The German basketball professional Isaiah Hartenstein and his team Oklahoma City Thunder also won their second game in the NBA after the bitterly lost cup final and celebrated their 22nd victory in the 27th game of the season.
OKC beat the Miami Heat 104:97 and consolidated its top position in the Western Conference. Hartenstein and Co. had already won in Orlando 24 hours earlier.
Hartenstein was outstanding defensively
Three days after the bitter 81:97 defeat in the final of the NBA Cup in Las Vegas against the Milwaukee Bucks, Hartenstein offered an outstanding defensive performance, grabbed 18 rebounds – 13 of them on his own board – and was only two rebounds below his career goal. Best value. The 26-year-old also scored 13 points.
Jalen Williams (33 points) and top star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (25) shone offensively for OKC. At Miami, key player Jimmy Butler, who started the game sick, had to leave the field early.
Cleveland even better
Only the Cleveland Cavaliers have a better record than OKC in the NBA, with a 24-4 win after a 124-101 win against Cup winner Milwaukee. For the Bucks, 33 points and 14 rebounds from superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo were not enough because the rest of the team dropped significantly. The much broader Cavs around Donovan Mitchell (27 points) had six players score in double figures.