2023-12-13 09:02:43
By Le Figaro with AFP
Published 31 minutes ago, Updated now
Luka Doncic. Jerome Miron / REUTERS
Slovenian Luka Doncic gave the Dallas Mavericks a prestigious victory against LeBron James’ Los Angeles Lakers, who had just won the NBA Cup.
Doncic launched
Luka Doncic carried Dallas with 33 points and 17 assists to win against the Lakers (127-125). The Slovenian thus scored an 8th game with more than 30 points, and continues to carry his team at an MVP pace, particularly in the absence of leader Kyrie Irving, injured in his heel for an indefinite period.
«Who wouldn’t want to be an MVP?“, he declared, flattered to appear in the suitors. “But my first goal is to win the title.» A magnificent 3rd quarter from the Lakers by LeBron James (33 points) and Anthony Davis (37 points) was not enough in an intense match with eight changes of leader. Winners of the NBA Cup in Las Vegas on Saturday, the Lakers suffered a volcanic fourth quarter from shooter Dante Exum (17 points, 26 in total).
Green sent off again, Jokic too
Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green (33) makes a series of very bad moves. After a chokehold on Rudy Gobert in mid-November which earned him a 5-match suspension, he heavily slapped Phoenix Suns pivot Jusuf Nurkic, returning to the duel. The referees whistled a level 2 flagrant foul, enough to remove him from the match and expose him to a new sanction from the NBA on Wednesday. The Warriors of a clumsy Stephen Curry (24 points, 4 of 15 from distance) ended up losing (119-116) and remain 11th in the west (10 wins – 13 losses).
The Serbian Nikola Jokic, MVP of the spring finals with the champion Denver, was also sent off against Chicago near the end of the second quarter, for words thrown at a referee, after an action in which he hoped a fault. The Nuggets still won against the Bulls (114-106).
Boston reassembled
The Celtics of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown (25 points each) managed to overcome a botched start (15 points behind in the first quarter) to win over Cleveland (120-113), maintaining their invincibility at home this season (11 wins, 17 in total for 5 losses) and remain at the top of the Eastern Conference. In the west, the Los Angeles Clippers had a fifth success by stifling the Sacramento Kings (119-99), a team in good shape, thanks to 31 points from Kawhi Leonard.
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