LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS 106 – 104 ORLANDO MAGIC
The Clippers won in a tight game against the Magic thanks to Reggie Jackson’s final 2 points, which definitely tipped the balance. The point guard scored 25 points and was the leader of his team, which did not have Paul George or Nicolas Batum. Luke Kennard had 23 points. Serge Ibaka did not play despite recovering from his injury. The Clippers are fifth in the Western Conference with a 15-12 record, just ahead of the Lakers. Cole Anthony (23 points) and Terrence Ross (22) were the Magic’s best players.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS 98 – 123 UTAH JAZZ
The Jazz beat the Wizards in Washington 98-123. It is the seventh consecutive victory for the Utah team and seats them in third position in the Western Conference, behind Warrios and Suns, with 19 wins and 7 losses. Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points, Rudy Gobert had 20 points and 11 rebounds and up to six away team players surpassed double digits. In the Wizards, which are beginning to falter after being one of the revelation teams of the season, Bradley Beao stood out with 21 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. What’s more, Daniel Gafford had 14 points and 11 rebounds, but the team from the capital of the United States lost 12 balls and could not cope with the onslaught of attack from the Jazz.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS 117 – 103 SACRAMENTO KINGS
The Cavaliers accumulated their third consecutive victory on Saturday night by defeating the Kings 117-103 in a game in which the performance in the last minutes of Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio was decisive to ensure the victory of Cleveland. Rubio played the last 8 minutes of the game, after the Kings dangerously shortened the gap after a 2-12 run, and in addition to reassuring his teammates on the court when it seemed that the game was getting out of hand, he was the author of two decisive triples in the last 2 minutes. With those two triples, Rubio scored a total of 15 points, in addition to getting 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in 26 minutes of play. Seven Cavaliers players, a total team that exhibits a great level of rapport between all its lines, they finished the game with more than 10 points to their credit and three of them with double-double. Darius Garland had 16 points, 13 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 1 block while the two tall men, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, also accumulated double-double. Allen posted his 100th career double-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks while rookie Mobley had his double-double with 15 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 block. The top scorer for the Cavs was forward Isaac Okoro, with 20 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. while the most outstanding player for the Kings, and the top scorer of the game, was guard Buddy Hield who after starting the game on the bench had 21 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks.
MIAMI HEAT 118 – 92 CHICAGO BULLS
Duncan Robinson had a season-high 26 points and Kyle Lowry added a game-high 14 assists to lead the Heat to victory over the Bulls. Chicago’s Zach LaVine scored a game-high 33 points, shooting 11 of 20 from the field., including 7 of 11 in triples. Lowry scored 16 points on 6-of-10 shots, including 4 of 5 from 3-pointers and dished out 12 assists in the first half, in addition to ending the game with just 2 losses. Dewayne Dedmon, starter for the injured Bam Adebayo, had a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds. Besides Adebayo, Miami is still without Jimmy Butler. Chicago played despite having seven of its players on COVID protocols, including Ayo Dosunmu and Stanley Johnson., who were added to the roster just before Saturday’s game. They were joined by Bulls star DeMar DeRozan and four other Chicago players on the COVID roster. The Bulls, however, recovered Alex Caruso, who started and scored 6 points in 27 minutes.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES 113 – 106 HOUSTON ROCKETS
Dillon Brooks scored a game-high 25 points and Desmond Bane added another 19 for the Grizzlies to beat the Rockets for their seventh win in the last eight gamesAll since Ja Morant has been injured. The Grizzlies, with a 16-11 record, rank fourth in the Western Conference behind the Suns, Warriors and Jazz. The best Rockets player was Christian Wood, with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
PHILADELPHIA SIXERS 102 – 93 GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
Curry runs out of record. Check the chronicle here.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS 112 – 127 DENVER NUGGETS
The Nuggets beat the San Antonio Spurs 112-127 thanks to the performance of Nikola Jokic, who got a new double-double with 35 points, 17 rebounds and 8 assists plus 3 plugs. The Argentine base of the Nuggets, Facundo Campazzo, played 29 minutes and scored 8 points, in addition to catching 2 rebounds and distributing 8 assists. With Saturday’s victory, the Nuggets overtake Luka Doncic’s Dallas Mavericks to rank seventh in the Western Conference, one win from the Los Angeles Lakers.
