Broken streaks
After four defeats in a row, the Los Angeles Lakers finally found victory, against neighbors the Los Angeles Clippers, who remained on five wins (106-103). The two teams offered a suspenseful game, with Norman Powell missing the overtime basket at the buzzer. Top scorer of the match, LeBron James was again decisive, at 39 years old, with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. He notably crushed a mammoth dunk during the 3rd quarter to bring the Crypto.com Arena to its feet. The Lakers remain 10th in the west (18 wins – 19 losses) and the Clippers 4th (22 – 13).
Wembanyama nearby
Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs were very close to overthrowing the Cleveland Cavaliers in the final seconds, but lost by two points (117-115). Overtaken with 16 points behind in the last period, the Texans saw their French prodigy sound the revolt, before a final offering for the equalizer screwed up by his teammate Jeremy Sochan. “I have to rewatch the action, I’m not sure (that I made a bad choice). If I made a mistake, I will not repeat it,” commented Wembanyama (24 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks).
Dallas s’offre Minnesota
Dallas and its star duo Luka Doncic/Kyrie Irving dominated Western Conference leader Minnesota 115 to 108 after an intense end to the match. Doncic (34 points, 6 rebounds, 8 assists) was able to count in the last period on an immense Irving (35 points), author of two essential 3-point shots at the end of the game to resist Anthony Edwards (36 points). “I’ve been doing this since I was little,” smiled the leader, used to brilliant endings to matches. “Kyrie and Luka have been great, they set the tone for the team. I feel their confidence in each other (…) They did a great job together to find the path to victory,” greeted their coach Jason Kidd. The Wolves keep the lead in the west (25 wins – 10 losses), the Mavericks are 6th (22 – 15).
Bridges isn’t enough
The highlight of the evening was achieved by Mikal Bridges with 42 points which were not enough for the Brooklyn Nets, beaten at home by Anfernee Simons (38 points) and Portland (134-127). The Nets will play their next game in Paris on Thursday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
