Miami Heat of America sensation, Bam Adebayo was at his best once again in USA’s National Basketball Association (NBA) league, but his efforts could not save his side from falling in defeat against Atlanta Hawks, megasportsarena.com reports.
In spite of spirited efforts from Adebayo and a gritty performance by his colleagues, The Heat were downed by Atlanta Hawks 118-103, just two days after the Nigerian lad scored 20 to help The Heat beat Chicago Bulls 106-101, while New York Knicks chalked up their ninth straight win with Julius Randle scoring 31 points as they beat Toronto Raptors 120-103.
New York’s victory saw them move to fourth in the NBA’s Eastern Conference as the regular season reaches its end in May, with Randle’s contribution aided by RJ Barrett’s 25 points and 12 rebounds, but Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers look set to vie for top spot in the division but the Knicks kept the pressure on, going on a 14-3 run in the fourth to seal the win.
The Sixers missed the chance to close the gap to The Nets, losing their fourth game in a row, as they fell 132-94 to Milwaukee Bucks, whose Nigerian-born star, Giannis Adetokunbo (Antetokounmpo) hit 24 points, while Philadelphia were without Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
Boston Celtics fell short against Brooklyn Nets, who moved back to on top of the NBA’s Eastern Conference with a tremendous 109-104 comeback win, though Kyrie Irving faced his old side and scored 15 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds but only made four of 19 field goal attempts.
Joe Harris had 20 points for The Nets, who were without the injured James Harden and Kevin Durant, while Jayson Tatum scored 38 for The Celtics, who were later on down 15 points going into the final quarter and got within three points.
However, Irving downed two free-throws to ensure the win, while Russell Westbrook scored a triple-double, finishing with 37 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists, against his old team as Washington Wizards beat Oklahoma City Thunder 129-109.
Elsewhere, Los Angeles Clippers only scored 11 in the third but had a big fourth quarter to beat Houston Rockets 109-104, Steph Curry had 32 as Golden State Warriors saw off Denver Nuggets 118-97 and Ja Morant scored 33 as Memphis Grizzles pipped Portland Trail Blazers 130-128.
A LeBron James-less Los Angeles Lakers fell to Dallas Mavericks 108-93 after a second-half comeback, as The Lakers went into the break 58-46 up, but The Mavs turned it around with Luka Doncic finishing with 18 points and 13 assists and Anthony Davis scoring 17 for LA in his second game back from injury.
Elsewhere, Indiana Pacers defeated Detroit Pistons 115-109 and Zion Williamson hit 33 points but New Orleans Pelicans were clipped by San Antonio Spurs 110-108, Minnesota Timberwolves saw off Utah Jazz 101-96 and Denver Nuggets beat Houston Rockets 129-116, while Miles Bridges scored 25 as Charlotte Hornets defeated Cleveland Cavaliers 108-102.
