Draymond Green could face another suspension after a hard punch to the face on Jusuf Nurkic in the Golden State Warriors’ loss to the Phoenix Suns. Nikola Jokic’s evening on the floor also ended early.
However, a noble joker shone again for the Nuggets. The Celtics and Cavaliers only had a metaphorical exchange of blows, but between the Clippers and Kings it became one-sided.
Dallas Mavericks (15-8) – Los Angeles Lakers (14-10) 127:125 (MATCH REPORT)
Boston Celtics (17-5) – Cleveland Cavaliers (13-11) 120:113 (BOXSCORE)
The Boston Celtics remain undefeated at TD Garden with their eleventh home win of the season, Jaylen Brown (10/17 FG, 4 assists) and Jayson Tatum (7/19 FG, 10 rebounds, 5 assists) led the way with 25 points each. “That was a good win, especially after the start. That could have gotten ugly quickly,” summarized Tatum: “We stuck with it and were grateful to only be behind by ten points in the first quarter.” The Cavs led by as many as 15 early on points, after the first quarter it could have looked clearer than 31:21. Kristaps Porzingis in particular got off to a bad start with 0/3 FG and 3 turnovers, Boston only hit 1/10 from downtown in the first period. “They started very aggressively, and we started a little less aggressively. They struck first,” said Porzingis afterwards: “It was close at halftime, and I had the feeling that we really turned it up in the second half.”Porzingis saved his game Weak (5/16 FG) evening still at the free throw line (9/9) on the way to 21 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. Derrick White scored 17 points with 5/8 triples, Jrue Holiday had 11 points (3/5 3P), 2 assists and 3 steals. The Celtics’ reserves didn’t play a major role in terms of playing time or influence, even though Boston was at its best. The Cavs were without Evan Mobley, who missed his third straight game due to a knee injury. The scoring came primarily from Cleveland’s backcourt, with Donovan Mitchell (29, 5/13 3P) and Darius Garland (26, 4/8 3P, 7 assists) leading the way. On Thursday there will be revenge between the Celtics and Cavs, again in Boston.
Chicago Bulls (9-16) – Denver Nuggets (16-9) 106:114 (BOXSCORE)
The Nuggets entered the game without Jamal Murray (ankle) and had to make do from the second quarter without Nikola Jokic, who was ejected from the game. Jokic apparently chose the wrong words when making a complaint to the referees. “We don’t usually mention players’ language publicly, but the choice of words reached the standard for disqualification,” revealed Mark Lindsay, head of the refereeing crew. Jokic scored 4 points (2/5 FG), 9 rebounds and 6 assists in 16 minutes, before he was sent to the shower early. “I crossed a line, but this word doesn’t always cross a line,” he commented: “It is what it is. Some players are allowed to say whatever they want. It is what it is.” According to Bennett Durando (Denver Post) it was the word “motherfucker.” “I’m just glad we didn’t play in Serbia,” Jokic later added with a smile: “It would have been funny to see how people would have reacted to that.” Kentavious Caldwell-Pope didn’t play in the second half after a hard collision with Nikola Vucevic, but the Nuggets still have their X-factor Reggie Jackson. This is not the first time the 33-year-old has shone this young season, when he is needed most. Against the Bulls this meant 25 points (5/8 3P) and 6 assists. The game’s top scorer was Coby White with 27 points (5/10 3P) and 8 assists, Vucevic recorded a strong double-double with 26 points (12/21 FG), 16 rebounds and 5 assists.
Phoenix Suns (13-10) – Golden State Warriors (10-13) 119:116 (BOXSCORE)
In Phoenix, too, a player had to leave work early. It’s not difficult to guess the culprit: Draymond Green is now an expert; against the Suns he was ejected in the third quarter for a flagrant foul of the second kind, after hitting Jusuf Nurkic hard in the face with his fist. Green quickly turned around and swung with his right arm, although he must have felt Nurkic behind him, the two were fighting for position. Nurkic went down in pain, but was able to stay in the game and put up a double-double with 17 Points (3/9 FG), 13 rebounds and 7 assists. Devin Booker was the game’s top scorer with 32 points (12/23 FG, 7 assists) and hit two important free throws with 9 seconds left to keep the Warriors at bay. Phoenix didn’t hit a field throw after a layup from Eric Gordon to +9 with 100 seconds to play, but didn’t make a mistake at the line. Brandin Podziemski then scored 8 of his 20 points (9/14 FG) at lightning speed on the other side, The rookie also grabbed 5 of his 11 rebounds and had 5 assists as part of an outstanding Warriors bench. The reserves contributed 80 points with 4 other players (Chris Paul, Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga, Dario Saric) in double digits. Stephen Curry was the only starter with a significant number of points (24), but he didn’t score well either (8/ 24 FG, 4/15 3P) and missed the chance to equalize downtown with 6 seconds left. Bradley Beal (16, 5/12 FG) played for the Suns for the first time since November 12th, but the Big Three with Booker and Durant remains a theory. Durant missed his second straight game with an ankle injury.
L.A. Clippers (12-10) – Sacramento Kings (13-8) 119:99 (BOXSCORE)
Kawhi Leonard is currently in full swing, against the Kings he was able to make himself comfortable on the bench after three quarters after scoring 31 points (11/14 FG) and 3 assists with just 1 turnover in 31 minutes. LA was already leading by up to 33 points, and the Kings no longer made any serious attempts to catch up. The Clippers have the longest winning streak in the league at five games. Sacramento even came in at their best, but collectively had a weak evening. Keegan Murray was already the top scorer with 17 points, but didn’t hit any of his three-point attempts, which was hardly successful for the Kings anyway (10/37, 27 percent). Domantas Sabonis had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, 5 of them at the opposing ring. For the Clippers, James Harden (4/9 FG, 7 assists) and Norman Powell (5/11 FG) provided support with 15 points each , but it felt like Leonard could have defeated the Kings single-handedly on Tuesday evening. He was even seen smiling during the game!Paul George didn’t play in the second half because he had groin problems. According to Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, this was just a precautionary measure; in a closer game, George would have been on the floor. Daniel Theis contributed 8 points (4/8 FG), 3 rebounds and 1 steal in just under 16 minutes off the bench and packte Javale McGee aufs Poster!
2023-12-13 07:09:00
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