Celtics loses again on the Road. Pistons ends 11-game losing streak.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS 133 – 124 SACRAMENTO KINGS
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 46 points and 12 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks ‘dethroned’ the Kings from Sacramento 133-124 in a game that ended with temper flares.
With less than a minute left in the game, an altercation broke out between the Kings and Bucks, which led to Trey Lyles and Brook Lopez being ejected.
Khris Middleton scored 31 points and Brook Lopez added another 23 points for the Bucks.
The victory means the Bucks are now on the verge of becoming the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season after their 49th win.
Reacting after the game, Brook Lopez said “It was a really fun environment to play in…Sacramento always has great fans, great team this year. You get the cowbells and everything like that and all stuff I remember. It was a really fun atmosphere.”
For the Kings, Domantas Sabonis notched another triple double of 23 points, 17 rebounds and 15 assists – his 10th triple-double of the season.
Sabonis also has a franchise-record 54 double-doubles, which leads the NBA.
De’Aaron Fox also scored 35, and Kevin Huerter had 17 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter.
PHOENIX SUNS 112 – 123 GOLDEN States WARRIORS
Klay Thompson scored 38 points (33 in the first half) to power the Golden State Warriors over the Phoenix Suns with a victory of 123-112
Stephen Curry added 23 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Jordan Poole also had 20 points and 6 assists off the bench for the defending champions, with Kevon Looney also contributing 9 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists.
The victory for the Warriors was their 8th straight win at home, and their 12th out of their last 13.
For the Suns, Devin Booker scored 32 points and Deandre Ayton had 27 points and 12 rebounds.
Even though Josh Okogie’s pulled the suns within 85-81 with his 3-pointer with 4:59 left in the third quarter and registered another putback a minute later to close the score to 87-84.
Unfortunately, “Chef” Curry and his cohorts came on again to dash their hopes of a comeback.
BOSTON CELTICS 109 – 111 HOUSTON ROCKETS
Jalen Green’s 28 points for the Houston Rockets was enough for them as they withstood a late comeback attempt from the Boston Celtics to defeat them 111-109.
Jabari Smith Jr. added 24 points for the Rockets. The rookie, who was the third overall pick in the 2022 draft, has now scored at least 20 points in three straight games, and a total of seven times in his first 62 games.
Martin also had 20 points and 8 rebounds for Houston and Kevin Porter Jr. had 14 points and 13 assists.
The Rockets ended a 3-game skid with the victory, as they remain tied with the Detroit Pistons for the NBA’s fewest wins (16) this season.
For the Celtics, Jaylen Brown scored a season-high 43 points. Tatum scored 22 points and Malcolm Brogdon added 20 points.
The Celtics had a late run to get within striking distance when Brown scored two free throws to cut Houston’s lead to just one point with less than a minute left after initially trailing the Rockets by 11 points with about 4½ minutes to go.
The Celtics even had a chance to tie the score at the buzzer, but Jayson Tatum missed a layup.
Rockets coach, Stephen Silas, after the game said “We’re a work in progress, but when we understand the moment, it’s gratifying as a coach for sure,”.
“We’re constantly teaching them, but they need to feel it. And as much as we can watch film and as much as we can talk about it … there’s no better teaching method than going through it and finding some success at the end of it.”
UP NEXT
For the Celtics, they continue a six-game trip with a visit to Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.
The Rockets will host the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES 104 – 88 DALLAS MAVERICKS
Desmond Bane scored 23 points as the Memphis Grizzlies won their second consecutive game against an hapless Dallas Mavericks 104-88
Both Luka Doncic (left calf strain) and Kyrie Irving (right foot soreness) were out injured for Dallas again, and Ja Morant is still out for the Grizzlies because of his issues off the court.
Rookie, David Roddy, the 23rd overall draft pick was instrumental for the Grizzlies again as he scored 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting percentage two nights after getting 17 of his career-high 24 points in the fourth quarter.
The Grizzlies opened the second half with a 12-0 run and outscored the Mavericks 36-21 in the third quarter, with the Mavs shooting 31%.
