Lakers, Bucks, Suns, Kings and Pacers reach the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup with victories

Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings y Milwaukee Bucks They won the games prior to the final phase of the NBA Cup this Saturday, while New Orleans Pelicans He was the only one of those who will be in the decisive phase who lost; and Boston Celtics y New York Knicks They rested.

The Los Angeles Lakers (12-9) won in a very attractive game against the Houston Rockets (8-9) led by a great Anthony Davis (27 points and 14 rebounds) and presented their credentials for the NBA Cup , in which they will host the Suns on Tuesday in the quarterfinals.

Turkish Alperen Sengun was the best of the Rockets with a double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds.

Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded his first triple-double of the season (32 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists) and the thirty-sixth of his career in the victory of the Milwaukee Bucks (14-6), who arrives victorious in the quarterfinals of the Cup of the NBA, in which this Monday they will face the New York Knicks.

For the Atlanta Hawks (9-10), the best was Trae Young with a double-double (32 points and 12 assists).

Phoenix Suns (12-8) also reach the NBA Cup with a victory after beating the Memphis Grizzlies (5-14) in a game that remained tied during the first half, but in which the locals pressed the accelerator to starting from the third quarter.

The best player for the Suns was Devin Booker, with double figures (34 points and 10 rebounds), while Jaren Jackson Jr. for the Grizzlies posted his best numbers of the season with 37 points (13 of 21 on field goals, 61 .9%) and 9 rebounds.

Sacramento Kings (11-7) is another team that will face the final phase of the Cup with confidence after having defeated the current NBA champion, Denver Nuggets (14-7), who arrived with four consecutive victories.

Nikola Jokic offered his usual triple-double with 36 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists, but the Kings completed a very solid game led by De’Aaron Fox, who contributed a double-double with 26 points and 16 assists.

Indiana Pacers (10-8) broke a sequence of two consecutive defeats before the final phase of the NBA Cup, in which they will face the Boston Celtics, by convincingly beating the Miami Heat (11-9).

For the Pacers, who have the most powerful attack in the NBA, the best was Bruce Brown with 30 points, while for the local team Jimmy Butler scored 33 points.

Mexican rookie Jaime Jaquez Jr., who came out as a reserve for the Heat, contributed 11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals.

Chicago Bulls (7-14) beat the New Orleans Pelicans (11-10) in a game that dominated practically the entire second half and in which Coby White stood out, with 31 points and 9 rebounds, his highest score of the game. season.

DeMar DeRozan, who missed the previous game, had a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds, while the reserves contributed 41 points for Chicago.

On the part of the Pelicans, the only team that will play in the final phase of the NBA Cup to lose this Saturday, the best was Brandon Ingram, who scored 23 points.

Minnesota Timberwolves (15-4) remains the team with the best record in the NBA after their hard-fought victory against the Charlotte Hornets (6-12) with Dominican Karl-Anthony Towns as their top scorer with 28 points.

In addition to Towns, Rudy Gobert stood out for the Timberwolves, who recorded a double-double with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Point guard Terry Rozier was the best of the Hornets with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists.

The Los Angeles Clippers (9-10) had an epic comeback with a triple by Paul George with 8 seconds left that gave them their first and definitive lead of the game against the Golden State Warriors (9-11), who had 22 points of advantage.

In addition to the hero, George was the best of the Clippers with 25 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. On the Warriors’ part, the best was Stephen Curry with a double-double, with 22 points and 11 assists.

Seventeenth consecutive loss for the Detroit Pistons (2-18), who dominated the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers (11-9) for much of the first, second and third quarters, but fell apart in the decisive minutes.

Cade Cunningham was the Pistons’ best player with a double-double of 23 points and 11 assists, as well as 8 rebounds. Jarrett Allen of the Cavaliers also finished with a double-double (19 points and 12 rebounds).

Although the Pistons’ streak is one of the worst in history, it is still far from the record of 26 consecutive losses in a single season shared by the Philadelphia 76ers (2013-2014) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (2010-2011).

Brooklyn Nets (10-9) dominated from start to finish, ending the streak of nine consecutive victories of Orlando Magic (14-6), the second best team in the Eastern Conference so far this season.

Mikal Bridges was the best of the Nets with 42 points, close to his scoring record (45 points), achieving 60% accuracy in field goals (12 of 20); while for the Magic Paolo Banchero stood out with a double-double (19 points and 10 rebounds).

The Dallas Mavericks (11-8) were not enough with Luka Doncic’s spectacular triple-double (36 points, 15 rebounds and 18 assists) to win their game this Saturday against Oklahoma Thunder (13-6), who is third in the Western Conference.

The Thunder, which gained a 24-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter, received a 30-0 run that almost cost them the game.

Jalen Williams stood out in Oklahoma City with 23 points, in a team that took advantage of the contribution of 55 points from the substitutes.

Utah Jazz (7-13) beat the Portland Trail Blazers (6-13) in a match at the bottom of the Western Conference, since the two teams are far from the positions that give access to the play-in.

For the home team, the best was Collin Sexton, who scored 25 points as a substitute. In fact, the Jazz scored 49.1% of their points (58 of 118) with second unit players.

Malcolm Brogdon and Shaedon Sharpe stood out for the Blazers, with 25 points each.