Giannis Antetokounmpo spiced up a lackluster Sunday in the NBA, with 50 points achieved during the success (135-110) of the Bucks against the Pelicans, Ja Morant, author of a triple-double, allowing Memphis to return to victory against Indiana (112-100) after five losses.
Imperial, with a 20/26 on shots (13 rbds), the “Greek Freak” wanted to perfect his performance with a round count, so he placed a banderilla from long distance, his third in four attempts, less than two minutes from the term, as Milwaukee had been on the verge of winning the game for a while.
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This is how we send messages to the competition sometimes, this one coming to respond to the pivot of the Sixers Joel Embiid, one of his rivals for the title of MVP, who managed a “masterclass” at 47 points the day before against Denver, under the nose and beard of the double holder Nikola Jokic, who succeeded to the prize list to … Antetokounmpo (winner in 2019 and 2020).
This three-way fight will have its epilogue at the end of June, but in the meantime, Giannis, who had already been prolific two evenings earlier against Indiana (41 pts), allows the Bucks (3rd in the East) to earn a fourth consecutive victory for hound Philadelphia.
For the Pelicans, the bad patch continues with this seventh loss in a row, which coincides with the very detrimental absence of Zion Williamson, and results in a drop in the standings (8th in the West).
Match Parody
Cleveland, for its part, won its easiest success of the season (122-99) against the Clippers, deprived of their two stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and who were quick to let the match slip away since they counted 30 points behind at the break and lamented up to 40 in the third quarter.
The other executives, including Nicolas Batum (no point, 3 rebounds in seven minutes), were invited to quickly rest on the bench, to let the substitutes grab minutes of play, Brandon Boston Jr taking the opportunity to show himself (24 pts ).
Cleveland did the same, saving the efforts of Donovan Mitchell (11 pts) and Darius Garland (16 pts, 10 rebounds), which benefited Cedi Osman top scorer (29 pts) from this parody match.
The Cavs (5th in the East) nevertheless add a victory to their account.
The Clippers remain 4th in the West.
In Charlotte, the Hornets (14th in the East) inflicted their first defeat in four games on Miami (122-117), thanks in part to 31 points from Terry Rozier.
The Heat (6th) of Jimmy Butler, who did not deserve with 28 points (at 11/14, 7 rebounds, 3 interceptions), cracked in the third quarter (33-24) under the battering of PJ Washington, author of 15 of his 27 points in this period.
The Hornets also relied on LaMelo Ball to finish the job in the final twelve minutes, with 13 of his 19 points scored.
Stunning Grizzlies
In the West, finally, it was not until the third quarter, started 19 points behind, to see the Grizzlies (2nd) get their claws out in front of their audience.
And it was Ja Morant who led by example with 27 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds, his second straight triple-double, the fifth of his season.
At his side, Jaren Jackson Jr was also dominant (28 pts, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks).
It had to be, because the Pacers, still 11th in the East after this third consecutive loss, shot 60% success in the second quarter, in the wake of the 6th man Benedict Mathurin (27 pts, 8 rebounds).
