Los Angeles (AFP)
Utah, leader in the West, dominated Milwaukee, 2nd in the Eastern Conference, on Friday in the game at the top of an NBA night during which the Lakers, his runners up, signed a seventh straight victory against Memphis, and Dallas defeated New Orleans in an offensive festival.
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The Jazz collective is a hit
Rudy Gobert and Joe Ingles scored 27 points each to allow the team led by Quin Snyder to beat the Milwaukee Bucks (129-115) at home.
The Jazz relied on an explosive and balanced attack to keep the lead of the Western Conference.
For the first time in the history of the Salt Lake-based CIty franchise, the Jazz saw four players score 25 points in one game.
Donovan Mitchell (26 pts) and Jordan Clarkson (25 pts), off the bench, also shone in front of a crowd of nearly 4,000 spectators, the gauge of the Vivint Arena being limited to around 20% of its capacity by the pandemic.
Utah earned a sixth consecutive victory and the 17th in 18 games.
“It doesn't matter who scores, we're going to get out there and play the right way,” said Mitchell.
Sacred best defenseman in the NBA in 2018 and 2019, Gobert made 12 assists and four blocks.
Milwaukee gave way for the second time this season to Jazz.
Its star Giannis Antetokounmpo, MVP in 2019 and 2020, finished with 29 points, 15 rebounds and six assists, but the Greek could not prevent the Bucks from losing their second game in two days.
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James and Davis wear the Lakers
LeBron James and Anthony Davis totaled 63 points in the Lakers' victory, the seventh in a row, against the Memphis Grizzlies (115-105).
For the first time in four games, the franchise of Los Angeles, defending champion, did not need to go into overtime, despite a deficit of 20 points at the start of the game!
“We have to find a solution,” James said.
"We shouldn't be so far behind in the first quarter. We can't do that against good teams and we have good teams coming in. Being down 22-2 is not a good ingredient to become a candidate. in the title, but we found a way back ".
Davis scored 35 points and James finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and eight assists for the Lakers, who looked tired entering the game due to their efforts over the previous days.
"Our defense was not on point in the first quarter. We tightened the screws to accelerate at the end of the third quarter," said Lakers coach Frank Vogel.
James played 34 minutes, and capped off his performance with a spectacular one-handed dunk on a Marc Gasol pass three minutes from time.
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Doncic dominates Zion
In the duel between the two most promising stars of the NBA, Luka Doncic and his team from Dallas won against Zion Williamson and New Orleans (143-130), but the two prodigies each signed their personal best to the number of points scored.
The 21-year-old Slovenian scored 46 points, to which must be added 12 assists and eight rebounds: the seventh game of his career with at least 40 points and 10 assists.
Opposite, the first choice of the 2019 Draft, aged 20, scored 36 points, with a 14 out of 15 on shots.
Kristaps Porzingis added 36 points for the Mavericks who fired on everything.
Symbol of this offensive orgy, the three-point shooting record of the Texas franchise has been broken, with 25 successful attempts.
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said the game against the Pelicans was a defensive "pillow fight", but couldn't help but be impressed by the effectiveness of the team. actors in attack.
“Luka was phenomenal, KP was phenomenal. Williamson was incredible,” he summed up.
© 2021 AFP