Comfortable leader in the East (58 wins - 16 losses) and best team of the season, Boston revived against the New Orleans Pelicans (104-92) after two defeats against Atlanta. The C's were notably able to count on Jayson Tatum (23 points) and pivot Kristaps Porzingis (19 points, 10 rebounds). “We want to be a team that is hungry no matter the circumstances. We haven't won anything yet, and two defeats in a row against Atlanta is not in our DNA,” said the Latvian. The defeat leaves Zion Williamson's Pelicans (25 points) in 5th place in the West, in a fierce battle for home field advantage with the Clippers (4th), the Mavericks (6th) and the Suns (7th) .
The Bucks also remained on two defeats and similarly bounced back with a victory over the Atlanta Hawks (122-113), thanks to a big game from Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo (36 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists). Milwaukee thus keeps a small margin in 2nd place in the East over the Cleveland Cavaliers (47-27 against 45-29). The Hawks, led by the Serbian Bogdan Bogdanovic (38 points) remained on four successes including two against Boston, and are content for the moment with 10th place (34-40), the last qualifier for the play-offs.