Los Angeles (USA), Feb 23 (EFE).- After the All-Star break, the NBA returned to action this Thursday with victories for the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets, who are leaders of the East and West, respectively, and a new triumph for Lakers who have clearly improved after their latest signings.
PACERS 138 – CELTICS 142
The Pacers sold their loss to the Celtics dearly, who had to go into overtime to defeat them with 31 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists from Jayson Tatum and 30 points and 11 rebounds from Jaylen Brown.
Myles Turner’s great game (40 points with a spectacular 13 of 15 shooting from the field and 8 of 10 on triples) was left without a prize in Indiana.
Al Horford had 7 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists for Boston and Chris Duarte had 7 points and 3 rebounds for the Pacers.
CAVALIERS 109 – NUGGETS 115
The Nuggets fly when Jokic gets out, so much so that they are 22-0 this season when the Serbian giant adds a triple-double. Tonight was no exception and they defeated Cleveland with 24 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists from the two-time MVP.
Evan Mobley (31 points and 9 rebounds) was the top scorer for some Cavaliers in which Ricky Rubio did not play due to rest.
LAKERS 124 – WARRIORS 111
Malik Beasley (25 points with a fantastic 7 of 11 on triples) and Austin Reaves (17 points with a perfect 6 of 6 on shots) took charge of an extremely choral Lakers (12 of their 13 players scored points) and who arrived to win by 28 against the Warriors without Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins.
Klay Thompson (22 points) was the top scorer for Golden State in a game that the Lakers won without needing great scores from LeBron James (13 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists) or Anthony Davis (12 points and 12 rebounds). .
SIXERS 110 – GRIZZLIES 105
The Sixers’ fifth win in a row came with suspense as, not counting the early stages of the game, they trailed until the last minute.
James Harden (31 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists) and Joel Embiid (27 points, 19 rebounds and 6 assists) led the local comeback and Desmond Bane (25 points and 8 rebounds) was the best for Memphis.
Spanish Santi Aldama contributed 6 points to the Grizzlies and had foul trouble.
MAVERICKS 142 – SPURS 116
Nothing better than facing the Spurs, in the scrapyard with 15 straight losses, so that Luka Doncic (28 points, 7 rebounds and 10 assists) and Kyrie Irving (23 points and 6 assists) could score their first victory together with the Mavericks and of beating
Malaki Branham (23 points) stood out in the offense of these Spurs in ruins and who suffered 22 of 42 from Dallas in the triple and that eight of their rivals exceeded 10 points.
RAPTORS 115 – PELICANS 110
Jakob Poeltl (21 points on 9-of-11 shooting and 18 rebounds) led the Raptors’ limited eight-player rotation that got rid of a great Brandon Ingram (36 points and 7 rebounds) from the Pelicans.
The duel between the Hernangómez came to nothing since neither Willy in New Orleans nor Juancho in Toronto had minutes.
Puerto Rican Jose Alvarado had 7 points, a rebound and 2 assists for the Pelicans.
JAZZ 120 – THUNDER 119
Still with All-Star Salt Lake City in the rearview mirror, the Jazz kept the party going by beating the Thunder in overtime.
Two of the stars who played in the All-Star were measured in a magnificent duel: Lauri Markkanen (43 points and 10 rebounds) for Utah and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (39 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists) in Oklahoma City.
KINGS 133 – BLAZERS 116
De’Aaron Fox (31 points) and Domantas Sabonis (triple-double with 18 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists) returned to Sacramento from their All-Star appearance with a smile to topple a Blazers without Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkic.
Nassir Little (26) points led Portland’s attack.
MAGIC 108 – PISTONS 106
Wendell Carter Jr., with a pat-winner at the buzzer, was the hero in Orlando’s victory over Detroit.
Franz Wagner (21 points) was the top scorer for the Magic with seven players over 10 points while Jaden Ivey (25 points) stood out for the Pistons.
– Classifications:
. Eastern Conference:
.1. Boston Celtics 43-17
.2. Milwaukee Bucks 41-17
.3. Philadelphia 76ers 39-19
.4. Cleveland Cavaliers 38-24
.5. Brooklyn Nets 34-24
.6. New York Knicks 33-27
.7. Miami Heat 32-27
.8. Atlanta Hawks 29-30
.9. Toronto Raptors 29-31
10. Washington Wizards 26-32
11. Chicago Bulls 26-33
12. Indiana Pacers 26-35
13. Orlando Magic 25-35
14. Charlotte Hornets 17-43
15. Detroit Pistons 15-45
Western Conference:
.1. Denver Nuggets 42-18
.2. Memphis Grizzlies 35-23
.3. Sacramento Kings 33-25
.4. Los Angeles Clippers 33-28
.5. Phoenix Suns 32-28
.6. Dallas Mavericks 32-29
.7. Minnesota Timberwolves 31-30
.8. New Orleans Pelicans 30-30
.9. Utah Jazz 30-31
10. Golden State Warriors 29-30
11. Oklahoma City Thunder 28-29
12. Portland Trail Blazers 28-31
13. Los Angeles Lakers 28-32
14. San Antonio Spurs 14-46
15. Houston Rockets 13-45.
NEXT DAY (Friday, February 24)
Washington Wizards – New York Knicks
Atlanta Hawks – Cleveland Cavaliers
Milwaukee Bucks – Miami Heat
Minnesota Timberwolves – Charlotte Hornets
Chicago Bulls – Brooklyn Nets
Phoenix Suns – Oklahoma City Thunder
Golden State Warriors – Houston Rockets
Los Angeles Clippers – Sacramento Kings.
