After the break for the All-Star, the NBA resumed its regular season this Thursday and did so with victories by four contenders for big goals: the Phoenix Suns, the Golden State Warriors, the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls of a stellar DeMar DeRozan .
Life continued the same in the NBA also among the teams with the most doubts, such as the Brooklyn Nets, who added their thirteenth loss in their last fifteen games.
THUNDER 104 – SUNS 124
Without an injured Chris Paul who will surely miss the remainder of the regular season, the Phoenix Suns posted their eighth straight win over the ruinous Oklahoma City Thunder from 3-point range (6 of 31).
Devin Booker (25 points and 12 rebounds) led the Suns that continue to lead the West with the best record in the league, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (32 points) stood out for the Thunder.
BULLS 112 – HAWKS 108
Six wins in a row lead a Chicago Bulls that remain at the forefront of the East thanks to a DeMar DeRozan who extended his historic streak of consecutive games with at least 35 points scored and 50% shooting effectiveness to eight games.
DeRozan had 37 points with an exceptional 15 of 21 shooting against a feisty Hawks until the end, in which Bogdan Bogdanovic (27 points) and Danilo Gallinari (26 points and 9 rebounds) shone and in which Trae Young was misguided ( 14 points on 3-for-17 shooting).
BLAZERS 95 – WARRIORS 132
After being crowned All-Star MVP with 16 three-pointers, Stephen Curry (18 points and 14 assists) once again led an absolutely choral Golden State Warriors, with eight players over 10 points.
In the Portland Trail Blazers, who could not contain the avalanche of the Warriors, the main reference was Anfernee Simons with 24 points.
The Mexican Juan Toscano-Anderson played 17 minutes for the Warriors in which he had 5 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal.
NETS 106 – CELTICS 129
Without Kevin Durant (injured), Kyrie Irving (he does not play at home due to not being vaccinated for the coronavirus) or Ben Simmons and Goran Dragic (they have not yet debuted with their new team), the Brooklyn Nets fell resoundingly against a Boston Celtics who they have scored nine of their last ten games.
Jayson Tatum (30 points and 7 rebounds) led a Celtics that made 54.1% of their shots while Seth Curry (22 points and 7 rebounds) was the best of a Nets with poor shooting from the perimeter (7 of 29 in triples).
Dominican Al Horford played 37 minutes for the Celtics and had 11 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
TIMBERWOLVES 119 – GRIZZLIES 114
In one of the most exciting duels of the day, the Minnesota Timberwolves prevailed over the Memphis Grizzlies thanks to the enormous performance of D’Angelo Russell (37 points and 9 assists).
Jaren Jackson Jr. (21 points and 11 rebounds) was the beacon for the Grizzlies in which Ja Morant (20 points on 7-for-25 shooting) had some physical problems and missed a three-pointer with 5 seconds to go that would have tied the game .
The American of Dominican origin Karl-Anthony Towns played 28 minutes for the Wolves and had 22 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks.
KINGS 110 – NUGGETS 128
Will Barton (31 points) was the best companion for Nikola Jokic (25 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists) so that the Denver Nuggets continue to push their chests in the West with their fourth consecutive victory against the Sacramento Kings led by Domantas Sabonis (33 points and 14 rebounds).
The Argentine Facundo Campazzo played 2 minutes with the Nuggets without leaving a mark on the statistics.
PISTONS 106 – CAVALIERS 103
The surprise of the day was the Detroit Pistons, one of the teams with the worst record in the NBA and who, however, defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers thanks to Cade Cunningham’s points in the outcome of the match (17 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists).
Lauri Markkanen was the leading scorer for the Cavaliers with 22 points and 6 rebounds.
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
1.- Chicago Bulls (39-21)
2.- Miami Heat (38-21)
3.- Philadelphia 76ers (35-23)
4.- Milwaukee Bucks (36-24)
5.- Cleveland Cavaliers (35-24)
6.- Boston Celtics (35-26)
7.- Toronto Raptors (32-25)
8.- Brooklyn Nets (31-29)
9.- Charlotte Hornets (29-31)
10.- Atlanta Hawks (28-31)
11.- Washington Wizards (27-31)
12.- New York Knicks (25-34)
13.- Indiana Pacers (20-40)
14.- Detroit Pistons (13-45)
15.- Orlando Magic (13-47)
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
1.- Phoenix Suns (49-10)
2.- Golden State Warriors (43-17)
3.- Memphis Grizzlies (41-20)
4.- Utah Jazz (36-22)
5.- Dallas Mavericks (35-24)
6.- Denver Nuggets (34-25)
7.- Minnesota Timberwolves (32-28)
8.- Los Angeles Clippers (30-31)
9.- Los Angeles Lakers (27-31)
10.- Portland Trail Blazers (25-35)
11.- New Orleans Pelicans (23-36)
12.- San Antonio Spurs (23-36)
13.- Sacramento Kings (22-39)
14.- Oklahoma City Thunder (18-41)
15.- Houston Rockets (15-43).
NEXT DAY (Friday, February 25)
Charlotte Hornets – Toronto Raptors
Indiana Pacers – Oklahoma City Thunder
Orlando Magic – Houston Rockets
Washington Wizards – San Antonio Spurs
New York Knicks – Miami Heat
Minnesota Timberwolves – Philadelphia 76ers
Phoenix Suns – New Orleans Pelicans
Utah Jazz – Dallas Mavericks
Los Angeles Lakers – Los Angeles Clippers.