Philadelphia players celebrate with Joel Embiid after he scored 70 points/from Philadelphia's twitter '76
Only five games were played tonight (between Tuesday and Wednesday) in the NBA, but even in a relatively poor round, quite a few stories and headlines accumulated.
Tonight's games:
Atlanta (27:20) - L.A. Lakers (25:24) 122:138
Boston (11:37) - Indiana (21:27) 124:129
New York (17:31) - Utah (25: 24) 103:118
Chicago (26:22) - Toronto (30:17) 118:107
Golden State (24:19) - Philadelphia (16:29) Not yet finished
Are the Lakers worth the playoffs at all?
Even LeBron is in doubt/GettyImages, Kevin C. Cox
Atlanta (27:20) - L.A. Lakers (25:24) 122:138
Again signs of a crisis for the Lakers, and not only because of the result, but also and perhaps mainly because of the road.
Even before the game there was a mini-storm when swing coach Darwin Hamm decided to take Christian Wood out of the five, and the inside player hilariously tweeted on social media.
On the floor itself, the Lakers once again presented a shaky and penetrating defense, conceding 130 points or more for the fourth consecutive game and for the fifth time out of their last seven games, and going down to a negative balance that once again raises doubts about their ability to screw up in the playoffs.
Trae Young starred with 26 points for the winner, Dejontae Murray added 24 and on the other hand the Lakers felt the lack of Anthony Davis very well, and were not in the business despite 28 points from Austin Reaves.
LeBron James finished with 20, and again looked frustrated and disappointed.
New York (17:31) - Utah (25:24) 103:118
And while the Lakers are faltering, the Knicks are flourishing and at their peak with an eighth win in a row and a record of 2:14 in January, which opened the year 2024 in a wonderful way for them. The Villanova trio once again starred for the team From Tom Thibodeau: Donte DiVincenzo was hot with 33 points including a career-high 9 three-pointers, Jaylen Brunson finished with 29 and 9 assists and Josh Hart finished with a triple double of 10 accurate in all categories - points, rebounds and assists.
Colin Sexton scored 22 for the Jazz, but that didn't prevent another celebration by the Knicks, who are already climbing to third place in the Eastern Conference, and are starting to squint even toward second place.
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Boston (11:37) - Indiana (21:27) 124:129
The leader of the Eastern Conference has already proven more than once this season that it is an excellent offensive team.
They achieved the victory tonight - their eighth in ten games - mainly through stifling defense in the closing minutes.
Jayson Tatum, who finished as the Celtics' leading scorer with 30 points, had two critical blocks in the last half minute, and another block by Jaylen Brown (25 points) closed the game.
Derek White added 24 for the winner, while the Pacers got 26 and 12 rebounds from Aaron Nismith and 23 from Pascal Siakam, but were unable to complete a turnaround from a big deficit, especially against the background of a relatively lukewarm return game by Tyrese Halliburton, who scored 13 points on 5-for-16 from the field in his first game since returning from the injury that sidelined him for the last five games.
Chicago (26:22) - Toronto (30:17) 118:107
The Raptors seemed on the way to a sixth straight loss, but erased a 16-point deficit and returned from the Windy City with a victory.
Gary Trent Jr. excelled with 24 points, Bruce Brown contributed 19 and 7 rebounds and Jordan Navara added 17, with Toronto winning despite missing three top five players.
The Bulls, who suffered their third loss in four games, were led by DeMar DeRozan with 25.
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