The stretching series: The Suns line up an 8th consecutive victory and bring down Philadelphia
The duel between the two conference leaders at the Footprint Center in Phoenix was salivating, and in the evening’s poster, it was finally the Suns of Devin Booker and Chris Paul, more solid in the money-time, who emerged the head held high, facing the troops of Joel Embiid (116-108).
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In this duel from a distance between two of the best scorers in the League, which kept all its promises, the Cameroonian may well have dominated his subject (37 points, 15 rebounds, 2 blocks), it is the 25-year-old rear who led his team to success (35 points at 13/22 shooting). With Chris Paul still formidable conductor in double-double (19 points and 14 assists), Booker and his people consolidate, if they still needed it, their place as leader in the west, and continue their series of victory, with this 8th success in a row. Enough to fill up confidence for Phoenix before playing Golden State then Memphis, his two pursuers in the standings.
Performance for nothing: Lebron James shines and makes history but the Lakers fall
Lebron James in the Lakers loss to Houston
Credit: Getty Images
Despite a great start to the game, and a lead that went up to 23 points just before halftime, Los Angeles totally cracked on the way back from the locker room, conceding a 41-25 in the 3rd quarter to finally win. cap at the pole. In this duel which might also be that of the next play-in in the west, the rookie Trey Murphy III shone (16 of his 21 points in the 3rd quarter) to allow his team to pass in front of his evening opponent in the ranking. Now tenth, the Lakers, beaten for the 3rd time in their last 4 outings, are more than ever in danger, threatened by San Antonio, who are only one victory behind before moving to the Houston floor at night. next (2h).
The double blow: Tatum and Brown carry Boston, new leader in the East
Nothing has stopped Boston in recent weeks, and the Celtics had a great night once morest Minnesota. Thanks in particular to a 38-19 past in the second quarter to teammates Karl-Anthony Towns, the Celtics never really trembled, finally inflicting a big correction on the Timberwolves (134-112). Boston has now won 24 of its last 28 games, in hurricane mode, and is taking advantage of the Sixers’ loss to take the lead in the Eastern Conference.
This success, the players of Ime Udoka owe it, as often, to the Jay Brothers, once once more unstoppable. With his 34 points, Jayson Tatum (12/21 shooting) finished as the game’s top scorer, ahead of… Jaylen Brown, who also delighted the TD Garden audience with his 31 points and 10 rebounds. With this sixth straight victory, Boston continues to assert itself as a serious contender to reach the finals, while Minnesota remains 7th in the west.
The losing comeback: Irving and the Nets subdued by the Hornets
Kyrie Irving would certainly have liked another scenario for his return to Barclays Center. Deprived until then of a home game because not vaccinated, the number 11 of the Nets, despite a few blows, did not manage to bring his people to a success, during the meeting once morest Charlotte (110-119 ). In line with his failed match once morest Miami the day before (11 points), Irving, author of a double-double (16 points, 11 assists) wasted too much in shooting (only 6/22), and saw his own fall once morest a direct competitor in the play-in.
Faced with a Durant also lacking success (27 points at 9/24 shooting) and despite Drummond’s double-double (20 points, 17 rebounds), the Hornets, with a LaMelo Ball in great shape (33 points, 7 assists, 9 rebounds) came out on the wire to take their 8th place at the Nets, for an identical record (39 wins, 36 losses).
The coup: Dallas takes down Utah to take 4th place in the west
The other big meeting of the night took place in Dallas, on the floor of the American Airlines Center. If the French pivot Rudy Gobert missed the party, Luka Doncic did not miss the opportunity to put his team ahead of his opponent of the day in the Western Conference standings, carrying his team in the victory of the Mavericks once morest the Jazz (114-100).
With 32 points and 10 rebounds, the Slovenian, well supported by Reggie Bullock (23 points) and Jalen Brunson (22 points), saw his people rebound following Dallas’ loss to Minnesota. And to take a victory in advance in the race for the 4th qualifying jump seat for the playoffs.
The French: Fournier still in difficulty, Nktilikina discreet
Dropped in the play-in race (4.5 victories behind the Hawks), New York gleaned a success on the wire, important to continue to believe in it, once morest Detroit (102-104). But Evan Fournier did not really weigh on the result. The silver medalist from the Tokyo Games, struggling for some time, was once more clumsy (11 points but only 4 successful shots out of 12, including a small 3/10 from three points), while Kylian Hayes ( 6 points, 6 rebounds) made better use of his 25 minutes of play on the Pistons side.
Franck Ntilikina, he had barely more than 3 minutes to try to stand out once morest Utah, and, if he managed his only three points attempted during the game, he did not so mightn’t show much else.
The results of the night:
- Detroit – New York: 102-104
- Boston – Minnesota : 134 – 112
- Phoenix – Philadelphie : 114 -104
- Washington – Golden Stat : 123 – 115
- New Orleans – Los Angeles : 116 – 108
- Brooklyn – Charlotte : 110- 119
- Dallas – Utah : 114 -100
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