The match: Ja Morant bends the Suns to five tenths of the buzzer
After 15 straight wins in their hall, the Suns finally lost to Phoenix. It must be said that they fell on a great Ja Morant, author of a boss match to lead the Grizzlies to a nice last-minute success in Arizona on Monday night (113-114). The young leader overwhelmed his opponents in the last seconds with a very spectacular and above all victorious layup, registered at 5 small tenths of the siren!
Morant thus avoided a great disillusionment to his team. Indeed, Memphis led for most of the game, until Devin Booker (30 points) planted a three-point basket to restore the advantage to his team with five seconds remaining. The conclusion of a hellish comeback for the Phoenix players, who were up to 18 points behind. But Morant therefore saved his family, the icing on the cake for the player who scored 33 points. Desmond Bane more than assisted him by adding 32 units, a career record. And the Grizzlies are definitely staying the course! They are still fourth in the West (21-14) with a comfortable lead over their first pursuers.
The player: James Harden on a good track against the Clippers
After managing the Lakers on Christmas Eve, with 36 points scored in the Nets victory, James Harden took care of the Clippers, still in Los Angeles. And there again, success was at the rendezvous for Brooklyn (124-108). Without Kevin Durant (and Kyrie Irving), he’s the one who manages everything for New Yorkers. Which works pretty well. Still very comfortable in this role of first option, the All-Star back has compiled 39 points, 8 rebounds and 15 assists. A performance reminiscent of his cards with the Rockets in recent seasons. In its wake, the Nets took over the Clippers before resisting their comeback attempt in the last quarter. Brooklyn thus keeps the lead in the East with 23 wins in 32 games.
The performance: Kristaps Porzingis is a hit against Portland
With Luka Doncic unavailable (health protocol), Kristaps Porzingis took control of the Mavericks’ attack last night. With brio. The Latvian blew up the (very bad) defense of Portland by scoring 34 points to lead his team to victory (132-115). He added 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals and 5 assists. A good game from the All-Star pivot, who is in good shape this season. It only dropped below 10 points on one occasion, at the end of November. Since then, it has continued. The skill is not always there but the player keeps himself in good health, and he contributes. And when he’s sharp like Monday night, it makes all the difference for Dallas.
The team: The Bulls trio make the difference
Decimated by the Covid-19 for several days, like most franchises at the moment, the Bulls are doing better since the return of their executives. They went on to win a fourth straight victory by beating the Hawks on Monday night (130-118), despite the return of Trae Young (29 points) to Atlanta. The Chicago team once again relied on its All-Stars: 35 points and 10 assists for a very effective DeMar DeRozan: 14 of 20 on shots, 30 points and 9 assists for his teammate Zach LaVine, but also 24 points, 17 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks for Nikola Vucevic, decidedly very active. “Their Big Three made it seem like they didn’t miss a thing“, said Nate McMillan, coach defeated and annoyed. For DeRozan, it’s just one more day in the office:”we are the leaders of this team. It’s our job.“In any case, things are going well for Chicago, second in the East with 21 wins and 10 losses.
Image: Jaylen Nowell remakes Jabari Parker’s portrait
In the absence of the five holders of the Timberwolves, other players have emerged in the victory against the Celtics last night (108-103). Jaylen Nowell scored 29 points while taking the lead from Jabari Parker on this overpowering dunk. And happy Nowell everyone.
The French: Rudy Gobert in automatic mode
Another victory for Jazz – the fourth in a row – in San Antonio and another double-double for Rudy Gobert. The Frenchman compiled 16 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks in just 26 minutes, while missing almost no shot (5 of 7). A real boss season from the All-Star pivot of Salt Lake City. 19 minutes of play for Killian Tillie, author of 6 points (
) in Memphis’ victory over Phoenix. 8 points for Frank Ntilikina, also winner with Dallas.
The results of the night in the NBA
Hawks – Bulls : 118-130
Timberwolves – Celtics : 108-103
Spurs – Jazz : 104-110
Suns – Grizzlies : 113-114
Trail Blazers – Mavericks : 117-132
Clippers – Nets : 124-108
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