Houston (USA), Dec 19 (EFE) .- A back pain suffered by Greek power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo prevented him from playing with his Milwaukee Bucks team against the New Orleans Pelicans, which they did have in fullness of form to forward Zion Williamson and they won with ease, 127-113.
So did the Brooklyn Nets, with forward Kevin Durant in top form, against the Boston Celtics. those who beat visitors by beating 89-113.
Meanwhile, the New York Knicks have seen rookie point guard Immanuel Quickley become the undisputed leader in directing the game and his scoring inspiration helped them easily beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 119-83.
Williamson was at the doorstep of the double-double with 31 points, nine rebounds and two assists that left him in front of the attack of the Pelicans, who also had the great work of point guard Lonzo Ball with 19 points and eight touchdown passes .
The Spanish center Willy Hernangomez continued without seeing action with his new team the Pelicans, which have veteran Stan Van Gundy on the bench this season.
Without Antetokounmpo on the field, the leader of the Bucks was forward Khris Middleton, who reached 29 points with four rebounds and four assists that did not prevent the defeat of his team, now with a losing record of 0-3 since the start of the game. preseason.
Durant confirmed that he is fully recovered from the Achilles tendon injury and contributed 25 points, six rebounds, two assists, recovered a ball and put three blocks that left him in front of the attack of the Nets were always superior to the Celtics.
Power forward Jayson Tatum was the only player to be saved in the Celtics’ attack by scoring 19 points with eight rebounds, but the Boston team (0-2) remains without victory so far this season.
The Miami Heat were met with positive surprise to see young second-year forward KZ Okpala finish as the leading scorer with 24 points, including six 3-of-10 attempts and beat the Toronto Raptors 105-117 on the road.
Another outstanding player was the Lithuanian power forward Domantas Sabonis, achieving a double-double of 26 points, 11 rebounds and two ball recoveries, but his Indiana Pacers team (0-3) continued without knowing the victory after losing at home. 107-113 against the Philadelphia Sixers, who are 2-0.
The Denver Nuggets’ attack was once again devastating with power forward Paul Millsap as the great leader who contributed 24 points and together with number four Michael Porter Jr, who scored 20 points and captured nine rebounds, they won by beating 129- 96 to the Portland Trail Blazers.
The rookie point guard, Argentine Facundo Campazzo played 15 minutes as a reserve and finished with three points by scoring 1 of 5 shots from the field, which was a triple of three attempts, and recovered a ball.
Another foreign player, Finnish power forward Lauri Markkanen, contributed 22 points and together with the 20 scored by guard Zach LaVine, led the Chicago Bulls attack that beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 103-105 on the road. .
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