NBA: The Sacramento Kings are still waiting for the playoffs

The Sacramento Kings are still waiting for the playoffs after a loss at the Minnesota Timberwolves. In addition, a Knicks guard achieves his career high.

The duel between the two MVP candidates Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid went to the Serbs in the absence of the Sixers star and the Los Angeles Clippers have no problems with the Chicago Bulls. The Phoenix Suns win a poor game against the Utah Jazz even without Kevin Durant.

Khris Middleton leads the Bucks to a win over the Pistons even without Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Detroit Pistons (16:59) – Milwaukee Bucks (54:21) 117:126 (BOXSCORE)

• The spectators in Detroit will have been three times angry at the game against the Milwaukee Bucks. On the one hand they had to do without the highlights of Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek sat out with pain in his right knee. On the other hand, Khris Middleton shone with 34 points and 8 rebounds against his former team, who drafted him in the second round in 2012. The defeat against a Milwaukee that was too strong is probably the least annoying news for the Pistons fans who are troubled by the tank.
• Detroit stayed in the game against the big favorite for a long time. At the end of the third quarter, the Bucks only led 94-90. It was only in the last section that a tip-in from Brook Lopez (24 points, 14 rebounds) and Middleton’s only three (1/7) made the decision two minutes before the end.
• Jrue Holiday was also absent from the Bucks for personal reasons. However, Jevon Carter was able to catch up easily with 22 points (6/7 threes). Bobby Portis produced a strong double-double (21 points, 14 rebounds) and Goran Dragic made his first appearance since signing on March 4 but failed to add any points in nine minutes. With the Pistons, Jaden Ivey defended himself with 32 points. Jalen Duren came off the bench on a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds).

Indiana Pacers (33-43) – Dallas Mavericks (37-39) 104:127 (MATCH REPORT)

Immanuel Quickley celebrated his career high with 40 points against the Rockets.

New York Knicks (43:33) – Houston Rockets (18:58) 137:115 (BOXSCORE)

• Career high for Immanuel Quickley. The guard gave the defenseless Rockets a whopping 40 points. He also handed out 9 assists. Isaiah Hartenstein was finally able to show his versatility again (8 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists), even if it almost ended up here on a violent poster sponsored by Jalen Green.
• Kenyon Martin Jr. did better. The highflyer stuffed with a lot of power the ball over Julius Randle in the basket. But the last laugh belonged to Randle. The Knicks star ensured the 23:22 lead in the first quarter with his own dunk. New York should no longer give up this. Overall, Randle got 26 points. Quentin Grimes also showed a decent performance with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Jalen Brunson was absent.
• For the Rockets, Kevin Porter Jr. was the top man with 26 points. A total of seven Houston players scored in double digits. Jabari Smith Jr. was still busy filling the papers of the scorers with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists.

Utah Jazz (35:40) – Phoenix Suns (40:35) 103:117 (BOXSCORE)

• The Suns still have to wait for Kevin Durant, but the Slim Reaper wasn’t needed against the undermanned Utah Jazz. Phoenix, led by Devin Booker (24 points, but 7/19 from the field) was able to beat their Western Conference competitor with a good team effort. The scoring was spread over several shoulders. Five players scored double-digit points. Chris Paul (10 assists) led four players with 9 points each.
• Overall, however, both teams had problems getting the ball under the basket (Phoenix: 42.6 FG, Utah: 44.2 FG). At the end of the third period, the Suns then set a 13:0 run at a score of 78:81. The Jazz couldn’t recover from that.
• Top scorer Lauri Markkanen needed 22 throws for his 25 points. However, there was also a ray of hope for the Jazz: Walker Kessler again showed an impressive performance with 18 points, rebounds and 7 strong blocks. The rookie could soon make a certain Rudy Gobert forget.

