The results of the night in the NBA
Suns @ Hornets : 104-115
Rockets @ Wizards : 135-112
Lakers @ Mavs : 97-118
Wolves @ Pelicans : 104-97
Hawks @ Jazz : 124-121
Celtics @ Nuggets : 118-106
Heat @ Warriors : 114-98
– Trae Young brought home the craziest and clutchest basket of this first part of the season, without possible dispute! Last night, in Salt Lake City, the leader of the Hawks broke the hearts of Jazz fans, who thought they were entitled to an overtime after the equalizing 3-point basket of Collin Sexton with 2.9 seconds remaining. In the process and at the buzzer, Sexton saw his opponent send a monstrous shot from his own camp, just before midfield.
Atlanta suddenly won (124-121), with 24 points and 20 assists for Trae Young, but also 6 of his teammates between 11 and 17 points. Zaccharie Risacher scored 14 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in 24 minutes.
In passing, Trae Young became the second player in NBA history (tied) with the greatest number of games with at least 20 points and 20 assists in a single season (3). He has 45 matches left to equal and then surpass Isiah Thomas, who managed 5 in the 1984-1985 season.
– The Pelicans lost their 30th game of the season last night at home against Minnesota (104-97), but there is at least one reason for celebration for the New Orleans team. Zion Williamson made his return after two months of absence and showed interesting signs of life. If NOLA never really worried the Timberwolves, Zion seemed more on his feet and scored 22 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 interceptions and a block in 27 minutes, with a furious dunk on the counterattack on which he seemed to vent the frustration of the 27 games he was forced to miss.
Anthony Edwards (32 pts) was the offensive engine of the Wolves. Rudy Gobert grabbed 14 rebounds and made 6 blocks, with 7 points and 4 assists.
– We were impatiently awaiting the clash between the last two champions, Denver and Boston. The enthusiasm was calmed by the last minute package of Nikola Jokicsick. Without their superstar, the Nuggets fought well and caused some problems for the Celtics, but as soon as it was necessary to accelerate and win the match (118-106), Jayson Tatum (29 pts), Kristaps Porzingis (25 pts, 11 rebounds) and their teammates did what was necessary.
– The Suns' awakening didn't last long… Phoenix fell back into its ways by losing to Charlotte (115-104), a team that had 10 defeats in a row. LaMelo Ball (32 pts, 10 rebounds) was at the origin of the success of his team, against the Suns who let go in the 2nd quarter (37-17) and never defended well enough to hope to reverse completely the trend.
The 39 points and 10 assists of Devin Booker and the 26 points of Kevin Durant were not enough. Bradley Bealnow a substitute, did not confirm his good first outing and finished with 10 points at 5/13. The Hornets dominated Phoenix, which therefore remains on 5 defeats in 6 matches, on the rebound (59-42).
– We were a little worried about the Mavs, stuck in a series of defeats (5) and forced to do without Kyrie Irving and Daniel Gafford, who left to join Luka Doncic in the infirmary. They are doing very well, thank you for them, after their victory (117-98) against Los Angeles, against the Lakers who were a little disappointing last night.
Carried by Quentin Grimes (26 pts, 9 rebounds, 6 asts) and PJ Washington (22 pts), the Texans were skillful at 3 points (52%) and not really bothered by what their visitors offered them defensively. Anthony Davis (21 pts, 12 rebounds) and LeBron James (18 pts, 8 asts, 10 rebounds) did not change much at the end of this meeting.
– Houston missed the start of the match against Washington, but then got angry. The Rockets came back from 10 points behind and then swept the Wizards (135-112), with a 3rd quarter scoring 22 pts (out of 29 in total) from Jalen Green, and strong double-doubles from Alperen Sengun (26 pts, 10 rebounds) and Amen Thompson (20 pts, 15 rebounds). Washington was playing without Jordan Poole and lost Kyle Kuzma to injury along the way.
Alex Sarrwho remained on good outings, with a rookie of the month trophy for December, missed out in attack with a 2-point copy at 1/10. Bilal Coulibaly brought him 12 points and 5 rebounds at 5/10.
– The Warriors were once again booed by their fans at Chase Center last night. It must be said that Golden State was beaten by Miami (114-98) after another indigestible collective performance and while the Heat had played a double overtime the day before, while being in crisis with the suspension of Jimmy Butler and three defeats immediately… Stephen Curry (31 pts) was not enough against the more balanced and diligent Floridians, in the wake of Bam Adebayo (19 pts, 9 rebounds, 5 asts) and Nikola Jovic (20 pts).
