A huge Luka Doncic, with 44 points against the Los Angeles Clippers, was the great protagonist of the second day of the NBA In-Season Tournament (the NBA's first experiment with the cup format) and in which LeBron James also stood out this Friday beating Kevin Durant.
With an impressive 17 of 21 in field goals (including a huge 6 of 9 in triples), Doncic crushed the Clippers who have lost three in three games since they signed James Harden.
The Mavericks, who led 32 in the third quarter, overwhelmed the Clippers with a humiliating 47-18 in the second period. Kawhi Leonard was the visitors' top scorer with 26 points.
LeBron (32 points with an excellent 11 of 17 field goals, 11 rebounds and 6 assists) had a fantastic duel against Durant (38 points and 9 rebounds) by leading Los Angeles to a great comeback in the fourth quarter (23 -33).
Without Devin Booker, the Suns ruled the first three periods but fell apart due to the emergence of supporting players from the Angelenos such as Cam Reddish, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Christian Wood.
Jaylen Brown (28 points) and Jayson Tatum (23 points and 10 rebounds) led the Boston Celtics in their comfortable victory against the Brooklyn Nets.
Lonnie Walker (20 points and 7 rebounds) was the best of the New Yorkers against the Celtics who did not have the Dominican Al Horford due to rest.
The Sixers have won seven in a row and, far from mourning Harden's absence, they seem to shine with 'The Beard' far away from Philadelphia. On this occasion, the Sixers got rid of the Pistons thanks to 33 points and 16 rebounds from Joel Embiid and 29 points, 6 rebounds and 11 assists from Tyrese Maxey. Killian Hayes (23 points and 6 assists) led Detroit.
The Dominican-American Karl-Anthony Towns (29 points and 12 rebounds) did not fail against the French prodigy Victor Wembanyama (29 points and 9 rebounds) and was key in the fifth consecutive victory of the Minnesota Timberwolves who are beginning to look scary in the West. On the other hand, the Spurs added their fourth consecutive defeat after a duel in which they suffered on the rebound (38-51).
The Utah Jazz took the victory in Memphis against a Grizzlies in which Jaren Jackson Jr. was sent off for two technicals and in which coach Taylor Jenkins exploded after the match due to the "atrocious" (in his words) refereeing performance.
Desmond Bane added 37 points and 8 assists for the Grizzlies in which Spanish Santi Aldama contributed 6 points and 2 rebounds. Jordan Clarkson and Lauri Markkanen, with 26 points each, were the best for Utah.
