– The night’s results in the NBA
Magic @ Wizards : 119-109
Cavs @ Hawks : 101-112
Grizzlies @ Sixers : 115-109
Clippers @ Rockets : 122-116
Bulls @ Jazz : 119-117
Bucks @ Warriors : 90-125
Thunder @ Blazers : 128-120
Kings @ Lakers : 130-120
Classification
– You never really know what to expect with the Kings at the moment. It’s their good version that we saw during the trip to the Lakers. LA had the opportunity to come back to the level of Sacramento or almost in the event of a victory, but missed the opportunity. LeBron James and his people came across sharp Kings who exploited their flaws. After a calm first quarter (37-28), the Lakers took a tornado and a -24 in the second, to fall behind that they never managed to make up for afterwards. The man of the match and MVP of the night can be found on the Sacto side. De’Aaron Fox was merciless and finished with 44 points (19/32) on the clock, making baskets every time the Lakers thought they could get closer to the score in the 4th QT.
LeBron (31 pts, 13 asts) and Rui Hachimura (29 pts) compensated for the less successful match of Anthony Davis (14 pts and a problem with fouls), but the defensive generosity of the Lakers hurt too much, in a match where they still shot at 51%, while their opponents did even higher (55%).
– OKC returned to an equal record with the Wolves thanks to its victory in Portland last night. The Thunder were bothered by the Blazers, coming back to two points with 4 remaining, but Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (37 pts, 5 asts at 13/23) and his team finished as expected, with very good copies for Jalen Williams (31 pts at 4/5 at 3 pts) and Chet Holmgren (21 pts, 14 rbds, 5 asts).
The match was marked by a scare around Bismack Biyombo, the interior of the Thunder, who was unwell during a timeout. The Congolese was better after the meeting but will take exams in the coming hours.
Rayan Rupert played 18 minutes off the bench for Portland, with less success than at the start of the week: 3 pts at 1/6, 2 asts, 1 rebound, 1 stl.
– In the battle for 2nd place in the East, no one wanted to win last night:
- Milwaukee took a hit (-35) on the Warriors floor despite the return of Giannis Antetokounmpo (23 pts), with an apocalyptic 4th quarter (32-9 for Golden State) and a good evening for Stephen Curry (29 pts at 10/18) and Jonathan Kuminga (20 pts). The Bucks remained on 6 consecutive victories, while the Californians still had their cheeks reddened by their huge defeat in Boston.
- Cleveland, after its exploit in Boston, stalled on the Hawks floor. The Cavs again found the resources to erase 21 points behind by coming back in the 3rd quarter, but the combined absences of Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley paid for themselves in the 4th, where Atlanta and the pair Saddiq Bey-Bogdan Bogdanovic (23 pts each) did the job. Cleveland only scored 12 points in the final quarter.
– The Clippers played a straggler’s game in Houston, beating themselves up after being up to 20 points behind. Los Angeles only took the lead in this match 3 minutes from the end, thanks to the trio Leonard (28 pts), George (21 pts), Harden (21 pts), but also the great contribution of Mason Plumlee ( 8 pts, 11 rebounds, 3 blks and +18) off the bench.
The superb triple-double ofAlperen Sengun (23 pts, 19 rebounds, 14 asts), decidedly hot, was not enough for the Rockets.
– The Wizards were on their way to avoiding a 16th consecutive defeat, then… faltered. Orlando recovered, closed the floodgates (44 pts conceded in the second half) and made up for its 21-point deficit in the 2nd quarter to finish as it should. The Magic are in good shape (8th victory in 9 matches, 5th in a row) and were able to count on Franz Wagner (28 pts) and Paolo Banchero (25 pts) not to make Washington smile again.
Bilal Coulibaly started on the Wizards side and played 28 minutes for 7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 interception and 1 block, at 2/7.
– It will be difficult for the Sixers to avoid the play-in if they lose matches at home against lower-ranked teams. Memphis likes to annoy the world at this freewheeling end of the season, and Tyrese Maxey was missing again, but Philadelphia could still have done the job at home against the Grizzlies. Nick Nurse’s players led by 12 points at the start of the 4th quarter, a moment chosen by the visitors to place an 11-0 initiated by Jaren Jackson Jr (30 pts, 11 rebounds, 6 blks) and Jake LaRavia (19 pts, 13 rbds) and gain confidence.
Nicolas Batum started and compiled 10 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 block. The Sixers are in 7th place in the East, one victory behind the Heat, 6th.
– DeMar DeRozan (29 pts) was clutch and scored the basket to allow the Bulls to take the lead definitively against the Jazz 1 minute from the end of the match. Chicago generally dominated the debates, with 25 pts from Coby White and a double-double for Nikola Vucevic (23 pts, 12 rebounds), before getting scared in the 4th quarter.
Jazz rookie Brice Sensabaugh celebrated his first start in the NBA and showed his advantage with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
2024-03-07 12:06:25
#Fox #torpedoes #Lakers #Warriors #calm #Milwaukee
