Nuggets, T-Wolves, Warriors Take Must Win Games; Joel Embiid Powers Sixers to Win in Comeback
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 03 Apr 2024
76ers' Joel Embiid returns.
The biggest story of the day was the return of Joel Embiid who played just long and hard enough to lead the struggling Philadelphia 76ers to a 109-105 home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It was a must win for both teams as the Sixers were out to stop a further plunge, and with Embiid's return, start the team's climb to better playoff spot; and the Thunder looking for another win to secure their lead in the West, with just few games left in the season.
The loss dropped OKC to 52-23 and second place in the West. The Sixers at 41-35 remain at 8th but mathematically still have a shot at 6th place currently held by idle Indiana Pacers (43-33).
Sharing spotlight were the hard fought must win games taken by the Denver Nuggets over the San Antonio Spurs, the Munnesota Timberwolves against the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors over the Dallas Mavericks.
The Nuggets were out for a win that would put them ahead in the tight race for the Western leadership following the Thunder loss and they got it in a hard 115-110 home win over the Spurs.
Nikola Jokic was once again pitted against top rookie of the year bet Victor Wembenyama and the Serbian top MVP bet once again emerged the better man with 42 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists. Wenbenyama though nearly had a triple double with 24 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists.
With the win, Denver improved to 53-23 and temporary top spot in the West.
The Timberwolves needed a win that would keep them in the mix at Western leadership and they struggled to achieve it against Houston which was also in need of win to keep its hopes alive of at least tying Golden State for the last play in spot.
The T-Wolves defeated the Rockets at home, 113-106 raising their record to 52-23 while dropping Houston to a precarious 38-37 card.
Dallas and Golden State were both in must win situation, the Mavs to further strengthen their grip of the 5th place in the West and the Warriors to stave off the Rockets for the 10th place.
The Warriors held their homecourt via close 104-100 victory over the Mavs laying to waste the triple double performance of 2nd running MVP candidate Luka Doncic (30 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists). Steph Curry played long minutes but let the other Warriors Andrew Wiggins, Splash bro Klay Thompson and senior statesman Chris Paul carry much of the scoring load as coach Steve Kerr distributed playing time to his wards.
The Mavs remained at 5th despite the loss at 45-30 while the Warriors improved to 41-34, three games ahead of the Rockets.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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