Dennis Schröder suffered another painful defeat with the Sacramento Kings. The Los Angeles Lakers collapsed against the Detroit Pistons, and the Philadelphia 76ers celebrated after overtime in Memphis.
NBA: Clippers shoot down Sacramento
Another nasty defeat for the Kings, who remain stuck at the bottom of the Western Conference. Sacramento suffered their heaviest defeat of the season against the Clippers, having previously lost by 41 points in Memphis. Their 90 points were also their lowest tally of the season. Dennis Schröder went down with the team, scoring 11 points (4/10 FG) and four assists in 25 minutes. The visitors’ top scorer was rookie Nique Clifford with 18 points (7/12), who got plenty of playing time due to the clear outcome of the game. On the Clippers’ side, Kawhi Leonard still played almost 33 minutes and added 33 points (11/19 FG) after his 55 points against Detroit. James Harden scored 21 points, while Swiss rookie Yanic Konan Niederhäuser distinguished himself with 15 points and six rebounds.
NBA: Rookie Edgecombe shoots Sixers to victory
What a spectacle in Memphis, but in the end the hosts were left empty-handed. In overtime, a four-point lead was not enough for the Grizzlies. Instead, the Sixers had the last possession at 136:136 and Tyrese Maxey found V.J. Edgecombe in the final seconds. The rookie stepped up from the three-point line and sank his fifth three-pointer of the evening to seal the win. The guard scored 25 points, providing excellent support for the two stars Maxey (34 points, 12 assists) and Joel Embiid (34 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists). The Grizzlies, on the other hand, were not rewarded for their comeback. With two minutes left in regulation, Memphis was still trailing by seven points before the outstanding Ja Morant (40, 16/22) forced overtime with a floater and a small fadeaway.
The guard received support primarily from Cedric Coward, who recorded 26 points and ten rebounds. With the buzzer sounding, the rookie had another chance to tie the game, but his three-pointer missed the mark. Memphis remains ninth in the West, while Philly cements its fifth place in the East.
White sets NBA record – Lakers don’t stand a chance
Two places ahead are the Boston Celtics, who won in Salt Lake City. Derrick White was particularly outstanding, scoring 13 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter. And that’s not all: the guard recorded seven blocks, tying the NBA record for most rejections in a game by a point guard. Jaylen Brown (23, 10 rebounds) also delivered important production in the fourth quarter, but his 30-point streak came to an end. Anfernee Simons contributed 20 points coming off the bench. Keyonte George (37, 13/24) and Jusuf Nurkic (26, 8 assists) were the top scorers for Utah. In the middle of the third quarter, everything was still even (79:79), but then the Pistons pulled away thanks to their deep bench. Backups Marcus Sasser (19, 5 assists) and Isaiah Stewart (15) were X-factors for the visitors, and Cade Cunningham (27, 12/19, 11 assists) once again had an outstanding game.
For the Lakers, on the other hand, Luka Doncic (30, 9/22, 11 assists, 8 TO) was too often the sole entertainer, and LeBron James (17, 6/17) didn’t do much on his 41st birthday either. The star duo accounted for 13 of the Lakers’ 20 turnovers, and with the exception of Jaxson Hayes (13), there was almost no production from the bench. Maxi Kleber went scoreless in just under five minutes and grabbed at least one rebound.