ONE | system
Jose Alvarado celebrates (Reuters)
Sunday’s NBA games opened with several early games, with later Danny Abadia and the Washington Wizards meeting the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James, who are coming in with positive momentum. Before that, the New Orleans Pelicans managed to beat the Denver Nuggets 106:121 thanks to a great game by the replacement center Jose Alvarado. In another game, Phoenix ran over San Antonio 95:133.
New Orleans Pelicans (8:15) – Denver Nuggets (9:14) 106:121
In a game where the starting small forward on each side was rested (Brandon Ingram in the Pelicans, Michael Porter Jr. in the Nuggets), the one who starred was New Orleans’ replacement point guard, Jose Alvarado, who scored career highs with 38 points and eight 3-pointers off the bench – the same amount as all players Denver together. The game was close throughout, with both teams struggling to maintain a double-digit margin for a long time, but the Puerto Rican center was the X-factor the host needed to win and open a gap of a game over her opponent.
Besides Alvarado, Zaion Williamson scored 25 points and Haifa for a weak game by CJ McCollum, who scored only seven points on 27% from the field. On the other side, Nikola Jokic was close to a triple double with 32 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists, but was unable to save on the way to a second loss in a row and the loss of second place in the Western Conference to its rival.
Phoenix Suns (7:15) – San Antonio Spurs (17:6) 95:133
The battle of the edges was far from surprising, and San Antonio simply cannot rise and sinks to the last place in the Western standings. At one point in the third quarter, the Suns’ advantage was already 50 points, but in the fourth quarter the Spurs managed to “minimize” some damage. DeAndre Ayton was hot in the ranks of the Suns with 25 points, when Devin Booker and Michael Bridges also stood out with 20 each.
