The evening of Saturday December 20 was particularly successful for the French involved in the NBA. Three of them led the attack in attack but also the rebounding effort of their teams, to the point of finishing with a double-double – with varying fortunes.
Behind the brilliant performances of Noah Penda, Maxime Raynaud and Alexandre Sarr, we note the rise in power of Tidjane Salaün with Charlotte. The former Cholet player is grabbing more and more minutes and performing well since his return from the G-League around ten days ago now. A good omen for the future?
New double-double for Maxime Raynaud
While his compatriot Noah Penda achieved the first double-double of his NBA career against Utah, Maxime Raynaud continues to gain momentum with Sacramento. Despite his team’s defeat against Portland (93-98), the former Stanford interior achieved a second double-double in a row, the third of his rookie season.
Now installed in the major five without possible challenge, Raynaud played 31 minutes for 17 points, 7/13 on shots. He added 11 rebounds, a record equaled, but also 1 assist, 1 block and 1 interception, for a complete match but unfortunately lost by the Kings.
🏀 SATURDAY’S FINAL SCORES 🏀
Deni Avdija scores 24 points and dishes out 11 assists in the @trailblazers’ third straight win!
Shaedon Sharpe: 23 PTS, 4 REB, 3 AST
Dennis Schröder: 21 PTS, 6 AST
Maxime Raynaud: 17 PTS, 11 REB (ties career-high) https://t.co/7Uvks7bAsU pic.twitter.com/Vn2mp5Pkbc— NBA (@NBA) December 21, 2025
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In the Blazers camp, Sidy Cissoko and Rayan Rupert had little impact on the final decision. The first nevertheless recorded 1 point at 0/5 on shots, 3 rebounds and 1 assist in 24 minutes. Rupert, for his part, played 8 minutes, without recording any statistics.
On the Memphis side, the Washington Wizards are leaving Tennessee after playing a bad trick on Ja Morant’s teammates. The players from the capital won 122-130, in the wake of veteran CJ McCollum and a sharp Kyshawn George, with 28 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.
As is often the case, Alexandre Sarr was present in the racket, facing a serious client: Jaren Jackson Jr.. The Toulouse resident also finished with a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, 8/16 on shots including 2/4 from 3-point range. His ability to move away from the circle is always a serious asset for Washington, creating space for George’s drive for example.
Alex Sarr 18/11/2 – 50% FG pic.twitter.com/mBbHLY5V9z
— riley ｼ (@rileyricharrds) December 21, 2025
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Nicolas Batum victorious against LeBron James,
minutes for Tidjane Salaün
In other NBA results of the evening, the Los Angeles Clippers won the Angelino derby against the Lakers 103-88, despite LeBron James’ 36 points. On the Clippers side, Nicolas Batum played 20 minutes off the bench, for 3 points (1/3 3-pointers) and 4 rebounds.
BOGI 👉 BATUM 👌 pic.twitter.com/j4XzKqSt6e
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) December 21, 2025
The other good French news of the evening concerns Tidjane Salaün, who sees his playing time increase match after match. The former Cholet player this time played 18 minutes, for 8 points on 3/9 shots, and 3 rebounds. He played a minute more than his teammate Moussa Diabaté, exceptionally discreet against Jalen Duren with 1 point and 3 rebounds in 17 minutes.
Tidjane Salaun since returning from the G-League (7 games):
10.0 PPG
3.6 RPG
1.1 APG
61.5% FG
56.5% 3PT pic.twitter.com/WbK19eGpSZ— Owen O’Connor (@OwenOConnorNBA) December 19, 2025
The evolution of the role of the two French people will necessarily have to be followed for the rest of the season, while Charlotte is not currently destined to play the leading roles in the League.
