By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
Theo Maledon came from the bench and scored 17 of his season-best 25 points in the fourth quarter to help the Oklahoma City Thunder end a 10-game skid with a 118-102 victory over the Orlando Magic. The French point guard went for 9-of-13 from the field, along with six assists and four rebounds in 32 minutes in this victory. Isaiah Roby added 21 points and 7 rebounds for Thunder and Czech guard Vit Krejci tied his season-high with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Chuma Okeke led the Magic with 19 points, Cole Anthony posted a double-double with 17 points and 11 assists and Franz Wagner had 15 points.
RJ Barrett posted 30 points to help the New York Knicks bounce back from a two-game skid and beat the Charlotte Hornets 121-106 on the road. Obi Toppin added 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Knicks, Alec Burks had 17 points and Evan Fournier followed with 12 points and 7 assists. LaMelo Ball dropped 32 points to lead the Hornets and Terry Rozier added 18, while the team lost its first game after five consecutive victories.
A 37-piece by Donovan Mitchell wasn’t enough to put the Utah Jazz back on the winning track, as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 52 points to lift the Boston Celtics to a 125-97 victory at home. Both Celtics‘ players scored 26 points apiece, Robert Williams III added a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and the team extended their winning streak to five games. Rudy Gobert added 14 points and 11 boards for the Jazz, Eric Pascall had 11 and Jordan Clarkson posted 10 while coming from the bench.
Detroit Pistons may have been ruled out of playoffs contention though they protected their homecourt against the Atlanta Hawks with a 122-101 victory Wednesday night. Jerami Grant led the way for the hosts with 21 points, 8 rebounds, Cade Cunningham added 17 points and 8 assists and Kelly Olynyk dropped 16 points while coming from the bench. Trae Young posted 21 points for the Hawks and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 13.
Damian Jones made the last-second tip-in and the Sacramento Kings overcame the Indiana Pacers 110-109 on the road. Jones went out with 12 points, Davion Mitchell scored 25 and Chimezie Metu added 22 as the Kings bounced back from three consecutive defeats. Buddy Hield paced Indiana with 25 points, Goga Bitadze came close to his season-high with 20 points and 9 rebounds and Tyrese Haliburton added 13 points and 15 assists.
With Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson sidelined for the Golden State Warriors, Jordan Poole kept up his hot scoring run to drop 30 points and help his team beat the Miami Heat 118-104 on the road. Jonathan Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins and Damion Lee all had 22 points for the Warriors, which bounced back after three consecutive defeats. Kyle Lowry scored 26 points for the Heat, Bam Adebayo followed with 25 points and Jimmy Butler added 20.
While star Ja Morant remains sidelined for the Memphis Grizzlies, the team grabbed a 132-120 victory over the Brooklyn Nets to retain the second seed in the Western Conference. Desmond Bane and Deanthony Melton both scored 23 points to push their team to victory, Dillon Brooks added 21 to lead four more players in double digits. Kyrie Irving scored a game-high with 43 points and 8 assists, while Kevin Durant was two assists shy of a triple-double with 35 points and 11 rebounds.
Deandre Ayton scored a career-high 35 points and had 14 rebounds, Devin Booker had 22 of his 28 points in the second half and Western Conference leaders Phoenix Suns overcame the Minnesota Timberwolves 125-116 amid absences. Anthony Edwards had 19 points for Minnesota, which lost its second game in a row, while Karl-Anthony Towns followed with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The Doncic-less Dallas Mavericks faced no struggle to beat the Houston Rockets 110-91 at home and move on with their second straight victory. Jalen Brunson led all scorers of the Mavs with 28 points, Spencer Dinwiddie added 26, while Frenchman Frank Ntilikina had 13 points and four assists in 21 minutes from the bench. Alperen Sengun led the struggling Rockets with a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds and Jaesean Tate had 13.
Joel Embiid scored a double-double of 30 points and 10 rebounds and James Harden followed with 24 points as the Philadelphia 76ers escaped with a 126-121 win over the Los Angeles Lakers which played without LeBron James. Tyrese Maxey scored 21 points for the Sixers, which has won five of their last seven games. On the other end, Dwight Howard scored a season-high 24 points and Malik Monk posted 23 points to lead all scorers of the short-handed Lakers.
Dejounte Murray and Keldon Johnson scored 28 and 26 points respectively and the San Antonio Spurs blew out the Portland Trail Blazers 133-96 on the road. Big man Jakob Poeltl tapped 16 points, 9 rebounds and a game-leading six blocks, as the Spurs grabbed their second win in a row. Ben McLemore had 23 points from the bench for the hosts, Drew Eubanks followed with 20 points and 9 rebounds and Trendon Watford added 10 points.
