The Dallas Mavericks threw away their victory against the Utah Jazz in the final stages, while the Minnesota Timberwolves remain on track for success. Meanwhile, Rick Carlisle made history.
Dallas Mavericks throw away victory in the final stages
What a bitter end for the Mavs in their game against the Jazz. After trailing for almost the entire first half, they came back into the game bit by bit in the second half and took a +7 lead with 4:39 minutes remaining after a three-pointer by Max Christie.
But then nothing wanted to fall on offense and the Jazz, led by the strong Lauri Markkanen (33 points, 7 rebounds) and Keyonte George (19 points, 7 assists), went on a 12-0 run. Klay Thompson (23 points, 6/11 three-pointers) was in good form and narrowed the gap once again, but George sealed the deal with an impressive drive followed by a fadeaway jumper from mid-range. To make matters worse, Anthony Davis injured his left hand in crunch time during a seemingly harmless play and did not return to the court. The severity of his injury is not yet known. He had previously scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, but the team’s top scorer was rookie Cooper Flagg, who narrowly missed out on a triple-double (26 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists).
It was the Jazz’s first win after five consecutive losses, while the Mavs had won twice before the game.
The wait is finally over for Pacers coach Rick Carlisle! The win against the Hornets was not only the first after 13 consecutive losses, but also the 1,000th win in the legendary coach’s career. He had to wait over a month for this success after celebrating his 999th win against the Kings on December 8. He now has a record of 1,000-891 in 24 NBA years.
The narrow victory was well deserved, as the Pacers led for most of the game and only let the Hornets back into it in the fourth quarter. There, it was the in-form T.J. McConnell (23 points, 8 assists) and Pascal Siakam (30 points, 14 rebounds) who led their team to victory. Ben Sheppard finally sealed the deal at the free throw line.
For the Hornets, LaMelo Ball, who came off the bench for the first time since 2021 for tactical reasons, was the best player with 33 points (7/15 three-pointers) and eight rebounds, while rookie Kon Knueppel contributed 18 points and eight rebounds.
Timberwolves remain hot
Minnesota has been the hottest team in the league since Thanksgiving (15-5) and impressively demonstrated why against the Cavs. After a balanced first half, they turned on the turbo in the second half and took 21 points off Cleveland in the third quarter (43:22), which sealed the deal. It was already the fourth win in a row for Minny.
They were virtually unstoppable on offense. They set season highs from the field (57 percent) and downtown (53 percent), led by their outstanding quartet of Julius Randle (28 points, 11 rebounds), Jaden McDaniels (26), Anthony Edwards (25 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists) and Donte DiVincenzo (22).
It was also a big night for Edwards personally, as he became the third-youngest player in history (24 years, 156 days) after LeBron James and Kevin Durant to reach the 10,000 career points mark. Only seven players in NBA history have reached this milestone before their 25th birthday.
On the other side, Donovan Mitchell was his team’s top scorer with 30 points, followed by Sam Merrill (22), Evan Mobley (19), and Darius Garland (16).
Bulls-Heat postponed
The fourth game in an already quiet NBA night between the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat had to be postponed. The league cited moisture on the floor of the United Center as the reason, which made it impossible to play the game.
