Phildapelphia 76ers – Chicago Bulls: 105-109 aet
After two overtimes (91-91 at the end of the fourth quarter), the Chicago Bulls ended a series of eight wins for the Philadelphia 76ers overnight from Monday to Tuesday (105-109 ap). The Sixers, now third in the East, will therefore have to wait before validating their qualification in the play-offs.
Carried by Zach LaVine (26 points), DeMar DeRozan (25) and Nikola Vucevic (21 pts, 12 rebounds), the Bulls sign a third consecutive victory which allows them to cling to 10th place in the East, the last as a potential dam.
The visitors made the difference in the second “overtime”, well helped by the exit of Joel Embiid then author of his sixth foul and who had 37 points and 16 rebounds. His absence was too much for his team, who scored only four points in the last four minutes and conceded ten. Embiid, who conceded his first defeat in 13 confrontations with the Bulls, was not relieved offensively by James Harden, certainly altruistic (12 ists) but limited to 5 points and countered 14 seconds from the last buzzer, on a penetration which would have could push for a third extension.
Thanks to their success over Dallas, the Memphis Grizzlies are now the only second in the West, since at the same time the Sacramento Kings were beaten by Utah Jazz (128-120, see below). Memphis had the last word on the Mavericks who squandered 16 lengths ahead acquired just before the end of the third quarter (80-96; 83-96 at the end of the third quarter).
In the last 12 minutes, the Grizzlies shone under the eyes of their star Ja Morant, for his first public reappearance since the affair of the gun brandished in a nightclub, which earned him an eight-match ban. This sanction is now served and his return could take place on Wednesday against Houston. In the meantime, without him, his teammates showed their strength of character to reverse a compromised situation, carried by Jaren Jackson Jr (28 pts) and the substitute Santi Aldama, author of 9 of his 22 points in the last eight minutes.
On the Mavs side, seventh in the West, in the absence of Luka Doncic (thigh), Kyrie Irving (28 pts) failed in the final quarter with, a rare thing, no points scored (0/8).
Utah Jazz-Sacramento Kings: 128-120
After three wins in a row, the Kings therefore descend to third place in the West after their defeat in the Jazz room (128-120). Despite a prolific DeAaron Fox (37 points), Sacramento, which had nevertheless ped 43 points in the third quarter to come back to 95-95, yielded in the last part of the match, conceding a 10-2 approach. buzzer (from 118-118 to 128-120, final score). In this evening, it is the rookie Ochai Agbaji (27 points) who distinguished himself within the Jazz. The Utah franchise temporarily goes back to tenth place, a provisional play-off in the race for the play-offs.