New York, USA. The New York Knicks secured a crucial victory this Wednesday in their aspirations to advance to the next round of the NBA Cup, defeating the Charlotte Hornets 129-101 on a brilliant night for Jalen Bruson and Karl-Anthony Towns. The day also left coach Erik Spoelstra as the main protagonist, who reached 800 regular season victories, and confirmed the overwhelming pace of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the group stage.
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Brunson Leads, Towns Dominates, and the Knicks Still Have Options
The Knicks kept their chances of leading Group C alive thanks to a superb performance by
Jalen Brunson, who scored
33 points in his eighth game of the season with at least 30 points.
“We looked for ways to attack. The ball was going in,” Brunson said. “We dominated the paint, finished plays, and understood what the defense was offering,” he added after the game, in which he was inspired by the presence of the legendary
Allen Iverson in the arena.
Josh Hart set the early pace with 19 of his 22 points in the first half, while Brunson closed out the game with 18 in the second half. New York fell behind by six points, but adjusted the offensive rhythm and came to lead by up to 31 units.
The Dominican
Karl-Anthony Towns, in his second season with the Knicks, contributed a solid
double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds, dominating the painted area.
New York will define its classification when facing
Milwaukee in the last matchday of the group stage.
Miami defeats Milwaukee and Spoelstra achieves his 800th victory
The
Miami Heat (3-1) closed the group stage with a close victory
106-103 over a Milwaukee Bucks (2-1) that did not have their star
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who missed his fourth consecutive game due to a muscle injury.
Taking advantage of the absence of the current defending champion, Miami achieved its sixth consecutive victory, supported by the performance of
Bam Adebayo, who contributed
17 points and 11 rebounds.
“The 15 players have been ready. We are playing together and having fun,” Adebayo expressed after the victory at the Kaseya Center.
The triumph marked a historic milestone:
Erik Spoelstra reached his
800th victory as a coach in the regular season, a mark achieved since his arrival on the Miami bench in the 2008–2009 season.
By Milwaukee,
Ryan Rollins was the top scorer with 26 points in 41 minutes.
Miami will now have to wait for the result of the match between
Knicks and Bucks to know its fate in the competition.
The
Oklahoma City Thunder continued their undefeated run in the NBA Cup by defeating the
Minnesota Timberwolves,
113-105, achieving their third victory (3-0) in the group stage.
The current MVP,
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, once again led the attack with
40 points, surpassing the individual duel against
Anthony Edwards, who responded with 31 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Edwards’ three brought Minnesota within one point with a minute left, but a basket by
Chet Holmgren restored the lead and the Thunder secured the result at the free throw line.
Oklahoma City holds the best NBA record this season:
18 wins and only one loss.
