Boston and Milwaukee hold their place against New Orleans and Atlanta

After two defeats in a row suffered in Atlanta (118-120 then 122-123), Boston found the taste and the path to success against New Orleans on the night from Saturday to Sunday (104-92). The Celtics tightened the screw on defense and stifled the Pelicans in the second half (35 points conceded, only 11 in the 3rd quarter), behind Jayson Tatum’s 23 points, Kristaps Porzingis’ 19 units, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks. , as well as Jaylen Brown’s 17 points. All orchestrated by a lively Jrue Holiday, not far from the triple-double (13 points, 7 assists, 8 rebounds). Enough to keep the Massachusetts franchise at the top of the charts in the East (58-16) and avoid a third setback in a row, which has never happened to it yet this season.

Antetokounmpo a fashion bulldozer

The Celtics’ closest pursuer, Milwaukee (2nd, 47-27), imitated the leader by winning away, in Atlanta (122-113). Important for keeping its distance with Cleveland (45-29) and New York (44-29), defeated in San Antonio twenty-four hours earlier. To resist Bogdan Bogdanovic’s 38 points and stop the Hawks’ four-game winning streak, the Bucks relied on Giannis Antetokounmpo in bulldozer mode: 36 points (12/22), 16 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 interceptions, 1 block. and 3 lost balls in 28 minutes.

This is the first time that Milwaukee has won this season in the absence of Damian Lillard (Doc Rivers’ team had previously lost five times in matches played without its playmaker, unavailable for personal reasons) . Patrick Beverley provided 18 points for the Bucks.

After three losses in a row, Orlando, fifth in the East (43-31), punished the weak Grizzlies (118-88) in a skillful evening (22/44 at 3 points) and without suspense (33-13 after the first quarter), where playing times and scoring were perfectly distributed (seven players passed the 10-point mark, none that of 15). An important victory, eight matches from the end of its regular season, in the fight for fourth place synonymous with home advantage in the first round of the play-offs.