Uncertainty is now the bread and butter of the NBA. The positives do not stop happening and the numbers of players that are between the health and safety protocols of the coronavirus are dangerously close to one hundred. Shams Charania and Adrian Wojnarowski continue to announce positives as when they are in charge of advancing all the numbers in the draft and the situation is increasingly untenable just a couple of days before Christmas. According to the latest information, the NBA will not stop the competition and will only force players and coaches to wear masks in any situation that depends on them (benches, weight rooms …) and will increase the number of tests during the two weeks Christmas. Something that seems insufficient and that will be only the first step to return to tougher measures, which will surely resemble those that were in place last year. With the Bulls – Raptors postponed, these have been the results of the day.
ATLANTA HAWKS 98 – 104 ORLANDO MAGIC
The Magic beat the Hawks in a game dominated by the absences of key players for the two teams due to COVID-19 protocols. The Hawks played the game without their star, Trae Young, and only one of its starters, John Collins, was in the starting five. Likewise, the Magic had 6 casualties in their ranks. The game’s top scorer was Atlanta’s Cam Reddish with 34 points. Collins, meanwhile, finished with a double-double of 28 points and 12 rebounds. In the Magic ranks the top scorer was Franz Wagner, with 25 points (10 of 24 shooting from the field) while center Robin Lopez had a double-double of 10 points and 11 assists.
BOSTON CELTICS 111 – 101 CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
Tacko makes his debut and Ricky is a starter, but the Celtics win. Check the chronicle here.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS 126 – 106 HOUSTON ROCKETS
Some Bucks that are still without Giannis Antetokounmpo easily beat the Houston Rockets in Milwaukee in a game in which the most outstanding player was the local point guard, Jrue Holiday, who had a double-double with 24 points and 10 assists. Holiday was the top scorer of the game. His teammate Khris Middleton had 23 points and 6 assists. In the Rockets, the last classified in the Eastern Conference, the best was the center Christian Wood, with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Alperen Segundo continues with his progression and went to 10 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. Usman Garuba still does not enter into Stephen Silas’s plans and only played 4 minutes, in which he had no production.
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER 108 – 94 DENVER NUGGETS
Third consecutive victory for the Thunder. Check the chronicle here.
SACRAMENTO KINGS 89 – 105 LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
The Kings were unable to continue their winning streak over their neighbors, the Clippers, whom they had already beaten twice this season, and lost 89-105 at home. This time the Kings did not have their star De’Aaron Fox or other key players on the team.. Additionally, interim coach Alvin Gentry is also on leave after contracting COVID-19. But Kings point guard Tyrese Haliburton was the standout man of the game, with a double-double of 22 points and 13 assists, although he lost 7 balls. Teammate Chimezie Metu also finished the night with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. By cons, The Clippers did have Paul George in the starting lineup.. After five games out with an elbow injury, George returned to the team Monday when he scored 25 points against the San Antonio Spurs. This time George stayed at 17 points. The Clippers’ leading scorer was Eric Bledsoe, with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Serge Ibaka played almost 20 minutes in which he scored 17 points (including 2 3-pointers from 3 attempts), 5 rebounds and 1 assist.
