Posted Jan 23, 2021 at 8:06 am – Updated Jan 23, 2021 at 8:47 am Mathieu WARNIER
Thanks in particular to Luka Doncic, the Mavericks had a second consecutive success against the Spurs. The Celtics, for their part, saw victory slip away for the third time in a row when the Magic fell to the Pecers despite Evan Fournier.
Game of the night: the Clippers don’t stop
Los Angeles Clippers are now a well established machine. After having linked the good and the not so good during the preseason and the beginning of the season, the players of Tyronn Lue found the right formula and, against the Thunder, the Californians signed a sixth consecutive victory. A meeting whose outcome was not in doubt since the end of the first quarter, won by 18 lengths by his teammates Kawhi Leonard (31 points, 8 rebounds), Paul George (29 points) and Serge Ibaka (17 points, 11 rebounds). There was a coy reaction from OKC players late in the first half to reduce the maximum gap of 27 points to just 17 when it came to the locker room before returning to just ten lengths at the end of the third quarter. -time, but Nicolas Batum’s teammates (14 points) managed to keep control of events. Maintaining a double-digit margin during the final twelve minutes, the Clippers won by fourteen lengths (120-106) and returned to the Los Angeles Lakers with the same record (12 wins to 4 losses).. Despite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (30 points, 8 assists), the Thunder fall again and maintain a negative record (6 wins for 8 losses).
MVP of the night: Doncic pushes the Mavericks
The Mavericks are coming out of the water and they can thank the inevitable Luka Doncic. After returning to victory over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, Dallas players confirmed the trend during the San Antonio Spurs’ short field trip. A match that the Slovenian engineering teammates (36 points, 9 rebounds, 11 assists) started with force, ten points ahead early, before suffering the Spurs return… but DeMar DeRozan (29 points) and his band then sank to be 18 points behind in the second quarter. Strong income after the break and at the end of the third quarter, the Spurs were able to pull themselves together to count just one point back with one minute to play. However, in the free throw game, it was the Mavericks who had the last word for all five points (122-117). A second consecutive success that allows Dallas to see its record in the positive (8 wins by 7 losses) and settle in the first half of the Western Conference table. For the Spurs, this second loss in a row means again a balance (8 wins for 8 losses) and a less brilliant situation in the standings.
The flop of the night: Boston doesn’t come out of it
It’s grinning soup on the Massachusetts side! While the Celtics got off to a good start to the season with eight wins to three losses in their first eleven games, the trend has been largely reversed. Indeed, on the court of the Philadelphia 76ers and despite a convincing start to the game, Jaylen Brown’s teammates from the big nights (42 points, 9 rebounds) suffered their third consecutive setback. Led for much of the first quarter, the Boston players managed to turn the tide of the game with a 12-0 run that gave them a small margin maintained at all costs before the break, reached with just three points ahead. The turning point was an 8-0 for the teammates of the defeated Joel Embiid (38 points, 11 rebounds). A series that allowed the Sixers to get back up to speed and then fly to the scoreboard. If the Celtics were able to get back to three points in the fourth quarter, they took a definitive blow to the head to tip by twelve points (122-110) and they continue their decline in the Eastern Conference standings, whose leader is always more … the Philadelphia 76ers with a second consecutive victory.
The French of the night: Fournier shines but the magic falls
Evan Fournier gave it his all, but at the end of extra time, it wasn’t enough. Top scorer of the game (26 points), the Frenchman could not prevent his team from falling back into his traps after his narrow victory in Minnesota. Myles Turner’s Indiana Pacers (22 points, 9 rebounds) quickly swept an interesting start to the game. Tensions remained high on the court with two teams head-to-head until halftime, which the Pacers went two lengths ahead, before extending 12 minutes into the break. Thanks to Terrence Ross (12 points) with 58 seconds from the buzzer, the Magic regained control but, with eleven seconds from the buzzer, Domantas Sabonis (18 points, 11 rebounds) tied both teams before intercepting the ball. on the last offense to bring both teams to extra time. Five minutes Orlando dominated for a long time, but with less than four seconds left, Malcolm Brogdon (23 points) scored three points from the victory, Evan Fournier missed his last attempt. The Magic fell two lengths (120-118) and allowed the Pacers to find a step like the Sixers Dolphins in the Eastern Conference.
Top 10 of the night
BASKET – NBA / REGULAR SEASON
Friday, January 22, 2021
Charlotte Hornets – Chicago Bulls : 110-123
Detroit Pistons – Houston Rockets : 102-103
> Sekou Doumbouya (DET): 2 1/4 points on shooting (including 0/1 three points), 1 rebound and 1 foul in 7 minutes
Indiana Pacers – Orlando Magic: 120-118 (ap)
> Evan Fournier (ORL): 26 points with 8/14 in shooting (including 4/8 in three points) and 6/12 in free throws, 4 rebounds, 9 assists and 1 turnover in 36 minutes
Cleveland Knights – Brooklyn Nets: 125-113
> Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot (BKN): 11 points on 4/9 shooting (including 3/7 on three points), 1 rebound, 1 assist and 3 fouls in 26 minutes
Philadelphia 76ers – Boston Celtics: 122-110
Toronto raptors – Miami Heat: 101-81
Minnesota Timberwolves – Atlanta Hawks : 98-116
Spurs of San Antonio – Mavericks de Dallas : 117-122
Los Angeles Clippers – Oklahoma City Thunder: 120-106
> Nicolas Batum (LAC): 14 points with 5/6 shooting (including 4/4 in three points), 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 interception, 2 blocks, 2 turnovers and 2 fouls in 33 minutes
> Théo Maledon (OKC): 5 points on 2/7 shooting (including 1/2 on three points), 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 interception, 1 turnover and 4 fouls in 19 minutes
Phoenix Suns – Denver Nuggets : 126–130 (ap)
Sacramento Kings – New York Knicks: 103-94
Postponed to a later date
Bucks de Milwaukee – Washington Wizards
Portland Trail Blazers – Memphis Grizzlies
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