Denver, Memphis and Sacramento continue
Aurélie Sacchelli, Media365, published on Thursday January 19, 2023 at 11:23 am
Denver, Memphis and Sacramento, the top three teams in the Western Conference, continued their winning streak on Wednesday by dominating Minnesota, Cleveland and the Lakers respectively.
As the NBA packs its bags in Paris this Thursday for the matchup between Detroit and Chicago at the Accor Arena, the season is making its way across the Atlantic, and things are heating up at the top of the Western Conference! Denver, Memphis and Sacramento, the top three, continued their winning streak. For the Nuggets, it was their eighth straight win, at the expense of Minnesota. The Colorado franchise won with a score of 122-118 against the Wolves who lost their “twin towers” Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns. Nikola Jokic, author of 31 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds, became the best passer in Nuggets history (3686 assists), ahead of Alex English, in this meeting. But the match was close, no team was ahead by more than ten points, and Jamal Murray (28pts) proved decisive, scoring 56 seconds from the end of the basket 120-118. Aaron Gordon then sealed the win with a dunk 14 seconds from the buzzer. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, notched an eleventh straight win (franchise record, set last season, tied). And for them, it was difficult, but they finally won 115-114 against Cleveland. Memphis had a 19-point lead in the second quarter, but the Cavaliers came back and led several times in the final quarter. With 1’14 from the end, the Ohio players still led 114-111, but Ja Morant (24pts, 8pds) brought his team back to -2 thanks to free throws, and finally Steven Adams ( 13pts, 10rbds) gave the win a little tap after a missed shot from Morant sixteen seconds from the buzzer. Darius Garland (23pts, 14pds) missed the winning goal, which Dillon Brooks answered.
Sacramento offers the Lakers without Sabonis
The surprise of this first half of the season in the West is called Sacramento, and the Kings, without Domantas Sabonis (sick), went for the sixth straight victory on the floor of the Lakers: 111-116. Leading by fourteen points at the end of the first quarter, Sacramento turned the tide to lead by fourteen points at the end of the third. The two teams then found themselves tied several times in the final quarter. At 1’10 from the end, the score was 108-108, but the Lakers broke the little game of free throws, which were given 8-3. Led by 31 points and 6 assists by De’Aaron Fox, the Kings can seriously start thinking about the playoffs, which they haven’t played since 2006 (no team has done worse)while for the Lakers of LeBron James (32pts, 8rbds, 9pds) and Russell Westbrook (19pts, 7rbds, 5pds), it will be necessary to chain wins to get closer to the play-in … New Orleans and Dallas, which are next in the standings, however, lost respectively to Atlanta (122-130, 30 points for Luka Doncic and Dejounte Murray) and against Miami (98-124).
NBA / REGULAR SEASON
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
New York Knicks- washington wizards : 105-116
Evan Fournier (NYK) did not play, by coach’s decision
Dallas Mavericks- Atlanta Hawks : 122-130
Frank Ntilina (DAL) did not play, at the coach’s decision
Houston Rockets- Charlotte Hornets : 117-122
Théo Maledon (CHA), sent to the G-League, did not play
Oklahoma City Thunder – Indiana Pacers: 126-106
Ousmane Dieng (OKC) did not play, injured wrist
Utah jazz -Los Angeles Clippers: 126-103
Stats of Nicolas Batum (LAC): 23 minutes of play, 11 points (4/5 on shots including 3/4 on 3pts, 0 free throws attempted), 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 fouls
Moussa Diabaté (LAC) stats: 22 minutes of play, 3 points (1/4 on shots including 0 3-point shots, 1/4 on free throws), 6 rebounds, 1 interception, 3 blocks, 2 loose balls, 3 faults
Denver Nuggets – Minnesota Timberwolves: 122-118
Rudy Gobert (MIN), groin injury, did not play
Los Angeles Lakers- Sacramento Kings : 111-116
New Orleans Pelicans- Miami Heat : 98-124
Memphis Grizzlies – Cleveland Cavaliers: 115-114
