New York offers Dallas, the Nets send a message, the Lakers still row

• New York Knicks 108 – 85 dallas mavericks

The New York Knicks hosted the Dallas Mavericks at Madison Square Garden. Tom Thibodeau’s players won quite easily against the Texans who never really got into their game. Already at the end of the 1st quarter the New Yorkers had made a gap heralding the rest of the game. If Luka Doncic’s teammates gave the illusion of rebelling in the second quarter, the return to the locker room will have been fatal to Jason Kidd’s players. From the start of the third quarter, Dallas will crack and the Knicks will never be joined. Second victory in a row for the flock of Coach Thibs and a rise in the standings (10th tied with Boston).

RJ Barrett finished top scorer in this meeting against New York with 32 points. Complete statistics for Evan Fournier: 13 points (5/9 on shots), 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Finally Julius Randle borders on the triple-double with his 17 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists while Mitchell Robinson plants 19 points. On the Dallas side, Luka Doncic was torn with 21 points, but 8/23 on shots, including an ugly 1/9 from the parking lot.

• Sacramento kings 125 – 116 L.A lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers moved on the floor of their neighbors: the Sacramento Kings with the hope of winning a 22nd victory this season. Too bad for Frank Vogel’s players, we will have to wait a little longer. Les Violines et Or mostly left the Golden 1 Center with renewed disillusionment. Despite the 11th outing with more than 30 points in LeBron James’ last 12 games, Los Angeles must lose 125,116, the fault of a very good team from Sacramento who believed in it until the end. Alvin Gentry’s players continue to cling to the last qualifying spot for the play-in (10th). Harrison Barnes finished the game with 23 points while DeAaron Fox planted 29 points on his side. Marvin Bagley III flirts with the double-double (16 points and 9 rebounds).

Among the Lakers, apart from LBJ’s 34 points, Malik Monk’s 22 points and Austin Reaves’ 19 points off the bench, there is not much to remember. Russell Westbrook finished 2/14 on shots… Avery Bradley was also unsuccessful with a 2/9 on shots.

• brooklyn nets 138 – 112 CHICAGO bulls

It was the clash of the night in the Eastern Conference. The 1st against the 2nd, the Bulls against the Nets. Steve Nash’s players, who have been struggling lately, wanted to take advantage of this trip to the United Center to send a message and they didn’t miss out. A statement victory as we like to say in the United States and a gap of 26 points at the finish which is enough to give the Bulls a hell of a headache. All three aligned for the third time this season, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden shone. 27 points and 9 for the first, 25 points and 16 assists for the last. Only Kyrie Irving was a bit behind with 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in 25 minutes.

Opposite, DeMar DeRozan was less impactful than usual. The former Raptor finishes with 19 points 7/16 on shots. Nikola Vucevic adds 14 points while Zach Lavine delivers 6 assists and plants 22 points. Despite this defeat, Billy Donovan’s players still remain leaders of the Eastern Conference with a record of 27 wins and 12 losses.

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