The point guard Kyrie Irving led the Brooklyn Nets ‘Big Three’ in the 124-120 victory against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday’s NBA game, in which Fred VanVleet broke the Toronto Raptors scoring record with 54 points .
The Nets’ stellar trio shone again with Irving adding 39 points with 6 triples, Kevin Durant 28 points and 9 rebounds and James Harden a triple-double with 23 points, 11 rebounds and 14 assists. For the Clippers, Kawhi Leonard finished with 33 points and Paul George with another 26.
The game came with a tight score until the final seconds but the Nets managed to resist the Clippers’ comeback attempts thanks to their good free throws and some defensive distraction from the Los Angeles franchise.
The victory against the Clippers, who were ousted by the Utah Jazz from the top position in the Western conference, is the Nets’ most prestigious since the arrival of James Harden in mid-January.
The Nets now have 14 wins and 9 losses and are in second place in the Eastern conference, only surpassed by the Philadelphia 76ers.
In Orlando, guard Fred VanVleet led the Toronto Raptors’ victory over the Orlando Magic with a memorable 54-point performance, the highest scoring mark by an undrafted player in the NBA.
With a spectacular 74% shooting from the field (17/23), VanVleet also broke the previous scoring record for a Raptors player, held by DeMar DeRozan with 52 points against the Milwaukee Bucks on January 1, 2018.
The guard added 11 triples (8 of them in the first half) of 14 attempts, just three of the NBA historical record that Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors) maintains with the 14 that he achieved on October 29, 2018 against the Chicago Bulls.
On Tuesday, VanVleet destroyed the Magic defense with shots of all kinds and distances, also adding to his personal tally 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks. The previous personal best marks of this 1.85m tall guard were 36 points and 8 triples. VanVleet, who was not selected in the Draft by any team, was drafted in 2016 by the Toronto Raptors, with whom he won the title of the 2018/2019 season.
At 26, the player is one of the key future pieces of the Canadian franchise, which before the start of the season renewed his contract for four more years in exchange for $ 85 million.
VanVleet was accompanied on Tuesday by guard Norman Powell (23 points) and point guard Kyle Lowry (14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists), while French guard Evan Fournier (21 points) and Montenegrin center Nikola stood out for the Magic. Vucevic (21 points and 18 rebounds).
On his turn, the Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry offered a new exhibition with 38 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists but could not avoid the defeat on his court against the Boston Celtics by 111-107.
Curry’s magical ball control and shooting range, who also nailed seven 3-pointers, were a nightmare for the Celtics, but his teammates were barely there.
The Warriors’ second leading scorer was, with 16 points, Mexican-American Juan Toscano Anderson, who played more minutes than usual due to the ankle injury suffered in the game by center Kevon Looney.
With this result, the Warriors add 11 victories and 10 defeats and come out of the playoff positions in the Western conference. For the Celtics, their star Jayson Tatum finished with 27 points and 9 rebounds and Jaylen Brown with 18 and 10 in a win that places them fourth in the East.
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