NBA: Pelicans & Thunder – Rising Teams 2024

The match: 5 in a row for the Pelicans!

It’s the winning streak that no one saw coming. It’s even the Pelicans’ longest series of consecutive successes since… 2022. New Orleans has just won a fifth game in a row by defeating Dallas (119-113) last night. A match turned around in the fourth quarter, notably thanks to an incredible pass from Zion Williamson. Now used off the bench, the former All-Star scored 10 consecutive points to increase the score from +2 to +11 (117-106). He finished with 24 points and 9 rebounds in just 25 minutes. Rookie Derik Queen added 19 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.

The player: De’Andre Hunter on the restart

Cleveland finds its way to victory. Beaten in their last 3 matches, the Cavaliers took over the Hornets (139-132) with 30 points from Donovan Mitchell, 27 points and 10 assists from Darius Garland but also 27 points from De’Andre Hunter. The latter gave a good boost to the Ohio franchise coming off the bench in the third quarter by pushing his team’s advantage up to 13 lengths (98-85).

The comeback: Brown and the Celtics overcome a 20-point deficit

Boston beat Indiana (103-95) after being largely behind in the score. Indeed, Joe Mazzulla completely sent his starters to the bench in anger when the Pacers had taken a 20-point lead (49-69) at the start of the second half. An electric shock for his team, which immediately recovered to finish the quarter with only 8 points behind. Jaylen Brown (31 points) and his partners then regained the advantage by taking advantage of the fact that Indiana missed 19 of its last 20 three-point attempts. The Massachusetts franchise is third in the Eastern Conference.

At the state: 29

Like the number of matches it took for rookie Kon Knueppel to reach the mark of 100 career winning baskets. A new record broken, and quite clearly. Lauri Markkanen, the previous holder, needed 41 games to score 100 winning baskets. It testifies to the evolution of the game, its players and also the talent of the young back of the Hornets, one of the big favorites for the best beginner of the season trophy.

Performance: The SGA Series

10 matches in a row with 20 points, the second longest series in history, behind the inevitable Wilt Chamberlain. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander revived the Thunder, beaten twice in his last 3 outings, by compiling 31 points and 8 assists for a success against the Grizzlies (119-103).

The French: Sidy Cissoko brilliant despite the defeat

The Blazers did not come far from achieving a very good comeback in the fourth quarter but they ultimately lost against the Pistons. Sidy Cissoko was on the field when his team regained the advantage for a while and he contributed to this comeback by posting 16 points including a very nice dunk on the counter-attack.

Moussa Diabaté was entitled to increased playing time following the absence of Ryan Kalkbrenner in Charlotte. The pivot spent almost 30 minutes on the floor and, although he only scored 5 points, he stood out for his activity by taking, for example, 14 rebounds or stealing 6 balls. His teammate Tidjane Salaün finished with 2 points. Noah Penda’s Magic took a nice beating against the Warriors (120-97) and the young French winger accumulated 5 points and 4 rebounds in the defeat.

All scores

Thunder – Grizzlies : 119-103
Cavaliers – Hornets : 139-132
Celtics – Pacers : 103-95
Pelicans – Mavericks : 119-113
Nuggets – Jazz : 135-112
Warriors – Magic : 120-97
Trail Blazers – Pistons : 102-110