Without Steph Curry, the Golden State Warriors lost in a somewhat curious way. Hard to stop at the moment are the Boston Celtics. The NBA on Monday morning.
The Warriors lost to the San Antonio Spurs 108-110 without the injured Curry. Keldon Johnson secured the Texans’ victory in the final second after first missing a free throw but then grabbing the rebound and pushing the ball into the hoop. The Spurs win adds to the Los Angeles Lakers’ woes in the battle for a play-off spot. The match-free record champions slipped to tenth place in the West as the New Orleans Pelicans moved past them in the standings with their 117-112 win over the Atlanta Hawks – and the eleventh-placed Spurs added to the pressure. For the seventh through tenth, the regular season continues with the “play-in” round – a preliminary stage to the play-offs.
At the top in the West, the Phoenix Suns got a 127-124 win over the Sacramento Kings after overtime – still without playmaker Chris Paul, who injured his hand, but with a strong Devin Booker (21 points). Despite the 122-98 defeat of the Houston Rockets with Dennis Schröder (top scorer with 17 points), the Memphis Grizzlies no longer have a realistic chance of finishing first in the main round, but benefited from the defeat of the Warriors and consolidated second place. In fourth place, the Utah Jazz increased the pressure on Golden State. The team from the Great Salt Lake won 108-93 against the New York Knicks.
Brown and Tatum dominate
The Boston Celtics won 124-104 at the Denver Nuggets to keep their hopes alive for second place in the Eastern Conference. Daniel Theis contributed seven points coming off the bench (all late in the first quarter), Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were the top performers for Boston with 30 points each. The Celtics, who have won eight of their past nine games, benefited from the Philadelphia 76ers’ 88-93 loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Moritz and Franz Wagner scored 90-85 in the Orlando Magic’s home game and basement duel against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Franz Wagner scored eleven points, his older brother ten. The best shooter for Orlando was Wendell Carter with 30 points, and the centre also grabbed 16 rebounds.
