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Batum 100% at 3 points, insufficient for the Clippers against Doncic

Nicolas Batum was perfect on Tuesday in the NBA, with a 100% behind the arc who made 22 points, without however preventing the Clippers from losing to the Mavericks (103-101), knocked out in the last moments by the prodigy Luka Doncic.

Nicolas Batum put on his “Batman” costume in Dallas, returning his seven shots, all three-pointers. Thanks to him, his team was able to pick up the score and even go ahead, after being trailing by 25 lengths in the first half. His best game of the season.

His only miss occurred on the free throw with 4.2 seconds left, but on purpose to allow the Clippers to recover the rebound and score a basket to equalize. Strategy that did not pay off, the ball narrowly escaping from the hands of Robert Covington, to the chagrin of Paul George (23 pts, 7 rebounds, 6 assists).

Twenty seconds earlier, Doncic had been “clutch” (decisive in the final moments), planting despite Batum’s opposition an improbable banderilla at long distance, at the very end of possession, which gave four units in advance to the Mavs (102-98). The Slovenian finished with 35 points (11 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 interceptions), in his current standards, consolidating his status as the championship’s top scorer.

Here is Dallas with eight wins (five losses) which goes back to 5th place in the West, taking advantage of the setback (113-102) from Memphis (6th) to New Orleans (7th).

However, Ja Morant will still have done in the effective and the extraordinary, like this dunk in the 3rd quarter, with change of hand to avoid a counter, or this shot of the logo at the buzzer sounding the end of the first .

His 36 points (at 13/27, 8 rebounds), however, were not enough for the Grizzlies, who recovered Jaren Jackson Jr, absent since the start of the season for a right foot injury. The interior lacked rhythm offensively (7 points at 3/14), but lost none of its very useful defensive qualities (5 counters).

Rout of the Nets

The Pelicans, even without the other phenomenon of the 2018 draft, Zion Williamson, hit in the right foot, were able to count on CJ McCollum, author of 22 of his 30 points in the second half (9 assists), Brandon Ingram and Larry Nance Jr. contributing with 19 points each.

In Portland, the Blazers did not have an easy game to defeat Spurs (117-110) and consolidate their first place in the West, relying on their “little big 3”: Jerami Grant (29 pts, 8 rbds), Anfernee Simons (23 pts including 10 in the last quarter) and Damian Lillard (22 pts, 11 assists).

Two rows lower is the Jazz, which, after having surprised by its excellent start to the season having led it to the top of the conference, is marking time (3rd). Evidenced by this third loss in a row, conceded (118-111) on his floor against the Knicks which goes back to 7th place in the East by returning to the balance (7/7).

Jalen Brunson (25 pts, 8 assists) guided New York, in whose ranks Evan Fournier sat all game long. The rear, Olympic vice-champion in 2021, like Batum, with the Blues, seems to have lost the confidence of his coach Tom Thibodeau, he who had nevertheless started the season in the starting five.

Finally, for those who thought that Brooklyn (12th in the East) was going a little better, it was enough to see its rout (153-121) in Sacramento, to convince themselves that this is not the case.

The Nets, where Kevin Durant floated (27 pts), left the Kings, strong with a fourth consecutive success, to shoot at 60% success, the unknown Terence Davis offering himself 31 points (9 rbds) out of bench.

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