THE + HIGHLIGHTS
The NBA trip for the day on Friday, January 6, this time, will begin with the last game, with the victory of the Lakers at home against the Hawks, adding the fourth consecutive victory, having LeBron James as a great Los Angeles leader, against some Hawks that have had their alarms on for weeks, having another game of their tour of the West on Sunday against the Clipper in LA. James had 25 points and 10 assists, with Westbrook hanging around with the triple-double. It’s the team’s first big winning streak in nearly a year., specifically since January 7, 2022. The locals had a 26-point advantage during the first half that they would no longer let go. James returned to the five-team after sitting out Miami with a cold on Wednesday, but Ham’s side continued with victories without AD, Lonnie Walker IV, Troy Brown, Damian Jones and Austin Reaves.
In one of the games of the day, the Nuggets receiving a visit at the Cavaliers Ball Arena, Jokic decided, together with Murray, that the victory stayed at home, the tenth in a row at home and rise to a spectacular record of 16-3, with another triple-double from the Serbian built on 15/28/10 and with the point guard scoring 18 points. Those of Malone knew how to take advantage of the absence of Donovan Mitchell, who did not play the game to have some rest. Murray, who did not play anything last season, was key to a 13-4 run at the start of the third quarter and put Denver ahead to stay.
The surprise victory on Friday, also by a significant difference, was that of the Hornets in Milwaukee. Clifford’s team scored up to 51 points during the first twelve minutes playedWatching Terry Rozier scores 39 points and watch the Hornets win by 29 points. The Greek Bucks star scored just nine points in 22 minutes, the lowest this season. LaMelo Ball added 24 points and PJ Washington had 23, who continue with a 10-29 record, the worst in the entire NBA, tied with the Rockets. The North Carolinas led the first quarter 28-51 and reached halftime with 60-84, reaching 14 of 30 on three-pointers. The Hornets opened a four-game road trip and will play eight of 10 away from North Carolina.
The Nets headed for Louisiana and had a game in New Orleans. Kevin Durant, who leads the scoring for next February’s All-Star for the East, led another Brooklyn victory scoring 33 points, combining with Irving again, to win by six points. The point guard scored seven of his 19 points in the final two minutes. Hard days are coming for Willie Green’s men, plagued by absences due to injury and sin Zion Williamson by second party, expecting him to be sidelined for the next three weeks with hamstring issues. “Obviously we notice the absences of some players. We had a chance to win the game and certain things didn’t go well. Kyrie hit a spectacular 3-pointer and made it more difficult, but we have to look back and learn.“, commented José Alvarado, author of 17 points. Two triples scored by the Pelicans during the second half, thanks to an enormous defense put up by Vaughn, was key to a new victory for the Nets, who are second in the East, only one game behind the Celtics.
And the Suns come out of playoff spots, out of the top eight, after losing at home against Miami Heat by 96-104, in a huge game by Victor Oladipo, author of 26 points, personal record of the season, including four triples. Adebayo added 21 points and 11 rebounds, in addition to Jimmy Butler’s 20. Both teams entered the game with the same balance, but they are going in totally opposite directions. Miami has won nine of its last thirteen games, moving up in the East, but Suns adds the fifth consecutive loss and falls below .500. Those of Spoelstra led a large part of the game, having almost all the roster completely (Herro did not play the game due to back spasms) and beginning to fuel the team after two and a half months dodging injuries. The Suns are now a team plagued by injury problems, with Booker out, adding Cam Johnson and Cam Payne, also seeing CP3 have to leave the game in the second quarter with a sore hip.
LO + VIRAL
Los 51 points scored by Hornets during the first quarter against the Bucks is tied with an NBA record set by the Golden State Warriors against the Denver Nuggets in 2019. It was the Hornets franchise record. The 84 points scored until halftime is the second-best mark for the North Carolina franchise, surpassed only by last season’s 87 against the Pacers.
Nikola Vucevic added a triple-double key to the Bulls’ victory over the 76ers formed by 19 points, 18 rebounds and ten assists, seeing how LaVine scored 41 points, making eleven triples to his account. Bulls he shot 57 percent from the field at Philadelphia and 20 of 34 from 3-point range. Vucevic dominated the paint at will, taking advantage of Embiid’s absence for the second game in a row.
Los Knicks stormed Toronto for the first time in nearly seven years. Those from NY won in the north, breaking an eleven-game losing streak in Canada. The Knicks’ previous victory in the neighboring country was on November 10, 2015 by 109-111, also adding Tom Thibodeau’s 100 victories yesterday with the legendary team from the Big Apple.
THE PHRASE OF THE DAY
“Jokic looks like he’s on his way to a third MVP“Cavs’ Kevin Love commented on the Nuggets’ Serb.”He sees things before they happen“said Bruce Brown, Nikola’s teammate.
MVP-SOLOBASKET
Several names may sound for the award on Friday night in the NBA. Triple-doubles by Jokic or Vucevic, Rozier’s 39, Gobert’s huge game with 25-21, but LaVine was indispensable for a new Bulls victory with his 41 points scored in Philly. It’s the fourth game of Zach’s career with at least 40 points on 70 percent shooting, breaking the tie he had with Scottie Pippen in Bulls history, and now he’s behind only Michael Jordan, who did it in twelve o’clock. Zach LaVine scored 41added six assists, 14 of 19 from the field, but the most spectacular data is the 11 of 13 in triplesjoining Dame and CJ McCollum as the only players with 11-plus 3-pointers this season.