By Le Figaro with AFP
Published 2 hours ago, Updated now
Luka Doncic allowed Dallas to secure a valuable victory against Phoenix. Kevin Jairaj / REUTERS
Slovenian Luka Doncic shone with Dallas against the Phoenix Suns, and French giant Victor Wembanyama was close to snatching victory in Sacramento on Thursday in the NBA.
Luka Doncic shone during Dallas’ victory against Phoenix (123-113) after a high quality match. The Slovenian magician was close to the triple-double with 41 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists, and was perfectly assisted by Kyrie Irving (29 points). Doncic, with his diabolical skill from afar (6 out of 11), allowed the Mavericks to resume perfectly after the All Star Game break with a seventh consecutive victory.
“We played an incredible team but we knew how to be present,” he appreciated. Coming back from the All-Star Game is always difficult. It’s hard to play defense against guys like KD (Kevin Durant), but we managed to defend very well today. The chemistry was good”. Dominated at the start of the match, the “Mavs” overthrew the Suns of Devin Booker (35 points, 8 assists) in the 3rd quarter. Thanks to this success, Dallas (7th) joins Phoenix (6th) in the Western Conference standings with the same record (33 wins, 23 losses).
Oklahoma gives itself some air
The Oklahoma City Thunder won an important victory against the Los Angeles Clippers (129-107) in the intense race for first places in the West. Canadian all-star point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the game’s top scorer with 31 points, compared to Kawhi Leonard’s 20 points. “OKC” thus consolidates its second place in the West (38-17) ahead of the Clippers (36-18), who see the return of the champion Denver (37-19), winner against Washington (130-110).
The top of the rankings in the East is calmer, with a 44th victory (12 defeats) for Boston in Chicago (129-112), the 7th in a row, while its runner-up Cleveland (36 victories – 18 defeats) lost to Orlando (116-109).
Cru meat
Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs, returning from a lackluster All-Star Weekend, were close to bringing down the Sacramento Kings in their room (127-122). Never let down, the Spurs came back in front in the «money time» thanks to a movement with his back to the basket while suffering a foul from the French rookie (117-116). But the Kings of De’Aaron Fox (28 points) then tightened the game, Domantas Sabonis (22 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) adding a decisive defense on Wembanyama to his triple-double. The French giant (2.24 m) finished with complete statistics (19 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals, 5 blocks) following his teammate Devin Vassell (32 points ).
Coulibaly holder, Fournier adroit
Rookie Bilal Coulibaly (19 years old) started with Washington against champion Denver and obtained significant playing time (32 minutes), but returned a timid statistics sheet (4 points, 2 assists) . Opposite, the reigning MVP of the finals, Nikola Jokic will have once again produced a championship match. He finished with 21 points (10/10 shooting), 19 rebounds and 15 decisive assists.
Evan Fournier continued to make the most of the minutes of play he found since his transfer from New York to Detroit two weeks ago. During the Pistons’ defeat at the Indiana Pacers (129-15), Fournier played 17 minutes and found the target with a 3 out of 4 from distance (10 points, 4 rebounds in total).
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2024-02-23 07:10:11
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