NBA: Dallas Mavericks collapse completely in Memphis

Julius Randle scratches the franchise record for the Knicks, but his team still loses. The Chicago Bulls can beat a team around Joel Embiid for the first time in another 58-minute thriller.

Charlotte Hornets (23-50) – Indiana Pacers (32-40) 115:109 (BOXSCORE)

• The Pacers don’t seem too interested in a play-in spot, in Charlotte it was an avoidable loss without Tyrese Haliburton (ankle). With six minutes to go, the visitors were leading by +9 before Charlotte ended the game with a 19:4 run. Gordon Hayward set +5 with a jumper (plus foul) 50 seconds before the end, the Pacers, who had previously gone five minutes without a point, had no answer.
• Indiana led by up to 21 points in the first half before Kelly Oubre Jr. (28, 10/17), Terry Rozier (23, 9 assists) and Hayward (22) gave the Hornets victory. Nick Richards (14, 17 rebounds) cleaned up in the zone and stood his ground against Myles Turner (20). Buddy Hield also had 20 points (4/12 threes), Ben Mathurin had 18. Daniel Theis was not used again.

Philadelphia 76ers (48-23) – Chicago Bulls (34-37) 105:109 2OT (BOXSCORE)

• It actually happened. Joel Embiid has lost a game to the Bulls for the first time in his career. But it took two overtimes and in the end the center had to watch the game from the bench. At the beginning of the second OT, the Cameroonian, who had previously dominated with 37 points (11/22 FG, 15/17 FT), 16 rebounds and 3 blocks, fouled out, after that not much went for Philly. The hosts remained without a point for the last 2:30 minutes, so Chicago won the game quite unspectacularly with free throws from Zach LaVine and Coby White.
• Not much was scored anyway, both teams only scored around 42 percent from the field, so that neither team was able to achieve a double-digit lead. James Harden (5, 2/14, 12 assists, 5 TO) was a total failure for the Sixers, but Tyrese Maxey (22) and De’Anthony Melton (19, 5/12 threes) jumped into the breach. However, Maxey missed a three-pointer in the fourth quarter that could have won the game.
• For the Bulls, Zach LaVine (26), DeMar DeRozan (25) and Nikola Vucevic (21, 12 rebounds) were once again the best scorers, but Derrick Jones Jr. (10) also had to pleasenot only because he prevented a possible equalizer in the second overtimeblocking a Leg by Harden.
• With the third win in a row, Chicago is now two games ahead of eleventh place, while the Sixers failed to make direct playoff participation perfect with a win. In two days they will get another chance in Chicago.

New York Knicks (42-31) – Minnesota Timberwolves (36-37) 134:140 (BOXSCORE)

• What a night at Madison Square Garden. Julius Randle scratched the arena record with 57 points (19/29 FG, 8/14 trebles, 11/13 FT) (it was 52 after three quarters), but was ultimately the tragic hero. With 42 seconds to go, the forward had pared to -3, but in return Taurean Prince scored after an offensive rebound when Randle wasn’t paying attention. This annoyed the All-Star so much that he also picked up a technical foul.
• Previously, Randle had scored from all positions, so that he almost pulverized his previous career high (46). Only Carmelo Anthony (62) and Bernard King (60) have ever scored more points for the Knicks. Randle scored 26 points alone in the third quarter, including throws like this one. The problem, however, was that Minnesota was also ultra-hot. The Wolves scored the first ten attempts from the field and ended the game with a rate of 61.4 percent – and that without the injured Anthony Edwards.
• Instead, it was the night of Taurean Prince, who had 35 points, missed just one of his 13 shots and shot every one of his eight three-pointers. Only Ben Gordon and Latrell Sprewell (9 each) were better without a miss from Downtown. “It was like being in a movie,” summed up the Forward. Mike Conley (24, 11 assists) and Jaden McDaniels (18) were also strong.
• Jalen Brunson (23, 10 assists) recorded a double-double for the Knicks, Immanuel Quickley came from the bench with 19 points. Isaiah Hartenstein was allowed to play for 20 minutes and used this for 5 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists.

Houston Rockets (18-54) – Golden State Warriors (37-36) 108:121 (BOXSCORE)

• The Warriors also struggled in Houston, but in the end they got their first away win after eleven defeats in a row. However, an 11:2 run at the beginning of the fourth quarter made things clear. The Rockets went back to -7 two minutes from time, but Klay Thompson’s (29, 11/21) fifth three-pointer removed any doubts afterwards.
• Stephen Curry (30, 10/23) also converted five threes for Golden State, which kept the Rockets at 42 percent from the field. In addition to the Splash Brothers, Jonathan Kuminga (17) also confirmed his good form, while Jordan Poole (5, 1/8, 8 assists) barely hit anything but kept the offense going.
• Eight of the nine players used for the Rockets scored in double digits, with Jalen Green (20, 5 TO) collecting the most points. Tari Eason (21, 12 rebounds) and Jabari Smith Jr. (17, 11 boards) collected double-doubles, with the latter playing as a center this time as Alperen Sengün was absent due to illness.

Memphis Grizzlies (44-27) – Dallas Mavericks (36-36) 112:108 (BOXSCORE)

• For the third time in a few days, the Mavs had to admit defeat to the Grizzlies because the Texans couldn’t come together in the fourth quarter. Dallas gambled away a 13-point lead and only amassed 12 points in the last 12 minutes. Except for Jaden Hardy (20, 7/13), none of the visiting players recorded a field goal in the closing period (0/16).
• Half of those misses came from Kyrie Irving, who recorded all of his 28 points (10/24) in the first 36 minutes. However, Uncle Drew had pain in his foot again in the second half, after Dillon Brooks stepped on him, and left the arena with a protective shoe. “We had good throws, they just didn’t fall,” coach Jason Kidd was annoyed.
• With five minutes left, the Grizzlies took the lead thanks to Jaren Jackson Jr. It was also the Big Man who put in a +5 via layup with 17 seconds left. Irving was no longer able to counter, the three converted free throws by Christian Wood (20, 9 rebounds) after a foul by Brooks (9) came too late. Speaking of Brooks, he picked up his 18th technical of the season after celebrating an excessive dunk in front of the Mavs bench.
• The Grizzlies’ best scorer was JJJ with 28 points, which he scored in just 23 minutes due to foul problems. But Santi Aldama played more and the Spaniard used this to 22 points and 14 rebounds. Desmond Bane contributed 17 points in front of Ja Morant. The point guard was back in the hall for the first time since the gun incident and received a warm welcome from the Grizzlies fans.

Utah Jazz (35-36) – Sacramento Kings (43-28) 128:124 (BOXSCORE)

• The Jazz keep putting the Warriors under pressure and didn’t show any weakness at home even without the injured Lauri Markkanen (back). A furious first quarter (40:19) keeps the Jazz in tenth place in the West. Rookie Ochai Agbaji set a career high of 37 points (8/14 FG, 6/10 trebles).
• But: The Kings had already equalized a 25-point deficit at the end of the third quarter. Keegan Murray (22) made five threes in the third quarter while De’Aaron Fox had 16 of his 37 points (14/21, 7 assists) in that period. It was back and forth after that, before Kelly Olynyk (19) put Utah back ahead with 90 seconds to go.
• On the other side, Walker Kessler (10, 8 rebounds) cleared Domantas Sabonis with the fifth block of the evening, Kris Dunn (18, 10 assists) and Agbaji finally made everything clear from the free-throw line. Sabonis (11, 4/11, 12 rebounds, 9 assists) had a difficult time against Kessler, and Malik Monk (15, 4/15) has also had better performances in recent weeks.