Chicago (USA), Jan 11 (EFE).- The Denver Nuggets, leaders of the West tied with the Memphis Grizzlies (27-13), who added their eighth consecutive victory, the Boston Celtics, with a monumental Jaylen Brown, and the Milwaukee Bucks, with an unprecedented double-double of 18 rebounds and ten assists, for only seven points, from the Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo, did not fail this Wednesday in the NBA day.
CELTICS 125 – PELICANS 114
Jaylen Brown, with 41 points and twelve rebounds, and Jayson Tatum, with 31 points and ten rebounds, led the Celtics’ solid victory over the Pelicans in which CJ McCollum, with 38 points, was not enough for his team to survive the casualties of Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
The Celtics added their fourth consecutive victory and meet this Thursday with the Brooklyn Nets in a duel between the first and second in the East, respectively. In the Pelicans, third in the West, the Spanish Willy Hernangómez did not have minutes.
NUGGETS 126 – 97 SUNS
Jokic was one assist shy of his 12th triple-double of the year with 21 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists, and the Nuggets held on to No. 1 in the West after celebrating their 12th straight home win.
The victory ended up being bittersweet for the Nuggets, as Jamal Murray retired, with the game largely already sentenced, after a sprained ankle that could also have consequences on his knee.
The Suns, who had added a great victory 24 hours in San Francisco against the Golden State Warriors, are still without Devin Booker, Chris Paul. DeAndre Ayton, Cam Johnson and Jae Crowder, among others.
GRIZZLIES 135 – SPURS 129
Ja Morant returned after two games out and led the Grizzlies’ seventh straight win with 38 points, the second in three days against the San Antonio Spurs.
Jaren Jackson signed a double double of 21 points and twelve rebounds, while the Spanish Santi Aldama contributed seven points and five rebounds in 22 minutes coming off the bench.
HAWKS 105 – BUCKS 114
For the first time in his career, Antetokounmpo scored a double-double despite scoring fewer than 10 points. He did not go beyond seven in Atlanta (3 of 10 shooting), but he grabbed 18 rebounds and distributed ten assists for a Bucks who became strong against the Hawks, with twenty points and twelve rebounds from Brook López and 27 points from Jrue Holiday.
The Bucks are third in the East, behind the Celtics and Nets, while the Hawks, who were without Trae Young, are ninth (19-22).
KNICKS 119 – PACERS 113
The Knicks caught up with the Pacers in the East table (sixth place) by winning at Madison Square Garden with 34 points from Jalen Brunson, 27 from RJ Barrett and a double-double of fourteen points and 16 rebounds from Julius Randle.
In the Pacers, Buddy Hield contributed 31 points, with seven triples, and eight rebounds. However, Tyrese Haliburton, who was having a great season averaging 20.2 points and 10.2 assists per game, withdrew in the third quarter and left the stadium on crutches after a knee injury.
WIZARDS 100 – BULLS 97
A triple by Kyle Kuzma six seconds from the end gave the Wizards victory over the Bulls, in which Zach LaVine (38 points) had equalized the duel with a spectacular three-pointer with thirty seconds on the clock.
The Bulls, without DeMar DeRozan, had a thirteen-point margin at halftime, but paid for a 41-21 third quarter loss. Without Latvian Kristaps Porzingis, the Wizards were led by 21 points from Kuzma and nine, with twenty rebounds, from Deni Avdija.
PISTONS 135 – TIMBERWOLVES 118
Croatian Bojan Bogdanovic (31 points) and Saddiq Bey (27) contributed 58 points in the Pistons’ victory over the Timberwolves, in which Anthony Edwards had twenty points and Frenchman Rudy Gobert contributed a double-double of 16 points and fourteen rebounds .
The Wolves fell after four straight victories, while the Pistons snapped a three-game losing streak to move to second-from-last in the East, ahead of the bottom-place Charlotte Hornets.
KINGS 135 – ROCKETS 115
A 17-4 run in a fourth quarter won by 41-20 allowed the Kings to defeat the Rockets, with a double-double of 25 points and fourteen rebounds, with nine assists from Domantas Sabonis, to place fifth in the West.
In the Rockets, bottom in the same Conference, the Turkish Alperen Sengun signed a triple double of ten points, ten rebounds and ten assists.
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— Classifications:
. Eastern Conference:
.1. Boston Celtics 30-12
.2. Brooklyn Nets 27-13
.3. Milwaukee Bucks 27-14
.4. Philadelphia 76ers 25-15
.5. Cleveland Cavaliers 26-16
.6. New York Knicks 23-19
.7. Indiana Pacers 23-19
.8. Miami Heat 22-20
.9. Atlanta Hawks 19-22
10. Chicago Bulls 19-23
11. Toronto Raptors 18-23
12. Washington Wizards 18-24
13. Orlando Magic 16-26
14. Detroit Pistons 12-33
15. Charlotte Hornets 11-31
. Western Conference:
.1. Memphis Grizzlies 28-13
.2. Denver Nuggets 28-13
.3. New Orleans Pelicans 25-17
.4. Dallas Mavericks 23-19
.5. Sacramento Kings 22-18
.6. LA Clippers 22-21
.7. Phoenix Suns 21-22
.8. Golden State Warriors 20-21
.9. Utah Jazz 21-23
10. Minnesota Timberwolves 20-22
11. Portland Trail Blazers 19-21
12. LA Lakers 19-22
13. Oklahoma City Thunder 18-23
14. San Antonio Spurs 13-29
15. Houston Rockets 10-31
(c) EFE Agency
