NBA: Utah goes on, Brooklyn falls

Poster of the night: Utah – Boston

Sixteenth victory in 17 games for Utah! Jazz are having a wonderful season, and they’ve proven it again by beating fourth-place Boston in the Eastern Conference, 122-108. Faced with the Celtics still deprived of Marcus Smart, the Salt Lake City players (who themselves had to do without Mike Conley) waited for the second half to make the difference. While Boston had led by eight points late in the first quarter, and one more point at the start of the third, Utah stepped on the accelerator, notably winning the third quarter 42-32, to increase its lead to +14. The Celtics came back to 108-104, 3’10 from the end, but Joe Ingles (24pts), three points, gave the Jazz some air, and Rudy Gobert sealed his team’s victory with two alley- oops donated by Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell has once again hero the hero of Utah, with his 36 points, including 24 in the second half. The Jazz of course remains the leader of the Western Conference, before the clash against Milwaukee on Friday.

MVP of the night: Joel Embiid

If Utah is leader of the Western Conference, it is Philadelphia which dominates the East, with an 18th victory this Tuesday on the floor of Sacramento: 111-119. The 76ers let the Kings take the lead (but never more than seven points) from the end of the second quarter to the start of the fourth, but upped their game in the money-time. With the score 99-99 at 7’09 from the end, Philadelphia went on 8-0 to break away, but Sacramento came back to 115-111, before free throws from Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris n ‘offer victory to Philadelphia. The Cameroonian pivot was also the man of the match, with 25 points (6 of 15 on shots and 13 of 14 on free throws), 17 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks in 35 minutes. Philadelphia will continue its road trip Thursday in Portland.

The flop of the night: Brooklyn

Third loss in a row for the Nets, who definitely do not succeed in the absence of Kevin Durant, still in quarantine. Brooklyn lost 122-111 to Detroit, the worst team in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons led from third to last minute in that game, with a lead climbing to +20 early in the second quarter. The Nets managed to come back to -2 midway through the third, but never managed to get past, despite James Harden’s 24 points, 6 rebounds and 12 assists, and Kyrie Irving’s 27 points and 7 assists. But they fell on a huge Jerami Grant, author of 32 points, a Delon Wright with 22 points and 9 assists, and a Mason Plumlee in double-double (14ptsd, 12rbds). The Nets will try to recover from this back-to-back Wednesday against Indiana.

Frenchman of the Night: Rudy Gobert

Three French people were present on the floors this Tuesday, and Rudy Gobert was clearly the best. The Utah hub scored 18 points, caught 12 rebounds, delivered 3 assists and blocked 4 balls in the Jazz victory against Boston. He even scored the last four points for his team, on alley-oops offered by Donovan Mitchell.

NBA / REGULAR SEASON
Tuesday, February 9, 2021
Detroit Pistons – Brooklyn Nets : 122-111
>>> Stats of Sekou Doumbouya (DET): 6 minutes of play, 2 points (1 on 1 on shots including 0 on 3 pts)
>>> Killian Hayes (DET), injured in the hip, did not play
>>> Stats by Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot (BRO): 19’30 play, 3 points (1 of 3 on shots including 1/3 on 3pts), 4 rebounds, 1 assist

Miami Heat – New York Knicks : 98-96
>>> Frank Ntilikina (NYK) did not play

Portland Trail Blazers – Orlando Magic : 106-97
>>> Evan Fournier (ENT), injured in the back, did not play

Sacramento Kings – Philadelphia 76ers : 111-119
>>> Vincent Poirier (PHI) did not play

Utah Jazz – Boston Celtics : 122-108
>>> Stats by Rudy Gobert (UTA): 36 minutes of play, 18 points (8 of 9 on shots including 0 on 3pts), 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 blocks, 4 lost balls, 3 faults

New Orleans Pelicans – Houston Rockets : 130-101
San Antonio Spurs – Golden State Warriors : 91-114

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