The NBA has resumed normal operations after the All-Star weekend – not without protest notes against the war in Ukraine. DeMar DeRozan continues to shine on the court.
DeMar DeRozan continued to extend his record streak. The All-Star scored 37 points in his Chicago Bulls’ 112-108 (52-50) home win over the Atlanta Hawks, hitting 15 of his 21 throws from the field. That means the winger has always marked at least 35 points and converted at least 50 percent of his throws from the field in the past eight games.
In addition, DeRozan has now scored more than 30 points in nine straight games, the longest streak by a Bulls player since a certain Michael Jordan, who once bagged more than 30 points in ten straight games around the turn of 1990-91.
DeRozan was also the man of the match in crunch time. He scored five points in the final minute and turned the tables after the Hawks had taken a three-point lead, with Trae Young hitting only three of his 17 shots. With their sixth win in a row, the Bulls remain the best team in the Eastern Conference, just ahead of the game-free Miami Heat.
Short stint for Theis – Booker leads Suns to another win
Returnee Daniel Theis celebrated a victory in his first game after the break with the Boston Celtics – an emphatic 129-106 (67-52) at the still stumbling Brooklyn Nets. It was the tenth win from the past eleven games for the Celtics, for whom Theis scored four points in six minutes. Boston’s top scorer was Jayson Tatum with 30 points.
In the West, the top teams won their games. The Phoenix Suns (49-10) won 124-104 at the Oklahoma City Thunder (Devin Booker with 25 points) even without the injured strategist Chris Paul, the Golden State Warriors (43-17) triumphed at the Portland Trail Blazers with 132-95. The “Splash Brothers” Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson scored 18 points each for the “Dubs “
“Great tragedy”: Ukrainian NBA pros condemn war in homeland
Ukrainian NBA pros Alex Len and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, meanwhile, have issued a joint statement condemning Russia’s invasion of their homeland. “A great tragedy has occurred in our beloved homeland of Ukraine,” the statement released by the pair on their social media channels read: “We categorically condemn war.”
Len of the Sacramento Kings and Mychailiuk of the Toronto Raptors stressed that Ukraine was “a peaceful sovereign state” inhabited by “people who want to determine their own destiny. We pray for our families, friends, relatives and all the people who are on the territory of Ukraine. “
