Published on : 17/04/2021 – 08:58
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Los Angeles (AFP)
The Philadelphia Sixers, leaders of the NBA Eastern Conference, dominated the Los Angeles Clippers (106-103) in the Friday night poster, thanks to another extraordinary performance from Joel Embiid, author of 36 points and 14 rebounds. .
The Cameroonian became the first Philadelphia player since 2006 to score more than 35 points in three consecutive matches, two weeks after his return to the court following a left knee injury that deprived him of ten games.
In his last six games, the inside player is averaging over 30 points and nine rebounds. The 4,000 spectators present at the Wells Fargo Center were not mistaken, chanting “MVP MVP” – the MVP designates the best player of a season in the NBA -.
“I think clearly the MVP this season is him. He dominates so much!” Said teammate Ben Simmons.
At the Clippers, Paul George did better than Embiid by scoring 37 points, but with waste (14/29 on shots).
Despite this defeat, the LA Clippers are still 4th in the Western Conference but see the return of Denver, wide winner of the Houston Rockets (128-99).
Nikola Jokic, of the Nuggets, was again brilliant and came close to the triple double (29 points with 83.3% success on shots, 16 rebounds, 7 assists).
The Brooklyn Nets, runners-up to the Sixers in the Eastern Conference, also won against the Charlotte Hornets (130-115).
– Rudy Gobert, king of the skies –
The Brooklyn diesel took a long time to heat up and the New York team were six points behind at the end of the first quarter.
But the teammates of Joe Harris and Kevin Durant, authors respectively of 26 and 25 points with exactly the same success rate on shots (66.7%), won the next three to finish with a comfortable lead over Charlotte where Miles Bridges ( 33 points with 72.2% success on shots) struggled in vain.
In the Western Conference, the Utah Jazz, leader, managed to turn things around against Indiana to win (119-111). The Pacers were indeed 13 points ahead at halftime.
The Jazz ended without its soloist Donovan Mitchell, who left his comrades at the start of the third quarter. Badly landed on his right foot while trying to intercept the ball, the one who had already scored 22 points at this point in the game apparently suffers from a sprained right ankle.
Utah Jazz’s French interior Rudy Gobert was monstrous in the racket, with 23 rebounds and four blocks. He added 13 points to that performance, missing only one of his seven shots.
Portland snatched the victory on the floor of San Antonio (107-106). The Trail Blazers can say a big thank you to Norman Powell, who scored the basket 2 points from the win 22 seconds from the buzzer.
One of Portland’s centerpieces, Damien Lillard, who has six All Star Game appearances and had a remarkable season (28.7 pts and 7.7 assists on average per game), had to forfeit this game, hamstring injury.
The Detroit Pistons, however last of the Eastern Conference, beat (110-104) Oklahoma City, which thus registers a ninth consecutive defeat and is only 13th of the Western Conference.
© 2021 AFP
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