By dominating New York during the derby (114-112), Brooklyn took the lead of the Eastern Conference this night alone. In the West, Phoenix dominated Houston (130-133) and moved closer to 1st place, because Utah was at the same time beaten by Dallas (111-103).
The match of the night
Although deprived of Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin for this meeting, then quickly of James Harden, the Nets dominated the Knicks in the New York derby (114-112). Almost alone against all, Kyrie Irving had to pull out all the stops to allow his team to win at Barclays Center. Author of 40 points and 7 assists, the leader of Brooklyn was strong, well supported by Jeff Green (23 points) and Joe Harris (16 points and 8 rebounds). Especially that opposite, the team of Tom Thibodeau dearly sold its skin by leading before and after the break, with a gap amounting to 14 units. But the 3rd quarter woke up the Nets (32-21), who then took control of the match, but were afraid to the end. Highly visible during the derby, Julius Randle (19 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists) was indeed not far from giving the victory to his people at the buzzer. Thanks to this 35th victory in 51 games, Steve Nash’s players took the opportunity to take the lead in the Eastern Conference alone, ahead of Philadelphia and Milwaukee.
MVP of the night
Traveling to Texas to challenge the Houston Rockets, Phoenix was able to count on a very good Devin Booker to sign a 6th straight victory, and thus consolidate his 2nd place in the West. Faced with one of the worst teams of the season (14th in its Conference), the number 1 of the Suns shone offensively with 36 points in particular (11/20 on shots, including 6/8 three points, and 8/9 throws), 6 rebounds and 6 assists in 36 minutes. While the gap seemed large on paper between the two franchises, however, Phoenix was scared at the Toyota Center, after having yet counted up to 15 lengths ahead after halftime. Houston’s good end to the game, however, allowed Booker to catch fire with 18 points in the 4th quarter. Very clean behind the three-point line, the rear got the Suns out of a bad posture and was therefore the great architect of the 35th victory of the season for his team. The Kentucky-trained player will inevitably be eagerly awaited again in two days for the shock against Utah, which could allow his team to come very close to the lead in the West.
The flop of the night
As Utah remained on a nine straight winning streak, the Jazz fell tonight in Texas. At the American Airlines Center, Dallas, yet deprived of Kristaps Porzingis, signed a big blow in his den (111-103). Obviously, Luka Doncic is no stranger to all this with 31 points (including 6 of 11 with three points), 9 rebounds and 8 assists to his credit. In addition to the Slovenian prodigy, the Mavericks were able to count on the contribution of Dorian Finney-Smith (23 points), Jalen Brunson (20 points), Josh Richardson (17 points) and Tim Hardaway Jr (16 points) to bring down the current best team in the NBA.
In the process, Rudy Gobert’s teammates (14 points and 15 rebounds) dropped in the 2nd and 3rd quarters with a 60-44 conceded in 24 minutes and fatal on arrival, despite an end of the match rather at their advantage. If Mike Conley (28 points and 7 assists) was also present for the Jazz, Donovan Mitchell failed despite his 16 units (6 of 23 shots …). With this victory, Dallas signs a 5th success in a row and approaches the 6th place, held by Portland. Conversely, with this 12th loss of the season in 50 games, Utah sees Phoenix return before the long-awaited clash between the two franchises on April 8 in Arizona.
French of the night
If the duel between Oklahoma City (13th in the East) and Detroit (15th in the East) was not of great interest. He at least allowed to see the French shine this night in the NBA. Indeed, there were four of them playing on the floor of the Chesapeake Energy Arena, with Théo Maledon and Jaylen Hoard, who signed a two-way contract with the Thunder, on one side and Sekou Doumbouya and Killian Hayes, back from injury, on the other. If he did not shine more than the others, the latter is gaining momentum for his second game after his hip injury, which has kept him away from the field since the beginning of January. On the night of Monday to Tuesday, the leader of the Pistons once again started on the bench but played 25 minutes. With 9 points (at 4/9 on shots, including 1/4 at three points), 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 faults, 4 steals and 3 lost balls and 2 blocks to his credit, the player passed by Cholet was rather interesting and gradually regains his rhythm, before why not find his place in the starting five of his franchise.
Top 10 of the night
BASKET – NBA / REGULAR SEASON
Monday, April 5, 2021
Brooklyn Nets – New York Knicks : 114-112
> Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot (BKN): 9 points (2/7 on shots, including 1/4 on three points, and 4/4 on free throws), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 faults, 1 interception and 1 against in 32 minutes
> Frank Ntilikina (NYK) did not play
Dallas Mavericks – Utah Jazz : 111-103
> Rudy Gobert (UTA): 14 points (6/6 on shots and 2/3 on free throws), 15 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 foul, 1 stray ball and 2 blocks in 34 minutes
Minnesota Timberwolves – Sacramento Kings : 116-106
Oklahoma City Thunder – Detroit Pistons : 108-132
> Jaylen Hoard (OKC): 10 points (4/10 on shots, including 0/1 on three points, and 2/2 on free throws), 6 rebounds, 1 foul, 1 interception, 3 lost balls and 1 against in 22 minutes
> Théo Maledon (OKC): 14 points (5/12 on shots, including 0/2 on three points, and 4/5 on free throws), 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 foul and 3 balls lost in 26 minutes
> Sekou Doumbouya (DET): 14 points (5/11 on shots, including 2/6 on three points, and 2/2 on free throws), 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 fouls and 1 lost ball in 23 minutes
> Killian Hayes (DET): 9 points (4/9 on shots, including 1/4 three points), 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 fouls, 4 steals and 3 lost balls and 2 blocks in 25 minutes
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