The results of the night in the NBA
Pacers @ Pistons : 97-117
Wolves @ Hawks : 136-115
Jazz @ Heat : 115-119
Grizzlies @ Mavs : 104-88
Celtics @ Rockets : 109-111
Suns @ Warriors : 112-123
Bucks @ Kings : 133-124
Podcast #82: And if it was finally the year of Joel Embiid?
– The Celtics are starting to get worrisome. Losing to Houston was clearly not part of the plans and this defeat comes on top of other setbacks that are disconcerting at the start of the final sprint. The Rockets stole nothing and overtook Boston in desire and execution, Jalen Green (28 pts) and Jabari Brown (24 pts) amassing 52 points to pay for the No. Is even having counted up to 11 points in advance at the start of money time.
Jaylen Brown’s record this season (43 pts) did nothing. The C’s shot badly (28% at 3 pts), badly attacked (44%) and quite badly defended. Quick, wake up! Otherwise Philadelphia could steal second place without any qualms…
– Milwaukee, for its part, is on a little cloud. As it unravels over the MVP debate between Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo frequently makes demonstrations of domination like that of this night on the floor of Sacramento, to remind us that the best NBA player – regardless of the trophy – is undoubtedly him.
Giannis put 46 points and 12 rebounds on the head of the Kings, who nevertheless led by 9 points at the break. A tidal wave orchestrated by the Greek Freak, but also by Chris Middleton (31 pts) and Brook Lopez (23 pts) arose after the break to gradually take control and is approaching the status of the first team officially qualified for the playoffs.
With Domantas Sabonis (23 pts, 17 rbds, 15 pds), in triple-double, and De’Aaron Fox (34 pts), the Kings have clearly not been unworthy and have nothing to be ashamed of this defeat.
The offensive excellence in the 2nd half of Bucks/Kings was something special.
4 players had 20+ in the half!@Khris22m: 26 PTS on 8-11 shooting@Giannis_An34: 25 PTS (46 in game)@swipathefox: 24 PTS (35 in game)@KevinHuerter: 20 PTS on 6-8 from deep pic.twitter.com/H8gTqfCCqx
— NBA (@NBA) March 14, 2023
– Things are getting more and more complicated also for Dallas, who could not count on their star duo when they received Memphis. Luka Doncic (left calf) and Kyrie Irving (foot pain) were not present against the Grizzlies, who logically took advantage of the situation to sign a third victory in a row. Even without Ja Morant, who had left for treatment in Florida, Taylor Jenkins’ players were calm, thanks in particular to Desmond Bane (23 pts) and the interesting David Roddy (19 pts) coming off the bench, all illuminated by a iron defense (88 pts conceded).
Memphis regains its second place in the West, while Dallas, 8th, risks switching to the dark side without a quick reaction.
Killian Hayes en double-double
– If the Pacers really dream of the play-in – they have the right to believe it given the classification – they must avoid defeats like the one suffered in Detroit last night without a good part of their executives (Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin, TJ McConnell and Myles Turner were out.The Pistons, who remained on 11 straight losses, took Indiana by the throat from the start (+18 at the end of the 1st quarter) and did not release their grip. James Wiseman (18 pts, 14 rbds 3 blks), Killian Hayes (10 pts, 11 rbds, 2 stls) and their comrades had fun.
– The Wolves did not tremble on the floor of Atlanta. Minnesota led from start to finish, with a Anthony Edwards sharp (32 pts) and the third triple-double in the NBA of Kyle “Slow-Mo” Anderson (14 pts, 12 pds, 10 rbds). Rudy Gobert contributed to this success with 14 pts, 8 rbds, 4 pds and 3 blks.
Trae Young scored 41 points, without being able to give his team a real chance of winning.
– Against the Jazz, Miami did… Miami. For the 24th time this season, the Heat played a game that ended in 5 points or less. The outcome was positive this time, thanks to a great collective effort (7 players with 10 points or more) led by Jimmy Butler (24 pts) to resist Lauri Markkanen (38 pts).
– The Warriors had recently experienced some disappointments against Phoenix and it was necessary to get out of this torpor. At home, Golden State did the job and took over the Suns obviously deprived of Kevin Durant. A good part of the job had been done in the first half under the firecrackers of Klay Thompsonreturned to the locker room with 33 of his 38 evening points in the bag, with 8 3-point baskets. Stephen Curry (23 pts, 7 rbds, 5 pds), supported him effectively to respond to the Booker-Ayton tandem (52 pts).
Thanks to this precious success, Steve Kerr’s men stick to the coattails of their evening victims in the standings. 0.5 length separates the two teams, the Suns currently clinging to 4th place.