NBA March 23 results:
Charlotte Hornets – New York Knicks 106-121
Detroit Pistons – Atlanta Hawks 122-101
Indiana Pacers – Sacramento Kings 109-110
Boston Celtics – Utah Jazz 125-97
Memphis Grizzlies – Brooklyn Nets 132-120
Miami Heat – Golden State Warriors 104-118
Minnesota Timberwolves – Phoenix Suns 116-125
Oklahoma City Thunder – Orlando Magic 118-102
Dallas Mavericks – Houston Rockets 110-91
Los Angeles Lakers – Philadelphia 76ers 121-126
Portland Trail Blazers – San Antonio Spurs 96-133
NBA Standings:
Eastern Conference
| TEAM | W | L | WIN% | GB | CONF | DIV | HOME | ROAD | OT | LAST 10 | STREAK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 Miami Heat |
47 | 26 | .644 | — | 30-14 | 11-2 | 26-10 | 21-16 | 1-3 | 6-4 | L 2 |
|
2 Philadelphia 76ers |
45 | 27 | .625 | 1.5 | 27-17 | 6-9 | 21-16 | 24-11 | 3-1 | 6-4 | W 2 |
| 45 | 27 | .625 | 1.5 | 27-18 | 10-3 | 25-12 | 20-15 | 0-2 | 8-2 | W 1 | |
|
4 Boston Celtics |
46 | 28 | .622 | 1.5 | 30-16 | 9-6 | 25-12 | 21-16 | 4-2 | 9-1 | W 5 |
| 42 | 30 | .583 | 4.5 | 27-18 | 9-5 | 26-10 | 16-20 | 0-1 | 3-7 | L 1 | |
| 41 | 31 | .569 | 5.5 | 24-19 | 9-5 | 23-13 | 18-18 | 2-0 | 5-5 | L 1 | |
| 40 | 32 | .556 | 6.5 | 24-20 | 8-5 | 17-16 | 23-16 | 2-2 | 6-4 | L 1 | |
|
8 Brooklyn Nets |
38 | 35 | .521 | 9 | 26-18 | 9-6 | 16-19 | 22-16 | 2-0 | 6-4 | L 1 |
|
9 Charlotte Hornets |
37 | 36 | .507 | 10 | 22-23 | 6-7 | 19-18 | 18-18 | 0-7 | 7-3 | L 1 |
|
10 Atlanta Hawks |
36 | 37 | .493 | 11 | 22-24 | 8-6 | 23-14 | 13-23 | 0-1 | 5-5 | L 1 |
|
11 New York Knicks |
31 | 42 | .425 | 16 | 16-27 | 4-10 | 15-21 | 16-21 | 1-2 | 6-4 | W 1 |
| 30 | 41 | .423 | 16 | 22-22 | 6-7 | 18-18 | 12-23 | 3-1 | 2-8 | L 1 | |
|
13 Indiana Pacers – o |
25 | 48 | .342 | 22 | 11-34 | 2-13 | 16-21 | 9-27 | 4-4 | 4-6 | L 1 |
|
14 Detroit Pistons – o |
20 | 53 | .274 | 27 | 16-29 | 5-9 | 12-24 | 8-29 | 3-1 | 4-6 | W 1 |
|
15 Orlando Magic – o |
20 | 54 | .270 | 27.5 | 10-35 | 2-11 | 10-26 | 10-28 | 0-3 | 4-6 | L 1 |
Western Conference
| TEAM | W | L | WIN% | GB | CONF | DIV | HOME | ROAD | OT | LAST 10 | STREAK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 Phoenix Suns |
59 | 14 | .808 | — | 35-9 | 8-4 | 30-8 | 29-6 | 2-0 | 8-2 | W 6 |
|
2 Memphis Grizzlies |
50 | 23 | .685 | 9 | 32-14 | 9-5 | 25-10 | 25-13 | 2-1 | 7-3 | W 2 |
|
3 Golden State Warriors |
48 | 25 | .658 | 11 | 28-17 | 10-3 | 29-9 | 19-16 | 0-2 | 5-5 | W 1 |
|
4 Utah Jazz |
45 | 28 | .616 | 14 | 29-15 | 13-1 | 26-11 | 19-17 | 1-0 | 5-5 | L 2 |
|
5 Dallas Mavericks |
45 | 28 | .616 | 14 | 32-15 | 13-2 | 25-12 | 20-16 | 1-2 | 7-3 | W 2 |
| 43 | 30 | .589 | 16 | 26-19 | 5-9 | 21-14 | 22-16 | 3-1 | 6-4 | W 1 | |
|
7 Minnesota Timberwolves |
42 | 32 | .568 | 17.5 | 28-20 | 11-4 | 24-13 | 18-19 | 2-1 | 7-3 | L 2 |
|
8 LA Clippers |
36 | 38 | .486 | 23.5 | 21-26 | 7-7 | 20-15 | 16-23 | 0-3 | 3-7 | L 4 |
|
9 Los Angeles Lakers |
31 | 42 | .425 | 28 | 16-27 | 3-11 | 20-18 | 11-24 | 7-2 | 3-7 | L 1 |
| 30 | 42 | .417 | 28.5 | 20-23 | 6-8 | 16-20 | 14-22 | 1-2 | 4-6 | L 1 | |
|
11 San Antonio Spurs |
29 | 44 | .397 | 30 | 19-24 | 4-8 | 14-23 | 15-21 | 1-3 | 5-5 | W 2 |
|
12 Portland Trail Blazers |
27 | 45 | .375 | 31.5 | 11-31 | 1-12 | 17-19 | 10-26 | 0-1 | 2-8 | L 1 |
|
13 Sacramento Kings |
26 | 48 | .351 | 33.5 | 17-29 | 5-8 | 16-23 | 10-25 | 1-1 | 3-7 | W 1 |
|
14 Oklahoma City Thunder |
21 | 52 | .288 | 38 | 14-31 | 4-8 | 10-27 | 11-25 | 3-1 | 1-9 | W 1 |
|
15 Houston Rockets – o |
18 | 55 | .247 | 41 | 9-37 | 3-12 | 11-25 | 7-30 | 2-1 | 3-7 | L 1 |
*o – eliminated from playoffs contention
Photo credit: Getty Images