Franz Wagner is part of the NBA’s All-Star weekend, but suffered another defeat in the league. In the Western Conference, the series offenders were active. The NBA on Wednesday morning.
Honour first: Franz Wagner is now officially one of the most promising talents in the NBA and will play in the “Rising Stars Tournament”, which features the 12 best rookies and a dozen second-year pros. In addition, there are four players from the NBA’s substructure G-League. Wagner is joined by two other players from the Orlando Magic, Jalen Suggs as well as Cole Anthony. “It’s an honor for us players and also for our organization,” Wagner said.
All too many wins – the Magic are dead last in the East with 11 – didn’t play a role in the trio’s elimination, rather their individual performances. With an average of 15.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, Wagner is playing an unexpectedly strong season and can look forward to his first taste of the ASG weekend on 18 February in Cleveland. The All Star Game with the best pros in the league will take place two days later.
Matchwinner DeRozan
against the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, Wagner scored a strong 22 points and had his share of five points in the final quarter to rally and tie the game with six minutes left, but ultimately could not prevent the 115-126 loss. Brother Moritz scored nine points, Bulls top man DeMar DeRozan was the best scorer of the night with 29 points – ahead of Zach LaVine (26) and Orlando’s Wendell Carter Jr. (24). In the Eastern Conference, Chicago is at the top ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers.
Suns stand at 11 – Warriors successful without Splash Brothers
Over in the West, the Phoenix Suns celebrated their eleventh win in a row with a 121-111 over the Brooklyn Nets – still without Kevin Durant – and increased their tally to 41-9 victories. Devin Booker (35 points), Mikal Bridges (season best 27 points), Chris Paul (20/14) led their team to victory, Kyrie Irving scored 26 points for the Nets (29-21), who lost for the fifth time in a row.
Behind the Suns are the Golden State Warriors in second place. The Dubs won 124-120 at the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday (local time) for their seventh straight win despite the absence of rested superstars Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Greene. Jordan Poole was man of the night with 31 points for the Californians, who now stand at 39-13.
