Posted on April 8, 2021 at 8:41 a.m. – updated on April 8, 2021 at 9:00 a.m.
Aurélien CANOT
Phoenix beat Utah after overtime in the shock of the night in the West. For his return, Kevin Durant, who did not miss a shot, allowed Brooklyn to crush New Orleans. Denver and Memphis continued their good streak, Theo Maledon’s 25 points were not enough for OKC to beat Charlotte.
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Maledon was not enough
Théo Maledon gave everything on Wednesday night at home with OKC against Charlotte, but without being able to avoid the Thunder a fourth consecutive defeat (113-102). The French leader, in great shape, has, like his teammate Aleksej Pokusevski, scored 25 points (9 of 18 on shots, 3 of 10 at three points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, no French rookie had compiled such stats before the former ASVEL player), against the Hornets, but that was not enough. And it was the North Carolina players and their top scorer of the night Jalen McDaniels, author of 21 points, who left Oklahoma in victory.
Nice find.@aleksejpokusevs ➡️ #ThéoMaledon pic.twitter.com/oOrbMqAH6H
— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) April 8, 2021
A winning (and perfect) comeback for Durant
Wednesday night’s game between Brooklyn and New Orleans on the floor of New York commuters marked the big comeback on the floors of Kevin Durant. After two months without playing, the star did not miss the appointment. Entered in the middle of the second quarter, the luxury replacement of a night of the Nets made a little misfortune, with 17 points registered in 19 minutes (7 rebounds, 5 assists) and no missed shoot (5 of 5, including 2 out of 2 at three points). A rare performance for a comeback after two months of absence which allowed the leader of the Eastern Conference to crush (139-111) the Pelicans of Zion Williamson (16 points) while James Harden had been left to rest. LaMarcus Aldridge (22 points) and Kyrie Irving (24 points, 6 assists) also greatly contributed to this 36th success of the Nets.
The rout was on.
???? Game Highlights ???? pic.twitter.com/XZ8zdOwkjI
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) April 8, 2021
The shock for Phoenix
The shock of the night put in the grips in Arizona Utah, leader of the Western Conference, in Phoenix, his runner-up. A duel which kept all its promises and ended up turning to the advantage of the Suns, who came to the end after extra time (117-113) of the Jazz of Rudy Gobert, author of a new double-double (16 points, 18 rebounds) . Devin Booker (35 points) could have saved his team an extra five minutes of play, but Phoenix’s leading scorer on Wednesday missed the winning shot in the dying seconds of regulation time. The Suns then relied on Chris Paul, author of 29 points (and 9 assists) in this part and unleashed at the most important moment (16 points out of his 29 scored in the last quarter and overtime). Phoenix badly needed it against an irresistible Donovan Mitchell (41 points) in the opposite camp. Second loss in a row for the Jazz and seventh consecutive victory for the second in the conference, which is fast approaching.
This duo >>>@CP3 ➡️ @DeandreAyton pic.twitter.com/GGCPyWAX2H
— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) April 8, 2021
Denver and Memphis on their way
Still undefeated since Aaron Gordon (9 points Wednesday) set down in Colorado, Denver won Wednesday at the expense of San Antonio at home (106-96) a seventh success in a row which allows the Nuggets, carried by the inevitable Nikola Jokic (25 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds), to get even closer to the podium in the West. Located a little lower in the ranking of the conference, Memphis (8th) continues to win there too. Wednesday, the Grizzlies clearly dominated Atlanta (131-113) and signed a fourth victory in a row. After a very close start to the game, Grayson Allen, author of 30 points in this game, and his family made the difference in a one-sided third quarter (43-23).
We took flight tonight ????
Talk about #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/ibdvuiVsyG
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) April 8, 2021
BASKET – NBA / REGULAR SEASON
Wednesday April 7, 2021
Indiana Pacers – Minnesota Timberwolves : 141-137
Orlando Magic – Washington Wizards : 116-131
Boston Celtics – New York Knicks : 101-99
>>> Evan Fournier (BOS) did not play
>>> Franck Ntilikina (NYK) did not play
Brooklyn Nets – New Orleans Pelicans : 139-111
>>> Stats by Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot (BRO): 26 minutes, 6 points (2 of 13 on shots, including 2 of 13 with three points), 2 rebounds, 1 pass, 1 interception, 1 lost ball, 4 fouls
Atlanta Hawks – Memphis Grizzlies : 113-131
Houston Rockets – Dallas Mavericks : 102-93
Oklahoma City Thunder – Charlotte Hornets : 102-113
>>> Stats of Théo Maledon (OKC): 36 minutes, 25 points (9 of 18 on shots, including 3 of 10 at three points), 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 6 lost balls
Denver Nuggets – San Antonio Spurs: 106-96
Phoenix Suns – Utah Jazz: 117-113 (ap)
>>> Rudy Gobert (UTA) stats: 37 minutes, 16 points (7 of 7 on shots), 18 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, 3 lost balls, 2 fouls
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