The “King” owed himself a revenge. It was to be expected as he had to ruminate, for three days, on the injustice suffered in Boston. As he was about to give victory to his family by holding out his left hand to slip a final lay-up at the buzzer into the basket of the Celtics, the referee, although well placed, decided not to whistle the obvious fault of Jayson Tatum on the future leading scorer in league history.
After finally conceding defeat in overtime (125-121), LeBron James remained for long minutes staring into space, prostrate in his chair. A deep disappointment which did not bode well for the future opponents of the Californians, still stuck at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, apart from the qualifying places for the play-offs.
Remained on the bench because of a painful left foot, during the new setback of the Lakers in Brooklyn (121-104), the number 23 of LA was already coming out of his convalescence to try to revive his franchise adrift on the floor of the Madison Square Garden.
And as usual, “The Ring-Giver” (“the ring giver”) responded and held his team by the end of his arms. Author of a new triple-double with 28 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, “LBJ” reigned supreme on the New York floor from start to finish of the game.
89 points…
It was his double step 19 seconds from the end of the “overtime” that ended up extinguishing the Knicks’ hopes of a comeback at Madison Square Garden, carried by Jalen Brunson, excellent throughout (37 points ). A performance that allows him to come a little closer to the totemic record of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who had stacked 38,387 points in the NBA between 1969 and 1989. James now only lacks 89 units to overtake his glorious elder and become the league’s all-time leading scorer. The big moment is likely to come next week, three or four games away.
In the meantime, he took the opportunity to become the 4th best passer ahead of Steve Nash and Mark Jackson. “It’s amazing because that’s what I love to do: get my guys involved. I tried to give the ball at the right time and in the right place throughout my career. But you have to put the baskets behind for it to count, and tonight they did a great job. Every time you get hooked up with the bigger ones, it’s super cool. »
Butler saves Miami
By his side, Anthony Davis (27 pts, 9 rebounds) and Japanese rookie Rui Hachimura (19 pts, 9 rebounds) padlocked the interior. Always so generous in the effort for worse or for better, Russell Westbrook (17 pts, 8 assists) was able to make good choices in overtime.
On the New York side, still 7th in the East, Julius Randle was not unworthy (23 pts, 12 rebounds), but could not weigh against the state of grace of LeBron James.
In Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo also had to pull out the muscles (34 pts, 18 rebounds) to calm the inclinations of catchy Hornets, like LaMelo Ball, author of a triple-double (27 pts, 11 assists, 10 bounces).
This fifth consecutive victory (124-115) for the Bucks tasted like revenge because Charlotte (14th) had humiliated them (138-109) on January 6. It also allows them to consolidate their 2nd place.
For its part, Miami won (100-97) in Cleveland, thanks to its leader Jimmy Butler (23 pts) managed to maintain a small gap in the last 90 seconds with a mid-range basket and two crucial free throws .
However, 90 seconds earlier, it was still the Cavs who led (93-92) after a successful shot from Donovan Mitchell (16 pts, 9 assists). But Bam Adebayo was able to put the Heat (6th) back in front with two consecutive shots that hit home (18 pts, 11 rebounds).
Jokic and Murray shine
In the West, the leader Denver was able to count on his double MVP Nikola Jokic, author of a big triple-double (26 pts, 18 rebounds, 15 assists) to defeat New Orleans (122-113). Jamal Murray was also decisive with 32 points in the bag.
For the Pelicans (8th), penalized by the absence for 14 matches of Zion Williamson (right hamstring), the big slump continues with this ninth loss in a row.
Finally, the Clippers were able to erase 19 units behind in the middle of the second quarter to take the advantage at the end of the next one and not let go in the last in Chicago (108-103).
Kawhi Leonard (33 pts), closer and closer to a return to his best level after a rupture of the cruciate ligaments, was both the initiator of the comeback and the decisive man of the “money-time” by stealing a ball from Zach LaVine (18 pts, 14 rebounds) five seconds from the buzzer, before scoring two free throws.
He was well supported by Norman Powell (27 pts), productive off the bench. The other Los Angeles franchise therefore remains in 4th place before moving to the Bucks field this Friday.
UK with AFP
The “King” owed himself a revenge. It was to be expected as he had to ruminate, for three days, on the injustice suffered in Boston. As he was about to give victory to his family by holding out his left hand to slip a final lay-up at the buzzer into the basket of the Celtics, the referee, although well placed, decided not to whistle the obvious fault of Jayson…
