The Thunder swept, the Pistons stopped and the Knicks recovered in time
Oklahoma City Thunder reinforced its leadership in the West with its eighth consecutive victory in the NBA, on a day in which Detroit Pistonsleader of the East, lost against Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks recovered to beat Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks surprised Cleveland Cavaliers.
Oklahoma City Thunder’s eighth straight win
The Thunder beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 116-103 and added their eighth consecutive victory at a key moment of the season, just a month before the start of the playoffs.
Thunder and Timberwolves played in the Western Finals last season, in which Oklahoma City won 4-1.
The Thunder (53-15) are the leaders of the West, while the Timberwolves (41-27) are sixth, so it is possible that both teams will meet again in the finals.
This Sunday, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 20 points and 10 assists, saving his streak of games with 20 or more points scored, which reached 128. He entered the fourth quarter with only 10 points and reached 20 from the free throw line with 1:45 remaining.
Chet Holmgren scored 21 points for the Thunder, Isaiah Joe another 20 points, Alex Caruso 17 and Jared McCain 15.
The success of the Toronto Raptors against the Detroit Pistons
The Raptors stood firm in the dispute with the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic to qualify directly for the playoffs thanks to their 119-108 at home against the Pistons.
Brandon Ingram scored 34 points, RJ Barrett supported him with 27 and Jakob Poetl dominated with a double-double of 21 points and 18 rebounds.
Toronto snapped a streak of three consecutive victories for the Pistons, who continue to fight with the Boston Celtics to reach the playoffs as the first seed in the East.
Detroit has a record of 48-19 compared to the Celtics’ 44-23.
The New York Knicks’ comeback against the Golden State Warriors
New York Knicks beat Golden State Warriors 110-107 at Madison Square Garden -with eight casualties and without Stephen Curry- after overcoming a 21-point deficit thanks to a huge performance by Jalen Brunson.
The Knicks star led the long-suffering and tight victory with 30 points, 9 of 20 on field goals, 9 assists, 1 rebound, 2 steals and 1 block.
The Warriors led the Knicks by 21 points in the second quarter, led by Quinten Post. The Dutch center scored 22 points – the highest score of his career.
With 15 minutes left, the Knicks managed to tie the score at 73 and from then on Mike Brown’s team knew how to compete very well, with a great version of the Dominican Karl-Anthony Towns, who achieved a double-double (17 points and 12 rebounds).
Dallas Mavericks surprised Cleveland Cavaliers
In Cleveland, Dallas Mavericks gave the surprise and beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 130-120 at the pace of rookie Cooper Flagg, protagonist with 27 points.
Naji Marshalla supported the number one of the last draft with 25 points and Jason Kidd’s Mavs took a breath with their second victory in the last three games.
Of course, before these two wins the Texans lost eight consecutive games, which leaves them with very low chances of reaching the postseason.
Milwaukee Bucks beat Indiana Pacers 134-123 with 31 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists from Giannis Antetokounmpo, in just 23 minutes on the court.
Philadelphia 76ers beat Portland Trail Blazers 109-103fueled by 31 points from Quentin Grimes on a night in which Joel Embiid was absent for the ninth straight game due to his knee problems.
AND Sacramento Kings beat Utah Jazz 116-111 with a huge performance by Demar DeRozan: 41 points and 11 assists.
