NBA Roundup 20th March: Washington Wizards, Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks win (Part-1)
Washington Wizards 98 – New Jersey Nets 92
John Wall clinched a game-high 26 points as the Washington Wizards stormed back from a 17-point first half deficit to overcome the New Jersey Nets, 98-92 in a Verizon Center thriller on Sunday night. John Crawford and JaVale McGee
combined for 37 points to lend a substantial support in snatching the victory from the visiting team.
Kris Humphries was absolutely outstanding with the ball as he landed 18 points and gathered 17 rebounds to put Nets in the frontline. However, the Nets failed to sustain their momentum in the second half despite of a massive support
from Brook Lopez, who clutched a team-high 21 points.
Nets were leading comprehensively 56-39 just before the halftime until Wall took the charge with his four points in the last minute. He then scored 14 of his 26 points in the second half to initiate a vociferous come back.
Maurice Evans came off the bench with 15 points and didn’t let his starters’ efforts go in vain. Evans landed a scorching blow from downtown in the final quarter to provide the Wizards a 84-83 lead. The home team kept their momentum
intact after that and Crawford’s final free throws resulted in a magnificent 98-92 victory for Washington.
Atlanta Hawks 104 – Detroit Pistons 96
All starters scored in double figures as the Atlanta Hawks snapped a two game losing streak by overshadowing Detroit Pistons with an electrifying 104-96 victory at Philips Arena. Al Horford clinched a team-high 18 points and 10
rebounds while Joe Johnson and Josh Smith landed 17 points apiece. Rodney Stuckey was the top scorer of the night from the Pistons. Stuckey came off the bench with 22 points and dished out eight assists to make the life difficult for the home team.
Atlanta outscored the Pistons 40-30 and sealed a comprehensive advantage with seven minutes left in the halftime. Detroit however showed some great aggression in the ensuing passage and Stuckey’s sizzling blow beyond the arc in
the last minute reduced the deficit to 50-55. The teams headed to the locker room with the same scoreline.
Chris Wilcox and Stuckey haunted the home team with their belligerent shooting in the second half as well; however others failed to pick up the slack. Pistons managed to bring the deficit within 3 points a few times, but Atlanta
continued their domination and finished the game with 104-96 win, clinching the season series 3-1.
Milwaukee Bucks 100 – New York Knicks 95
Carlos Delfino scored a career-high 30 points to propel the Milwaukee Bucks to a 100-95 victory over the struggling New York Knicks. The win greatly amplified the Bucks hopes of making it to the play-offs as they moved to the eighth
spot.
Brandon Jennings was one assist short to clinch a triple-double as he landed 14 points and gathered 11 rebounds. Knicks came into the game with a distinct offensive advantage, having the likes of Carmelo Anthony and Amare’ Stoudemire
in their ranks. The Milwaukee starters however countered that advantage as each of them notched up double figures. Anthony and Stoudemire on the other hand, combined for 48 points. Their efforts though were outshone by some stout team works from the Bucks.
New York was surprisingly restricted to 9 points in the first half as Milwaukee romped with an outstanding 32-9 run to seal an early advantage. Knicks bounced back strongly with 32 points in the second period; however they failed
to snatch the lead.
The third quarter depicted some great aggression from both the teams as Bucks managed to enter the final quarter with 3 points lead. Delfino buried two scorching lands from downtown in the fourth quarter and scored 12 of his 30
points to spearhead Milwaukee for an outstanding 100-95 victory.
Tags: