Boston had hoped that Kamba Walker’s comeback tonight (Sunday) after a knee injury would be able to atone a little for the shortcoming of Jason Taitum, who is in isolation, but hopes aside and reality aside. Brad Stevens’ team set a season low in 105: 75 at home against the New York Knicks and will have to do a mental arithmetic for the rest of the season.
The Knicks, on the other hand, are experiencing a fickle season. Five wins in eight games and then five straight losses left Knicks fans with little to no worries. This time Tom Thibodeau’s trainees were big on the Celtics throughout the match and went up to an 8: 6 balance.
Prominent among the Knicks were Julius Randall (20 points and 12 rebounds) and R.J. Barrett (19 points and 11 rebounds), with rookie Emanuel Quickley adding 17 points and eight assists. The missing Boston settled for 25 points from Jaylen Brown.
A stressful event happened during the game. Walker, who as mentioned made his debut game after recovering from a knee injury, came off the field suffering from severe rib pain. After a few nerve-wracking minutes, Walker returned to the field and it looks like the Celtics can relax.
Dallas (6: 6) – Chicago (8: 5) 117: 101
The Bulls came back to win after four straight losses, compared to the Mavericks who put up two consecutive losses after the Bucks. Despite a better opening for Dallas, however, Chicago finished the first half with a 52-67 lead, and barely dropped from a double-digit lead until the end. Laurie Markanen was the winner’s standout with 29 points and 10 rebounds, and Garrett Temple added 21 points of his own. On the other side, Luka Doncic exploded with a triple-double of 36 points, 16 rebounds and 15 assists, but that was not really enough, and Kristaps Forzingis added 20 and 8 rebounds.