The Boston Celtics inflicted a very heavy defeat on the Brooklyn Nets and Pascal Siakam made a winning return to Toronto with his Indiana Pacers on Wednesday in the NBA.
The Boston Celtics, best team of the season (leader in the East with 43 wins and 12 losses), crushed the Brooklyn Nets 136 to 86, the 5th largest victory in the club’s history. Already victorious over the Indiana Pacers 155 to 104 in November, the Celtics became only the third team in NBA history to have several successes with more than 50 points difference in the same season, after Milwaukee in 1978-1979 and Sacramento in 1992-1993. Boston’s second knives shone with 28 points for Payton Pritchard in particular.
Cameroonian Pascal Siakam, transferred from Toronto to the Indiana Pacers in January after almost eight years in Canada, made his return to the Raptors floor with a 127-125 victory, finishing as the top scorer for his new team (23 points). An extension shot from Siakam gave the Pacers a three-point lead with 25 seconds remaining, which Scottie Barnes’ Raptors (29 points) could not overcome.
In the absence of captain LeBron James, injured in an ankle, Japanese power forward Rui Hachimura achieved his points record with 33 units during the victory of the Los Angeles Lakers on the floor of the Utah Jazz (138- 122). All-Star center Anthony Davis was again excellent with 37 points and 15 rebounds.
Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs fell to the Dallas Mavericks (116-93) despite another complete performance from the French giant (2.24 m) with 26 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. Wembanyama remained on a rare evening Monday with a triple-double including 10 blocks in Toronto. He will now join Indianapolis where he will compete in the best young people’s tournament (Friday) and the skill competition (Saturday) on the sidelines of the All-Star Game scheduled for Sunday.
Traded to Detroit as part of a multi-player trade with the New York Knicks last week, Evan Fournier is finding playing time with the Pistons. He scored 13 points in 24 minutes on Tuesday for his first game against the Lakers, and was able to add 10 points again in 24 minutes on Wednesday in Phoenix, for a defeat against the Suns (116-110). The 31-year-old fullback, pillar of the France team who has hardly played for a year and a half, has just played more in two days than since the start of the season. A good omen for a return to rhythm before the Paris Olympic Games (July 26 – August 11) this summer.
Les résultats de la nuit :Dallas-San Antonio 116-93Toronto-Indiana 125-127Cleveland-Chicago 108-105Boston-Brooklyn 136-86Golden State-LA Clippers 125-130Phoenix-Detroit 116-100Denver-Sacramento 98-102Utah-LA Lakers 122-138Memphis-Houston 121-113La Nouvelle-Orleans-Washington 133-126Charlotte-Atlanta 122-99Philadelphie-Miami 104-109Orlando-New York 118-100