Jalen Brosnan scored 31 points and OG Anunoby added 23 for the New York Knicks' 112-109 victory over Philadelphia in the National Basketball Association (NBA) championship. The Knicks achieved the success over this regional rival on the road just four days after a crushing 120:66 over the Brooklyn Nets, described as the most unequal match in the club's history, BTA reported.
But 30 points in the third half guaranteed them their first victory in three games with this rival this season and 2nd place in the Atlantic Division with 27 wins and 18 losses, very close to the leader Boston.
Joel Embiid finished for the home team from the 76ers with 38 points and 11 rebounds, but lost the ball in the last action of the game at a time when it seemed that the Knicks wanted to intentionally foul him. Tyreese Maxey finished with 22 points for the home team, but missed the basket on the final shot, trying to make a three-pointer. Maxi also expected to be fouled and hit at least free throws, but that didn't happen.
The hosts from Philadelphia managed to reduce their deficit to two points at the end of the match, but then Anunoby and Landry Shamet scored two consecutive three-pointers and complicated Philadelphia's task.
Led by Brunson, New York opened the fourth quarter with a series of 21:7, and a little later he scored a three-pointer for 84:72 before Embiid took matters into his own hands. The pressure did not bring the necessary success to the hosts, who are 4th in the same division with 24/20.
The Charlotte Hornets defeated Washington 119:115 at home, inflicting a ninth consecutive loss on the visitors. Brandon Miller scored 21 points, and Miles Bridges and LaMelo Ball each scored 20. The Hornets won two consecutive games for the first time since January 3-5, when they beat Chicago and Oklahoma, and today Kon Knuppel helped with 16 points.
Tre Johnson distinguished himself with 26 points for the Wizards, which is his personal career record. Their team started with the youngest team in the League since 1970/71, when statistics were kept. The average age of the five was 20.64, with the previous youngest team being Oklahoma City vs. Philadelphia in 2021 - 20.74.
Donovan Mitchell scored 36 points in Cleveland's 119-105 win over Orlando, with 27 of those points coming in the second half. The game pitted two of the Eastern Conference's top teams, with the Cavaliers in second place in the Central Division with 27,820. Orlando remains atop the Southeast with 23-21, just one game ahead of Miami.
Jaylen Tyson scored 17 for the winners, and Evan Mobley added 13 and seven rebounds. For the hosts from Florida State, Paolo Bankero scored 27 points, while Desmond Bain had 20. Anthony Black finished the game with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists. After missing eight games due to a right knee injury, Jaylen Suggs returned to the field for Orlando, playing 24 minutes and scoring 9 points and dishing out 6 assists.
Despite being without Darius Garland and DeAndre Hunter - both injured - Cleveland showed versatility and recorded its fifth victory in the last six games. The team pulled ahead in the first three and a half minutes of the third period with three-pointers by Lonzo Ball and Mobley and Tyreese Proctor, which made the score 97:79, which became the largest margin of the game.
The Chicago Bulls already have a positive balance after defeating the leader in the Atlantic Division Boston 114:111. Kevin Huerter scored a three-pointer just before the final siren in the game to pull out the 23rd victory of the season in 45 games. Just before the game, a ceremony was held to retire the jersey of the legend Derrick Rose with the number 1 from use.
Kobe White scored 22 points for the Bulls, and he also made five of all their 21 three-pointers in the game. Otherwise, the team recorded its fourth consecutive victory.
Rose, who was part of the great Chicago team of the generation of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Jerry Sloan and Bob Love - the others from that team with jerseys retired.
But even this celebration electrified the atmosphere, which helped the hosts reach the final despite Jaylen Brown's 33 points. Chicago led 111:109 when White missed a layup under the basket, and Smith missed on the extra point. Then the ball fell to Brown, who tied the score at 111:111 and the hosts took a timeout and clearly wanted to play for Huerter with 14 seconds left. He received and shot to decide the game.
Luka Doncic scored 33 points and 11 assists, and the Lakers overcame a 15-point deficit in the final seven minutes to come away with a 116-110 victory over Dallas. For Doncic, it was his second game in the city where he made his name as an NBA star after the team traded him to the Lakers.
LeBron James scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, while Rui Hachimura had just four before hitting two consecutive 3-pointers. The second came at 108-106.
Naji Marshall scored 21 points for Dallas, who are fourth in the Southwest Division. The win moved the Lakers back to the top of the Pacific Division at 27-17.