Setback for the Los Angeles Lakers, important victory for the US basketball team of the Dallas Mavericks: While the Californians around national player Dennis Schröder have to digest a painful defeat in the race for direct play-off entry in the NBA, Dallas has new hopes.
Maximilian Kleber’s team beat the Sacramento Kings 123-119.
The victory, to which Kleber contributed three points, means that tenth place in the Western Conference is still possible. This would ensure participation in the so-called play-in tournament and thus still offer the chance of entering the championship round.
NBA playoffs: LA Lakers star Schröder is shaking, Hartenstein is there
Schröder and the Lakers would love to avoid this detour, but after the 118:125 defeat in the city duel at the Los Angeles Clippers, they also do not occupy a direct play-off place in seventh place. There are still two games left in the league.
The Milwaukee Bucks needn’t worry at all, beating the Chicago Bulls 105-92 to secure the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
Isaiah Hartenstein, a German international, is also sure to be there, scoring eight points for the New York Knicks in a 138-129 win at the Indiana Pacers and celebrating their fifth win in a row.