The New York Knicks and Isaiah Hartenstein ended a strong January with their eighth win in a row. The Philadelphia 76ers are worried about their MVP. The NBA on Wednesday morning
The New York Knicks (31 wins, 17 losses) have had the best start to a year in their franchise history. The team led by German center Isaiah Hartenstein won 118:103 (57:49) against the Utah Jazz (24-25) and celebrated its eighth win in a row. Overall, the team has a record of 14 wins and just two defeats in January under point guard Jalen Brunson, who as usual pulled the strings (29 points, nine assists), while shooter Donte DiVincenzo drained nine threes for a total of 33 points and Hartenstein recorded a double-double (14/12) while now playing more minutes (29). Josh Hart’s box score was curious: a triple-double with exactly ten points, rebounds and assists – a feat that has only been achieved nine times before in league history
Kuminga falls on Embiid’s knee – Schröder strong
The Knicks are currently third in the Eastern Conference and have now overtaken Joel Embiid’s Philadelphia 76ers, who fell to 29-17 after a 107-119 loss at the Golden State Warriors (20-24). MVP Embiid fell short of his potential (14 points after more than 30 in 22 games in a row, eight turnovers) and also retired injured shortly before the end after Jonathan Kuminga fell on the big man’s left knee as he lay on the floor. Stephen Curry hit eight threes for Golden State, among other things, and finished with 37 points.
LeBron: “We can get our asses kicked by any team “
Starting PG Dennis Schröder put in a decent performance with 16 points and ten assists in his Toronto Raptors’ (17-30) 118-107 win at the Chicago Bulls (22-26). It was the Raptors’ first win after five defeats in a row. The best team in the league is still the Boston Celtics (37-11), who won 129-124 against the Indiana Pacers (27-21) (Jayson Tatum with 30 points). In addition, the Atlanta Hawks (20-27) won clearly 138:122 against the weakening Los Angeles Lakers (24-25) led by LeBron James, who narrowly missed out on a triple-double with 20/9/8. Match winner: Trae Young with 26 points and 13 assists.
“On any given night, we can beat any team in the NBA – and on any given night, we can get our asses kicked by any team in the NBA. That’s where we’re at,” James grumbled in frustration afterwards.
