Montreal’s Luguentz Dort set a personal high this season with a contribution of 18 points in addition to excelling on defense in the 136-104 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, Monday after during the day tribute to Martin Luther King in the United States.
For his part, Toronto’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was faithful to his habits with a tally of 30 points. SGA thus continued its streak of matches with at least 20 points, bringing its total to 114.
Chet Holmgren had 28 points in this 36th victory in 44 games for the defending champions.
Neutralized by Dort’s defensive brilliance, Donovan Mitchell was limited to 19 points. He made just five of 18 shots and added three assists. For his part, Jaylon Tyson was the author of a double with 16 points and ten rebounds.
The Cavaliers, who made only 22.2% of their shots in the first half, were without Darius Garland (toe), Sam Merrill (hand) and Max Strus (foot). At halftime, Cleveland was already 15 points behind.
The Cavs showed a little combativeness in the third quarter, but the Thunder managed to increase their lead to 20 points at the start of the period. The Cavaliers still managed to reduce the gap to nine points at the end of the quarter, thus making the match closer.
Cleveland made only eight of its 35 three-point attempts, which was its downfall and stifled a real threat of a comeback.
The Thunder completely dominated the fourth quarter, winning with a 45-25 lead.
Evan Mobley finished the game with decent numbers with 16 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Jarrett Allen added 16 points and 9 rebounds.
Elsewhere in the NBA:
Milwaukee 112 – Atlanta 110
MIL : Giannis Antetokounmpo was the best of his team with a double of 21 points and 17 rebounds.
ATL : Nickeil Alexander-Walker (32 points) and Jalen Johnson (28 points) led the Hawks.
Clippers de LA 110 – Washington 106
LAC : James Harden scored 36 points while Ivica Zubac had double figures with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
WAS : Alex Sarr scored 28 points.
Dallas 114 – New York 97
DAL : Max Christie was the top scorer for his team with 26 points.
NY: Karl-Anthony Towns (22 points and 18 rebounds) and Jalen Brunson (22 points) were the main contributors in the defeat.
Utah 110 – San Antonio 123
UTA : Keyonte George with 30 points and Jusuf Nurkic with 20 points led the Jazz attack.
AT : Victor Wembanyama scored twice with 33 points and 10 rebounds.
Indiana 104 – Philadelphia 113
IND : Andrew Nembhard (36 points) and Pascal Siakam (24 points) were the spark plugs for the Pacers. Bennedict Mathurin did not participate in the match.
PHI : Joel Embiid shone with 30 points while Tyrese Maxey had 29.
Phoenix 126 – Brooklyn 117
PHO : Dillon Brooks (27 points), Devin Booker (24 points) and Collin Gillespie (22 points) led the Suns’ offense.
BRO : Michael Porter Jr. (23 points) was the only one on his team to reach the 20s.
Boston 103 – Detroit 104
THAT: Jaylen Brown led his team with 32 points and also had 11 rebounds.
BOS : Tobias Harris was able to amass 25 points in the victory.
Miami 112 – Golden State 135
MIA : Bam Adebayo was limited to 4 points in 26 minutes of play. He recorded 12 rebounds.
GS : Stephen Curry scored twice with 19 points and 11 assists.
