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The Cleveland Cavaliers lost a second consecutive game against the Atlanta Hawks, and the Charlotte Hornets and their young Frenchmen held out for a long time before losing to the New York Knicks on Friday. The day after Thanksgiving celebrations, the NBA scheduled games all day, starting at noon in Charlotte.
Best team at the start of the season, with 15 consecutive victories to start, the Cleveland Cavaliers lost a second consecutive game, once again against Atlanta (117-101), after having already been defeated by the Hawks on Wednesday. Cleveland thus has 17 victories and 3 defeats and remains at the top of the Eastern Conference ahead of champion Boston, Atlanta remaining 9th (9-11).
The French No.1 of the last draft Zaccharie Risacher contributed to this success, scoring 11 points (4 of 8 shooting), 3 rebounds and 1 assist. Interior De’Andre Hunter was valuable for the Hawks (23 points) against Darius Garland’s 29 points.
The two young Frenchmen from the Charlotte Hornets, Tidjane Salaün and Moussa Diabaté, played and shone against the New York Knicks, outsiders for the title, despite a narrow defeat (99-98). Deprived of LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges in particular, Hornets coach Charles Lee placed his trust in the young people, offering a 5th start to Tidjane Salaün (19 years old), No. 6 in the draft in June, and a 3rd to Moussa Diabaté ( 22 years old), who finally finds his place in a team for his 3rd NBA season.
14 points for Salaün
After scoring 17 points against Miami on Wednesday, his record, Salaün scored 14 on Friday, thanks to his skill from distance (4 out of 10), while collecting 8 rebounds.
At the pivot position, Diabaté did his usual job by setting screens and grabbing rebounds (11). Three of his six points gave Charlotte hope in the final seconds, after he was guilty of an avoidable foul on Knicks leader Jalen Brunson (31 points) behind the three-point line. The Knicks (11 wins – 8 losses) are 4th in the East and the Hornets (6-13) 12th in the same conference.
