Doncic feasts against Chicago
Forced to miss a game because of a painful ankle, Luka Doncic did not seem to suffer from it on Sunday when the Dallas Mavericks won against the Chicago Bulls (113-99) who saw their series of nine consecutive wins. The Slovenian achieved a triple double (his 3rd this season) with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists. “He didn’t look too bad, right?” “, joked Sean Sweeney, the assistant coach who replaces Jason Kidd, the usual coach, absent because entered into the Covid protocol on Friday. Josh Green and Maxi Kleber achieved their season point record with 18 units. The Bulls were a little too clumsy on shooting (including a 7 of 21 for Zach LaVine) and dominated under the rebounds to hope to win.
Small revenge for Denver
Still upset by the defeat suffered in Oklahoma City on December 22, the Denver Nuggets came to take a short revenge on the floor of the Thunder Sunday (99-95). But nothing was easy for Denver despite an excellent start to the game (36-23 at the end of the first quarter). It all happened in the last minute when two free throws from Nikola Jokic broke the tie (97-95) with forty seconds to go. Luguentz Dort then missed the winning shot for OKC with twelve seconds to go. Jokic finished the game with 22 points, 18 rebounds and 6 assists.
22
Kyle Kuzma set a new personal best rebounding record with 22 catches (and 28 points) contributing to the Washington Wizards’ success at the Orlando Magic (102-100).
Minnesota is a hit, Toronto and Portland provide
The Minnesota Timberwolves offered an offensive festival against the defenseless Houston Rockets (141-123). Karl-Anthony Towns took the opportunity to register 40 points (his best mark of the season). This is the fourth success in a row for Minnesota.
The Toronto Raptors won a sixth straight game but suffered to the end against the New Orleans Pelicans (105-101). Pascal Siakam (29 points, 10 rebounds) and Fred VanVleet (32 points) were the main architects of this victory.
Finally, the Portland Trail Blazers easily dominated the Sacramento Kings (103-88), who suffered their fourth loss in a row. Portland overtakes its evening opponent in the standings and is thus tied with the San Antonio Spurs for tenth place in the Western Conference, the last qualifier for the “play-in” (barrage before the classic play-offs.
.
