Durant scored 36 points as the Nets beat the Cavaliers to move up to seventh in the East! Five people scored in double figures, and the Heat narrowly beat the Hawks to win six straight! Paul's key assist in the final quarter, the Suns director 17 points big reversal!
Durant 36+5+5! The Nets moved up to seventh in the East
The Nets' game against the Cavaliers was a focal battle in the East, given the close-knack winning gap between the two teams. If the Nets win, they can successfully overtake the Cavaliers and move up to seventh place in the East. Before this game, the Nets were in decent shape and had won two straight, while the Cavaliers suffered two straight losses.
In the first quarter of the game, the Nets, who were at home, made a good start of 7:2 and relied on Durant's play to extend the point difference to 15 points at the end of the quarter. In the second quarter, the Cavaliers warmed up, and as the whole team blossomed, they gradually narrowed the point difference to single digits. At the end of the half, the difference between the two sides was 8 points. Yi Bian fought again, and in the third quarter of the game, the field suddenly changed, and the opponent won by 13 points in a single quarter, ending the section with a 5-point lead. In the final quarter, the two teams fell into a tug-of-war, but in the middle of the section, the Nets suddenly hit a 10:0 climax, the Cavaliers suddenly lost power, and the Nets finally won 118:107.
Durant was once again the key to the Nets' win in this game, playing 41 minutes, shooting 11 of 20 from 6 of 4 three-pointers, hitting 10 free throws, cutting 36 points and getting 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Irving is still sluggish on the offensive end, shooting only 7 of 22 from the field, including 7 of 7 three-pointers, and only 18 points and 8 assists. Brown became a surpriser, with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists. Although Garland scored 31 points in the Cavaliers, the team was overturned by the opponent in the final quarter.
After winning this game, the Nets managed to advance the Cavaliers to seventh place in the East while winning three straight games, and if they can still win in the next game against the Pacers, they will have this more favorable position in the playoffs.
5 people scored in double figures! The Heat won six straight
Before this game, the Heat have been in hot form to win five straight, and from the current trend, if they can successfully win this game against the Hawks, then they will be basically sure to enter the playoffs as the number one in the East. As a result, the Heat still chose to play with all the main forces, and the Hawks, who are currently in ninth place in the East, also need a victory in this game to impact better qualifying.
The two sides were at a stalemate in the first quarter of the game until the heat took a 2-point lead into the second quarter with a small 8-2 surge in the final period. In the second quarter, the two teams fought on the outside, constantly alternating the lead, and at the end of the quarter, Trae Young suddenly broke out to score 10 consecutive points to help the team establish a 5-point lead. In the third quarter, the Heat began to gradually gain the upper hand, and in the middle of the quarter, they played a wave of 10:0 climax to complete the counterattack, and the Heat led by 4 points in the third quarter. In the final quarter, although the Eagles regained the initiative in the opening stage, the Heat completed the reversal in the final stage and finally won 113:109.
In this game, the Heat once again showed excellent team strength and 5 people scored in double figures, with Butler and Adebayor scoring 20 and 24 points respectively. In addition, they also showed a tough and tenacious style again, even if they were behind their opponents in the fourth quarter, they did not give up the game, and finally completed the reversal in the final stage, while winning six consecutive wins, they still maintain a two-win gap with the Bucks, the second in the East, and with only one game left in the regular season, they have basically locked in the first place in the East.
The Hawks have come to ninth place in the East after losing this game, and there is still a one-win gap between the eighth-place Cavaliers in the East. But fortunately, their opponent in their last game will be the league's weak rocket, if they can win the next game smoothly, and the Cavaliers also lose the game, then the Eagles will complete the top eight, which also means that they will probably enter the playoffs with only one playoff. It is worth mentioning that this game against the Heat is also likely to be a rehearsal battle for the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs this season.
Paul key assist! The Sun reversed at 17 minutes
In the last game, the Suns, who had rested most of their main players, lost to the Clippers on the road, and this time they will play against the Jazz to deal with this game against the same Western Conference powerhouse. The Jazz, who had won two straight before this game, needed the game because the Nuggets, who were currently behind them, were getting closer and closer, and they had to secure their fifth place in the West.
In the first quarter of the campaign, the Suns felt hot and repulsive, playing a perfect 15-2 start and leading by 6 points at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Jazz began to set off a counterattack, playing 14:0 in the opening stage and consecutive points at the end of the quarter, and the Jazz had already surpassed by 3 points in the halftime. In addition to scoring 35 points on the offensive end, they let the Suns score only 21 points in this quarter on the defensive end, and the Jazz led by as many as 17 points at the end of the third quarter. In the final quarter of the game, the Suns, who were not willing to lose, started with a wave of 15:6 scoring climax to chase the point difference to single digits, and then played 13:0 to erase the point difference again, and at the critical moment, the Suns scored consecutive points, and finally won the opponent with a 111:105 reversal.
The reason why the Suns were able to complete a big reversal in the fourth quarter of the game was that São Paulo played a role. Paul played 37 minutes, scoring 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting while delivering a large double-double with 16 assists. In his tandem, the Suns scored in double figures, with Booker scoring a game-high 33 points, Ayton having a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Bridges scoring 18 points. In addition, in the key moments of the final quarter, Paul first assisted Bridges to hit 2+1, and soon assisted Ayton in the breakthrough to complete the game-killing layup. In tandem with São Paulo, the Sun finally completed a 17-point reversal at the end of the quarter.
The win or loss of this game does not mean much to the Suns' record, after all, they have set the best record in team history and have completely locked in the number one position in the league, but they still tried their best in this campaign, which reflects their current determination and fiery state. The Jazz, on the other hand, lost the game and were only 0.5 wins behind them.