The Oklahoma City Thunder became the sole leaders of the West this Friday while the Los Angeles Lakers, without LeBron James and with a performance by D’Angelo Russell (44 points), defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, culminating the feat with an extraordinary block of Spencer Dinwiddie to Damian Lillard on the last play of the game.
LAKERS 123 – BUCKS 122
Russell (44 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists), Anthony Davis (22 points and 13 rebounds while clearly playing with a left arm injury) and Dinwiddie with his block in the final seconds were the heroes of this epic victory for the Lakers who continue to be capable of the best and the worst.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s triple-double with 34 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists was of no use to the Bucks.
THUNDER 107 – HEAT 100
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (37 points and 6 assists) led the Thunder who turned around a game they lost by 14 points in the third quarter.
Mexican rookie Jaime Jáquez Jr. had a great performance, so much so that he was the Heat’s top scorer with 25 points. He also contributed 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
CAVALIERS 113 – TIMBERWOLVES 104
Without Donovan Mitchell or Evan Mobley in Cleveland and without the Dominican Karl-Anthony Towns in Minnesota, the Cavaliers took the game in overtime with 33 points and 18 rebounds from Jarrett Allen and 34 points and 8 assists from Darius Garland.
Naz Reid was the Wolves’ leading scorer with 34 points.
SIXERS 95 – PELICANS 103
The Sixers and the Pelicans lead opposite lives since Philadelphia has already accumulated three losses in a row in the East play-in while New Orleans, on the other hand, has won its last three games.
Zion Williamson (23 points and 12 rebounds) led the Pelicans who led by 35 points in the second quarter but ended up struggling in the outcome. Without Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris (21 points and 10 rebounds) led the Sixers.
Puerto Rican José Alvarado contributed 7 points, a rebound and 2 assists for the Pelicans.
KNICKS 98 – MAGIC 74
The Magic arrived at Madison Square Garden with five straight wins and causing fear in the East, but they crashed with the lowest score for any team so far this season.
Jalen Brunson returned for the New Yorkers with 26 points. Paolo Banchero was one of the few things that could be saved for the visitors with 23 points and 9 rebounds.
WIZARDS 112 – HORNETS 100
After 16 straight losses, the Wizards finally scored a win and also avoided surpassing the franchise’s negative record, which remains for now in those 16 losses that they also recorded in the 2009-2010 season.
Kyle Kuzma (28 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists) came very close to the triple-double in Washington. Miles Bridges (32 points and 12 rebounds) led the Hornets to six consecutive losses.
GRIZZLIES 92 – HAWKS 99
Five wins in seven games without the injured Trae Young lead the Hawks, who this Friday had a great Dejounte Murray (41 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists).
The Spanish Santi Aldama stood out in Memphis with 13 points, 5 rebounds, a steal and 3 blocks.
BLAZERS 107 – ROCKETS 123
Jalen Green (27 points) was one of six Houston players with more than 10 points in their victory in Portland.
In the Blazers, Dalano Banton had the best game of his NBA career with 30 points and 8 rebounds.
2024-03-09 06:42:10
#Russell #Dinwiddie #rescue #Lakers #LeBron
