Chicago (USA), December 19 (EFE).- The Milwaukee Bucks took the field this Monday, defeating the New Orleans Pelicans 128-119 and reinforcing their first position in the East, on an NBA day in which Damian Lillard expanded his Portland legacy by becoming the all-time leading scorer for the Trail Blazers.
In Monday’s program, the expulsion of the Slovenian Luka Doncic also stood out, a new defeat by the Dallas Mavericks, this time in a visit to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
PELICANS 119 – BUCK 128
Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo sealed his 17th double-double of the year, with 42 points and ten rebounds, Brook Lopez contributed 30 points, and the Bucks extended the Pelicans’ churn to bolster their top position in the East.
The 37 points, with seven triples, of a magnificent Jonas Valanciunas were not enough for the Pelicans. The New Orleans team suffered its fourth straight loss and fell to fourth place in the West. Spaniard Willy Hernangómez scored five points and grabbed one rebound in 9:42 minutes on the track.
WOLVES 116 – MAVERICKS 106
Doncic had 19 points, six rebounds and seven assists in 28 minutes on the court when, with two minutes left in the third period, he caught two techniques in the space of seconds for protesting the referees.
The Slovenian had narrowly missed a shot after colliding with Jaden McDaniels and, upon returning to his midfield, protested to the referee, who did not hesitate to whistle the technique.
The Mavs surrendered to some Wolves led by an excellent Anthony Edwards, who came close to the triple double with 27 points, thirteen rebounds and nine assists, assisted by a double double of 27 points and 13 rebounds by Naz Reid.
ONLY 130 – LAKERS 104
The Suns destroyed some Lakers weighed down by the absences of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russel Westbrook and triumphed without breaking a sweat, propelled by Chris Paul’s 28 points.
The entire Suns starting lineup finished above ten points: in addition to Paul and Ayton, Mikal Bridges had 20 points, Torreu Craig had 17 and Damion Lee had 15, while Devin Booker was absent.
RAPTORS 101 – 76ERS 104
The 76ers survived Cameroonian Pascal Siakam’s 38 points and fifteen rebounds to triumph in overtime, propelled by Joel Embiid’s 28 points and eleven rebounds, to add their sixth straight win.
The Raptors suffered their sixth straight loss and fell to 10th in the East (13-18). Spaniard Juancho Hernangómez was a starter in Canada’s starting lineup and scored seven points, with one rebound and one steal, in 14 minutes on the field.
HAWKS 126 – MAGIC 125
Trae Young led a double-double of 37 points and 13 assists to lead a group of seven players above 10 points in the Hawkis’ win over the Orlando Magic, snapping their six-game hitting streak.
Markelle Fultz led the Magic with 24 points and nine rebounds, while Italian Paolo Banchero had 18 points with four rebounds and seven assists.
KNIGHTS 122 – JAZZ 99
Mitchell, last week’s best player in the Eastern Conference, measured himself for the first time with the Jazz, the team that brought him to the NBA in 2017 and in which he played for five seasons, and led his team with 23 points in 22.38 minutes on the track.
It was supported by a double-double of 20 points and eleven rebounds by Jarrett Allen and 17 points and eight assists by Darius Garland.
THUNDER 123 – BLAZER 121
Damian Lillard became the all-time leading scorer for the Portland Trail Blazers, scoring 28 points in his team’s on-field loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Lillard needed 21 points to surpass the mark of 10,040 set by Clyde Drexler, who played for Portland from 1983 to 1995.
The Blazers leader starred with a big drive that gave his team a one-point lead with 3.2 seconds left, but a wonderful jump shot by Shai Gilgeous Alexander (35 points and six assists) put a damper at his evening.
RE 119 – CALABRI 125
After losing in Denver to Serbian Nikola Jokic’s monumental triple-double (40 points, 27 rebounds and 10 assists), the Hornets ended an eight-game losing streak with a win in Sacramento, led by Kelly’s 31 points and ten rebounds Oubre Jr. and 23 points and twelve rebounds from LaMelo Ball.
The amazing double-double of 28 points and 23 rebounds by Domantas Sabonis or the 37 points by De’Aaron Fox were not enough for the Suns.
ROCKETS 105 – SPURS 124
The San Antonio Spurs triumphed in Houston with a strong group performance, with Devin Vassel leading a seven-player field above the ten-point mark with 26 points.
Spaniard Usman Garuba contributed five rebounds, one assist and one steal in 14:30 minutes on the court, scoring no points.
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– Classifications:
. Eastern Conference:
.1. Milwaukee Bucks 22-8
.2. Boston Celtics 22-9
.3. Cleveland Cavaliers 21-11
.4. Brooklyn nets 19-12
.5. Philadelphia 76ers 17-12
.6. New York Knicks 17-13
.7. Miami Heat 16-15
.8. Atlanta Falcons 16-15
.9. Indiana Pacers 15-16
10. Toronto Raptors 13-18
11. Chicago Bulls 11-18
12. Wizards of Washington 11-20
13. Orlando Magic 11-21
14. Charlotte Hornets 8-23
15.Detroit Pistons 8-24
. Western Conference:
.1. Memphis Grizzlies 19-10
.2. Denver Nuggets 18-11
.3. Phoenix alone 19-12
.4. New Orleans Pelicans 18-12
.5. Sacramento Kings 16-13
.6. Los Angeles Clippers 18-14
.7. Portland Trail Blazers 17-14
.8. Minnesota Timberwolves 16-15
.9. Utah Jazz 17-16
10. Dallas Mavericks 15-16
11. Golden State Warriors 15-16
12. Los Angeles Lakers 13-17
13. Oklahoma City Thunder 13-18
14. San Antonio Spurs 10-20
15. Houston Rockets 9-21
