Surprise results in the night’s matches. The top two forces in the East, Boston and Milwaukee, fall away under the baskets of Murray and Williamson. The Celtics are defeated at the last second in overtime, the Bucks – Danilo Gallinari doesn’t play even a minute – come back from -18 down, but are unable to complete the comeback.
Atlanta Hawks-Boston Celtics 123-122 straight
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Down one point in overtime, Dejounte Murray, with the last offensive possession of the game, goes one-on-one with Holiday. He rises from mid-range and scores the shot that gives the Hawks (34-39) the victory against the Celtics, the team with the best NBA record (57-16). The second with the same opponent in the last 4 days, even. Murray finished with 44 points, a career high, and commented: “I’m made for moments like this.” Atlanta seems built to trouble Boston, which on Monday had come back from 30 points down and then beaten in a sprint. This could turn out to be a 1st round playoff match from mid-April, with Coach Mazzulla’s greens already certain of first place in the East and the Hawks, tenth in the Eastern Conference, who will aim for 8th place by moving from the antechamber of the play- in. For the Celtics, who were without Al Horford (left big toe), Jayson Tatum scored 31 points and Jaylen Brown scored the temporary +1 basket with 6″ left in overtime. However, it’s not enough because Murray responds by winning the overtime alone in terms of scoring, finishing with all 11 points for the Hawks compared to 10 for Boston. Atlanta has been without Trae Young (left hand) for 17 games and Jalen Johnson (right ankle) for 8 games, but with Murray as the first attacking midfielder it seems to be working. Even beyond expectations.
Atlanta: Murray 44 (12/25, 6/19, 2/2 TL), Bogdanovic 24, Hunter 21. Rebounds: Capela/Hunter 13. Assists: Murray 7.
Boston: Tatum 31 (7/15, 2/7, 11/13 TL), White 22, Porzingis 20. Rebounds: Tatum 13. Assists: Tatum 6.
New Orleans Pelicans-Milwaukee Bucks 107-100
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The Pelicans seem to have grown up. More mature and reliable, certainly less unreliable than in the recent past. The Bucks beat despite the injured Ingram, driven by Zion Williamson’s 28 points, winning for the seventh time in the last ten outings and thus consolidating fifth place in the West, now attached to the bumper of the Clippers, who precede them in the Western standings Conference. New Orleans (45-28) also leads by 18 points, at 52-34, but Dame Lillard brings the guests back with a triple, at -5 with 5′ to play. But the Pels are not upset. They demonstrate that they have learned the lesson suffered by the Thunder against whom they had squandered a lead in the sprint only two days ago. Then they ignored their best player, Zion, this time they rely on him who attacks the basket and scores the free throws that close the score. Milwaukee (46-27) loses for the second time in a row after the Lakers’ comeback in overtime. Giannis Antetokounmpo finishes with 35 points, but if with the Greek on the team in the area the opponents score more points than you (52-44) something in the preparation for the match didn’t work. Lillard sees it like this: “They were more aggressive, they played better than us.” She doesn’t sound reassuring.
New Orleans: Williamson 28 (9/15, 10/16 TL), McCollum 25, Valanciunas 17. Rebounds: Murphy 11. Assists: McCollum 7.
Milwaukee: G. Antetokounmpo 34 (15/20, 0/2, 5/11 TL), Lillard/Beasley 20. Rebounds: G. Antetokounmpo 14. Assists: Lillard 7.
