Lakers and Mavericks, the face and the cross of the day in the Western Conference

Dec 11, 2021 at 07:40

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On Friday’s day, Los Angeles Lakers managed to avoid a new drama with a balsamic victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder by 95-116, with 33 points from LeBron James, while the Mavericks Luka Doncic added a new loss to the Indiana Pacers 106-93 and Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 41 points against the Rockets. The stars of two of the most challenged teams this season played their expected roles, both as top scorers for their teams. But both James and Doncic fell far short of what Antetokounmpo achieved.

James, in the Lakers, finished the game with 33 points, of which 12 were from 4 triples of the 6 he tried, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Doncic had 27 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. And while the Mavericks also had 22 points from Kristaps Porzingis, the Indiana Pacers were too much of a team, with a Caris LeVert scoring 26 points, 16 of them in the second half, and a Domantas Sabonis on double-double terrain. with 24 points, 10 rebounds and 7 assists. Friday’s is the third straight victory for the Pacers, who are ranked 13th in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Lakers are now in the playoff field, sixth in the Western Conference just above the Mavericks.

Antetokounmpo deslumbra

In Houston, Antetokounmpo dazzled with 41 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks with an electrifying final quarter in which the Greek scored 15 points while the locals could only score 19 points. In those last 12 minutes, the Bucks turned the game around, losing by 5 points, to beat the Houston Rockets 114-123.

For their part, Brooklyn Nets, the first of the East, they prevailed at the home of the Atlanta Hawks by 105-113 in a duel between Kevin Durant and Trae Young that, on a personal level, ended in a draw in the scoring chapter. Durant was again decisive for the victory of his team, which at the beginning of the last quarter was 2 points behind on the scoreboard. The New Yorkers forward scored 31 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. For his part, Young, the point guard for the Hawks, also had 31 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists.

The second classified in the Western Conference, the Phoenix Suns, easily dispatched the Boston Celtics 111-90. Jayson Tatum once again stood out for the Celtics with 24 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists, while center JaVale McGee had a double-double and was the Suns’ leading scorer, with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 2 assists.

In other matches of the day, the Raptors beat the New York Knicks 90-87. In the fight between bottoms, the New Orleans Pelicans, last of the Western Conference, beat the last of the East, the Pistons, 109-93, extending Detroit’s losing streak to 11. For the Pelicans, Willy Hernangómez scored 6 points and 7 rebounds in 18 minutes of play.

In the tightest game of the night, the Charlotte Hornets beat the Sacramento Kings by a single point, 121-123, despite having seven players out. The game could be taken by the Kings but with 2 seconds remaining, De’Aaron Fox, the most effective player from Sacramento with 31 points, missed two free throws which kept the locals’ minimum advantage.

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