The Los Angeles Lakers have renewed hope in the battle for the play-offs. Russell Westbrook played an important role in that.
The stumbling Lakers managed an important overtime victory. The record champions beat the Toronto Raptors 128-123 on Friday night to maintain their lead over the New Orleans Pelicans, who beat the San Antonio Spurs 124-91. The Lakers around superstar LeBron James are right ahead of the Pelicans in ninth place in the Western Conference and are anxious to qualify for the play-offs. The win combined with the defeat of the Spurs, who are in eleventh place, was therefore doubly valuable and also necessary after losing three games recently.
James was the best scorer of the game with 36 points. The most important basket, however, was scored by Westbrook, who has been criticised time and again lately, when he scored with less than one second on the clock to equalise the score. Westbrook had a triple double of 22 points, ten rebounds and ten assists – in this statistic with double-digit values in three categories, the 33-year-old has been at the top of the eternal NBA best list for some time.
Suns beat Bulls – Hartenstein convinces as an assist man and on the board
The Phoenix Suns picked up their 57th win of the season at the top of the Western Conference, beating the Chicaco Bulls 129-102. The Memphis Grizzlies, meanwhile, were beaten 105-120 by the Atlanta Hawks, while the fourth-placed Utah Jazz defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 121-92. Isaiah Hartenstein had a strong night for the Clippers, top-scoring with nine rebounds and eight assists.
The Dallas Mavericks were defeated by the Philadelphia 76ers. Luka Doncic scored a comparatively modest 17 points in the 101-111 defeat, while national team player Maxi Kleber had six points. The Mavs benefited from the Denver Nuggets’ narrow 116-119 defeat at the Cleveland Cavaliers and maintained their lead over the Nuggets, who are sixth in the Western Conference.
