Utah Jazz, leader of the Western Conference, beat Charlotte 132-110 Monday in the NBA, helped by her 28 three-point baskets, while the Lakers suffered Washington law in overtime (127-124). In the rest of the night’s games, the 2020 season runner-up Miami defeated Oklahoma City 108-94 and the Phoenix Suns won 132-100 over Portland.
The sovereign Jazz, by far!
Rudy Gobert’s team members already reigned over the Western Conference. On Monday, they varied their pleasures and healed their stats, scoring 28 three-point baskets – a franchise record – to dominate the Hornets 132-110. Among the most prolific players, Joe Ingles and Georges Niang each scored seven goals away, Jordan Clarkson had five and Mike Conley four. “I’ve never been a math specialist, but that’s a lot of points!” Niang joked, quoted on the Jazz website. His teammate Donovan Mitchell praised the “will” and “character” of the franchise of Salt Lake City, led by three points at halftime (67-64). With 23 points (and eight assists), Mitchell was the game’s leading scorer. Ingles (21 pts, 5 rebounds, 6 assists), Clarkson and Niang also crossed the twenty point mark, and Gobert scored 10 and intercepted 12 rebounds. Beaten Friday by the Clippers, the leader in the West was quick to get back on track to conquer his tenth victory in eleven games, before a top game scheduled for Wednesday against the Lakers. The Hornets are ninth in the East.
Fatal extension for the Lakers
At the beginning of February, the reigning champions had to play extra time in three games in a row, each time with a victory. Monday, the “overtime” was fatal to the Lakers, beaten 127-124 by Washington. The setback confirms the opposite trajectories of the Wizards, relegated to the bottom of the standings (13th in the East) but who have just signed their fifth victory in a row, and the Lakers, on the podium in the West despite a third consecutive defeat. For the “Angelenos”, if the poor performance against Brooklyn and then Miami could be explained by the quality of the opponent, the result obtained against the Wizards is more worrying. Washington was able to count on Russell Westbrook, a hair’s breadth away from the “triple-double” (32 pts, 14 rebounds, 9 assists) and Bradley Beal (33 pts, 7 rebounds, 6 assists). The Wizards N.3 is averaging 32.9 points, unmatched statistics this season.
Neck-to-neck with the Clippers (2nd) in the Western Conference standings, the Lakers see Phoenix growing in their rearview mirror. Fourth, the Suns have only two successes less after their clear victory (132-100) against Portland. Devin Booker’s 34 points made him the most prolific player of the night. In Texas, Dallas won against Memphis (102-92) the first game he had played since February 14. The duels against Detroit and Houston, scheduled for February 17 and 19, had been postponed due to the strong winter storm in the US state. Houston also played in its hall on Monday but was beaten 120-100 by Chicago, its eighth loss in a row. The Rockets are 14th in the West, the Mavericks 9th and Memphis 10th. In the East, Chicago ranks 8th.
