Los Angeles (AFP)
The hard-fought Lakers, the Lakers, are the big winners of Friday's NBA night, where rivals Clippers and Nuggets have fallen to the big boys of East, Milwaukee and Boston.
. The breakaway
After winning in Denver and Utah, the Lakers completed their perilous road trip in Portland (136-113), never shaking, in the wake of the untenable duo LeBron James / Anthony Davis, 70 points between them.
"AD" scored 39, including 25 in the first period (9 rebounds). The "King", who raised a spectator who fell on the floor after pushing her, offering him a moment of joy that she is not ready to forget, was split by 31 points (8 assists, 7 rbds).
With this 20th success, LA accentuates its lead at the West conference, where its runner-up is now called Dallas.
Blazers side, whose coach Terry Stotts was excluded for too much challenge, Damian Lillard did what he could (27 pts, 7 rebounds, 6 assists), just like Carmelo Anthony (15 pts, 4 interceptions) ).
. The message
More than the 14th win in a row - the best series underway this season - is how Milwaukee won against Los Angeles Clippers (119-91), to consolidate their domination in the East, with 20 wins in 23 games.
In this clash of contenders for the title that was imagined closer, the Bucks have taken it in two stages to impress on the men of Doc Rivers that they could not compete on this one, winning the first quarter 30 -15 and the third 35-19.
Led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who scored 27 points and 11 rebounds, the Wisconsin franchise played with play-off commitment and motivation, sending a message to rivals.
Clippers, now fourth in the West, Kawhi Leonard (17 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) and Paul George (13 pts, 7 rebounds) were below their usual performances.
. The fortress
In the other East-West poster, Boston emerged with authority over Denver (108-95). Undefeated in their Garden in nine games, the Celtics remain 2nd of their conference.
Jayson Tatum trio, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker scored 66 points for the third quarter (32-19) success, also thanks to an excellent 53.7% overall shooting ability.
Opposite, the back-to-back (two games in two days) seemed to weigh in the legs of the Nuggets, after their easy victory of the day in New York. Only Serbian Nikola Jokic appeared at the party on this day of St. Nicholas, with 30 points and 10 rebounds to his credit. After this 6th loss, Denver slipped to third place.
. The phrase
"If I had been in New York, that would have happened to me three years ago, and I know that I made the right choice," said Golden's coach. State Steve Kerr, in reaction to the dismissal of his colleague David Fizdale by New York, a club that had coveted him five years ago.
It turns out that Kerr is also at the head of a final team of his conference, but without being weakened with respect to the three titles won with the Warriors in 2015, 2017, 2018 and while his stars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson are injured.
His Warriors in reconstruction gave him a smile by winning in Chicago (100-98). A success that is good for them, after four consecutive losses, even if they remain last in the West.
. The Frenchies
Evan Fournier scored 18 points for Orlando (2 rbds, 2 assists), winner of his fourth ranked match in Cleveland (93-87).
In Charlotte, Nicolas Batum was quite present on the court (33 min) but his performance was average (3 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 interceptions) in the home defeat against Brooklyn (111-104).
The results of the North American Basketball Championship (NBA) after the games played on Friday:
Boston - Denver 108 - 95
Miami - Washington 112 - 103
Portland - LA Lakers 113 - 136
Milwaukee - LA Clippers 119 - 91
San Antonio - Sacramento 105 - 104 ap
Chicago - Golden State 98 - 100
Oklahoma City - Minnesota 139 - 127 ap
Charlotte - Brooklyn 104 - 111
Cleveland - Orlando 87 - 93
Detroit - Indiana 108 - 101
© 2019 AFP