There are a total of 8 games in the NBA today, and several key games are scheduled for the early hours of the morning. Let's review the competition process and pay attention to the latest East-West rankings by the way!
Eastern Europe did its best, and the Lone Ranger suffered consecutive defeats.
The first game today was the 76ers vs. the Mavericks, who dug themselves a big hole at the beginning of the game, and they trailed by 10 points in the first quarter. Despite the play in Eastern Europe, the team shortened the gap in the second quarter. However, in the second half, the 76ers re-established their lead, and in the end, the Mavericks lost 116-120 to their opponents, suffering two consecutive defeats.
In this match, the Eastern European team has done their best. Doncic contributed a triple-double of 38 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and Irving also played his most efficient game in recent games, scoring 28 points on 50 percent shooting. But helplessly, the 76ers fought as a team this time, and everyone played well. Five of the 76ers scored in double figures, with Harris and Maxey contributing 28 and 24 points, respectively.
In addition, Doncic also set a number of personal records in this game
Clause. 1. He has 13 triple-doubles this season, ranking third in the league.
Clause. Second, three consecutive triple-doubles, becoming the third person this season.
Clause. 3. He has completed 68 triple-doubles in his career, ninth in history.
Clause. Fourth, 41 career 30+ triple-doubles, third in history.
The Green Army set a record, and the Warriors returned with a crushing defeat.
The matchup between the Celtics and the Warriors, even if there is indeed a gap between the two teams in terms of strength and ranking, the process and result of the game are still a little unexpected. At the beginning of the first quarter, the Celtics blossomed more and built a huge 22-point lead. After that, they took advantage of the victory and had a 44-point lead over the Warriors at halftime. Seeing that the general trend had gone, Kerr directly chose Mingjin to withdraw in the third quarter, and finally the Green Army beat the Warriors by 52 points 140-88.
After this game, the Celtics ushered in an 11-game winning streak and continued to rank first in the league, and the 11-game winning streak also set a new winning streak this season.
In terms of player performance, Curry was 2-of-13 from the field and 0-of-9 from the outside, and his slump made it impossible for the Warriors to compete with the Green Army, and in the end he only handed in a dismal 4-point statistic. The Celtics are the double tanhua to dominate the overall situation, and the two combined to contribute 56 points.
The Clippers defeated the first place in the West, and Harden offered alternative statistics.
In previous games, the Clippers were always unable to win when they faced a strong team with a strong defense. The last time they faced the Timberwolves, the Clippers lost by 21 points. Facing the Timberwolves again, the Clippers are eager to complete revenge. After the game began, the Clippers fell into an offensive dilemma, and the other players except Leonard felt cold and fell behind by 12 points in the first quarter.
But fortunately, the team was well prepared, and they were 31-16 in the second quarter. In the second half, the two teams were locked in a playoff-level defensive tussle, and the offensive efficiency of both sides plummeted. In the end, after a hard-fought matchup, the Clippers narrowly defeated the Timberwolves 89-88.
Leonard was the biggest contributor to the victory, scoring a game-high 32 points on 12-of-26 shooting despite the overall sluggish performance of his teammates. Although Harden only shot 0 of 10 in this game, he directly connected the team's offense and handed over 10 assists. So far this season, when Harden has been able to reach 10+ assists, the Clippers have maintained a 90% win rate, which shows the importance of his playmaking skills to the team.
With ups and downs, the Suns lost two in a row.
The Suns hosted the Thunder, who are No. 1 in the West, and the two teams played an up-and-down offensive battle. The Thunder didn't feel good overall in the first quarter, and the Suns took advantage of the situation to build a 10-point lead. But as Alexander's form picked up, the Thunder began to take over the game late in the first quarter, and the margin reached 24 points at one point.
In the third quarter, Vogel switched tactics in time, allowing Beal to take on the offensive responsibility, and he also lived up to expectations to connect the whole team to attack, and the Suns blasted out a 31-5 rhythm. In the final decisive moment, Alexander's consecutive points completely ruined the Suns' hope of victory. In the end, the Suns lost to their opponents and suffered two consecutive defeats.
The giants gathered in the play-off zone, and the competition for places was fierce.
As a direct consequence of the Suns' loss, the team fell into the play-in zone. In this way, the play-off area gathers the Suns, Mavericks, Warriors, and Lakers, the four Western giants, and the next competition can be imagined.