The game: Celtics crush Suns
The first in the East against the first in the West. A hell of a shock in perspective. A poster ultimately one-sided. Boston showed off all its power by activating the steamroller in the first 20 minutes to crush Phoenix in Arizona. An impressive victory, 125 to 98. One more for the Massachusetts team, winners of 21 of their first 26 matches this season.
The Celtics took over from the start (31-21) and widened the gap before the break (69-42). There was already no match. Offensively, defensively, they were superior in all areas while relying on the individual performances of their two superstars. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 25 points. The best duo in the NBA and the best team in the championship.
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The Suns were however able to count on the return of Chris Paul, absent for 14 matches. But the future Hall Of Famer obviously lacked rhythm. He sank, like all his teammates, and he finished with 4 points and 4 assists in 26 minutes.
The player: Antetokounmpo impresses
Montrezl Harrell may have stung the wrong competitor. The Philadelphia inside had tried to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo from practicing free throws on the Sixers’ court after a loss to the Bucks. What annoy the Greek, to the point where the latter ended up overturning a ladder. He has continued to chain the boxes since. The double MVP, for example, posted 35 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists in a victory against the Kings on Wednesday night (126-113).
Another impressive performance for one who, without a doubt, is the best player in the world today. Antetokounmpo has not dropped below 30 points since this incident against Philly. That is eight games in a row to 30 points or more, current series. With six victories in the lot for Milwaukee.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Credit: AFP
The performance: The trio of the Bulls at the revival
Not always to their advantage this season, the three Chicago stars led their team to victory against Washington on Wednesday night (115-111). DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic compiled 77 points by scoring 27, 25 and 25 checkers respectively. The first named even scored 15 of his 27 units in the fourth quarter to allow the Bulls to come back in front and win on the wire. The Illinois franchise remains twelfth in the East, one rank and one victory behind its opponent of the night.
The record: Ja Morant overtakes Marc Gasol in Memphis
26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Ja Morant did a bit of everything to allow Memphis to beat Oklahoma City (123-102). His second triple-double of the season but also the seventh of his career started in 2019. All under the tunic of the Grizzlies. And it’s already a franchise record. Morant thus does better than Marc Gasol. He left to stay in Tennessee for a while and register as … the best player in the history of the organization.
The action: Jazz ‘steal’ victory from Warriors on ultimate possession
Excellent pressing from Utah players to recover the ball when they were trailing by a small point by Golden State. Simone Fontecchio ended up in the dunk one second from the buzzer and the Jazz won against the Warriors in extremis (124-123). A great collective victory and a hell of a hold-up for the Salt Lake City franchise, led by 4 points in the last 13 seconds against an opponent deprived of most of his frames.
The French: Rudy Gobert harvests rebounds
Wolves squandered a 23-point lead but still ended up beating the Pacers last night. With an excellent Rudy Gobert, decisive in the last moments of the game. He had 16 points and especially 21 rebounds with also 3 steals and 2 blocks. The pivot didn’t flinch on the line and he blocked one of Buddy Hield’s last attempts. A match that will do him good.
Very good performance also for Killian Hayes, author of a double-double (17 points, 12 assists) despite the defeat of the Pistons against the Pelicans. Holder with the Clippers, Nicolas Batum also had a very good game. The veteran scored 16 points (4 award-winning baskets), took 4 rebounds and offered 5 assists in 38 minutes. But he couldn’t prevent his team’s narrow loss to the Magic after extra time. Theo Maledon scored 5 points off the bench for the Hornets.
All scores
Magic – Clippers : 116-111
Nets – Hornets : 122-116
Knicks – Hawks : 113-89
Raptors – Lakers : 126-113
Bulls – Wizards : 115-111
Grizzlies – Thunder : 123-102
Bucks – Kings : 126-113
Timberwolves – Pacers : 121-115
Pelicans – Pistons : 104-98
Jazz – Warriors : 124-123
Suns – Celtics : 98-125
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