NBA"/>
Posted on January 5, 2022 at 7:57 a.m. – updated on January 5, 2022 at 10:07 a.m.
Five games were on the night’s schedule in the NBA, and the top-ranked teams won: Phoenix, Memphis, Lakers, Toronto and New York.
Phoenix returns to a half-game of Golden State at the top of the Western Conference after winning in New Orleans. Facing the penultimate in the standings, the Suns won 110-123 after a game where they led from start to finish but were still a little scared. The defending vice-champions led 54-64 at halftime but saw the Pelicans go back to -5 in the middle of the third quarter and especially to -2 at 5’35 from the end (101-103). This finally gave a boost to the Suns, who followed with a 20-9 to end the game without a hitch, in the wake of a Devin Booker at 33 points and a Mikal Bridges at 23 points (28pts for Devonte ‘Graham on the New Orleans side). Memphis, for his part, signed a sixth straight victory to consolidate his fourth place. The Grizzlies won on the floor of Cleveland (106-110), which has won only one game in four since the injury of his master playing Ricky Rubio. The Cavs however led throughout the first half, then the two teams took the lead in turn in the second, but never having more than six points in advance. Memphis (where Killian Tillie started for the second time in a row) took the lead 6’30 from the final buzzer (90-92) on a 3-point shot from Ziaire Williams, but Cleveland came down to 104-104 at 36 ″ 7 from the end. Once again, it was Ja Morant (26pts, 5rbds, 6pds) who donned the hero’s costume for the Grizzlies, scoring the last six points for his team (one “jump shot”, one “layup” and two free throws). The last shots from Darius Garland (27pts, 10pds) and Kevin Love (18pts, 10rbds) did not find the target for Cleveland. Also in the West, the Lakers, seventh, won a third success in a row, on the floor of Sacramento, tenth: 114-122. In this close match (57-59, mt) where neither of the two teams had more than eight points in advance and where there were 23 changes of leader, the Lakers ended up taking the lead definitely at 2 ‘ 50 from the end on a Malik Monk shot, and LeBron James and Russell Westbrook then sealed the victory for the Violet et Or. “King James” was again decisive, with 14 of his 31 points scored in the last quarter, while “Mr. triple-double” finished a match without losing a ball for the first time since March 2016! De’Aron Fox’s 30 points weren’t enough for the Kings.
VanVleeet and Randle shine, not Fournier
In the East, Toronto (9th) was not disturbed to play behind closed doors and won its third victory in a row, to the detriment of San Antonio (11th in the West): 129-104. After a tight first quarter of an hour, the Raptors began to take the measure of the Texans, and flew in this meeting, counting up to 31 points in advance. Fred VanVleet, in great shape at the moment, scored 33 points (7/14 to 3pts) and delivered 7 assists. With 30 assists in total and 18 successful 3-pointers, Toronto has signed one of its best games of the season and has also regained a record of 50% of victories. On the Spurs side, Jakob Poeltl finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Finally, in the last game of the night, New York (11th) enforced logic by beating Indiana (13th) on the score of 104-94. The Knicks led by twelve points in the second quarter, then the Pacers took the lead just after halftime. New York was just one point ahead at 9’48 from the end and finally managed the money-time well to win by ten points. Julius Randle, back from covid protocol, was excellent, with 30 points and 16 rebounds on the clock (22pts for Keifer Sykes on the Pacers side). Match to forget, however, for Evan Fournier, who finished with 0 point in 22 minutes (0/4 on shots). His first zero point since April 25, when he was playing in Boston.
NBA / REGULAR SEASON
Tuesday, January 4, 2022
Cleveland Cavaliers – Memphis Grizzlies : 106-110
>>> Stats of Killian Tillie (MEM): 17 minutes of play, 5 points (2/7 on shots including 1/5 at 3pts), 3 rebounds, 1 pass, 1 lost ball
>>> Yves Pons (MEM) did not play
New York Knicks – Indiana Pacers : 104-94
>>> Stats of Evan Fournier (NYK): 22 minutes of play, 0 points (0/4 on shots including 0/3 to 3pts), 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 interception, 1 lost ball, 3 fouls
New Orleans Pelicans – Phoenix Suns : 110-123
Los angeles lakers – Sacramento Kings : 122-114
Toronto Raptors – San Antonio Spurs: 129-104
