The Los Angeles Lakers won a second game in a row in the absence of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Sunday night against Orlando (96-93). Deprived of their two injured stars and not yet reinforced by Andre Drummond, recruited a few hours earlier, the title holders suffered against the penultimate of the Eastern Conference, who had lost nine of his last ten matches.
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Guided by Dwayne Bacon (26 pts, 8 rebounds), Orlando had taken a five-point lead (82-77) in the middle of the fourth quarter. Despite a pitiful 41.5% shooting, the Lakers still got away with their German leader Dennis Schröder, author of ten points and an assist in the last seven minutes (24 pts, 6 assists, 5 rebounds in total). At the last second, Otto Porter’s three-point shot, which could have given the Magic extra time, was blocked by the circle.
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“It was not beautiful, but we played well, California coach Frank Vogel commented. It was complicated shooting, but our defense got us out of it. “
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Kyle Kuzma (21 pts, 11 rebounds) and Montrezl Harrel (18 pts, 11 rebounds) were also valuable for the Lakers.
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Denver and Aaron Gordon crush Atlanta
Fourth in the Western Conference, the Lakers maintain their lead over the Denver Nuggets, who largely won against Atlanta the duel between two of the most fit teams in the League (126-102). Aaron Gordon, who arrived from Orlando just before the transfer deadline, started with the Nuggets and scored 13 points. Nikola Jokic did not go far from the triple double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists and JaMychal Green split 20 points and 7 rebounds coming off the bench.
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The Hawks, who still had nine wins in eleven games, only resisted until the middle of the second quarter (49-49) before cracking (77-57, 28th). Trae Young signed 21 points and 7 assists, but conceded 7 stray balls.
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“I don’t see any limits to this team, Gordon ignited. We have depth, all the pieces are in place. As long as we work together, we cannot be stopped. “
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Portland, with 22 points and 11 assists from Damian Lillard back after a missed game (knee), won hard in Tampa with the Toronto Raptors (122-117). CJ McCollum was decisive late in the game, scoring 7 of 23 points in the final two minutes.
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Despite Pascal Siakam’s 26 points and 8 rebounds, the Canadian franchise, champion in 2019, concedes its eleventh defeat in 12 matches.
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