Brooklyn overthrew New Orleans (108-102) thanks to 33 points from Kevin Durant and a fiery finish from Kyrie Irving after a difficult start to the match on Friday.
The Nets, beaten Wednesday in Chicago after an impressive 12-game winning streak, were in bad shape at halftime, 9 points behind, before putting the turbo in the third quarter on the Louisiana floor.
Durant also had 10 rebounds to finish, for the 111th time in his career, with 30+ points and 10+ rebounds.
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The Pelicans, deprived of their stars Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, nevertheless delivered an aggressive performance.
They took a 10-point advantage in the first quarter thanks to an award-winning basket from Naji Marshall before inflicting a 13-1 on the New York franchise at the start of the second quarter.
The Nets took things in hand in the third (35-21) and Irving, with 19 points in total, delivered his people with a basket from 9 meters 43 seconds from the buzzer, followed by two free throws.
"
Even if we didn't shoot well at the start, and even during the whole match, we kept pushing, and it's a great victory.
Durant explained.
Brooklyn, second in the Eastern Conference, improves its statistics with 26 wins against 13 losses, while the Pelicans, third in the West, are at 24-15 after their 5th loss at home.
Charlotte outclasses Milwaukee
Charlotte, second to last in the standings in the East, went to defeat Milwaukee (138-109) thanks to a fiery start with 51 points scored in the first quarter, equaling Golden State's NBA record against Denver in 2019. The Hornets relied on Terry Rozier, author of 39 points, his best performance this season, and managed to muzzle Giannis Antetokounmpo, limited to 9 points on Friday, far from his average of 32.7 points per game.
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said he was concerned about the similarities in several losses this season.
"
We haven't done what it takes to be competitive in an NBA game on multiple occasions
," he admitted.
The Lakers continue
In the West, the Los Angeles Lakers recorded their fourth consecutive victory, a first this season, by winning on their floor (130-114) ahead of Atlanta.
The Lakers, still deprived of injured Anthony Davis, took over thanks to LeBron James (25 points, 7 rebounds, 10 assists), Kendrick Nunn (23 pts) and Dennis Schroder (21 pts).
In Denver, Nikola Jokic multiplied again with 28 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists - his 10th triple-double of the season - to secure the victory (121-108) against Cleveland, despite 22 points from Caris LeVert and 21 of Darius Garland for the Cavaliers, who could not count on Donovan Mitchell.
The Western Conference-leading Nuggets have won nine of their last ten games.
Philadelphia halted
Two days after stopping the Nets' winning streak, Chicago went to stop Philadelphia's machine by winning 126-112 to end 11 straight home successes for the Sixers.
The Bulls were able to count on the three-point address of Zach LaVine, author of an 11 of 13 off the racket for 41 points in total, and a triple-double from Nikola Vucevic (19 pts, 18 rebounds, 10 assists) to also end a 12-game losing streak against Pennsylvania, which was without Joel Embiid with a foot injury.
The New York Knicks won their fourth consecutive game by winning (112-108) in Toronto, thanks to 32 points and 11 rebounds from Julius Randle.
"
He's playing very well, he's full of confidence
," Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson said.
It's fantastic to see him come back, he still has a lot to prove, not to others but to himself because he can still reach a whole new level
”.
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