Sports Writing (USA), Feb 14 The Brooklyn Nets broke their terrible streak of eleven straight losses on a day in which the Golden State Warriors succumbed to the Los Angeles Clippers, while the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz maintained their upward trend. NETS 109 – KINGS 85 Twelfth time was the charm. After eleven consecutive losses that filled the Brooklyn project with doubts, the Nets finally won again and they did so relying on the debut of two of their new signings: Seth Curry (23 points and 7 rebounds) and Andre Drummond (11 points and 9 rebounds). Ben Simmons, the showpiece in the James Harden trade with the Philadelphia 76ers, was seen on the Nets’ bench but didn’t play. De’Aaron Fox (26 points) was the best for a Kings off-target (34.4% shooting from the field, 25.7% shooting from 3-point range). CLIPPERS 109 – WARRIORS 104 Stephen Curry scored 16 points in the first quarter and finished the game with 33 points and 8 three-pointers, but the Golden State Warriors guard was left too alone before the display of collective effort and heart in each play of Los Angeles Clippers. Terance Mann (25 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists), Reggie Jackson (19 points, 8 rebounds and 9 assists) and Ivica Zubac (18 points and 8 rebounds) were the highlights of the Clippers who scored 56% of their shots. shots and that melted those of Steve Kerr in the third quarter (33-19). BULLS 120 – SPURS 109 DeMar DeRozan added his sixth straight game with at least 35 points, a very sweet moment for the shooting guard that the Chicago Bulls have taken advantage of to add four straight wins. This time DeRozan had 40 points and 7 assists against his former San Antonio teammates while Dejounte Murray, with 19 points and 11 assists, led a ruinous Spurs in rebounding (33 against 53 for the Bulls). JAZZ 135 – ROCKETS 101 The Utah Jazz continue to correct the sins of their infernal January (4-12) and tonight they achieved their sixth consecutive victory crushing the Houston Rockets who were already ahead by 31 points in the second quarter. Rudy Gobert returned to the Jazz after three weeks out of competition (14 points and 7 rebounds) and the Spanish Juancho Hernangómez played 4 minutes in which he scored 3 points. Donovan Mitchell (30 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists) was one of seven Jazz players above 10 points while Kenyon Martin Jr. (16 points) was the leading scorer for these West bottom Rockets and that they have lost their last five meetings. BUCKS 107 – BLAZERS 122 Anfernee Simons, with 31 points and 7 triples, gave the Portland Trail Blazers a boost and soured the good debut with the Milwaukee Bucks of Spaniard Serge Ibaka, who had 6 points, 7 rebounds, a steal and a block in 31 minutes as a starter. Without Giannis Antetokounmpo due to ankle discomfort, the Bucks, who only made 31.7% of their shots, had their main scorer in Jrue Holiday (23 points and 6 assists). NUGGETS 121 – MAGIC 111 The Denver Nuggets dominated the Orlando Magic with 22 points in the second quarter but had to sweat until the end to take the victory thanks to Nikola Jokic (26 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists). Rookie Franz Wagner (26 points and 8 rebounds) stood out for the Magic while Argentine Facundo Campazzo had 5 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists in 19 minutes for the Nuggets. KNICKS 123 – THUNDER 127 A triple-double by rookie Josh Giddey (28 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists) allowed the Oklahoma City Thunder to win in overtime and away from a New York Knicks too accustomed this season to failures and disappointments . Julius Randle’s triple-double (30 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists) was useless for a Knicks who could have avoided overtime if Randle himself had hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer. PELICANS 120 – RAPTORS 90 The New Orleans Pelicans destroyed an unrecognizable Toronto Raptors (23.5% shooting from 3-point range) with CJ McCollum leading a splendid attack (58.4% shooting, six players over 10 points ). Fred VanVleet (20 points) pulled a Raptors that, from start to finish, were trailing the Pelicans. The Spanish Willy Hernangómez added 2 points, 3 rebounds and a block in 7 minutes with the Pelicans. WIZARDS 103 – PISTONS 94 Eight straight losses lead the Detroit Pistons, the team with the worst record in the league and that tonight fell away to a Washington Wizards in need of good news (3 wins in their last 10 games). Kyle Kuzma (23 points and 7 rebounds) and Saddiq Bey (24 points) were the leading scorers for the Wizards and Pistons, respectively. The Brazilian Raul Neto got 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals in 28 minutes with Washington. EASTERN CONFERENCE: 1.- Miami Heat (37-20) 2.- Chicago Bulls (37-21) 3.- Cleveland Cavaliers (35-22) 4.- Philadelphia 76ers (34-22) 5.- Milwaukee Bucks (35 -23) 6.- Boston Celtics (33-25) 7.- Toronto Raptors (31-25) 8.- Brooklyn Nets (30-27) 9.- Charlotte Hornets (29-29) 10.- Atlanta Hawks (26 -30) 11.- Washington Wizards (26-30) 12.- New York Knicks (25-33) 13.- Indiana Pacers (19-39) 14.- Orlando Magic (13-46) 15.- Detroit Pistons ( 12-45) WESTERN CONFERENCE: 1.- Phoenix Suns (46-10) 2.- Golden State Warriors (42-16) 3.- Memphis Grizzlies (40-18) 4.- Utah Jazz (36-21) 5. – Dallas Mavericks (33-24) 6.- Denver Nuggets (32-25) 7.- Minnesota Timberwolves (30-27) 8.- Los Angeles Clippers (29-30) 9.- Los Angeles Lakers (26-31) 10.- Portland Trail Blazers (24-34) 11.- New Orleans Pelicans (23-34) 12.- San Antonio Spurs (22-36) 13.- Sacramento Kings (22-37) 14.- Oklahoma City Thunder ( 18-39) 15.- Houston Rockets (15-41) NEXT MATCHES (Tuesday, February 15) Atlanta Hawks – Cleveland Cavaliers Mia MI Heat – Dallas Mavericks Philadelphia 76ers – Boston Celtics Milwaukee Bucks – Indiana Pacers Minnesota Timberwolves – Charlotte Hornets New Orleans Pelicans – Memphis Grizzlies Phoenix Suns – Los Angeles Clippers.
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