Golden State, albeit mistreated by Joel Embiid (author of 46 points), beat Philadelphia (120-112) in the Friday round in the NBA, while the Grizzlies took the ticket to the playoffs in the West by dominating the Rockets (151-114) .
The comparison between the defending champions and one of the most serious candidates to succeed him has long been uncertain.
The team ahead in the score has changed 19 times.
A melee well summed up in the one between Embiid (13/23 shooting, 9 rebounds, 8 assists) and all the Warriors.
Jordan Poole scored 19 of his 33 points in the last quarter, Stephen Curry was no less (29 points, 8 rebounds), Klay Thompson brought in 21. And in the absence of James Harden (Achilles tendon), Tobias Harris (23 points) and Tyrese Maxey (21) supported Embiid, who continues his month of March at potential MVP pace,
with 35 points average.
Thanks to this third victory in a row, Golden State consolidates its sixth place, the last one that directly qualifies for the playoffs, and approaches Phoenix (fifth), defeated in Sacramento (135-127), despite Devin Booker's 32 points.
In the fight for the playoffs, the Lakers made the right move of the day by defeating (116-111) Oklahoma City, one of their direct opponents.
Anthony Davis (37 points, 15 rebounds) was decisive for LA which remains eighth.
The Thunder are tenth, ahead of Dallas, beaten (117-109) by Charlotte.
It's the Mavs' sixth loss in eight games.
In the East, Milwaukee overwhelmed the Jazz (144-116), making the collective talk, as the five starters totaled between 17 and 25 points, with Grayson Allen the most prolific.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, on the other hand, didn't go far (24 points, 11 assists).
Boston (second) scored a fourth success in five games, rather easily (120-95) at the expense of Indiana.
Jayson Tatum, with 34 points, took the opportunity to set a new franchise record, with his 40th 30-point game this season, surpassing the legendary Larry Bird, who had achieved 39 times in the 1987 season -'88.
Toronto (ninth) relied on Pascal Siakam (32 points) to beat the Pistons (118-97).