Dallas cancels Curry in the name of Nowitzki, Gallo owner and Hawks ok

Dallas does not fail to honor Dirk Nowitzki’s party, giving his legendary German a ceremony for the withdrawal of the shirt and a beautiful victory over Golden State. Also important is the success of Atlanta in Sacramento, with Gallinari for the first time as owner. Away shots for the wild Jazz and the nervous Heat. Minnesota also wins.

Dallas Mavericks-Golden State Warriors 99-82

In the name of Nowitzki. Dallas gives itself a magical match in the evening dedicated to its legendary German, whose jersey number 41 rises to the ceiling of the American Airlines Center: dragged by Luka Doncic’s 26 points and 8 assists, the Mavs (20 won-18 lost so far) fold Golden State (29-8) and give themselves the fourth consecutive success, their best streak of the season. “The defense was the key – says Doncic proudly after having ensured that his right ankle injured in the final is fine -: in the last 2-3 games we are playing at another level and this time we have kept Golden State, one of the best NBA teams, at only 82 points. It’s incredible”. So incredible that 82 points are the minimum of the season for the Warriors, who finished with 40.7% shooting thanks to Steph Curry’s second consecutive bad night, 14 points and an unusual 5/24 from the field. Dallas, which has Kristaps Porzingis and 3 others still in the Covid protocol, took the match with a 13-0 run in the fourth period which in 3 ‘took her from 76-75 to 89-75 with 4’ to play : in addition to Doncic, decisive Dorian Finney-Smith, power in defense and in the recovery unleashed fury in attack with 15 of his 17 points. A victory to be dedicated to Nowitzki: “He was one of the best players ever, but he’s also better as a person: he deserves all of this,” said Doncic.

Dallas: Doncic 26 (5/10 of two, 2/8 of three, 10/12 free throws), Finney-Smith 17, Brunson 15. Rebounds: Kleber 10. Assists: Doncic 8.

Golden State: Wiggins 17 (5/8, 2/5, 1/4 tl), Curry 14, Payton 11. Rimbalzi: Payton 11. Assist: Curry 5.

Sacramento Kings-Atlanta Hawks 102-108

Danilo Gallinari closes his first season as a starter of the year by putting the free throws that seal the victory of Atlanta (17-20) in Sacramento (16-24), but Kevin Huerter is the hero of the Hawks. Starting off the bench, Red Velvet put 11 of his 25 points in the fourth period, including those that make the difference in the final sprint. “We needed this win, we need to straighten the season,” said Huerter. Without the injured Trae Young (blow to the back) and with Collins and Bogdanovic still recovering after exiting the Covid protocol, coach Prunty (replacement for McMillan, stopped by the virus) decides for Gallo’s experience, which ends with 16 points and 3 rebounds in over 27 ‘, good at continuously finding the line and leading the team in difficult moments. The Hawks closed a tight game with 6 players in double figures, in which the gap never exceeded 10 points. After De’Aaron Fox’s 30 points and Tyrese Haliburton’s 24 points, Sacramento failed in attack.

Sacramento: Fox 30 (11/20, 1/3, 5/7 tl), Haliburton 24, Hield 11. Rimbalzi: Bagley 12. Assist: Fox 6.

Atlanta: GALLINARI 16 (3/4, 1/5, 7/7 tl), 3 rimbalzi, 1 recupero in 27’25 ”. Huerter 25 (9/15, 1/5, 4/7 tl), Reddish 18, Wright 15. Rimbalzi: Capela 14. Assist: Huerter 5.

Denver Nuggets-Utah Jazz 109-115

Not even the umpteenth monstrous performance of Nikola Jokic (triple double with 26 points, 21 rebounds and 11 assists) stops the march of Utah (28-10), which in Denver (18-18) takes the 10th victory in a row away from home . Despite the absence due to injury of Rudy Gobert and that of Joe Ingles for Covid, the Jazz are confirmed as an extraordinary collective in which the soloist this time was Bojan Bogdanovic, 36 points and 13 rebounds to keep Utah in front for the whole recovery, despite Jokic and the normal evening of Donovan Mitchell (17 points and 8/22 from the field). For Denver it is the second defeat in a row.

Denver: Jokic 26 (9/14, 1/3, 5/6 tl), Barton 20, Morris 20. Rimbalzi: Jokic 21. Assist: Jokic 11.

Utah: Bogdanovic 36 (11/14, 1/6, 11/13 tl), Gay 18, Mitchell 17. Rimbalzi: Bogdanovic 13. Assist: Conley 6.

Portland Trail Blazers-Miami Heat 109-115

Three expelled, a fight, a match conditioned by absences that seemed to be scored in the first half (+19 Heat) which became very open in the second half. That’s how it went to the Moda Center, where Miami (24-15) wins after two knockouts and condemns Portland (14-23) to the 5th defeat in 6 games. Spoelstra did not have Butler and Adebayo, he lost Lowry by a double technical before the interval and in the final also Herro, hunted for having sparked a fight with Nurkic. Portland (without Lillard and McCollum) at that point had already resigned itself to defeat, punished in the fourth period by a 17-4 run inspired by the triples of Strus, the best of the Heat.

Portland: Simons 28 (4/7, 5/10, 5/5 tl), Powell 26, Nurkic 14. Rimbalzi: Nurkic 13. Assist: Simons 7.

Miami: Strus 25 (2/4, 7/13), Herro 16, Yurtseven 14, Tucker 14. Rimbalzi: Yurtseven 16. Assist: Lowry 9.

Minnesota Timberwolves-Oklahoma City Thunder 98-90

“We played badly, but we won”. Anthony Edwards, the most productive with 22 points, summarizes the success of Minnesota (18-20) over Oklahoma City (13-24) after having almost wasted a 21-point lead. The Wolves found Karl-Anthony Towns (17 points and 16 rebounds) and D’Angelo Russell (6 points with 3/12 shooting) after the stop for Covid, celebrating with the second victory in a row. Okc is in his fourth defeat in 5 games: another good performance by rookie Josh Giddey (14 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists) was not enough to avoid it.

Minnesota: Edwards 22 (4/7, 4/10, 2/3 tl), Beverley 20, Towns 17. Rimbalzi: Towns 16. Assist: Beverley 6.

Oklahoma City: Gilgeous-Alexander 19 (3/9, 2/6, 7/7 tl), Giddey 14, Wiggins 11. Rimbalzi: Giddey 15. Assist: Giddey 6.