CLEVELAND (UNITED STATES) (ITALPRESS) – Cleveland returns to winning ways, Boston falls against Houston, New York outclasses Memphis while the positive momentum of the Lakers continues.After three defeats in a row, the Cavs regained their smile by overcoming 110-91 Detroit with 22 points by Garland and 21 by Mitchell while the Pistons were not enough with Cunningham (22 points) and Beasley (19 points), with Simone Fontecchio putting up 4 points (2/6 from the field with 0/3 from three), 3 rebounds and an assist in 19 minutes. Cleveland stretches its lead in the East over Boston, which at TD Garden is mocked 0″7 from the buzzer by Amen Thompson (33 points): his is the basket that gives Houston (ninth win in eleven games) a 114-112 victory over the Celtics (Brown the best with 28 points). The Rockets consolidate their second place in the West by taking advantage of the heavy knockout of Memphis – which had been on a six-game winning streak – at Madison Square Garden: a show of strength by New York (143-106), which, dragged by Bridges (28 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds) and Towns (24 points and 11 points), scores its fourth consecutive success and moves behind Boston. Also in the slipstream is Milwaukee (125-110 over Utah, 35 points apiece for Antetokounmpo and Lillard and 22 points off the bench for Middleton), on its ninth win in 11 games. Playoff zone for Miami, which, despite a Jimmy Butler increasingly on the sidelines (new suspension for leaving practice early), prevails after two overtimes over Orlando 125-119 with 30 points and 12 assists by Herro and 26 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists by Adebayo and after being down as much as 14 in the fourth quarter. In the West, said of Houston and Memphis, Jokic’s sixth triple-double in the last seven games (33 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds) is not enough for Denver to avoid its second consecutive stop (129-121 to Chicago) and the Nuggets are thus hooked in fourth place by the Lakers: devastating Anthony Davis (42 points and 23 rebounds) in the 112-107 win over Charlotte that is worth their fourth win in a row. Badly the other half in Los Angeles, with the Clippers rallying from -13 to -1 in the last quarter but eventually surrendering 111-109 to Phoenix (26 points for Booker and 24 for Durant). Minnesota takes advantage of the absences in Atlanta’s ranks (100-92, 23 points for Edwards and 20 for Randle), Klay Thompson stuffs seven triples in the first quarter alone (he will finish with 23 points) and signs Dallas’ 130-108 win over Washington. Sabonis’ seventh triple-double of the season (21 points, 22 rebounds and 10 assists) and a 30-point Fox stamped Sacramento’s win over Brooklyn (110-96) while Toronto, two years after the last time, managed to score four consecutive wins thanks to a 113-104 win over New Orleans with 21 points and 14 rebounds by Poeltl and Barnes’ 21+11. – photo Ipa Agency -(ITALPRESS).
