The spectacular action: LeBron slams a windmill while changing hands
The dunk of the evening, without a doubt. Starting with the ball with his right hand in traffic, LeBron James passed the swell on his left hand in full ascension when he saw Derek Lively arriving and he finished with a dunk on the young Mavericks pivot. All this at 40 years old. Amazing.
The decisive action: Trae Young makes his team win with a shot from the middle of the field!
Emotional elevator in Salt Lake City. First the euphoria of the local public, who believed in overtime after a decisive three-point basket from Collin Sexton to equalize two seconds from the buzzer. But Trae Young didn't need any more time to cool the Jazz fans by swinging a missile from the middle of the field to finally make the Hawks win at the siren (121-124)!
Clumsy all game, Young made the necessary basket. He still scored 24 points and above all distributed 20 assists. This is the third time he has reached or exceeded the 20 caviars mark in a match this season.
The match: Boston takes over Denver, even without its three points
It was a night without outside skill for the Celtics. Like Jayson Tatum limited to 1 of 9 behind the arc, the reigning champions lacked success from afar. But that did not prevent them from overcoming the Nuggets (106-118) deprived of Nikola Jokic (ill). Boston was able to show other qualities. Joe Mazzulla's players tightened the screws in the second half to calm down a very combative Denver team without their MVP.
The Celtics also pressed inside, taking advantage of the 221 centimeters of Kristaps Porzingis – author of 25 points and 11 rebounds – to counter their opponents' five small balls. Although ineffective at three-pointers, Tatum planted 29 pawns by attacking the defense with ball in hand. Jrue Holiday added 19 points and 7 assists.
Denver held on for a half thanks to Russell Westbrook (26 points) and Jamal Murray (19). The Colorado team did not necessarily break down after returning from the locker room and for a long time remained not far behind Boston but without really being able to afford a very competitive money time.
The player: Zion Williamson finally played again!
The Pelicans have been waiting for this for a while. Him probably even more so. Zion Williamson, absent for 27 matches due to a hamstring injury, returned to the court last night. And it felt like he was hungry for basketball! Sharp, the All-Star interior made a very good impression despite New Orleans' defeat against Minnesota (97-104). Committed, mobile, determined, powerful and as unstoppable as ever once he started with the ball in hand, he scored 22 points in 28 minutes. He added 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.
Active in defense, Williamson notably caused some opponent turnovers which led to spectacular dunks on the counter-attack, including a 360 windmill which he himself passed before exulting. The Pelicans were in control of the game before their best player joined the bench in the third quarter. The Wolves then went on a 19-2 run led by Anthony Edwards (32 points) to regain the lead and hold on throughout.
The end of the series: Charlotte returns to victory
Beaten in their last 10 outings, the Hornets defeated the visibly tired Suns (115-104). LaMelo Ball led the proceedings with 32 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. Devin Booker had 39 points and 10 assists for Phoenix.
The French: Rudy Gobert in wall mode
Great performance from Rudy Gobert during the Timberwolves' success on the Pelicans' field. The French pivot did not score much (7 points) but he was valuable in defense by grabbing 14 rebounds but also blocking 6 shots. He distributed 4 assists. 14 points and 6 rebounds for Zaccharie Risacher with Atlanta.
Tidjane Salaün was only allowed 11 minutes of play during Charlotte's victory against Phoenix. He finished with 4 points and 2 rebounds. Back in the Wizards rotation after being ill, Bilal Coulibaly scored 12 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. His teammate Alex Sarr was sorely lacking in success (2 points to 1 out of 12) but he grabbed 9 rebounds.
All scores
Hornets – Suns : 115-104
Wizards – Rockets : 112-135
Mavericks – Lakers : 118-97
Pelicans – Timberwolves : 97-104
Jazz – Hawks : 121-124
Nuggets – Celtics : 106-118
Warriors – Heat : 98-114
