The Warriors won a decisive victory on Saturday for the head of the Western Conference, against the Suns (107-116), in the shock of Christmas day in the NBA, while the crisis continues among the Lakers, who have suffered a fifth loss in a row, losing to the Nets (115-122).
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If the resurgence of Covid cases deprived the five Christmas posters of a number of stars, the show was nevertheless there, like the meeting between the two best teams in the league, Golden State and Phoenix.
For their third meeting of the season, the Warriors won for the second time, breaking the Suns' 15-game home streak.
Otto Porter Jr. scored 13 of his 19 points in the last quarter, but it was especially the inevitable Stephen Curry who carried the Warriors, with 33 points.
The leader broke his Christmas curse, he who has often disappointed this day (13.1 pts on average in 8 games before tonight).
Becoming the best 3-point shooter in league history less than two weeks ago, Curry, who has landed 5 of 16 award-winning shots, is only one mark away from 3,000 3-point shots. in career.
“
I'm proud of everyone, because not many people gave us the win tonight,
” said Curry, for whom the team had their best win of the season.
“
It's great to win at Christmas, it's great to win away against the best team in the league, outnumbered.
In this context, it is a huge victory.
Everyone got involved.
It was a great atmosphere,
”said Curry.
No miracle for the Lakers
In Los Angeles, the Crypto.com Arena, the new name of Staples Center, did not bring luck to the Lakers, who nevertheless had a good opportunity to recover from a Brooklyn team with seven absent due to the Covid, including Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge.
But the Nets were scoring by James Harden and his triple-double (32 pts, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) as well as Patty Mills (34 pts), who scored 8 shots at 3 points, the day's record for Christmas.
Still, LeBron James was punchy, with 39 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists.
He became the NBA's top scorer on Christmas Day, with 422 points.
He thus exceeds the 395 points of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, with whom he shares the record for the number of matches played at Christmas (16).
Russell Westbrook has signed his sixth triple-double of the season (13 pts, 12 rebounds, 11 assists), but at the cost of a great approximation (4 successful shots out of 20, 0 out of 3 to 3 points).
The Jazz, for its part, took advantage of the absences of Luka Doncic and Dorian Finney-Smith to overcome the Mavericks (120-116).
Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points, Bojan Bogdanovic 25. Rudy Gobert had another double-double (10 pts, 11 rebounds), completed by 2 interceptions and 2 blocks.
Giannis in MVP mode
In Milwaukee, the Bucks of Giannis Antetokounmpo made a fantastic comeback to win against the Boston Celtics (117-113).
Fresh out of the anti-Covid protocols, after missing five games, the double MVP 2019 and 2020 Giannis Antetokounmpo spared no effort in attack and defense, with 36 points (including 29 in the second half), 12 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks.
“
It feels good,
” Antetokounmpo said.
“
I was happy to be back, happy to be close to my teammates and fans again and happy to play the game.
"
Finally, in New York, Kemba Walker signed a triple-double (10 pts, 10 rebounds, 12 assists), the first of a Knicks player on Christmas Day, in the victory of the New York franchise against the Atlanta Hawks (101-87).
"
I'm from here, I was born and raised here and they showed me a lot of love today,
" Walker said, after receiving a standing ovation from Madison Square Garden as he has been sidelined nine times in recent weeks.
The Knicks clinch their sixth straight regular-season victory over the Georgia franchise, the one that knocked them out last season in the first round of the play-offs.
The Hawks were then worn by Trae Young, currently on anti-Covid protocol, like seven other Atlanta players.
Results:
Utah
- Dallas 120 - 116
LA Lakers -
Brooklyn
115 - 122
Phoenix -
Golden State
107 - 116
Milwaukee
- Boston 117 - 113
New York
- Atlanta 101 - 87
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