Seven games took place overnight from Sunday to Monday in the NBA. Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs are in difficulty, the Clippers emerge victorious from the Los Angeles derby and OKC continues its walk in the park with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in MVP mode. TheFreeAgent looks back in detail on a restless night. Here’s the recap!
San Antonio Spurs 107 – 128 Miami Heat
Miami (8th in the East) easily won against San Antonio thanks in particular to its rookie Kel’el Wareauthor of his career high mark with 25 points. Little used since the start of the season, the young player added 8 rebounds and 2 blocks to support a particularly inspired Duncan Robinson (21 points at 5 of 7 behind the arc). The Spurs of Victor Wembanyama (21 points, 10 rebounds) remain on three consecutive defeats before facing Indiana in two confrontations on Thursday and Saturday in Paris. The Texans now find themselves in 12th place in the Western Conference.
Denver Nuggets 113 – 100 Orlando Magic
Le triple MVP Nikola Jokic is within his standards during the Nuggets’ victory against the Magic. He achieved a new triple-double with 20 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. Add to that Christian Braun’s 20 points and 11 rebounds. Denver has won 6 of its last 7 games and finds itself 4th in the Western Conference. Reverse dynamic for Orlando (7th in the East) which has lost 5 of its last 6 games. Still not spared from injuries, Orlando is currently playing without the contribution of 6 of its players. Wendell Carter Jr. stood out a little in this complicated match for the Florida team with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Brooklyn Nets 101 – 127 Oklahoma City Thunder
Rested Friday during the defeat against Dallas for a sprained right wrist, the NBA’s leading scorer, Shai Gilgeous-Alexanderwas back and dominated the Nets with 27 points and 10 assists in just 3 quarters. Isaiah Joe scored 8 3-pointers in the match to help the Thunder achieve a 15th victory in 17 games. With this victory, Mark Daigneault, OKC coach, is assured of coaching during the next All-Star Game. It’s still very complicated for Brooklyn, who suffered an 8th defeat in 9 confrontations, despite the interesting performances of Cam Johnson and Tyrese Johnson (15 points each).
Philadelphie 76ers 109 – 123 Milwaukee Bucks
In this duel in the East, it is the Bucks (4th in the East) of Giannis Antetokounmpo who emerged victorious. The Greek combined 34 points and 15 rebounds to help his team. Add to that the great performance of Damian Lillard with 25 points. Tyrese Maxey’s 37 points and 7 assists were not enough for the Sixers (11th in the East). Philadelphia was playing without Joel Embiid, Paul George, Kyle Lowry and Guerschon Yabusele. This night was also the debut of Sixers rookie Adem Bona as a starter. He finished the game with 10 points, including 4 of 4 shooting. Nick Nurse’s team was very clumsy at free throws in the first half, with 7 successful shots out of 14 attempts.
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Washington Wizards 100 – 123 Sacramento Kings
The Wizards, last in the Eastern Conference, have suffered their 10th consecutive defeat and have a record of 6 wins for 35 losses. It’s complicated in the capital. Sacramento (9th in the West) put in a great performance, helped by their leader Domantas Sabonis (29 points and 18 rebounds). The Kings enjoyed themselves in this match, notably with 24 points from DeMar DeRozan, 23 points from Malik Monk and 13 assists from De’Aaron Fox. The Californian team had a 24-point lead in the second half and quietly won against the infamous Washington Wizards. Note the 11 points from our Frenchman Bilal Coulibaly.
Chicago Bulls 102 – 113 Portland Trail Blazers
After 5 consecutive defeats, the Trail Blazers regained victory against the Chicago Bulls with the help of 25 points from the 2nd pick of the 2023 draft, Scoot Henderson. It’s becoming worrying for the Bulls with a 5th consecutive defeat and a 10th place in the Eastern Conference. For Chicago, it was Zach LaVine who stood out with 27 points. Henderson was helped by Shaedon Sharpe off the bench with 23 points and Deni Avdija (20 points and 12 rebounds). Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said he expected more defensive effort from Sharpe if he wanted to return to a starting spot.
Los Angeles Lakers 102 – 116 Los Angeles Clippers
In this Los Angeles duel, it was the Clippers (5th in the West) who won in the new venue, the Intuit Dome. James Harden was very good with 21 points and 12 assists. Add to this the 19 points of Kawhi Leonard and Ivica Zubac’s 21 points and 19 rebounds. It was the first time this season that these two teams faced each other for the Californian derby. Kawhi played 24 minutes, his most minutes this season, and also surpassed the 14,000 career point mark in this game. LeBron James finished this meeting with 25 points and 11 assists. Anthony Davis, who missed the last game, scored 16 points for 10 rebounds. The Lakers are currently 6th in the Western Conference.
Credit: © Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
