Sarr’s Debut: Embiid & George Challenge Wizards | NBA Highlights

The players: George and Embiid are there

At the Sixers, the franchise is already more or less owned by Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. Or let’s rather say that the project is gradually turning towards the future built around the two young rears. But Joel Embiid and Paul George are still there and they are finding rhythm this season. The two former All-Stars each even delivered a superb performance during the big victory against the Bucks this Tuesday (139-122).

The native of Yaoundé scored 29 points, 18 in the first quarter to get his team on the right track. Philadelphia then led by 8 points after 12 minutes. Paul George was even more prolific by scoring 32 points. His two award-winning baskets at the start of the fourth quarter widened the gap and prevented the Bucks, who are playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo for an indefinite period, from coming back to the score.

The match: Oklahoma City revives after two defeats

The Pelicans’ reception came at just the right time for the Thunder, beaten at home in the last two meetings. The defending champions had to end this series by facing one of the worst teams in the league. It wasn’t so easy, however, particularly due to the strong clumsiness of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (29 points at 8 out of 22) and his teammates at the start of the game. Oklahoma City missed its first 8 shots but their opponents did not necessarily do better.

Mark Daigneault’s players accelerated in the third quarter, even taking a lead of up to 15 points (88-73). The Pelicans attempted a push in the fourth quarter but the Thunder did not crack. Chet Holmgren was particularly impactful with his 20 points, 14 rebounds and 5 blocks. Ousmane Dieng scored 4 points.

The performance: Detroit wins on the wire in Denver

Nice clash between the Nuggets and the Pistons, even if the poster was partly truncated by the numerous injuries on the Denver side (Nikola Jokic, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun). That did not prevent the two teams from offering pleasant basketball during a match concluded with Detroit’s away victory (107-109). The Eastern Conference leaders led most of the match but saw their opponents storm back in the final minutes. Tobias Harris did not crack at the free throw line and Cade Cunningham guided his team with 22 points and 11 assists.

The French: Alex Sarr dominant against Portland

The Wizards returned to victory after losing 9 matches in a row. Washington won against Portland (111-115) riding on the performance of Alex Sarr, author of 29 points, 12 rebounds and 6 blocks. The French pivot especially tried a lot, not hesitating to take 29 shots (11 baskets). If he lacked effectiveness, his impact on the game cannot be disputed. His teammate Bilal Coulibaly made his return to competition after being hampered by back problems. He finished with 5 points. Opposite, Rayan Rupert scored 10 for the Blazers and Sidy Cissoko did not score.

Not selected for the Rising Stars Challenge which pits rookies and sophomores against each other at All-Star Weekend, Maxime Raynaud finished with 4 points in 15 minutes during the Kings’ defeat against the Knicks (103-87). Nicolas Batum scored 8 points, helping the Clippers to defeat the Jazz (103-115).

All scores

Wizards – Trail Blazers : 115-111
Knicks – Kings : 103-87
Sixers – Bucks : 139-122
Thunder – Pelicans : 104-95
Nuggets – Pistons : 107-109
Suns – Nets : 106-102
Clippers – Jazz : 115-103