New Orleans, leading the Western Conference with seven wins in a row, fell victim Tuesday night in the NBA to Jazz in Utah (121-100), while Boston, leader of the Eastern Conference, reacted following two setbacks by going to beat the Lakers (122-118 ap).
The New Orleans Pelicans are suddenly joined in the lead by the Memphis Grizzlies, the last to beat them on November 26 before their winning streak.
Both teams have the same ratio of wins and losses: 18/9.
Young New Orleans star Zion Williamson, 22 and the 2019 No.
The strong winger of the Louisiana franchise also had to feel very alone, the two other top scorers on his team, Jonas Valanciunas and CJ McCollum, being limited to 15 and 14 points respectively.
Utah Jazz, author of a great collective performance with six players with more than ten points, widened the gap in the second and third quarters and went back to 8th place in the conference.
In this Western Conference, bottom-runner Houston extinguished the Phoenix Suns 111-97. Still at the top of the standings a week ago, the Suns suffer their fifth consecutive loss and are only fourth in the West.
Rockets coach Stephen Silas was back to guide his team to victory, two days following the death at the age of 79 of his father, Paul Silas, a three-time NBA champion in the 1970s before accomplishing then a long coaching career for several League franchises.
– The Celtics raise the bar –
In the Eastern Conference, Boston reacted: following two straight losses, which had only happened to them once since the start of the season, the Celtics, leaders, snatched victory from the Lakers in overtime (122-118) , in the City of Angels.
“We needed it” declared a gala Jayson Tatum, author of 44 points for the Bostonians. “It was hot, but we showed that we had character, and found a way to get back on track,” he added.
The crazy comeback of the Lakers, who were up to 20 points behind at the start of the third quarter before pushing their opponent into overtime, thanks to Anthony Davis (37 pts) and LeBron James (33 pts), will not have not enough.
In a game between the last two NBA champions, the Milwaukee Bucks, 2021 champions and runners-up to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference, outscored the defending Golden State Warriors 128-111.
His Greek star Giannis Antetokounmpo was the Bucks’ leading scorer with 30 points, despite a big waste (9 of 26 shots made including 1 of 6 from three points), and was present on the rebound with 12 catches. Stephen Curry was the Warriors’ leading scorer, but with just 20 points.