Dillon Brooks also scored 19 points, and Santi Aldama had 10 points and 9 rebounds for the Grizzlies as they ended a three-game losing streak on the road, their second win in 13 games away from home.
Rookie, Jaden Hardy scored 28 points for the Mavericks. Josh Green, the only other Dallas player in double figures, finished the game with 23 points.
The Mavericks dropped under .500 for the first time since December.
UP NEXT
The Grizzlies will be in Miami on Wednesday. The Grizzlies have won five the past six games against the Heat.
The Mavericks starts a three-game trip on Wednesday in San Antonio. The Mavs have six consecutive victories against the Spurs.
UTAH JAZZ 115 – 119 MIAMI HEAT
Jimmy Butler scored 24 points as players ended with double figures for the Heat to hold off the Utah Jazz with a 119-115 victory
Tyler Herro and Gabe Vincent scored 18 points each.
Bam Adebayo scored 16 points, while Victor Oladipo and Kevin Love had 11 points each and Caleb Martin scored 10 points.
The victory was Miami’s 24th win by five points or less this season.
For the Jazz, Lauri Markkanen scored 38 points, they also got 23 points from Simone Fontecchio and 14 points from Ochai Agbaji.
Markkanen (21) and Fontecchio (20) were the first Jazz teammates to have at least 20 points by halftime since Donovan Mitchell and Jordan Clarkson did it against the Los Angeles Clippers on June 18, 2021, in a playoff contest.
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra after the game said “When it gets into those moments of truth, I’ve said this before, at least we understand what our package is and what we’re trying to do, how we want to execute, We’ve had so many reps and film sessions and walkthroughs and teaching points … I think we’ve all gotten better from that, including the coaching staff.”
UP NEXT
The Jazz will have the Boston Celtics on Saturday and the Heat will host Memphis on Wednesday.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES 136 – 115 ATLANTA HAWKS
Kyle Anderson third career triple-double helped the Minnesota Timberwolves cruise to a 136-115 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, snapping a two-game skid.
Anthony Edwards scored 32 points. Mike Conley finished with 21 points. Anderson scored 12 of his 14 points in the third quarter finishing the game also with 12 assists and 10 rebounds. Jaden McDaniels also scored 19 points.
“It’s the first time I’ve beaten Atlanta, and it’s in Atlanta, so I’m super happy,” Edwards said. “I’m at a loss for words.”
Trae Young finished with 41 points for the Hawks. Onyeka Okongwu also had 16 points and 14 rebounds
The loss means the Hawks have now dropped to 3-5 under new coach Quin Snyder and have lost four of six.
They made 4 of 22 beyond the arc and could only make 17 assists compared to 39 for the Timberwolves.
UP NEXT
The Timberwolves hosts Boston Celtics on Wednesday.
The Hawks host Golden State Warriors on Friday.
INDIANA PACERS 97 – 117 DETROIT PISTONS
James Wiseman double-double (18 points and 14 rebounds) for the Detroit Pistons ended their 11-game losing streak with a 117-97 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Jalen Duren put up 12 points and 11 rebounds and Killian Hayes had 10 points and 11 assists for the Pistons.
They led by 31 points in the first half and withstood a late surge from the pacers in the second quarter and early in the third.
The Pistons had not won a game since February 10 when they defeated San Antonio 138-131 in double overtime.
The win was also their first against a Central Division opponent this season after twelve straight losses.
The Pistons had not won by a double-digit margin since beating Portland 135-118 on Jan. 11.
Cory Joseph, who had a game-high 22 points after game said “When you come in having lost 11 or 12 games in a row – whatever it was – you know you have to stay focused to win a game, We played extremely hard and got off to a great start.”
Pistons coach Dwane Casey also said: “Our guys played with a lot of grit tonight, and I think we surprised the Pacers a little bit, This was a little like the playoffs – we made some adjustments from Saturday and they made some adjustments – but the difference was our toughness.”
For the Pacers, Jordan Nwora had 20 points off the bench who were without their key players like Tyrese Haliburton, Bennedict Mathurin, T.J. McConnell and Myles Turner.
UP NEXT
The Pacers will visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.
The Pistons will be on the road to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday.
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