Los Angeles (USA), March 18 (EFE).- Questioned throughout the season, Russell Westbrook this Friday was the hero of Los Angeles Lakers on a day in which Philadelphia 76ers subjected to Luka Doncic and the Phoenix Suns they destroyed the Chicago Bulls.
RAPTORS 123 – LAKERS 128
A desperate steal and a buzzer-beating triple by Russell Westbrook (22 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists) forced extra time between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Toronto Raptorsan extra time in which the Angelenos finally prevailed thanks to LeBron James (36 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists).
Scottie Barnes (31 points, 17 rebounds and 6 assists) was the best for the Canadians, who lost following five straight wins.
SIXERS 111 – MAVERICKS 101
Joel Embiid (32 points and 8 rebounds) and James Harden (24 points and 12 assists) led the solid victory of the Philadelphia 76ers over the Dallas Mavericks of a Luka Doncic with poor shooting (17 points with 5 of 20 shooting, 7 rebounds and 10 assists).
The Mavericks came to Philadelphia with four straight wins but trailed the Sixers in the second half and dropped by 20 points in the fourth quarter.
SUNS 129 – BULLS 102
With Devin Booker (28 points) in front of seven players over 10 points, the Phoenix Suns gave a lesson to the Chicago Bulls, who left Arizona with a blowout, three straight losses and only two wins in their last ten games.
DeMar DeRozan (19 points) was the leading scorer for an inferior Bulls in all facets of the game (25.9% on three-pointers vs. 44% for the Suns, 37 rebounds to 49 for the locals).
HEAT 120 – THUNDER 108
The Miami Heat consolidated their leadership in the East with a very easy victory once morest some Oklahoma City Thunder who wander aimlessly around the league and who have lost nine in a row.
Tyler Herro (26 points and 7 rebounds) led the Heat while the Thunder’s best was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (also 26 points and 7 rebounds).
JAZZ 121 – CLIPPERS 92
The Los Angeles Clippers had a good romp on their visit to the Utah Jazzwho crushed the Angelenos in a game they went on to win by 41 points in the third quarter.
Rudy Gobert (19 points and 16 rebounds) imposed his law on the Jazz while he excelled once morest some unsuccessful Clippers (36% shooting from the field) Robert Covington (18 points and 6 rebounds).
For the second game in a row, the Spaniard Juancho Hernangómez started for the Jazz (due to the absences of Bojan Bogdanovic and Danuel House Jr.) and had 6 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks in 27 minutes.
NETS 128 – BLAZERS 123
Kevin Durant (38 points with 11 of 15 shots, 6 rebounds and 6 assists) beat some Portland Trail Blazers without remedy and that they have only won one game of their last 10 games.
Josh Hart (25 points and 7 assists) was the offensive benchmark for the Blazers who were poor in defense (58.4% of the Nets’ field goals) and who let an 18-point lead slip away following the break.
CAVALIERS 119 – NUGGETS 116
Lauri Markkanen (31 points and 10 rebounds) and Evan Mobley (27 points and 11 rebounds) dealt with Nikola Jokic (32 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists) in the inside game and guided the Cleveland Cavaliers to a victory over the Denver Nuggets following an extension.
In the Nuggets, who allowed themselves to be traced following leading by 14 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Argentine Facundo Campazzo did not have minutes, who is going through a difficult moment and with few opportunities in the Denver team.
KINGS 97 – CELTICS 126
Jayson Tatum (32 points) and Jaylen Brown (30 points) were once once more a deadly pair as the Boston Celtics, launched in the East, easily beat the Sacramento Kings.
Those from Sacramento, who have only won three of their last ten games, missed out on Domantas Sabonis’ great game (30 points and 20 rebounds).
HAWKS 120 – GRIZZLIES 105
Without their star Trae Young, the Atlanta Hawks gave the surprise of the day by clearly defeating the mighty Memphis Grizzlies thanks to 30 points from Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Ja Morant (29 points) was the leader of the Grizzlies who lost 16 balls (9 from the Hawks) and who suffered 46.4% on three-pointers from the Atlanta team.
ROCKETS 118 – PACERS 121
The Indiana Pacers pressed the accelerator in the last quarter (23-38) to win a game between teams without aspirations once morest the Houston Rockets.
Malcolm Brogdon (25 points) stood out for the Pacers and Christian Wood (32 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists) did the same for the Rockets.
SPURS 91 – PELICANS 124
The New Orleans Pelicans crushed the Spurs in their visit to San Antonio with six players over 10 points and CJ McCollum leading scorer (20 points).
Devin Vassell (18 points) was the best for the gray Spurs while the Spanish Willy Hernangómez played 27 minutes with the Pelicans and got 11 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and a block.
KNICKS 100 – WIZARDS 97
Six losses in a row lead a Washington Wizards who fell in a tight game once morest the New York Knicks of Julius Randle and RJ Barrett (18 points per head).
Also 18 points were added by Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma for Wizards in which the Brazilian Raul Neto played 24 minutes and contributed 11 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and a block.
CLASSIFICATION
Eastern Conference
.1. Miami Heat (47-24)
.2. Milwaukee Bucks (44-26)
.3. Philadelphia 76ers (43-26)
.4. Boston Celtics (43-28)
.5. Chicago Bulls (41-29)
.6. Cleveland Cavaliers (40-30)
.7. Toronto Raptors (39-31)
.8. Brooklyn Nets (37-34)
.9. Atlanta Hawks (35-35)
10. Charlotte Hornets (35-35)
11. New York Knicks (30-40)
12. Washington Wizards (29-40)
13. Indiana Pacers (24-47)
14. Detroit Pistons (19-51)
15. Orlando Magic (18-53)
Western Conference:
.1. Phoenix Suns (57-14)
.2. Memphis Grizzlies (48-23)
.3. Golden State Warriors (47-23)
.4. Utah Jazz (44-26)
.5. Dallas Mavericks (43-27)
.6. Denver Nuggets (42-29)
.7. Minnesota Timberwolves (41-30)
.8. Los Angeles Clippers (36-37)
.9. Los Angeles Lakers (30-40)
10. New Orleans Pelicans (29-41)
11. San Antonio Spurs (27-44)
12. Portland Trail Blazers (26-43)
13. Sacramento Kings (25-47)
14. Oklahoma City Thunder (20-50)
15. Houston Rockets (17-53).
NEXT DAY (Saturday, March 19)
Minnesota Timberwolves – Milwaukee Bucks
Charlotte Hornets – Dallas Mavericks
Cleveland Cavaliers – Detroit Pistons
Washington Wizards – Los Angeles Lakers.
(c) EFE Agency
