Aurélie Sacchelli, Media365, published on Friday January 17, 2025 at 12:53 p.m.
In the clash between the first two of the NBA Conferences, Oklahoma City largely beat Cleveland 134-114, thus taking revenge after its defeat in Ohio eight days ago.
On January 8, Cleveland, leader of the Eastern Conference, beat Oklahoma City, leader of the Western Conference, by a score of 129-122. This Thursday, the two teams met in Oklahoma for their second and final confrontation of the regular season. And the Thunder took the opportunity to take their revenge. A brilliant revenge even, since he won 134-114! Carried by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in MVP mode, author of 40 points (17/26 on shots) in 29 minutes, OKC widened the gap at the end of the first quarter, signing an improbable 30-2and Cleveland was unable to respond. Oklahoma City won the first quarter 32-14, then already led 75-49 at halftime, and again 119-81 at the end of the third quarter. The Thunder had a maximum lead of 42 points (a little before the end of the third quarter) in this one-sided match where the executives were able to rest in the last quarter. Darius Garland, author of 20 points, survived for the Cavs, while Donovan Mitchell experienced an ordeal, with a 3/15 on shots. It was probably just an accident for Cleveland, but both teams now have the same record of 34 wins and 6 losses. If they face each other again this season, it will be in the final!
Sacramento impresses, Washington sinks
Second in the West, Houston fell to Sacramento, 9th, in full swing since changing its coach. The Kings won 132-127 after a close end to the match. They led by sixteen points in the third quarter, but the Rockets came back and took the lead. The Texans still led 114-115 at 2’36 from the buzzer, but the end of the match was crazy. Thanks to DeMar DeRozan (33pts) and De’Aron Fox (19pts), the Kings led 123-118, then Houston, thanks to Jalen Green (28pts) returned to -1, before DeRozan and Malik Monk (26pts) seal the Californian victory on free throws. Fifth in the Western Conference, the Clippers played their basketball on the Portland floor, the day after their record victory against Brooklyn. The Californians led from start to finish, thanks in particular to Norman Powell with 23 points. In the East, Indiana, 6th, won 100-111 at Detroit, 9th, in a one-sided match, with 28 points from Myles Turner and 26 from Pascal Siakam. Finally, despite the good performance of its French (13pts for Coulibaly, 16 for Sarr), Washington lost its eighth game in a row, against the Phoenix Suns (123-130) by an excellent Devin Booker (37pts).
NBA / REGULAR SEASON
Thursday January 16, 2025
Washington Wizards – Phoenix Suns : 123-130
Stats for Bilal Coulibaly (WAS): 36 minutes of play, 13 points (4/9 on shots including 0/3 at 3pts, 5/6 on free throws), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 interception, 3 lost balls, 2 faults
Stats for Alex Sarr (WAS): 29 minutes of play, 16 points (7/17 on shots including 1/7 on 3pts, 1/2 on free throws), 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 interception, 2 blocks, 1 fault
Oklahoma City Thunder – Cleveland Cavaliers : 134-114
Ousmane Dieng’s stats (OKC): 9 minutes of play, 3 points (1/3 on shots including 0/2 at 3pts, 1/2 on free throws), 2 rebounds
Portland Trail Blazers – Los Angeles Clippers : 89-118
Stats for Rayan Rupert (POR): 7 minutes of play, 5 points (2/3 on shots including 1/1 at 3pts, 0 free throws taken), 4 rebounds, 1 assist
Stats for Nicolas Batum (LAC): 14 minutes of play, 3 points (1/1 shooting including 1/1 at 3pts, 0 free throws taken), 4 rebounds
Sacramento Kings – Houston Rockets : 132-127
Detroit Pistons – Indiana Pacers : 100-111
