Despite the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee defeated the Orlando Magic. Jokic secured the Nuggets the sole lead in the West. The NBA on Thursday morning
Without Franz Wagner, who is still ailing, the Orlando Magic have lost again in the NBA and are in danger of slipping out of the playoff places shortly before the end of the main round. Orlando conceded 99:117 against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday evening, even though Giannis Antetokounmpo was missing through injury. The Greek will also miss the remaining three games of the regular season due to a strain in his left calf.
His coach Doc Rivers was unable to give an exact date for his return. “There’s no timetable or anything like that. There’s nobody that’s going to work harder than him. You know that. He’ll be back when he’s supposed to be back. We’ll see when that is,” Rivers said.
Orlando slips to fifth place
On Wednesday, the Bucks collectively absorbed the loss of their superstar. Bobby Portis was his team’s best scorer with 30 points, closely followed by Damian Lillard (29 points). “Obviously Giannis is the head of the snake. When he’s out there, we’re at our best. But we have a lot of guys in our locker room. We have veterans, and I think we understood tonight what our job is,” Lillard explained.
While Milwaukee’s second straight win keeps them in second place in the Eastern Conference standings, Orlando’s third loss in the last four games dropped them to a tie for fifth place with the Indiana Pacers, who now have the same record of 46 wins and 34 losses.
The Magic have just one win more than the seventh-placed Philadelphia 76ers, who they face on Saturday (1:00 CEST). Whether Franz Wagner will be back is unclear
Mavericks clinch the Southwest Division title early
The Dallas Mavericks are still in top form, winning 111:92 against the Miami Heat for their 16th win in the last 18 games and heading into the playoffs as winners of the Southwest Division with huge momentum. “We achieved a goal,” said a delighted coach Jason Kidd. Luka Doncic scored 25 points, Kyrie Irving recorded 25 points for the Texans. Maxi Kleber from Würzburg scored four points and made two blocks without missing a shot. The Heat’s defeat also sealed Isaiah Hartenstein and the New York Knicks’ place in the play-offs
In the first round of the playoffs, the Mavericks will face the Los Angeles Clippers, who were beaten 108:124 by the Phoenix Suns. A 23:2 run by the Suns saw the Clippers let the encounter slip from their grasp in the final quarter. World champion Daniel Theis scored two points in ten minutes. The result sealed the Los Angeles Lakers’ clash against the Golden State Warriors in the play-in game
World champion captain Dennis Schröder and the Brooklyn Nets have had no chance of making the play-offs since last week, but at least they got their sixth win from the last ten games against the Toronto Raptors. Schröder scored 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in the 106:102 win against his former team.
In the top game of the day, the Denver Nuggets won 116:107 against the Minnesota Timberwolves and are once again sole leaders of the Western Conference. Nikola Jokic scored 41 points for Denver against the best defense in the NBA. “Rudy Gobert will be considered one of the best defenders of his generation. And that shows how great Nikola is. I don’t think anyone in the NBA can defend Nikola one-on-one,” enthused Nuggets coach Michael Malone.
