The Orlando Magic suffered a setback in the battle for a playoff ticket in Atlanta, despite the absence of the Hawks star. The Mavs and the Clippers were stopped. The NBA on Monday morning
The Orlando Magic (32-26) suffered a clear 92-109 defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks (25-32). While the hosts were able to compensate well for the absence of their top man Trae Young with a hand injury, the Magic clearly felt the absence of their sick go-to-guy Paolo Banchero, who had previously been the match-winner against Detroit. After three wins in a row, Franz Wagner’s 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists – whose brother Moritz was held to just two points and five rebounds this time – were not enough to prevent their first defeat in the end
The Dallas Mavericks (33-24) had won seven in a row. The Texans’ best run of victories in the Western Conference came to an abrupt end in a clash with their former champion coach Rick Carlisle, who claimed a 133:111 victory with the host Indiana Pacers (33-25). The Mavs’ celebrity backcourt around Luka Doncic (33 points) and Kyrie Irving (29) clicked as usual in offense, but the visitors’ defense found no means against Myles Turner (33, season best) and point guard Tyrese Haliburton (17, plus ten assists). Maxi Kleber scored three points in 25 minutes of action
Sabonis and Jokic versatile as usual
For the first time this year, the Los Angeles Clippers (37-19) once again lost two games in a row. The Californians led by Daniel Theis (eight points) had little to play for at home against the state rival Sacramento Kings (33-23) – 107:123. De’Aaron Fox (33 points) and Domantas Sabonis with his 20th triple-double this season (17/15/12) led the way for the Kings.
A triple-double was also in the boxscore elsewhere: Serbian star center Nikola Jokic excelled with his third in a row in the Denver Nuggets’ (39-19) 119:103 win over the Golden State Warriors (29-27). In detail, Jokic scored 32 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists. He has 18 this season. Steph Curry (20), meanwhile, hit just one of his ten three-point attempts and was outdone by “Splash Brother” Klay Thompson, who came off the bench to sink five from downtown (23).
