James Harden gave the Philadelphia 76ers high hopes in his debut alongside Joel Embiid on a day in which the Phoenix Suns shockingly lost to the New Orleans Pelicans while the Los Angeles Lakers lost their third game this season to the Los Angeles Clippers.
In addition, Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks succumbed to the Utah Jazz on their visit and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Washington Wizards after two overtimes.
TIMBERWOLVES 102 – SIXERS 133
James Harden made his debut in the Philadelphia 76ers in a big way with a convincing victory away from home against the Minnesota Timberwolves denied from the triple (9 of 39).
Harden shone as a starter with 27 points (7 of 12 shooting), 8 rebounds and 12 assists and formed a great offensive triangle with Joel Embiid (34 points and 10 rebounds) and Tyrese Maxey (28 points on 12 of 16 shooting) .
The American of Dominican origin Karl-Anthony Towns was the best of the Wolves with 25 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in 34 minutes.
LAKERS 102 – CLIPPERS 105
In a final marked entirely by controversy (the referees deliberated for many minutes to decide two crucial plays), the Los Angeles Lakers ended up falling to the Los Angeles Clippers after they had managed to come back from a highly disputed game and were losing by 16 points in the second quarter.
Terance Mann (19 points and 10 rebounds) was the Clippers’ top scorer while LeBron James (21 points and 11 rebounds) led a Lakers without the injured Anthony Davis and terrible from 3-point range (8 of 31).
SUNS 102 – PELICANS 117
The New Orleans Pelicans gave the bell of the night by defeating the Phoenix Suns, the team with the best balance in the league.
CJ McCollum (32 points and 6 rebounds) and Brandon Ingram (28 points and 7 assists) led the Pelicans to this fantastic victory against the Suns led by Devin Booker (30 points).
The Spanish Willy Hernangómez played 7 minutes for the Pelicans and got 3 points, 3 rebounds and a block.
JAZZ 114 – MAVERICKS 109
Donovan Mitchell (33 points) was too much for the Dallas Mavericks led by Luka Doncic (23 points, 7 rebounds and 11 assists) but who ended up losing to the Utah Jazz despite dominating the game for several parts of the night.
The Spanish Juancho Hernangómez did not have minutes in the rotation of the Jazz.
WIZARDS 153 – SPURS 157
Dejounte Murray (31 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists) and Keldon Johnson (32 points and 7 rebounds) guided the San Antonio Spurs to victory in a very exciting game against the Washington Wizards that was decided after two extensions.
Kyle Kuzma (36 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists) was the best of the Wizards in which Brazilian Raul Neto had 22 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists and a steal in 36 minutes.
With this win, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is just one win away from matching Don Nelson, who is the coach with the most wins in NBA history (1,335).
HORNETS 125 – RAPTORS 93
The Toronto Raptors crashed during their visit to Charlotte against the Hornets who reached the All-Star very sunk (nine defeats of their last ten games) but who today vindicated themselves with an important victory.
The Hornets, who led by 41 points in the third quarter and crushed their rivals on the rebound (52 vs. 36), were led by Kelly Oubre Jr. and Terry Rozier (23 points apiece) while these unrecognizable Raptors the most outstanding was Scottie Barnes (28 points).
KNICKS 100 – HEAT 115
RJ Barrett signed a great match (46 points and 9 rebounds) but even so, the New York Knicks lost to the Miami Heat and extended an increasingly entrenched crisis in the franchise (four straight losses and only two wins in their last ten games).
For their part, the Heat thus tied the Chicago Bulls as leaders of the East thanks to the joint efforts of Tyler Herro (25 points and 7 rebounds) and Jimmy Butler (23 points).
MAGIC 119 – ROCKETS 111
Duel for everything low in Orlando, where the Magic, bottom of the East, beat the Houston Rockets, last in the West, thanks to the union of Chuma Okeke (26 points and 9 rebounds) and Wendell Carter Jr. (24 points and 12 rebounds).
Jalen Green (23 points) was the leading scorer for a struggling Rockets who have lost their last eight games.
PACERS 125 – THUNDER 129
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (36 points and 8 rebounds) was the Oklahoma City Thunder’s beacon in their assault on the Indiana Pacers after extra time.
Lance Stephenson forced overtime with a 3-pointer in the last second, but the Pacers finally succumbed with Buddy Hield leading scorer (29 points and 7 rebounds).
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
1.- Miami Heat (39-21)
2.- Chicago Bulls (39-21)
3.- Philadelphia 76ers (36-23)
4.- Milwaukee Bucks (36-24)
5.- Cleveland Cavaliers (35-24)
6.- Boston Celtics (35-26)
7.- Toronto Raptors (32-26)
8.- Brooklyn Nets (31-29)
9.- Charlotte Hornets (30-31)
10.- Atlanta Hawks (28-31)
11.- Washington Wizards (27-32)
12.- New York Knicks (25-35)
13.- Indiana Pacers (20-41)
14.- Detroit Pistons (14-45)
15.- Orlando Magic (14-47)
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
1.- Phoenix Suns (49-11)
2.- Golden State Warriors (43-17)
3.- Memphis Grizzlies (41-20)
4.- Utah Jazz (37-22)
5.- Dallas Mavericks (35-25)
6.- Denver Nuggets (34-25)
7.- Minnesota Timberwolves (32-29)
8.- Los Angeles Clippers (31-31)
9.- Los Angeles Lakers (27-32)
10.- Portland Trail Blazers (25-35)
11.- San Antonio Spurs (24-36)
12.- New Orleans Pelicans (24-36)
13.- Sacramento Kings (22-39)
14.- Oklahoma City Thunder (19-41)
15.- Houston Rockets (15-44).
NEXT DAY (Saturday, February 26)
Detroit Pistons – Boston Celtics
Atlanta Hawks – Toronto Raptors
Cleveland Cavaliers – Washington Wizards
Miami Heat – San Antonio Spurs
Chicago Bulls – Memphis Grizzlies
Milwaukee Bucks – Brooklyn Nets
Denver Nuggets – Sacramento Kings. EFE