James radiates again in loss, Jokic saves Denver

Stratospheric, with 46 points scored including 9 award-winning baskets, but too alone, LeBron James could not prevent another defeat for the Lakers against the Clippers (133-115) on Tuesday in the NBA, while Nikola Jokic managed to save Denver at New Orleans (99-98).

At 38, has “LBJ” ever been so strong? The question currently arises with each of its releases, almost always punctuated by a “masterclass”. In this month of January, ten matches, he averages 35 points and 51.8% shooting success.

Enough to catch up at very high speed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 pts), since he only needs 178 units to overtake the legend in the ranking of the best scorers in history.

During this “angeleno” derby, “LBJ” (8 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 interceptions) took the opportunity to beat his personal record of baskets behind the arc, while boasting of having now scored at least 40 points in all league teams.

He thus vainly sounded the alarm clock for the Lakers, comatose for three quarters and in Gruyère mode defensively, against the much more efficient Clippers collectively, in the wake of Paul George (27 pts, 9 rebounds) and Kawhi Leonard (25 pts , 9 rbds).

– “We have to help him” –

“LeBron is playing at an incredible level, I’m happy for him, but we have to improve. We have to keep fighting, playing together and helping him,” said coach Darvin Ham, aware of the urgency.

Stuck in 13th place, the Lakers are indeed far from the play-offs. Nicolas Batum’s Clippers (4 pts, 6 assists, 6 rebounds) continue to gain momentum, in 5th place.

At the head of the conference, Denver got scared, squandering a 19-point lead in New Orleans, before finally winning on the wire, thanks to Nikola Jokic.

Not content with lining up a new triple-double (25 pts, 11 rebounds, 10 assists), his 4th in a row and the 15th of the season, the double MVP put the winning basket with a float at mid- distance at 16.9 seconds from the end.

Despite this fifth setback in a row, the Pelicans, penalized by the absence of Zion Williamson, which will continue for another two weeks (hamstring), remain 4th.

Especially since Dallas (6th) had to lose at home to Washington (127-126). Luka Doncic nevertheless struggled by scoring 41 points (15 rebounds, 6 assists), but Kyle Kuzma (30 pts) put the free throw he needed 5 seconds from the buzzer for the Wizards (11th in the East) .

– Boston cale encore –

In Phoenix, the Suns (7th) followed up with a fourth success in a row at the expense of Charlotte (128-97).

In the East, the leader Boston conceded a second consecutive defeat in Miami (98-95), paying a badly managed last quarter and 30 points from Bam Adebayo.

The absences of Jaylen Brown (adductor), Al Horford (back), Malcolm Brogdon (personal reasons) and Marcus Smart (ankle), ended up weighing too much for the Celtics, who nevertheless led by 10 units (87-77) in the last quarter, thanks to Jayson Tatum (31 pts, 14 rebounds).

When the Heat, deprived of Jimmy Butler (lumbar), fought back, piling up 15 points while the C’s missed ten shots in a row. The latter still equalized (95-95), on a long distance banderilla from Grant Williams in the last minute.

But Adebayo (15 rbds) put Miami back in front with a shot 20 seconds from the buzzer, on a pass from the back Tyler Herro, clumsy (9 pts at 4/19) in this match but decisive by intercepting a pass from Tatum on the ultimate possession.

Miami remains 6th, behind Cleveland defeated in New York (105-103), where Julius Randle shone (36 pts, 13 rebounds) with eight baskets behind the arc, including the last crucial two minutes from the end. All without Evan Fournier, excused since his wife gave birth to their second child.