Game of the night: Cleveland blows up Denver's defense
It was what we call a collective demonstration. Leader of the Eastern Conference and best record in the entire NBA, Cleveland met on the Nuggets floor for what was the shock of the night. Result: the Cavs blew up Denver's defense thanks to an exceptional collective success (149-135). Once again impressive, Nikola Jokic and his big triple-double (27 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists), could do nothing against the Cleveland quartet: Donovan Mitchell (33 pts), Evan Mobley (26 pts), Darius Garland (25 pts) and Jarrett Allen (22 pts) were all in for a big night.
With this sixth consecutive victory, the Cavs remain firmly at the top of the Eastern Conference with 4 more wins than Boston, easy winner of Indiana last night (142-105) behind the crazy performance of Jaylen Brown (44 points). Cleveland also has six more victories than the Knicks, who beat Orlando thanks to a second half dominated from start to finish (108-85).
Underperformance: Phoenix can't do it
Clearly, the Suns are having a lot of trouble meeting the expectations of their fans. Once again deprived of Devin Booker, Phoenix experienced a long offensive breakdown in a choppy match marked by the absence of Luka Doncic on the Dallas side. No player has managed to get on the level of Kevin Durant (35 points), starting with Bradley Beal, who continues to disappoint with 11 small points on the clock. Opposite, Kyrie Irving (20 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists) partially compensated for the first evening of the month of absence of his Slovenian franchise player to allow the Mavs to remain in 4th place in the Western Conference.
The evening of the French: victory for WembY
Two days after his incredible card during the Christmas match against the Knicks (42 points and 18 rebounds), however punctuated by a defeat, Victor Wembanyama returned to victory on the Nets floor (96-87). Less impressive statistically, the French giant piled up 19 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and especially 6 blocks to help San Antonio keep a positive record in order to stay in 9th place in the Western Conference. The Spurs will try to keep their momentum against the Wolves and Clippers to finish the year in style.
For his part, Rudy Gobert was transparent in Minnesota's close victory on the Houston floor (13-112) with only 7 points and 9 rebounds on the clock. The Wolves responded to an Alperen Sengun of great evenings (38 pts, 12 rebounds) thanks to their two offensive leaders, Anthony Edwards (24 pts) and Julius Randle (27 pts).
All results
New York – Orlando : 108 – 85
San Antonio – Brooklyn: 96 – 87
Indiana – Boston : 105 – 142
Memphis – New Orleans: 132 – 124
Minnesota – Houston: 113 – 112
Dallas – Phoenix: 98 – 89
Cleveland – Denver : 149 – 135
Golden State – LA Clippers : 92 – 102
