Houston (USA), Apr 27 (EFE) .- Philadelphia Sixers, Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers found the winning path in their fight to secure the best spots in the rankings in the final stretch of the NBA regular season .
While the league leader Utah Jazz “stumbled” again with the Minnesota Timberwolves game, the team with the second worst record in the NBA, which surprisingly remains undefeated (3-0) in the duels that both have kept this season.
The Washington Wizards, meanwhile, could not extend their winning streak when they collided with the experience of the San Antonio Spurs.
Cameroonian center Joel Embiid scored 21 points, Australian point guard Ben Simmons added 12 on his return to the lineup to help the Sixers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 121-90, which equaled a franchise mark by extending their streak to 14 of losses, they had in the 2008-09 season.
The Sixers (40-21), who broke a four-game losing streak and remain second in the Eastern Conference, also played great defense with 22 steals, the season’s best in the league.
Hispanic guard Devin Booker scored 33 points and the Suns closed their grueling tour of the East Coast with a 110-118 victory after coming back from a 15-point deficit against the New York Knicks, who ended their nine-game winning streak.
Along with Booker, veteran point guard Chris Paul scored the last seven points for the Suns (43-18) that ensured the victory and finished the tour with a 3-2 record, which included matches against four of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. .
German point guard Dennis Schroder scored 13 of 21 points in the fourth quarter, center Anthony Davis added 18 points and eight rebounds that allowed the Lakers to resurface in the fourth period of the game they beat the Orlando Magic on the road 103-114 and cut streak of three consecutive losses.
Power forward Michael Porter Jr. shined with his offensive game and contributed 31 points, while another number four, Paul Millsap, added nine of his 12 points in the fourth quarter and the Denver Nuggets easily beat the Memphis 120-96 Grizzlies.
Serbian center Nikola Jokic finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds for his league-leading 53rd double-double that also helped the Nuggets (40-21) win at home for the sixth time in a row over the Grizzlies.
Guard D’Angelo Russell made seven 3-pointers, his best record of the season, and finished with 27 points, while American center Karl-Anthony Towns contributed a double-double of 21 points with 11 rebounds that allowed the Timberwolves to come behind and beat Utah 105-104.
The defeat of the Jazz (44-17), the second in a row, keeps them in front of the Western Conference and leaders of the league, but with only one game ahead of the Suns (43-18), seconds.
Another leading team that was surprised by the defeat were the Los Angeles Clippers (43-20), third in the Western Conference, who reached New Orleans and the Pelicans, with forward Zion Williamson, who scored 23 points and imposed his complete game , along with the Spanish center Willy Hernangómez as the starter, they beat them 120-103.
Point guard Lonzo Ball had 18 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and two steals for New Orleans, which entered the night four and a half games behind the last Western Conference play-in spot.
The same happened to the Dallas Mavericks who met rookie point guard Tyrese Haliburton who contributed a double-double of 14 points and 10 assists in his second consecutive start as a starter, in the position of De’Aaron Fox, the team’s leading scorer. , and lost 113-106 on the road to the Sacramento Kings.
Slovenian guard Luka Doncic had 24 points, eight assists and seven rebounds as the leader of the Mavericks, but in the end he could not avoid the defeat of the Dallas team (33-27), which continues to lead the Southeast Division and sixth in the Western Conference.
Another leading team, the decimated Atlanta Hawks (34-28), who are leading the Southeast Division, could not overcome their visit to Detroit, where power forward Jerami Grant and Frank Jackson scored 18 points that allowed the Pistons win by 100-86.
If the Spurs did it in their visit to the nation’s capital, where they had the contribution of forward DeMar DeRozan with 37 points and 10 assists that led them to the victory in overtime by 143-146 against the Wizards, who were broken winning streak of eight games in a row, the best of the season.
This time the triple-double of point guard Russell Westbrook, who reached 29 so far this season, after contributing 22 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists did not prevent the defeat of the Wizards, although it did allow him to reach 175 as a professional and be within six of the all-time mark, held by Oscar Robertson (181).
In other results of the day, Toronto beat Cleveland 112-96 and remains in the fight for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, as Chicago did when defeating Miami 102-110 at home.
(c) EFE Agency