US sports compact: Basketball world champion Schröder without a point in the Raptors bankruptcy

Basketball world champion Dennis Schröder suffered his next defeat with his Toronto Raptors in the NBA and personally experienced a bitter evening. The captain of the national team remained without a single point in the 100:138 defeat by the New Orleans Pelicans, and Schröder was again not in the starting lineup. For Toronto it was the third defeat in a row, and participation in the play-offs will be tight.

Daniel Theis, on the other hand, has significantly better prospects with the Los Angeles Clippers. The world champion celebrated his team's fourth win in a row with a 149:144 win over the Atlanta Hawks and is third in the Western Conference. Theis played solidly again, collecting nine points and eight rebounds; the Clippers' top stars Kawhi Leonard (36 points) and James Harden (30) stood out.

Maximilian Kleber also celebrated a victory with the Dallas Mavericks. The German center was on the court from the start when the Texans lost 118:102 to the Philadelphia 76ers, and Kleber contributed 14 points to the victory. With 27 wins, Dallas is in eighth place in the Western Conference, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers, who celebrated their third win in a row with a 124:118 win over the Charlotte Hornets. Anthony Davis was the dominant player. With 26 points, 15 rebounds and eleven assists, he achieved the third triple-double of his career.

The Philadelphia Eagles will play the first game of the US professional league NFL in South America. In the first week of the 2024 season, the team will play in Sao Paulo on Friday evenings against an opponent to be announced. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced this on Monday. The venue will be the Corinthians Arena, where six games were played at the 2014 World Cup.

They want to “continue to expand their global presence,” said Goodell. The game is a unique opportunity to “underline our international growth and ambitions”. The NFL is making an exception: for the first time since 1970, the league will play on a Friday evening in the first week.

In Germany there will also be a match in Munich next season with the participation of the Carolina Panthers.

An outstanding Franz Wagner led the Orlando Magic to an arduous must-win victory against the NBA's problem child. The German basketball world champion contributed 38 points in a 111:99 win over the Detroit Pistons, setting his career best from December 2021. Orlando remains in the race for the direct play-off places, but the performance against the league's weakest team was only confident at times.

Magic are seventh in the Eastern Conference with 27 wins and 23 defeats, just behind the Indiana Pacers in sixth place, which would still entitle them to participate directly in the championship round. Moritz Wagner came off the bench as usual, but made a valuable contribution with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.

Daniel Theis was also able to be happy about at least one success, but the center was not used in the Los Angeles Clippers' 103:95 defeat by the Miami Heat. The Clippers are third in the Western Conference and are clearly on course for the playoffs.

Completely different than the Toronto Raptors. The team led by national team captain Dennis Schröder lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder 127:135 after double overtime, despite a 23-point lead. Schröder, who collected 19 points, and the Raptors are already five wins behind tenth place in the East, which is enough to qualify for the play-in tournament.

The German-American professional football player Amon-Ra St. Brown also showed a strong performance in the NFL's Pro Bowl. In the All-Star Game, in which St. Brown was promoted again, the 24-year-old caught ten passes for 173 yards and scored a touchdown for the NFC team. The team around the Detroit Lions wide receiver won the flag football game against the AFC 64:59.

The outstanding player at the show event in Orlando, Florida was receiver Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers on the AFC side. He excelled with three catches and one thrown touchdown.

St. Brown was nominated after the loss in the play-off semifinals against the San Francisco 49ers (31:34). As in the previous season, he came in for the injured AJ Brown from the Philadelphia Eagles in the game, which traditionally takes place a week before the Super Bowl. Next Sunday (local time) defending champions Kansas City Chiefs and the 49ers will face each other in the final in Las Vegas.