Clippers and Kings reach the second highest scoring mark in NBA history | Sports

Russell Westbrook debuted with the Clippers in the historic scoring duel against the Kings.Mark J. Terrill (AP)

The duel had a magnet because Russell Westbrook debuted with the Los Angeles Clippers jersey after his termination of contract with the Lakers and his anonymous time with the Jazz, point guard who was MVP in the 2017 regular season and who now plays with salary veteran’s minimum – about 2.7 million dollars – with the aspiration of being the game generator that he was in his day. As a starter, he signed 17 points, five rebounds, 14 assists and seven turnovers of the 25 for his team. “We can be better defensively, starting with me”, he resolved at the end of the stake. A few words that made sense if you look at the historic result, the victory of the Sacramento Kings (175-176) after two extensions. The basket party, the madness of the points.

The basketball day was played after the All-Star, a match in which no one defended to reach a stratospheric score: 184-175 for the Antetokoumpo team over Team James. A figure, in any case, reasonable because there was no defensive tension but rather the show prevailed, a consequence of the lack of official competitiveness. But something similar happened in the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles between two teams that will fight in the upper part of the Western Conference, where there were no corridors but almost, all focused on the attack rather than on the aid or the bolt. Hence, it was the second game with the most points in NBA history, only behind a victory by the Detroit Pistons against the Nuggets (186-184 after three overtimes) in 1983, with a total of 370 points. So the Clippers and Kings sat in the second rung of scoring (351), surpassing the mark of 337 of the Spurs-Bucks of 1982.

There was more. He equaled the record for triples (44) in an NBA game, with 26 from the Clippers and 18 from the Kings; the 34 points for beard were exceeded in each of the quarters; and it was the fifth time in NBA history that there are at least three scorers with 40 points in a game, the first since 2012. Kawhi Leonard signed 44 for the team that ended up twisting his arm – far from that statistic that marked as the least offensive team in the NBA from October to December-, and Malik Monk (45) and De’Aaron Fox (42) led the Kings, capable of coming back throughout the game, as they equalized at 153 after regulation time and, after trailing by six in the second overtime, they knew how to turn the score around in just two minutes. Credit to Mike Brown from the bench, who has endowed the Kings with a winning mentality after many years of trouble. “It was crazy. Everybody shot. Yeah, it’s ridiculous. I don’t think we’re going to score 170 points on 60% shooting all the time,” Leonard said. “It must be the highest level of basketball played that I have ever been a part of. Of the two teams. Hit, execution… Everything”, Kevin Huerter, guard of the Kings, seconded him. “It has been an experience to learn”, conceded from the other side of the track Tyronn Lue, coach of the Clippers.

Five best scores in history

1. Detroit Pistons: 186 points (1983)
2. Denver Nuggets: 184 points (1983)
3. Sacramento Kings: 176 points (this morning)
4. LA Clippers: 175 points (this morning)
5. Boston Celtics: 173 puntos (1959)

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