Not too many movements in the East, as in the West, after this little evening. However, it should be noted that the Blazers, almost complete, regain control of the Western Conference on their own after the success against the Spurs, while the Jazz mark time, after their 3rd consecutive defeat, and the first at home. New York is the first to win in Salt Lake City, without Evan Fournier remaining on the bench.
Unleashed against the Nets, the Kings continue with the 4th win in a row and go positive with 7 wins for 6 losses.
Still no Gary Payton II in Portland, but return of Jusuf Nurkic to the center of the racket. The Bosnian had a very complicated evening because Jakob Poeltl signed his career best game with 31 points and 14 rebounds.
In his wake, Spurs led the scoring for a long time before collapsing in the home straight. Fault of Jerami Grant, true metronome of the Blazers, but also of their former teammate Drew Eubanks. He scored 5 of his nine points in money time to allow Portland to go 10-0 and take control (110-106). San Antonio will not recover.
Still as uneven, the Knicks clinch a landmark win in Utah by 25 points by Jalen Brunson. No mean feat since the Jazz had yet to lose at home. It was through his defense that New York made the difference by being able to disrupt the quick play of Kelly Olynyk’s teammates.
Up front Immanuel Quickley brings his usual spark, and the Knicks go 24-6 to turn the tide of the match in the 4th quarter, moving to a 14-point lead (107-93).
Thanks to the Clarkson-Olynyk pairing, the Jazz fell under 10 points (111-102) but Cam Reddish secured the victory on free throws. Note that Evan Fournier did not enter the game…
