Los Angeles (AFP)
The Phoenix Suns defeated the Dallas Mavericks 109-101 in the NBA, to control their grip on the top of the Western Region, benefiting from the loss of the Golden State Warriors runner-up once morest the guest Indiana Pacers 117-121 following an extension.
At the “American Airlines Center” stadium, and while the result was a 99-99 draw, three minutes before the final whistle, the Suns scored 10 points once morest two points for his opponent.
The Suns owes the victory to the duo Devin Booker and Chris Paul, as the first scored two free throws in the last seconds out of a total of 28 points, in addition to two assists out of 6, while the second scored the last three-pointer to the Mavericks hopes of returning to the match, ending the match with 20 points. And 11 assists.
“I think our experience backed up by playing the knockout rounds last year (the Suns reached the League Final) helped us move forward in terms of our synergy,” Booker said.
“So we never collapse in these situations, we hang our hats in defence, we try to make it difficult for other teams and usually it works out.”
The Suns, who consolidated their lead in Al Gharbia with their 35 victory once morest 9 defeats, achieved their fifth victory in a row, while the Mavericks finished a series of four victories in a row, and suffered only their second loss in their last 12 matches, and the 20 this season compared to 26 wins, and the Mavericks maintained fifth place in the region Western.
He stood out among the losing Slovenian Luka Doncic, scoring 28 points, including 19 at the break, to 8 assists and 8 rebounds, following his 41 points in the Toronto Raptors basket on Wednesday.
Dallas hopes not to lose the efforts of his star Doncic, following he suffered from pain in his neck as a result of his strong fall in the late third quarter, while the Slovenian confirmed, “It is the spine, when I fell, it hit my back. It hurts so much now.”
At the Chase Center stadium, the thirteenth-placed Indiana Pacers in the eastern region, a day following their victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, inflicted an unexpected loss on their guest, the Golden State Warriors, following the extension.
Despite Stephen Curry’s advancing in the losing ranks by scoring 39 points to 8 assists, he failed in the last test, specifically in his last two throws from outside the arc (6 successful throws out of 16), and his team lost the ball 21 times, and only succeeded in 9 triple shots out of 42.
The Golden State Warriors, who led by 16 points at the break, opened the door for their guest to turn the tables on him led by Dominican star Chris Duarte, who has 27 points, the highest in his career, and the decisive Kiefer Sykes with 5 of his 10 points following the extension, while Justin Holiday added 16.
“We stayed together,” Duarte said following the victory, “We played defensively in a tough style, and that was the key (to win), to stop the attacks and then move the ball, I think we did a great job on the field.”
At the loser, the absence of “warrior” Draymond Green, due to a leg injury, eased his weight once once more, while Clay Thompson struggled to impose himself with 12 points, while Kevin Looney added 13.
In New York and Madison Square Garden, the Knicks lost their third loss in a row following falling to the New Orleans Pelicans 91-102, knowing that the latter advanced by 25 points in some periods of the match.
The Knicks paid dearly for their lack of attacking efficacy, as they missed the trio of Julius Randle (4 points, 7 rebounds and 6 decisive balls), French Yvan Fournier (6 points) and Kimba Walker, who only had five points.
In contrast to the loser, New Orleans, ranked thirteenth in the Western Region, shone thanks to its team play with 6 players between 11 and 18 points, the best of whom is Lithuanian center player Jonas Valanciunas with 18 points to 10 rebounds.