NBA – Doncic is on the rise (51 points, career high), the Phoenix Suns too, the Brooklyn Nets continue to dig

The player: Luka Doncic celebrates the departure of Porzingis with 51 points

It is not known whether the transfer of Kristaps Porzingis – a player with whom he had a very sketchy relationship – gave him wings. But Luka Doncic had fun a few hours after the departure of the Latvian. The Dallas superstar led the Mavericks to victory against the Clippers (112-105) by slamming 51 points in passing, his new career high, including 28 in the first quarter alone. A spectacular and effective offensive performance: 17 out of 26 on shots, including 7 out of 14 from three-pointers. He also added 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Far too much for Los Angeles, taken aback and unable to respond to the Slovenian card. This is already the fourth straight win for the Texans.

The match: The Knicks win on the floor of the Warriors

After four straight losses, the Knicks came out of their bad patch in style, getting the better of one of the best teams in the league. A great victory won in extremis against the Golden State Warriors (116-114) under the leadership of Evan Fournier (22 points) and a very productive Julius Randle (28 points, 16 rebounds and 7 assists). Stephen Curry, author of 35 points and 10 assists, tried to revolt his team in the last minutes. Golden State returned to contact, notably taking advantage of missed shots by Alec Burks and Cam Reddish. But Klay Thompson (17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists) missed the opportunity to hang the extension at the buzzer.

The performance: Phoenix dissects the Bucks

The Suns don’t take any days off. And they leave no respite to their adversaries, even the most prestigious of them. Defending champions and candidates for their succession, the Bucks took a nice slap in the face by traveling to Phoenix for a remake of the last finals. A stinging 131-107 victory for Chris Paul and his teammates, who dominated the shock almost from start to finish after a first quarter to the advantage of Milwaukee. The All-Star point guard finished with 17 points and 19 assists, Deandre Ayton added 27 points. This success confirms the dominance of the Suns over the rest of the NBA since the start of the season. The Arizona franchise has the best record in the league (45-10), and nothing really seems able to stop it.

The state: 10

10, as the number of consecutive losses of the Nets. Even against a diminished Wizards, the Nets failed to end their streak. Despite Kyrie Irving’s 31 points, Brooklyn narrowly lost to Washington Thursday night (112-113). The New York franchise is now eagerly awaiting its recruits – Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond – to salvage its season. The Wizards also shook up their roster on deadline night, and they faced the Nets with a shrunken rotation after the departures of Montrezl Harrell, Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans and pending the arrival of Kristaps Porzingis.

Steve Nash’s players tried to push to snatch the extension in the last moments of the game. Rookie Cam Thomas converted a three-point basket with the fault to bring his team to two points (107-109). But it was this same Thomas who missed the final outside attempt for the equalizer nine tenths from the buzzer. Brooklyn is eighth in the East and continues to sink.

The team: Gary Trent Jr and the Raptors are hot

Toronto is Brooklyn’s bent right now. If the Nets are in big trouble, the Raptors are in great shape. And they won an eighth straight victory by beating the Rockets Thursday night (139-120). It’s the longest running streak in the NBA. Two men led the charge for the Canadian team: Gary Trent Jr scored 42 points, his best this season, and Pascal Siakam added 30. That makes 72 points between them, including 51 in the first period. Toronto is sixth in the East.

The French: Evan Fournier guides New York

Still at the Knicks once the deadline has passed, Evan Fournier can now end his season more peacefully. In confidence, he was one of the main architects of New York’s success against Golden State in San Francisco last night (116-114). The Frenchman scored 22 points in 31 minutes. Nicolas Batum was also pretty good for the Clippers with 10 points against the Mavericks, but Los Angeles lost. In the opposite camp, Frank Ntilikina finished with 5 points. Killian Hayes played just 13 minutes before going off for 6 fouls last night. The French leader distinguished himself with his 4 assists but he did not score (0 out of 2 on shots) for the Pistons.

The results of the night in the NBA

Pistons – Grizzlies : 107-132
Wizards – Nets : 113-112
Pelicans – Heat : 97-112
Rockets – Raptors : 120-139
Mavericks – Clippers : 112-105
Suns – Bucks : 131-107
Warriors – Knicks : 114-116