The poster kept its promises in Los Angeles, where the Sixers were able to raise their arms in relief, when Russell Westbrook, yet successful so far with a triple-double (20 pts, 14 rebounds, 11 assists) "ate" the ball on the last possession of the match, procrastinating until having it stolen after throwing it anyhow in front of Embiid.

The imposing Cameroonian, author of 35 points (11 rbds), had come to defend on this action, just after having scored the winning basket of yet another shot at the head of the racket, on a service from James Harden, who played very fair (24 pts, 13 assists).

LeBron James did not hide his frustration, returning to the locker room without lending himself to the usual hugs after the buzzer.

He again made a very good copy (35 pts at 15/23, 10 assists, 8 rebounds), but with defeat at the end, as too often this season.

Philadelphia Sixers' Joel Embiid (#21) during the NBA game against the LA Lakers on January 15, 2023 in Los Angeles © Sean M. Haffey / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

38,000 points crossed

Not sure that consoles him, but he became, as expected, the second player in history to pass the 38,000 point mark.

He is just 364 short of breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record (38.387), which should happen around February 11.

In the meantime, his Lakers remain in bad shape, stuck in 13th place in the West.

In the other conference, Philly climbs to 4th place, with the same record as Milwaukee (3rd), just behind Brooklyn, which lost (112-102) at home to the Thunder.

A second consecutive setback which is explained by the absence of Kevin Durant (sprained right knee), who will not return to the courts for a week at best, or even more.

Until then, Kyrie Irving will have to do much better than in this match (15 pts, at 7/20).

For OKC, carried by the talented Josh Giddey (28 pts, 9 assists, 9 rebounds) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (28 pts), the recovery continues to take place after this third victory in a row (11th in the West, tied with Phoenix).

Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving (#11) during the NBA game against Oklahoma City on January 15, 2023 in New York © JAMIE SQUIRE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

On the other side of the East River, the Knicks, carried by 42 points from Julius Randle (15/24 shooting, 15 rbds), won a third success in a row (117-104), at the expense of Detroit , confirming their current good form (6th).

Leonard ramps up

In Chicago, the hero was named Nikola Vucevic, who equaled his personal record for points scored (18/31 on shots, 13 rebounds), to beat the Warriors.

"It's hard to explain. You just have this feeling inside you that it's going to be your night and you just play around," he commented afterwards.

The Montenegrin pivot was well supported by Zach LaVine (27 pts, 9 rebounds, 6 assists).

Opposite, Klay Thompson was however a constant threat (26 pts, 8/15 at long distance), Stephen Curry (20 pts, 10 rebounds) lacking consistency.

Above all, the Warriors suffered 23 losses of balls, which gave as many opportunities to their opponents to score.

The Bulls (10th in the East), who played without DeMar DeRozan (thigh), remained on three losses and therefore had nothing of an impregnable opponent for the defending champion.

Except that the latter is currently unrecognizable and does not seem driven by a sense of urgency, despite his position as a play-off (8th) in the West, after this fourth setback in five matches.

Coby White of the Chicago Bulls in the opposing racket during the NBA game against the Golden State Warriors on January 15, 2023 in Chicago © Michael Reaves / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

Two ranks higher are the Clippers, who made the difference in the last quarter (30-10) to defeat Houston (121-100), thanks in particular to Kawhi Leonard (30 pts, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) who confirms its rise.

© 2023 AFP