Houston (USA), Feb 28 (EFE) .- The Utah Jazz needed less than 24 hours to reencounter the victory in an NBA day that allowed them to consolidate the best record in the league, while the Philadelphia Sixers and the Brooklyn Nets both suffered losses.
The surprise jumped in Philadelphia, where the local team, the Sixers were outmatched by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who won 109-112 after overtime.
The Cavaliers earned their first road win since January 7 when they beat the Grizzlies in Memphis.
For the Sixers the best scorer was Embiid who finished with a double-double of 42 points and 13 rebounds. Australian point guard Ben Simmons added 24 points and reserve guard Shake Milton had 11 points.
The Sixers (22-12) could not add their third consecutive victory, but they remain leaders of the Atlantic Division and with the best record in the Eastern Conference.
The absences in the Nets of two of their stars, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, both injured, were taken advantage of by the Dallas Mavericks who won on the road 98-115 with Slovenian guard Luka Doncic, again, as a deciding factor.
Doncic, who turns 22 this Sunday, contributed 27 points with seven assists and six rebounds, which, supported by Porzingis’ 18 goals, established the difference in the final score.
The Mavericks not only took the victory from Barclays Center but also ended the streak of eight consecutive wins that the Nets had (22-13), who could not take advantage of the surprise defeat of the Philadelphia Sixers to have been the new leaders of the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference.
This time the only star the Nets could line up was guard James Harden who had 29 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Point guard Russell Westbrook had a triple-double as the most complete player for the Washington Wizards, who easily beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 128-112.
Westbrook had 19 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists, in what was his 10th triple-double of the season, leading the NBA in that facet of the game.
While guard Bradley Beal added 34 points that put him in front of the winning attack of the Wizards.
Serbian center Nikola Jokic finished with a triple-double (19 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds) as the leader of the Denver Nuggets, who defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 96-126 on the road.
In turn, guard DeMar DeRozan finished with a double-double of 32 points and 11 rebounds that helped the San Antonio Spurs beat the New Orleans Pelicans 117-114 in their first home game since the past. February 9.
Power forward Julius Randle contributed a double-double of 28 points and 10 rebounds as the leader of the New York Knicks, who beat the Indiana Pacers 110-107.
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