Denver, Memphis and Sacramento no longer stop

While the NBA is packing its bags in Paris this Thursday with the match between Detroit and Chicago at the Accor Arena, the season is taking its course on the other side of the Atlantic, and things are going strong at the top of the Western Conference! Denver, Memphis and Sacramento, the top three, continued their winning streak. For the Nuggets, this is an eighth straight win, at the expense of Minnesota. The Colorado franchise won 122-118 against Wolves deprived of 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 the history of the Nuggets (3686 assists), ahead of Alex English, during this meeting. But the match was close, no team ever having more than ten points in advance, and it was Jamal Murray (28pts) who proved decisive, scoring 56 seconds from the end the basket of 120-118 . Aaron Gordon then sealed the victory with a dunk 14 seconds from the buzzer. The Grizzlies, meanwhile, signed an eleventh straight victory (franchise record, dating from last season, tied). And for them too, 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 were ahead several times in the final quarter. At 1’14 from the end, the Ohio players still led 114-111, but Ja Morant (24pts, 8pds) put his team back to -2 thanks to free throws, and it was finally Steven Adams ( 13pts, 10rbds) which gave the victory with a small tap after a missed shot from Morant sixteen seconds from the buzzer. Darius Garland (23pts, 14pds) then missed the winning shot, being countered by Dillon Brooks.

Sacramento s’offre les Lakers sans 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 a sixth victory in a row on the floor of the Lakers: 111-116. Led by fourteen points at the end of the first quarter, Sacramento reversed the trend to lead in turn 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 cracked the small game of free throws, conceding an 8-3. Buoyed by De’Aaron Fox’s 31 points and 6 assists, the Kings can seriously start thinking about the play-offs, 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 victories to get closer to the play-in… New Orleans and Dallas, which follow 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 decision of the coach

Dallas Mavericks – Atlanta Hawks : 122-130
Frank Ntilina (DAL) did not play, by decision of the coach

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), injured in the wrist, did not play

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 at 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), injured in the groin, did not play

Los Angeles Lakers – Sacramento Kings : 111-116
New Orleans Pelicans – Miami Heat : 98-124
Memphis Grizzlies – Cleveland Cavaliers : 115-114