The Brooklyn Nets pulled off the most unlikely comeback against the Kings through the amazing play of D’Angelo Russell, down by 25 points by the 4th quarter! The Clippers survive a scare against the Pacers and stay afloat in the Western Conference playoff battle. It was business as usual for the Rockets, Bucks and Warriors winning the games they were supposed to win.
As SportsTips.com does every day, we’ve watched 3 of the most exciting and biggest games for you and broke it down so you don’t have to!
Here’s our key takeaways from the games themselves:
Philadelphia 76ers @ Charlotte Hornets
The Sixers decided to rest key center Joel Embiid to ensure he’s fresh for the big Celtic match up the Sixers have tonight, luckily for him and the Sixers the others were able to get the job done against a fighting Hornets team.
The Hornets unlikely star within the past season has been the star play of Jeremy Lamb off the bench and last night he provided another stellar performance securing a double double in points and rebounds off 29 minutes off game time. With Amir Johnson starting at center and Boban off the Bench, Lamb was able to drive in with ease and get a foul whenever needed to keep the game close.
New addition Tobias Harris was the key factor that was able to win the game for the sixers, he’s continued his great play both on the defensive and offensive end leading to a plus minus box score of plus 13 for the game.
The Hornets went on a 30 – 23 run in the 3rd quarter that made many Sixers fans worried, but the Sixers were able to rally back to win the game. One worrying factor is the lack of bench points from the Sixers other than Ennis III, will this be a big issue when it comes to the playoffs? We’ll see what happens.
Sixers Win 118 – 114
Top Scorer: Ben Simmons – 28 Points
Top Assists: Jimmy Butler – 9 Assists
Top Rebounds: TIED 11 – Tobias Harris & Jeremy Lamb
Brooklyn Nets @ Sacramento Kings
What. A. Game. If you watched this live you probably turned this off by the 3rd quarter, if you were a Nets fan then you definitely turned off this game by the 3rd quarter. The Kings came into the game red-hot, Marvin Bagley scored the first 11 points of the Kings point all by himself continuing the stellar play he’s had this season. He’s got a lot to play for after being picked ahead of the fan favorite Luka Doncic, but he’s been playing some stellar games to finish the season.
De’Aaron Fox played a great game scoring 28 points on an efficient 50% shooting and the Kings were getting everything they wanted while the Nets bricked every shot they took. D’Angelo Russell was a non-factor as he couldn’t get the team going and the Nets ended the 3rd quarter down by 25.
Lo and behold, D’Angelo Russell the former Laker guard who was traded away (and probably who they would actually love to have now) EXPLODED for 27 points in the 4th quarter. Marvin Bagley could not defend him as his ball handling and drives were unstoppable. The Nets finished the game in a 45 – 18 point run winning the game by 2 and D’Angelo Rusell scoring his career high 44 points!
Nets Win 123 – 121
Top Scorer: D’Angelo Russell – 44 Points
Top Assists: D’Angelo Russell – 12 Assists
Top Rebounds: Nemanja Bjelica – 10 Rebounds
Indiana Pacers @ Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers have been nothing short of amazing this season even after trading their key pieces and are still locked and loaded for the 4 – 8 seed battle in the Western Conference with most teams only a game behind and the Clippers themselves 2 games behind the 4th seed.
It was a back and forth battle and it was a great game to watch with both teams amassing 58 total assists combined. 12 Players scored in double digits and that really showed what kind of game both teams had and the power of team work for these two teams.
Unfortunately hot guards Lou Williams and Wesley Matthews could not continue their stellar shooting in this game and the game was decided by other factors. It was a classic European showdown with Bogdanovic and Gallinari both defending each other and scoring on each other.
Unfortunately for the Pacers, Gallinari, who we believe is the engine for the Clippers was just way too good. He shot 8 – 17 from the field and shot 4 – 9 from three-point land. Finishing the game with the game high of 28 points.
The defensive effort of Pat Beverley cannot be taken for granted as well as he locked the opposing guards down. Aaron Holiday from the Pacers (brother of Jrue and Justin Holiday) showed some great defensive play and play making and seemed like a decent pick up at 23 in last years rookie draft at this part of the season.
Clippers Win 115 – 109
Top Scorer: Danilo Gallinari – 24 Points
Top Assists: Lou Williams – 9 Assists
Top Rebounds: Domantas Sabonis – 16 Rebounds
Other Games
Houston Rockets defeat the Atlanta Hawks 121 – 105
Top Scorer: James Harden 31 Points, Trae Young 21 Points
Milwaukee Bucks defeat the Los Angeles Lakers 115 -101
Top Scorer: Khris Middleton 30 Points, Kentavious Caldwell Pope 35 Points
Golden State Warriors defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 117 – 107
Top Scorer: Stephen Curry 36 Points, Karl Anthony Towns 26 Points.
Highlights:
Player of the Night: D’Angelo Russell
Best team performance: Milwaukee Bucks
Most disappointing team performance: Sacramento Kings
