Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving were the protagonists of the last day of the NBA this morning, on a night in which Santi Aldama and Wembanyama suffered another defeat with the Grizzlies and the Spurs, respectively. However, the Californian duo formed by the Slovenian and the American forged a hard-fought victory this Wednesday for the Mavericks at the Staples Center (104-101).
The Lakers were close to changing the outcome of the game, thanks to a 30-13 run in the fourth quarter. However, Irving sentenced the Angelenos with a triple and scoring his two free throws at the end of the duel. The 31-year-old point guard scored 28 points, five of them in the last twenty seconds, as well as two assists and six rebounds in total.
The former Cavaliers player, accompanied in turn by Luka Doncic who was the top scorer for Jason Kidd's team (30 points, eight assists and 12 rebounds), thus achieved a victory that places the Dallas Mavericks fourth in the Western Conference with a balance of 10-5.
A dynamic that contrasts with that of the Lakers. The Angelenos suffered their seventh loss of the season this morning, despite the fact that LeBron James led his team towards an attempted comeback during the last quarter.
The four-time NBA champion scored a basket that made the score 101-99 in favor of the Lakers with 1:15 minutes left in the game. But Irving came to the rescue. 'King James' finished the game with 26 points, 16 of which came in the fourth quarter, while Anthony Davis only added 10 to his score.
The Memphis Grizzlies continue to sink in the NBA. The Tennessee franchise added its 11th KO tonight against the Houston Rockets (111-91). Santi Aldama, who had just put in his best scoring performance against the Boston Celtics, could only add eight points and two rebounds in 22 minutes this time.
The large number of losses in the Grizzlies, including that of Ja Morant due to suspension, continues to weigh down Taylor Jenkins' team, second to last in the Western Conference. Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. were the only references in attack against the Raptors. The point guard and forward scored 23 points each and together added more than half of those obtained by their team.
The entire Memphis franchise can only console itself by seeing how the Wembanyama Spurs are below them in the table. The last defeat suffered by Gregg Popovich's players was against the Clippers (102-109). The 22 points, 15 rebounds and three assists of the French prodigy were not enough to beat the team of Paul George, James Harden and company.
The American coach momentarily interrupted the game against the Angelenos to ask that the AT
Meanwhile, the Celtics won another victory, which keeps them as leaders of the Eastern Conference against the Milwaukee Bucks (119-116). Gianis Antetokounmpo couldn't stop Jayson Tatum (23 points, 11 rebounds and four assists), Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis. The Boston team has 12 victories in the North American league.
