NBA: The Boston Celtics in demonstration against the Phoenix Suns, Rudy Gobert and the French at the party

The Game: The Celtics crush the Suns

The first in the East against the first in the West. One hell of a shock in perspective. An ultimately one-sided poster. Boston showed its full power by activating the steamroller in the first 20 minutes to crush Arizona’s Phoenix. An impressive victory, 125 to 98. Once again for the Massachusetts team, winning 21 of the first 26 games this season.

The Celtics took over from the start (31-21) and widened the gap before halftime (69-42). There was already no match. Offensively and defensively, they were superior in all areas while relying on the individual performances of their two superstars. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 25 points. The best duo in the NBA and the best team in the league.

However, the Suns were able to count on the return of Chris Paul, who was absent for 14 games. But the future Hall Of Famer obviously lacked pace. He sank, like all his teammates, and finished with 4 points and 4 assists in 26 minutes.

The Player: Antetokounmpo impresses

Montrezl Harrell may have stung the wrong competitor. The Philadelphia infielder had tried to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo from shooting free throws on the Sixers’ field after a loss to the Bucks. Which annoyed the Greek, to the point that the latter ended up tipping over a ladder. He’s been chaining the boxes ever since. The double MVP, for example, had 35 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists in a win against the Kings on Wednesday night (126-113).

Another impressive performance from one who is, without a doubt, the best player in the world today. Antetokounmpo hasn’t dropped below 30 points since this incident against Philly. That’s eight games in a row to 30 or more points, current streak. With six wins on the line for Milwaukee.

The performance: The Bulls trio at the revival

Not always to their advantage this season, the Chicago three stars led their team to a win against Washington Wednesday night (115-111). DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic collected 77 points by scoring 27, 25 and 25 checkers respectively. The first-named even scored 15 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter to put the Bulls back in front and win by the wire. The Illinois franchise remains 12th in the East, one league and one win behind its opponent of the night.

The record: Ja Morant surpasses Marc Gasol in Memphis

26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Ja Morant did a bit of everything to allow Memphis to beat Oklahoma City (123-102). His second triple double of the season but also the seventh of his career that started in 2019. All under the Grizzlies jacket. And it’s already a franchise record. Morant therefore does better than Marc Gasol. He left to stay in Tennessee for a while and register as… the best player in the history of the organization.

The action: Jazz “steals” the victory from the Warriors on the final possession

Excellent pressing by the Utah players to recover the ball when they were trailing by a point of Golden State. Simone Fontecchio ended up in a dunk one second from the siren and the Jazz won in extremis against the Warriors (124-123). A big collective win and one hell of a delay for the Salt Lake City franchise, led by 4 points in the last 13 seconds against an opponent stripped of most of its frames.

The Frenchman: Rudy Gobert collects rebounds

Wolves squandered a 23-point lead, but still beat the Pacers last night. With an excellent Rudy Gobert, decisive in the last moments of the game. He totaled 16 points and above all 21 rebounds with also 3 steals and 2 blocks. The pivot didn’t budge on the line and blocked one of Buddy Hield’s last attempts. A game that will do him good.

Excellent performance also for Killian Hayes, author of a double-double (17 points, 12 assists) despite the defeat of the Pistons against the Pelicans. Starter with the Clippers, Nicolas Batum also played very well. The veteran scored 16 points (4 field goals), grabbed 4 rebounds and dished 5 assists in 38 minutes. But he couldn’t prevent his team’s narrow loss to the Magic after overtime. Theo Maledon scored 5 points off the bench for the Hornets.

All scores

Magic – Clippers: 116-111
Nets – Hornets: 122-116
Knicks-Hawks: 113-89
Raptors-Lakers: 126-113
Bulls – Wizards: 115-111
Grizzlies – Thunder: 123-102
Bucks – Kings: 126-113
Timberwolves-Pacers: 121-115
Pelicans – Pistons: 104-98
Jazz – Warriors: 124-123
Suns – Celtics: 98-125