Krejci’s seven points helped Atlanta to another victory

This time, Krejčí was not so lucky when shooting for three points, when the balls bounced off the rim and only one of five attempts succeeded. But he added one nice individual action to that, when he effectively relaxed under the basket. And also a basket after a fast break. To do this, he prepared three open positions for his teammates, who took advantage of it with triples. And he also showed his good defense and stopped the opponent with two blocks. But his teammate Dejounte Murray, who scored 30 points, shone mainly.

Atlanta needed a win, as 11th-ranked Brooklyn also won 122-119 in overtime in Washington. Cam Thomas contributed 38 points. However, the Nets are just nine games away, in which they would have to win five more than Atlanta in the remaining ten games to move into the tenth spot. Everything points to the fact that Atlanta will face Chicago in the preliminary round of the playoffs for a chance at the playoffs.

Houston is still fighting for this possibility, which surprisingly won at Oklahoma City 132:126 after overtime and scored its tenth win in a row. However, they are still one win behind Golden State in 11th place in the Western Conference, as the Warriors also won 101-93 over Orlando despite already losing Draymond Green, who was ejected in the first quarter for a scuffle with the referees.

Kelly Oubre from Philadelphia, who after the dramatic ending of the match with the Los Angeles Clippers and the 107-108 loss, was also expected to be punished. He didn’t like that they didn’t call his collision with Paul George a foul while trying for the last action. Even coach Nick Nurse strongly protested against it. The referees additionally recognized during the retrospective evaluation of the match that they should have whistled the foul. The hero of the match was Kawhi Leonard, who in the end with two baskets with a foul secured the victory for the Clippers. The Sixers remained in eighth place in the Eastern Conference after the loss.

“I saw a few shots and there was clear contact. At least the same one that was called a foul on the other end,” said coach Nurse. “When judging on the pitch, we had the impression that the defender was jumping vertically up. But in retrospect, we assessed that his movement was slightly to the left, so we should have whistled a foul,” referee Kevin Scott admitted to the media.

Oklahoma City’s loss to Houston complicates the balanced battle for first place in the Western Conference. However, even the current number one Denver hesitated, losing to Phoenix 97:104 at home thanks to Kevin Durant’s 30 points. Denver thus has a lead of one win, but also a game played more than Oklahoma City and also than Minnesota, which won with a 106:91 win over Detroit.

At the same time, Oklahoma City was able to win, even though it was missing the competition’s third-leading scorer, Shaie Gilgeous-Alexander. It led by five points with a minute and a half to go, but Houston managed to turn the score around with an 8-0 run and Jalen Williams had to save overtime with a 3-pointer. But the Rockets were better in it.

In the East, New York moved up to the third place, which won 145:101 over Toronto and took advantage of Cleveland’s hesitation, which surprisingly lost to Charlotte 111:118.

LeBron James returned to the lineup of the Los Angeles Lakers, and with a triple double for 23 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists, he helped to win 136:124 over Memphis. At the same time, the Lakers were missing Anthony Davis, who got time off after a difficult last game. Rui Hačimura shone, scoring 32 points thanks to seven three-pointers.