Fact: Brooklyn received 11 out of 11
Nothing can stop the Brooklyn Nets. On Saturday, the franchise of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving dominated the Charlotte Hornets without shaking (123-106) to afford its eleventh victory in a row (the 15th of the last 16 matches). Under the impetus of its two stars (28 points for Irving, 23 for Durant), the Nets put things right from the start (32-22 in the first quarter) and were never worried . “Holding them to 22 points in the first period, we immediately left our mark on the game, noted Nets coach Jacque Vaughn, and after that we knew how to use our rotation and our bench depth to continue to increase the gap. »
With the San Antonio Spurs and Chicago Bulls on the schedule for the next two games, the Nets have a great opportunity to continue their streak and get even closer to Boston, leading the Eastern Conference (2 wins away from the current time).
The player: Doncic passes another 50 points
For the third time in five games, Luka Doncic has passed the 50 point mark, with 51 against the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night in a very narrow victory for the Dallas Mavericks (126-125). The Slovenian became the first player in league history to rack up 250 points, 50 rebounds and 50 assists over a five-game streak.
Against San Antonio, all his points counted since the Spurs, led by 17 points during the meeting, almost snatched the victory in the last moments. But Doncic, author of some key rebounds, watched and allowed the Mavericks to consolidate their fourth place in the Western Conference.
The action: an end of Herro (Miami Heat)
Between Miami (deprived of Jimmy Butler, spared) and Utah everything was decided at the last second. While Lauri Markkanen had just equalized from the free throw line (123-123), Tyler Herro grabbed the ball far into his own camp with only 6”3 to play. The back of the Heat then offered a completely crazy action which saw him play three defenders of the Jazz to acrobatically plant the basket of victory at the buzzer (126-123).
It capped off a successful night for Herro who had 29 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Bam Adebayo was the other key player for the Floridians with 32 points and 8 rebounds. With this victory, Miami returns to the positive (19 wins-18 losses) while this result tilts Utah into the negative (19 wins-20 losses) for the very first time this season.
The other matches
Joel Embiid signed the fifth triple double of his career (16 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists) during the easy victory of the Philadelphia 76ers (where James Harden was resting) on the floor of the Oklahoma City Thunder (115 -96).
Despite 45 points from their former star Paul George, the Indiana Pacers had the last laugh (131-130) against the Los Angeles Clippers. 34 points from Myles Turner and 14 points (of 24) from Tyrese Haliburton in the final four minutes were the difference for Indiana.
Another one-point victory, that of the Cleveland Cavaliers over the Chicago Bulls (103-102) in a somewhat disjointed match where the Cavs scared each other until the end (DeMar DeRozan had a match point) despite a lead seven points with less than two minutes remaining.
Very quickly led, the Detroit Pistons managed to reverse the trend to win widely (116-104) on the floor of Minnesota Timberwolves still winded.
Finally, carried by 35 points from Julius Randle, the New York Knicks easily disposed of the Houston Rockets (108-88) after a failed start (35-27 Rockets after a quarter). Evan Fournier played 20 minutes (8 points at 2/8, 2/6 at three points).
