The Los Angeles Lakers lost at home after three overtime against Sacramento (141-137), Friday in the NBA where Milwaukee outclassed Denver at home (120-109) and Phoenix equaled his record of 15 straight wins by going to dominate the Knicks in New York (118-97).
At the Staple Centers, the game was extremely close with a parity score at the end of the first, second, fourth quarters and the first two extra times. LeBron James registered 30 points and delivered 11 assists in 50 minutes of play but missed two shots on the buzzer that would have given the victory to his team. Opposite, De’Aaron Fox (34) and Buddy Hield (25) totaled 59 points. Sacramento is doing better after sacking coach Luke Walton on Sunday after eight straight losses.
This is the second time in two games that Los Angeles has gone into overtime after winning at Indiana on Wednesday. The Lakers are stagnant in 7th place in the West.
All is well, however, for Golden State. The leader chained a 6th consecutive victory by dominating Portland at home (118-103). It’s the 17th win of the season for the Warriors with just two losses. Steph Curry scored 32 points and delivered 8 assists.
The Phoenix Suns chained for their 15th straight victory against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden (118-97). They equal the record for the longest winning streak in the franchise (dating back to the 2006/07 season). Devin Booker carried his own with 37 points and 4 assists. Brilliant in the Knicks’ victory against the Lakers on Tuesday with 26 points, Evan Fournier was clumsy (11 points at 4/15).
The Utah Jazz of French Rudy Gobert suffered a surprise defeat on their floor against New Orleans (98-97). The French pivot scored 9 points and took 10 rebounds.
The Pelicans have announced that their star Zion Williamson, injured in the right foot since the start of the season, has resumed collective training.
– insolent Antetokounmpo of address in Denver –
In the East, the Milwaukee Bucks outclassed Denver on its floor (120-109), carried by a huge Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo managed 24 points, 13 rebounds and 7 assists, and demonstrated an insolent address in the shoot (10/13). Full of confidence, the 26-year-old Greek even attempted a dunk after a pass for himself against the board in the 3rd quarter.
Opposite, Denver struggled well like Aaron Gordon (18 points), but seemed too limited to overthrow the Bucks without three of their major players.
Last season’s MVP, Serbian Nikola Jokic has been arrested since November 18 due to wrist pain, winger Michael Porter Jr has a back injury and could miss the rest of the season, while Jamal Murray recovers still from his cruciate ligament injury in his knee, which he contracted last year.
It is the sixth loss in a row for Denver who is 7th in the West. Milwaukee is in 6th place in the East.
After two defeats, Chicago returned to victory by crushing Orlando on his floor (123-88) thanks to DeMar DeRozan (23 points) and Zach LaVine (21 points). The Bulls move up to 2nd place in the East before facing Miami, 3rd in the standings, on Saturday.
Atlanta dominated Memphis at home (132-100). The Grizzlies lost Ja Morant early in the game, who suffers from a sprained knee. The duration of his unavailability has not yet been revealed.
The Pelicans announced the same day that their star Zion Williamson, injured in the right foot since the start of the season, had resumed collective training.
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