The performance: Stratospheric LaVine
Zach Lavine, the 28-year-old guard for the Chicago Bulls, entered the closed circle of players on Saturday who reached the 50-point mark during an NBA game. On the floor of the Detroit Pistons, he in fact split 51 points, with a 19/33 shooting (including 7/13 at three points). LaVine simply scored half of Chicago’s points. But the Bulls did not take advantage, losing (118-102). Among the Pistons, one player also shone: the young Jalen Duren, author of 23 points and 15 rebounds, at only 19 years old.
The players: Embiid and Maxey make “Philly” win
Narrowly beaten by Milwaukee on Thursday, the Philadelphia Sixers scored their first victory of the season, two days later, by winning against the Toronto Raptors (114-107). Two players were the main architects of the 76ers’ success: pivot Joel Embiid and leader Tyrese Maxey. Both scored 34 points. The first shot the most (14/21 including 1/3 in long distance shooting), but the second was the most effective at three points (7/9 for a total of 12/20 shooting). Joel Embiid didn’t come far from a triple-double, with nine rebounds and eight assists.
The team: Phoenix weakened but easy against Utah
The Phoenix Suns were once again without Devin Booker (ankle injury) and Bradley Beal (back). But that did not prevent them from clearly beating the Utah Jazz (126-104). The Arizona franchise got off to a good start, leading 66-50 at the break, before signing a 40-28 in the third quarter alone. Kevin Durant, who joined the Suns at the end of last season, was the most prominent, with 26 points scored (8/11 shooting including 1/4 three-pointers). He was also well supported by Eric Gordon (21 pts).
