NBA – Siakam makes Boston lose its head, Miami takes advantage of it, Golden State continues its fall, Nikola Jokic carries Denver

The bad series that ends: Miami wins and regains its place as leader in the East

After 4 consecutive defeats, and a defense that could no longer contain its opponents, Miami wanted to bounce back against Sacramento, 13th in the West. And Erik Spoelstra’s players did not crack, unlike Boston (see below), to subdue the Kings (123-100). Sacramento took the starting broth against the Heat, who passed a 31-19 in the first act to their opponent.

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The Floridians, led by Jimmy Butler (27 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists) and Bam Adebayo (22 points, 15 rebounds), then never released their grip, to regain the leadership position in the Eastern Conference. A seat that remains hotly contested, since the Heat has only one victory ahead of Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Boston.

The bad series that continues: Without its stars, Golden State falls again in Memphis

Still without Stephen Curry, injured in the foot, and in the absence of Klay Thompson and Draymond Green, the Warriors suffered their 3rd defeat in a row, the 6th in the last 7 matches, in the shock which opposed them to Memphis (123- 95). The Grizzlies also had to continue without their star Ja Morant, but they fared better than the Californians, and folded the deal in two quarters, as they led by 26 points at halftime. .

If Jordan Poole finished top scorer (25 points), Memphis saw three of its players finish at more than 20 points (Bane, 22 points; Brooks and Melton at 21 units) to glean a fifth consecutive success and consolidate its second place at the West. The Grizzlies are now five wins ahead of their evening opponents, still third despite their bad run.

The kings of suspense: San Antonio is scared, Boston is surprised

A happy ending for some, painful for others. In the Texas derby against Houston, the Spurs of Greg Popovich, the winningest coach in NBA history, led by 9 then 13 points at the start of the last quarter, they saw the good last of the Western conference gradually grab their delay, until they come back to 3 lengths at the very end of the match. It took a somewhat capricious ball on a 3-point shot at the last second from Kenyon Martin Jr. for the Spurs, carried by Dejounte Murray (33 points, 11 assists) to win (120-123).

On the other hand, Boston mismanaged its money-time against Toronto (115-112 ap). Without their duo Jaylen Brown-Jayson Tatum, the Celtics, who suffered from the absence of their pivot Robert Williams III, lost, only 24 hours after seizing it, the throne of the Eastern Conference. Marcus Smart struggled in vain (28 points, 10 rebounds), he saw his team overwhelmed by a burning Pascal Siakam (40 points, 13 rebounds). Taken into overtime, the Celtics conceded a 7-0 from which they never recovered, and regained 4th place in the East.

The performance: A triple-double and Jokic allows Denver to win in Charlotte

Its sixth place in the West threatened by Minnesota, which has only two victories behind, Denver had to continue on the floor of the Hornets to cling to its place in the playoffs. Charlotte, ninth in the East, also had a lot to play for, so it was no surprise that the two teams fought hard for more than two quarters, before the Nuggets finished strong in the third act for make the difference.

Despite the good night experienced by the duo Miles Bridges (27 points, 11 rebounds) / LaMelo Ball (22 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists), Charlotte could not resist the blows of the 2021 MVP Nikola Jokic. The Serb finished the game with a new triple-double, the 76th of his career, with 26 points, 11 assists and 19 rebounds to bend the residents of the Spectrum Center. A good omen for the Nuggets before playing Indiana then… Minnesota, on April 2.

The French: Fournier stuck, Maledon shines with the Thunder

Injured in the knee, Killian Tillie could not participate in the match between Memphis and Golden State. On the other hand, Evan Fournier spent nearly 25 minutes on the floor during the victory – the 4th in a row – of New York against Chicago (109-104). Once again, the French rear was not successful (5 points to 2 out of 10 in shooting), but it was all the same for his team, against a DeMar Derozan in great shape (37 points, 6 assists, 7 rebounds) and the Knicks continue to believe in their chances of grabbing tenth place in the East.

Unfortunately for Fournier and his family, the current tenth, Atlanta is not letting go, and his compatriot Timothée Luwawu-Cabarot, who played half an hour, participated in the good collective performance of the Hawks (six players more than of 10 points) by registering 13 units (his best performance since January 9), at 3/6 in shooting.

The evening was even more beautiful for Théo Maledon, author of his second career double-double across the Atlantic (23 points, 10 rebounds) during Oklahoma’s victory in overtime against Portland (131-134). Author of a 7/17 in shooting including a nice 4/9 from afar, the former ASVEL also saw his compatriot Olivier Sarr stand out. With just under 35 minutes of play, he passed 12 points for the Trail Blazers, to which he added 5 rebounds and 2 steals.

The results of the night:

• Charlotte – Denver : 109 – 113

• Cleveland – Orlando : 107 – 101

• Indiana – Atlanta : 123 – 132

• Miami-Sacramento: 123-100

• New-York – Chicago : 109 – 104

• Toronto – Boston : 115 – 112 a. p.

• Houston – San Antonio : 120 – 123

• Memphis – Golden State : 123 – 95

• Portland – Oklahoma City : 131-134 a. p.

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