Boston takes first place in the Eastern Conference after its snatch victory against Oklahoma City (126-123) last night. The Bucks, they chain a second defeat in a row, this time against Atlanta (106-121).
Miami, thanks to the ubiquitous Bam Adebayo and a counter in extremis from Jimmy Butler, burned the wings of Phoenix (113-112) on Monday in the NBA, Boston overcoming (126-123) Oklahoma City (OKC) and the untenable Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, to take charge in the East. The Suns, without Chris Paul (heel), thought they could hold the victory in Florida, with a 12-point lead in the 3rd quarter, but that was without counting on Adebayo, author of 14 of his 30 points (10 rbds ) in the last act.
Under his leadership and thanks to excellent defensive sequences, including Butler’s decisive one (16 pts, 13 rebounds, 7 assists), at the “block“On the attempt of Devin Booker (25 pts, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 interceptions) six seconds from the buzzer, the Heat managed to snatch a third success in a row which brings him up to 8th position in the East.
«These two guys are really the centerpieces of our team. They are so strong. We follow their warrior spiritcommented their trainer Erik Spoelstra. After this second consecutive setback, Phoenix slipped to 5th place in the West. In Boston, it took the combined efforts of Jayson Tatum (27 pts, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks), Jaylen Brown (26 pts, 6 rebounds) and Marcus Smart (22 pts, 8 rebounds) for the Celtics to succeed. impose on the end, after having run behind the Thunder for a long time.
Giannis too alone
The gap indeed reached 15 units before the break, “OKC“(12th in the West) thundering under the flashes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, author of 37 points (8 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 interceptions), like the day before during the victory in New York. The leader is currently very prominent, since he averages 31.5 points after thirteen games. But Boston is an opponent of another caliber, which ended up using its experience to amass a seventh success in a row and take first place in the East. Because Milwaukee accuses the blow after his thunderous start to the season which saw him win his first nine games, Atlanta coming to inflict his third defeat in four games, the first at home (121-106).
Giannis Antetokounmpo, although clumsy, did not deserve (27 pts at 8/21, 8 rebounds, 4 assists). But without Jrue Holiday (ankle) and in the persistent absence of Khris Middleton (wrist), his Bucks, crowned champions in 2021, do not look the same. Third behind them in the standings, the Hawks still appeared very solid, evidenced by the balanced scoring of the five major, between 16 and 24 points, the star Trae Young by registering 21.
Poole s’illustre
Still deprived of Pascal Siakam (adductor), Toronto (6th in the East) found the resources to win (115-111) in Detroit, last in the conference, thanks in particular to leader Dalano Banton (27 pts). Killian Hayes, holder at the Pistons in the absence of Cade Cunningham (tibia), struggled without weighing (6 pts, 3 interceptions, 3 rebounds, 2 assists).
Charlotte (14th in the East) stopped the bleeding after eight defeats in a row, winning (112-105) in Orlando (13th). The Hornets have finally regained some collective momentum, six players having scored between 14 and 18 points, including Théo Maledon (14 pts, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 interceptions, 1 against) off the bench.
Slowly but surely, the Golden State champion is regaining some color, with a third victory in four games, at the expense of San Antonio (132-95), to climb to 10th place, but still in negative (6/8). Leaving the star to Jordan Poole (36 pts at 13/20), Stephen Curry (16 pts, 5 assists) was content to play supporting roles. Finally, the Clippers (7th in the West) inflicted a ninth defeat in ten games on Houston (122-106) red lantern, relying on Paul George (22 pts, 8 rebounds, 5 assists) and, at a lesser degree, on Nicolas Batum (10 pts, 6 rebounds).
