The Golden State Warriors beat the Milwaukee Bucks without Stephen Curry. The Bucks ran out of ideas at the end. The L.A. Clippers impressed against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were at full strength.
The Bucks went without a single point for the last four minutes in San Francisco. Instead, the Warriors pulled away with two threes from Brandin Podziemski (17 points, 6/10 FG) and celebrated another important victory in the playoff race without Stephen Curry, who was given a break. Jimmy Butler stepped up to the plate, the forward notching 24 points (6/13 FG, 11/11 FT), eight rebounds and 10 assists on a triple-double.
The Bucks only scored 17 points in the fourth quarter and made a meager four shots (25 percent FG). Giannis Antetokounmpo (20, 5/16, 9 rebounds, 7 assists) was hardly a factor, and Damian Lillard (16, 6/18) also had a rough day. The visitors’ top scorer was Kyle Kuzma with 22 points (5/13 from three).
Champion Boston went without both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown against the Brooklyn Nets, but still managed to win again. Rookie Baylor Scheierman played a big part in this, draining four threes in the fourth quarter and finishing with 20 points (6/7 threes) in just 16 minutes. Kristaps Porzingis contributed 25 points (9/13), 13 rebounds and three blocks to the win.
Clippers convince against Cleveland
At the top of the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers continue to circle alone, even though the Cavs suffered their second defeat in a row against the L.A. Clippers suffered their second defeat in a row. Cleveland was even able to field a full lineup thanks to the return of Evan Mobley (17), but the Clippers dominated the zone thanks to Ivica Zubac (28, 13/18, 20 rebounds).
Kawhi Leonard added a new season-high 33 points (12/19), so it didn’t matter that James Harden (22, 2/11 three-pointers, 9 assists) scored little. It went all the better for Bogdan Bogdanovic, who hit all eight of his shots and finished with 20 points and seven assists. Max Strus (24, 5/8 3P) was the top scorer for Cleveland, while Donovan Mitchell (18, 5/18, 11 assists) once again failed to find his rhythm.