Nikola Jokic has scored another triple-double

Denver Nuggets (51:24) – Philadelphia 76ers (49:26) 116:111 (BOXSCORE)

• • Everyone wanted to see the two hottest MVP candidates duel. But the Sixers didn’t let Joel Embiid on the floor with a sore right calf. So it was up to Nikola Jokic to back up his ambitions. And the Joker delivered an impressive triple-double with 25 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists. Even if there was no real resistance without Embiid. Sorry Dewayne Dedmon.
  • Nonetheless, it was an exciting game. The reason for this was Tyrese Maxey. In the renewed absence of James Harden, the guard scored 29 points. Denver pulled away by over 20 points in the third quarter. But the Sixers fought back again. When the score was -3, an unsuccessful coaching challenge then made the decision. Jeff Green created it on the line.
  • Jamal Murray put on a good showing for the Nuggets with 19 points and 7 assists. Bruce Brown contributed 18 counters. None of them nicer than this putback. Tobias Harris and Paul Reed gave up with 16 points each.

Portland Trail Blazers (32:43) – New Orleans Pelicans (38:37) 90:124 (BOXSCORE)

• Easy game for New Orleans. The Trail Blazers did without Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons and Jerami Grant. So Brandon Ingram could really let off steam. The forward got 29 points (at 12/19 FG). Jonas Valanciunas provided support. The Lithuanian dominated the boards and had 21 rebounds plus 10 points for a double-double.
• Portland clearly lost the first quarter with 14:34 and even after that it didn’t get exciting anymore. The Blazers are not mathematically out of the race for the play-in spots, but the whole thing already seemed like a gift. The Pelicans, on the other hand, are happy about their fifth win in a row and continue to hope for the playoffs.
• Keon Johnson still got 20 points for Portland. CJ McCollum had 17 points and 8 assists against his ex.

Sacramento Kings (45-30) – Minnesota Timberwolves (39-37) 115:119 (BOXSCORE)

• Everything was done for the Kings, who would have sealed their first playoff participation with a win. But the Wolves had something against it. The day before, Minnesota had taken the Warriors by surprise in their hall, and now a coup was also achieved in Sacramento, so that the Wolves actually jumped back to sixth place.
• It succeeded, although Karl-Anthony Towns (Wade) was rested after his injury. The guests were unimpressed by the grandiose atmosphere and led almost the entire game. The Kings, on the other hand, showed nerves and converted only five three-pointers (27 attempts) over the entire game, three of which went to Kevin Huerter (13).
• De’Aaron Fox (29, 10/20) fought back for a long time, but this time in the fourth quarter he didn’t get the turn he wanted (1/7). Harrison Barnes (19) reduced the score to -2 with seven minutes remaining, but drives from Mike Conley and a three-pointer from Anthony Edwards gave the visitors a 13-5 run, to which the Kings had no answer. Two missed free throws by Rudy Gobert (16, 16 rebounds) in the last minute also had no consequences.
• The French fought a heated duel in the zone with Domantas Sabonis (24, 11/14, 10 rebounds), the Lithuanian finally fouled out in the final phase. Seven players scored at least 14 points for the Wolves, with Jaden McDaniels (20) being the top scorer. Naz Reid contributed 18 points from the bench with Edwards on 17.

L.A. Clippers (40:36) – Chicago Bulls (36:39) 124:112 (BOXSCORE)

• The Bulls were still able to annoy the Lakers in the fight for the playoff spots, but they couldn’t do that against the Clippers. This was mainly due to the surprising performance by Nicolas Batum. The Frenchman hit 8 of 10 three-pointers for 24 points. Batum did not take any other throws. Since Kawhi Leonard took back nobly (so nobly 22 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists).
• Above all, the clippers use a strong second quarter (35:23) and an even stronger third quarter (37:22) for the early decision. A final gasp by the Bulls came too late. After all, the duel between former companions Russell Westbrook (12 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds) and his “baby” Patrick Beverly (9 points, 2 assists, 0 rebounds) mood.
• In terms of sport, only the three-man team of the Bulls held out. However, the 64 points from DeMar DeRozan (21 points), Zach LaVine (23 points) and Nikola Vucevic (20 points) were not enough. Eric Gordon was able to convince as a starter (22 points) for the Clippers.