basketball
NBA: Wagner brothers celebrate mandatory victory with Orlando
Magic winger Franz Wagner (l) climbs up for a layup. photo
© Carlos Osorio/AP/dpa
The Orlando Magic with the Wagner brothers Franz and Moritz struggle to a must-win, while Dennis Schröder and Isaiah Hartenstein suffer defeats.
The Orlando Magic with the two basketball world champions Franz and Moritz Wagner have a tough competition in the North American professional league NBA Compulsory victory achieved. At the Detroit Pistons, the worst team in the league with just eight wins this season, Orlando narrowly won 112:109 almost as the final siren sounded.
The Magic’s two top stars, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, appeared less in action than usual. Banchero scored 15 points, Franz Wagner finished the game with 14 points. However, it was Banchero who decided the game with a converted three-point throw less than a second before the end of the game. Moritz Wagner had a decent 14 points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes of playing time.
With its 32nd win of the season and 25 losses, Orlando moved level with the Indiana Pacers for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. This would mean direct entry into the playoffs at the end of the season and save Orlando the detour through a qualifying tournament.
Defeat for Schröder
On the other hand, national team captain Dennis Schröder and the Brooklyn Nets are far from the playoffs. The Nets clearly lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the best team in the West, 86:101. It was the fourth defeat in a row for Brooklyn and Schröder; the 30-year-old has only won one game with his new team since moving to New York just over two weeks ago.
In Minnesota, Schröder once again came off the bench and only contributed a meager nine points in 28 minutes. Of the 14 throws the world champion made, only four landed in the basket. Due to the defeat, the Nets remain at 21 wins this season and remain in eleventh place in the East. The gap to tenth place, which would still be enough for the play-in tournament, is already three wins.
There was also nothing to gain for the second team from New York City. The New York Knicks around Isaiah Hartenstein lost their home game against league leaders Boston Celtics 102:116. At Madison Square Garden, Jalen Brunson stood out for the Knicks with 34 points, but couldn’t prevent the defeat. Hartenstein had six points and seven rebounds.
After the fifth defeat in the last six games, New York is in danger of losing its good starting position. The Knicks are still in fourth place in the East, but their lead over the teams behind them is shrinking. The record champions from Boston, on the other hand, lead the league by a wide margin with 45 wins.