"Philly" goes on against Charlotte
Beware of Doc Rivers players!
Philadelphia signed on Saturday night on its floor a third victory in a row, its fifth in six games since the start of the season.
The victim: the Charlotte Hornets, beaten 127-112 despite 35 points from their leader Terry Rozier.
"Philly", triple NBA champion (1967 and 1983, and 1955 under the name of Syracuse Nationals), was able to count on six players above 10 points: Tobias Harris notably registered 24 and Seth Curry 21. The Australian Ben Simmons meanwhile made a triple-double, with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.
The new - and unique - leaders of the Eastern Conference have continued a series of already twelve straight victories against Charlotte, unable to beat them since 2016. Philadelphia will however have to beware of the sting of pride of the Hornets (Hornets), since the two franchises clash again Monday, still in Pennsylvania.
Triple-double for @ BenSimmons25 as the @sixers move to an Eastern Conference-leading 5-1!
15 PTS |
12 REB |
11 AST pic.twitter.com/z5iI4XNv67
- NBA (@NBA) January 3, 2021
The Cavs turn off the Hawks
The Atlanta Falcons fell back to earth the day after their convincing victory (114-96) against the Brooklyn Nets: the Cleveland Cavaliers beat them 96-91 in Georgia.
The young Collin Sexton, 21, made the show, with 27 points.
What to look after his statistics: Sexton turns to more than 20 points per game in the first six meetings of the season, a performance that no player had achieved since the star LeBron James in 2004-2005, according to ESPN.
Led by twelve points at halftime, the Cavaliers revolted in the last two quarters, nibbling eight points in the third and nine in the last.
Collin Sexton scores 13 of his 27 PTS in the 4th Q to lift the @cavs past ATL!
JaVale McGee: 14 PTS, 9 REB
Andre Drummond: 12 PTS, 11 REB
Clint Capela: 16 PTS, 16 REB, 3 STL, 2 BLK pic.twitter.com/WtYE2vrSkD
- NBA (@NBA) January 3, 2021
“We knew what we had to do tonight.
We had to get started, get together, (...) that was the main message at half-time, ”commented Sexton on the Cavs website.
Cleveland, the only team to have beaten Philadelphia in the East, is back in the chasing pack (four wins, two losses) at the same level as the Hawks, the Orlando Magic and the Indiana Pacers, these last two franchises having been dominated Saturday by Oklahoma City (108-99) and the New York Knicks (106-102).
The Rockets in diesel mode
After two defeats at the start of the season, Houston finds its rhythm: even deprived of their star James Harden, the Texans signed a second straight victory against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday (102-94).
In the absence of Harden, affected by ankle pain after scoring 33 points in the previous game, point guard John Wall took the light.
Joel lets' em know!
pic.twitter.com/3Nl18d2yG6
- NBA (@NBA) January 3, 2021
In his second game in three days with the Rockets, after being sidelined with an injury since December 2018, Wall scored 28 points - six more than Thursday in the first game against Sacramento.
"I just invested a lot of work and determination to find myself there," said the 30-year-old former Washington Wizards player.
"I could not have dreamed of a better start" with the Rockets, whom he joined in early December, said Wall, first choice of the 2010 Draft. "Whatever expectations I had, he obviously exceeded them “, Congratulated the coach of Houston Stephen Silas.
The Texas franchise is back in the middle of the standings, with one or two games less than its opponents in the Western Conference.
New Orleans, falling Toronto Raptors Saturday (120-116), joined the two Los Angeles teams in the group of pursuers of the Phoenix Suns, the only leaders with five wins in six games.
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