The Minnesota Timberwolves, beaten at the last in San Antonio on Saturday, made the splits by achieving a great performance on the floor of the Oklahoma City Thunder (107-101). The two teams, with similar records before the game, were competing for the lead in the Western Conference, which therefore goes to the Wolves (33 wins – 14 losses). The superb meeting saw two talented and almost complete teams go blow for blow (24 changes of leader, never more than 10 points apart), particularly during the 4th quarter. Canadian point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, selected among the starters for the All-Star Game (February 18), delighted with 37 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists. But the Wolves of Anthony Edwards (27 points) displayed their collective strength, notably with their two “big men” Karl-Anthony Towns (21 points, 10 rebounds) and Rudy Gobert (12 points, 17 rebounds). A spectacular dunk from the leaping Edwards created a definitive gap 2 minutes from time.
The Los Angeles Clippers of Kawhi Leonard (30 points, 8 rebounds) saw their series of 5 victories stopped by the Cleveland Cavaliers of Donovan Mitchell (28 points), also in very good shape (10 wins in the last 11 matches). Paul George was clumsy (13 points on 3 out of 11 shooting) for the Clippers. The “Cavs” were able to count on the return of interior Evan Mobley (10 points, 9 rebounds) after knee surgery on December 18.
Experienced coach Doc Rivers (62), who arrived last week at the head of the Milwaukee Bucks, lost his first match against defending champion Denver (113-107). “Overall, I’m happy. We fought, it’s encouraging,” said Rivers, who replaces Adrian Griffin, dismissed despite the team’s 2nd place in the East. Nikola Jokic, with a triple-double (25 points, 16 rebounds, 12 assists) and Jamal Murray (35 points) contained Giannis Antetokounmpo’s teammates (29 points, 12 rebounds) at the end of the match. Michael Malone, coach of the Nuggets since 2015, won his 400th regular season game with Denver on Monday.
Three days after his record 73-point performance in Atlanta, Luka Doncic compiled 45 points, 15 assists and 9 rebounds to help Dallas win at home against Orlando (131-129). The Slovenian was well supported by Tim Hardaway Jr., who scored 28 of his 36 points in the second half and allowed the Mavericks to overcome a 16-point gap. Dallas, however, got scared at the end of the game, stupidly losing a ball due to an oversight by coach Jason Kidd, who could have taken a timeout at this crucial moment.
