Both teams from LA posted wins last night. The Lakers were better than the Pelicans, while the Clippers beat 76ers. Also, the Nuggets have trashed the Raptors in Colorado, bouncing back after losing to LAC recently.
Excellent Zion Unable to Stop the Lakers
The LAL defeated the Pelicans 122-114 this Sunday night, and posted their 46th victory of the season. The fans at the Staples had a chance to see one very interesting match, with both sides changing the lead often.
Lakers reached a nine-point lead in the third sequence, but Zion, and two former purple and gold players Lonzo Ball and Brandon Ingram erased that deficit. The Pelicans didn’t stop there, and the young team from Louisiana managed to create a six-point gap, 101-95 early in the fourth.
The guests responded with 11 unanswered points, capturing the moment, but even after that, they couldn’t break the feisty Pelicans. Zion was keeping the hosts in the game, but eventually, he too ran out of juice.
LeBron James posted a triple-double for the winners, with 34 points, 13 assists and 12 boards, shooting 14-for-21. Kyle Kuzma scored 20, while Caldwell-Pope added 13.
Zion, on the other side, piled up a career-high 35 points, missing only four of his 16 shots. Ball added 19 and 9 assists and boards each, while Derrick Favors had 12 with 14 rebounds.
Clippers Survive Philly
Doc Rivers’ side had to dig deep in order to earn a win over the Philadelphia 76ers, 136-130. If it weren’t for the third quarter in which Clipps outscored the guests from the East, 38-24, things wouldn’t end like this.
They would make an 18-5 run, with Leonard posting 11 points during that stretch. He, George, Harrell, and Williams all had 20+ points last night, which was the second time this season.
Kawhi posted 30 points, while the other three guys added 24 each. The home team was shooting 59.2% percent from the floor, and 54.2% for three.
The 76ers were in the mood offensively, hitting 21 three-pointers in 43 attempts, and hitting 50.5% of shots from the field. However, without Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, they couldn’t find a way to beat one of the top contenders for the title.
Shake Milton was fantastic with 39 points, and seven threes. Neither of the Clippers’ defenders could stop this guy, as he virtually ripped every defender into pieces. Tobias Harris scored 25, and Alec Burks 15.
Denver Rolls Over Toronto
The Nuggets received a slap in the face against the Clippers but responded with a big win over the reigning NBA champions, the Toronto Raptors, 133-118.
Nikola Jokic was shining again, and the Serb posted his 12th triple-double in this season – 23 points, 18 boards and 11 rebounds. After playing god in the opening period, the home team slowed down in the second, allowing the guests from Canada to come back, and stay close until the final sequence. However, Denver won that last quarter 33-22, and posted its 41st win of the campaign.
Besides Jokic, the Nuggets had Jamal Murray with 22 points, and Torey Craigh with 17. Jerami Grant had 16, Gary Harris 15.
For the guests who played without Ibaka, VanVleet and Gasol, OG Anunoby had 32 points, Norman Powell 24 and Siakam 16.
