, the Celtics’ chances of a direct participation in the playoffs have increased further.
Kleber missing injured – Doncic better than the “Splash Brothers”
Another look to the west: There the Dallas Mavericks (38:25) underlined their ambitions with their third win in a row, especially since the opponent was called the Golden State Warriors – and after three bankruptcies in a row they are in a low form (43:20) . Without Maxi Kleber (ankle injury) on the court, Luka Doncic once again excelled with 41 points, ten rebounds and nine assists. The “Splash Brothers” on the other side did not have as many points as the Slovenian (Curry 21, Thompson 16).
The Los Angeles Lakers’ free fall stopped in the city duel with the Clippers – 111:132! Reggie Jackson led the box score for the winner (36), Isaiah Hartenstein, who has fought for a permanent place in the rotation as a center, convinced with twelve points with a high shooting rate (6/7) as well as five rebounds and five assists. Meanwhile, LeBron James collected 26 points for the Lakers (27:35), who couldn’t win any of the four games against local rivals.
