In Madison Square Garden, Bridges was on fire, as evidenced by his 28 points at the break which largely contributed to materializing an 18-point lead, which was then perfectly managed with a final score of 97-87.
He finished with a 14/20 on shots (12 rebounds) against the Knicks who remained on three successes and where Evan Fournier was discreet (6 pts, 2 assists), RJ Barrett and Julius Randle not deserving (18 points each).
The Hornets retain their 7th place in the East, ahead of Philadelphia (6th) which fell heavily to Washington (117-98).
Like Kyle Kuzma’s powerful dunk (15 pts, 16 rbds, 3 blocks) on the head of Joel Embiid, the Wizards were more aggressive, but also more collectively armed with seven players beyond the 11 points scored each .
Because on the 76ers side, only Embiid floated (32 pts, 8 rebounds).
Washington (9th) is ahead of the Celtics (10th) who had to erase an 18-point deficit, shortly before halftime, to defeat the Pelicans (104-92), in the wake of Jayson Tatum who scored 21 points in the second half (27 in total, 8 rbds).
The German Dennis Shroder (23 pts, 9 assists) and Jaylen Brown (23 pts, 8 rebounds) were in tune. The latter spoke before kick-off, to pay tribute to the Reverend King.
“Today we honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It is important to highlight his life’s work and what he sacrificed to get his message across. Systemic racism is real, he is poisoning the city of Boston and the rest of our society. Thanks to him and the countless others who have given their lives for the cause in which we all believe. The fight continues, “he said.
MLK Day, a public holiday in the United States, is an important date in the NBA calendar, between ceremonies, actions and other speeches aimed at perpetuating the fight for social and racial justice.
Nine other posters are still on the program on Monday.
