Evan (Mobley) almighty, Ant Man on fire

The results of the night in the NBA

Celtics @ Raptors : 106-104
Magic @ Wizards : 118-138
Hornets @ Hawks : 122-118
Bucks @ Cavs : 102-114
Rockets @ Wolves : 104-113
Pacers @ Suns : 107-112
Sixers @ Kings : 129-127

MVP Race vol. 3: Two Slavs and a Celtic, the suspense remains

– The Boston Celtics mentality is also one of the reasons why they prance top of the NBA and are now on 9 consecutive victories. Despite the absence of Jayson Tatum and the successive injuries of Marcus Smart (ankle) and Robert Williams (knee) during the game against the Raptors, Joe Mazzulla’s men overthrew Toronto.

The C’s won by a narrow margin thanks to a very good second half, a career high of Grant “Batman” Williams (25 pts), to the solidity of Jaylen Brown (27 pts) and the presence of the 6th luxury Malcolm Brogdon (23 pts). It is also necessary to underline the clutchitude ofAl Horfordwho released a block, an interception and a rebound in the last 20 seconds of the game.

Boston has not lost since January 3 and a roust at OKC which was clearly a click.

– Evan Mobley is so advanced defensively that we forget that he is also rather gifted in attack. The Cavs sophomore was stunning in his team’s win over Milwaukee. Cleveland took advantage of the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo to glean valuable success against a direct opponent and Mobley had a lot to do with it.

The Californian broke his NBA points record (38), with 9 rebounds and 3 assists. More impressive: he did not score a single free throw, nor a single 3-point shot. No one in the league had scored so many points with this specificity since… Hakeem Olajuwon in 1997!

The Cavs, who were playing without Donovan Mitchell, are 5th in the East just one length behind Milwaukee, 3rd.

Evan Mobley dropped a career-high in the Cavs W:

38 PTS (career-high)
9 REB
3 AST pic.twitter.com/JuPtTxaiBv

— NBA (@NBA) January 22, 2023

– Anthony Edwards was on fire tonight for Wolves coming to Houston. In line with what he has been doing for several weeks, the n°1 of the 2020 Draft led his team to victory with an offensive card (44 points at 17/29) based on 3-point shots (7) and fierce dunks. Minnesota accelerated in the second half and won an 8th success in 11 games. For the Rockets, it’s the 13th straight loss.

44 PTS
6 REB
4 AST
3 STL
3 BLK
8 3PM

Anthony Edwards. Hooper. pic.twitter.com/p71PULXskx

— NBA (@NBA) January 22, 2023

– The good series of Atlanta, which remained on 5 wins in a row, ended in a rather disappointing way for the Hawks. At home against Charlotte, Nate McMillan’s players squandered a 19-point lead and multiplied the errors. The Hornets took advantage and Terry Rozier, who scored 28 of his 34 points in the second half, folded the game on two shots with 1 second remaining. Just before, Clint Capela thought he had given the victory to his people.

The 76 points of the Young-Murray-Hunter trio were not enough for Atlanta, which remains 8th with a victory of the top 6.

– Phoenix fights for the survival of its ambitions and… it works rather well! Still deprived of Devin Booker and Chris Paul, the Suns signed a second victory in a row by dominating Indiana. The Pacers aren’t the same without Tyrese Haliburton, but they still had a great battle.

Ish Wainright, well known to the French public for his spell in Strasbourg, did a world of good for Phoenix with enormous activity and decisive actions to keep Indiana at bay: a 3-point basket 1 minute from the end and an assist for Jock Landale. Josh Okogie (24 pts) and Mikal Bridges (22 pts) did most of the scoring work.

TJ McConnell recorded a triple-double in vain: 18 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds. The Pacers are on 7 straight losses and the slope is starting to be a little too slippery for their dreams of snagging a direct qualification for the playoffs.

– Confidence reigns at the Sixers. Even without Joel Embiid and James Harden, Philadelphia managed a very nice shot and a 5th victory in a row by going to win in Sacramento. Still, the Kings seemed in control of this game. The “Beam Team” counted up to 21 points in advance in the first half, before dangerously lowering the foot.

Taken by Tyrese Maxey (32 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds), the Sixers reversed the situation and held the shock until the end despite the efforts of De’Aaron Fox et Keegan Murrayauthor of a 3-point basket to return to a point 8 seconds from time.

Harrison Barnes had a chance to tie with three shots on the wire, but his miss on the first forced him to intentionally miss the third hoping for a rebound. In vain.

Philadelphia is second in the East and is taking advantage of the Bucks’ struggles.

– Rui Hachimura (30 pts, personal record in the NBA equaled) did good for the Wizards off the bench against Orlando. Despite this, the Japanese seems open to a trade, since he has declared that he wants to play where we will appreciate his game… He was in any case, with Kyle Kuzma (25 pts), the most prolific player on his team in this part that Kristaps Porzingis left in the 3rd quarter after an ankle injury.

Washington has consistently been ahead in scoring and remains in contact with the top 10 thanks to this success.