The Lakers, carried by Anthony Davis by 42 points, defeated Utah (116-108), ensuring to be seeded number 1 in the West, Monday in the NBA, where the defending champion Toronto, confirmed that he was also ready for the play-offs against Miami (107-103).
. LA controls the tempo of Jazz
Two days after falling against Toronto, the Lakers recovered against the Jazz who, without any demerit, never had a hand on the meeting.
A success that took shape in the third quarter (28-20) and which obviously owes a lot to the scoring of Davis (12 rebounds), as well as to LeBron James, skillful (9/16, 22 pts) and present in other sectors (9 passes, 8 rbds).
Opposite, Donovan Mitchell was efficient with 33 points (5 rebounds, 4 assists), just like Rudy Gobert (16 pts to 100% on shots, 13 rebounds). Mike Conley was also good (24 pts) showing a clear return to form, but the absence of three-point shooter Bojan Bogdanović (wrist) is sorely lacking in Utah, which despite everything remains 5th in the West.
As was expected, the Lakers are sure to finish in the lead and therefore meet the 8th within ten days. “After everything we’ve been through this season, it means a lot, but it’s not over. It’s only a laying stone, before many others have to lead us where we want to go”, Davis said.
. The Raptors are cooling the Heat
After its show of force against the Lakers, Toronto showed control to overcome Miami, who moved up 17 points, before cracking in the money-time against the tight defense of the Canadian team.
The man of the game for the Raptors was Fred VanVleet, who broke his personal best points (36, including 7/12 three-pointers) and prevented a pass from Jimmy Butler to find Goran Dragic, for a potential equalizer, the ball failing on Pascal Siakam (22 pts, 6 rebounds) who sealed the victory.
An end of the match reminding that the talented Floridians are still tender when it comes to the mind, despite the presence of Butler, finally very present after having missed training the day before (16 pts).
Status quo in the standings: Toronto remains 2nd in the East, Miami 4th.
. Denver is recovering
Apathetic against Miami, the Nuggets (3rd) showed another face against OKC (6th), their potential opponent from the first round of the play-offs, to win after extra time (121-113).
The two teams never let go until those five extra minutes which saw Nikola Jokic make the difference by scoring 8 of his team’s 10 points (30 in total, for a triple-double, 12 rebounds, 10 assists). Until then, it was rookie Michael Porter Jr. who had distinguished himself (37 points at 12/16, 12 rebounds).
The Thunder had the chance to win when Chris Paul (23 pts) got two free throws at the very end of the game, but he only put in one (109-109), which resulted in extra time .
. The Pelicans remain hopeful
New Orleans absolutely had to win against Memphis (8th) to stay in the race for the dam. Mission accomplished (109-99). Zion Williamson contributed (23 pts, 7 rebounds, 5 assists), winning the duel from a distance between him and Ja Morant (11 pts, 8 assists, 5 rebounds), probable future rookie of the year.
Bonus for the Pelicans (11th), San Antonio fell by nothing (132-130) against Philadelphia, yielding the 9th place of potential play-off to Portland.
After clearing a 10-point delay, the Spurs led by four with one minute to go, before cracking after a basket behind Shake Milton’s arc at 7 seconds from the buzzer.
. TJ Warren still wears Indiana
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