Indiana Pacers surprised Cleveland Cavaliers; the Thunder won with authority and the Celtics suffered

Indiana Pacers surprised Cleveland Cavaliers; the Thunder won with authority and the Celtics suffered

After 12 consecutive victories, the Cleveland Cavaliers fell this Sunday to the Indiana Pacerswhile Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics They did not fail, but they sealed their respective triumphs with very different sensations.

The Cavaliers (33-5) had a strong record of 20-1 at home, but they could not beat the Pacers (22-18) who shone in Cleveland and are going through a great moment with six consecutive wins.

The East leaders led by 15 points in the third quarter (60-45 with 9.40 on the clock), but from then on it was a true exhibition by Indiana, which closed the match with a monumental 33-63 (the third quarter It was for the visitors with an incontestable 18-37).

The Pacers’ feat has even more merit given that their star Tyrese Haliburton could not play the second half due to hamstring discomfort. Still, Indiana had six players in double figures in scoring including Andrew Nembhard (19 points), Myles Turner (15 points and 10 rebounds) and Pascal Siakam (18 points and 9 rebounds).

Very unsuccessful with 39.8% in field goals and 26.8% in triples, the Cavaliers did not have the most precise versions of Darius Garland (20 points on 7 of 16 shooting) and Donovan Mitchell (19 points with 7 of 17). Evan Mobley added 16 points and 12 rebounds and Jarrett Allen contributed 11 points and 9 rebounds.

With much more trouble than expected against the last one in the West, the Celtics (28-11) had to fight until the last seconds, but finally certified the victory and took some oxygen after having lost two of their last three games.

CJ McCollum missed the shot that would have given the victory to the Pelicans (8-32) after the Celtics complicated themselves with several errors in the final stretch.

Jayson Tatum led Boston with 38 points and 11 rebounds. He was well accompanied by Kristaps Porzingis (19 points and 11 rebounds) and Jaylen Brown (16 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists).

Trey Murphy (30 points and 7 rebounds) and Dejounte Murray (26 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists) were about to give New Orleans a memorable night in their visit to the current NBA champions.

Faced with the stumble of the Cavaliers and the suffering of the Celtics, the Thunder (32-6) resolved their visit to the Wizards (6-31, last in the East) with a comprehensive victory.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 27 points on a meager 5 of 17 shooting from the field but 16 of 17 from the free throw line. He also had 7 rebounds and did not have to play the fourth quarter. Aaron Wiggins (23 points and 9 rebounds) was one of seven Oklahoma City players who surpassed 10 points.

Corey Kispert (17 points) was one of the few things that could be salvaged for the Wizards who were sunk with six straight losses.

With an impressive 7-1 record since Mike Brown was fired and Doug Christie took over as coach, the Kings (20-19) got back into the fight for the postseason in the West after winning their seventh straight win in Chicago. .

Domantas Sabonis was on the verge of a triple-double with 22 points (great 8 of 11 shooting), 16 rebounds and 8 assists. In addition, De’Aaron Fox, who had missed the last three games, returned with 26 points and 9 rebounds and Malik Monk also had a triple-double (18 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists).

For the Bulls (18-21), Zach LaVine was the leader with 36 points and 10 rebounds.

Without the injured Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks (22-17) led 86-67 (+19) in the middle of the third quarter, but finally allowed themselves to come back in the game against the Nuggets (23-15), who There at the conclusion of the match they shook the Texans with a brutal run of 15-45.

In a game of streaks for both sides, Nikola Jokic and Russell Westbrook almost achieved a triple-double: 19 points, 18 rebounds and 9 assists for the Serbian and 21 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists for the point guard. Aaron Gordon (13 points and 6 rebounds) returned after more than two weeks and led a great second unit for the Nuggets, who have won three in a row.

Klay Thompson (25 points with 6 of 13 triples and 6 rebounds), Naji Marshall (16 points and 6 rebounds) and Spencer Dinwiddie (16 points and 10 assists) set the pace for the Mavericks, who will have the option of revenge this Tuesday by receiving back to the Nuggets.

After a loss at home and against the Thunder two days ago, the Knicks (26-14) vindicated themselves and swept the Bucks (20-17) with two stellar performances from Jalen Brunson (44 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists in just 29 minutes) and the Dominican Karl-Anthony Towns (30 points and 18 rebounds).

With their two figures up front, the Knicks made 58% of their field goals and 43.9% of their triples (18 of 41).

Giannis Antetokounmpo (24 points and 13 rebounds) and Damian Lillard (22 points) were the top scorers for Milwaukee, which had won its last three games.

In the rest of the day’s duels, the Orlando Magic defeated the Philadelphia 76ers (104-99), the Utah Jazz beat the Brooklyn Nets in overtime (112-111) and the Phoenix Suns beat the Charlotte Hornets (120-113).