Le match : Houston s’offre Milwaukee
The Houston Rockets, only ninth in the Western Conference, managed to beat the Milwaukee Bucks (112-108), second in the East, on Saturday in the NBA. However, in the ranks of Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo was brilliant, with 48 points scored and 17 rebounds taken. On the other hand, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton disappointed. The first was only credited with a 5/16 shooting (including 1/8 at three points) and the second only achieved a 3/9. At the start of the second half, the Bucks were left behind (66-45, 25th). They came back to six lengths 1’50” from the buzzer (105-99), but Jabari Smith’s three-point shot revived Houston, who was then able to keep control at the end of the match. Milwaukee lost for the third time in four games.
The performance: Utah victorious in Philadelphia
The Utah Jazz, even lower ranked in the West than Houston (12th), also had a good performance, winning clearly (120-109) on the floor of the Philadelphia Sixers. The latter were without Joel Embiid, who had twisted his left knee the day before during another defeat, against New York, but who had still continued to play. At the end of the third quarter, the Jazz had widened a gap (87-79) and were able to maintain it thereafter. Lauri Markkanen was the strong man for Utah, with 33 points and 13 rebounds. For the 76ers, Tyrese Maxey and Kelly Oubre were the most prominent with 25 and 24 points. Nicolas Batum only scored two points, but had four interceptions.
The Player: The Revenge of Julius Randle
The day before, during New York’s great victory in Philadelphia, Julius Randle did not shine: only eight points and a famished 1/11 shooting. But, on Saturday, the Knicks strong winger woke up and scored 39 points (13/23 shooting including 3/8 three-pointers) to help his team win again, at the Washington Wizards (121-105 ) this time. Randle also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists. New York was also able to count on Jalen Brunson (33 pts) and thus won a fourth consecutive victory, which propelled it to fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Evan Fournier still remained on the sidelines. For Washington, Bilal Coulibaly scored four points.
