NBA: Knicks, Fontecchio & Italian Players Update

New York (United States), 19 December 2025 – I New York Knicksfresh from the celebrations for the victory of the NBA Emirates Cup, have dived back into the regular season, completing the seventh victory in a row after defeating the Indiana Pacers 114-113 and not without difficulty: orphaned by important players such as Towns, Hart McBride and Robinson, the “Big Apple” franchise initially suffered a bit from the Las Vegas final, ending up 28-12 down during the first 12 minutes, but then gradually recovered, putting the exclamation point on the victory thanks to a triple with 4.4″ left in the match. Jalen BrunsonMVP of the evening thanks to a haul of 25 points, 7 rebounds and the same number of assists. Simone Fontecchio’s Miami Heat are also smiling, returning to success after five defeats: the Florida franchise in fact defeated the Brooklyn Nets 106-95 thanks to the great performances of Kel’el Ware (22 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks given to the opponents) and Norman Powell (24 points). For Fontecchio, who started in the quintet in the last match against Toronto, they have arrived 7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in the 22′ played off the bench. Remaining in the East, thanks to the aforementioned victory of the Knicks over the Pacers, the gap between the New Yorkers and the Detroit Pistons, still first in the conference but defeated 116-114 after overtime at home to the Dallas Mavericks: left without Ausar Thompson (sent off) and Duncan Robinson (knee injury at the beginning of the third quarter), the Pistons clung to the usual Cade Cunningham (29 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists), but in the end they suffered quite a bit in the rebounding challenge (25 conceded in attack to Dallas) and the great work in the paint by the duo formed by Cooper Flagg (23 points and 10 rebounds) and Anthony Davis (15). To the West, immediate redemption after the elimination in the semifinals of the NBA Cup for the reigning champions Oklahoma City Thunder, who battered the Los Angeles Clippers – their fifth defeat in a row (tenth in the last eleven games) – with a peremptory 122-101. After a slow start, the Thunder – who ended up down 27-33 in the 12th minute – got back up with a break of 37-22 and never looked back, even reaching +25. On shields, for the umpteenth time, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with a personal haul of 32 points, extending to 98 the number of consecutive games in which he has reached at least 20. The NBA Emirates Cup, and specifically the defeat in the final, left no waste even for the San Antonio Spurswho swept away the Washington Wizards 119-94 at the end of a match dominated for the entire 48 minutes: six men in double figures among the Texans, led by Dylan Harper’s 24 points coming off the bench. Still in the Western Conference, the number of victories in a row for the Denver Nuggets rises to six, as they defeated the Orlando Magic 126-115: a victory inspired by the great performance of Jamal Murray (32 points) and by Nikola Jokic, who achieved the thirteenth triple double of the season (23 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists) also becoming the center with the most assists distributed in the history of the NBA. Success also for the Los Angeles Lakers of LeBron James (28 points and 10 assists), and Luka Doncic (45 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds)who prevailed 143-135 over the Utah Jazz, while the Houston Rockets were defeated 133-128 after overtime by the New Orleans Pelicans. Finally, there were also successes for the Toronto Raptors (who beat the Milwaukee Bucks 111-105, their twelfth defeat in the last fifteen games), Phoenix Suns (99-98 against the Golden State Warriors), Portland Trail Blazers (134-133 against the Sacramento Kings after overtime) and Charlotte Hornets (133-126 against the Atlanta Hawks).