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Los Angeles (AFP) – The Phoenix Suns, leaders of the Western Conference, returned to victory by winning well in Portland (120-90), while in the West Milwaukee brought down the Miami Heat in the last seconds (120-119) , Wednesday night in the NBA.
The Bucks managed an incredible turnaround: they came back from a 14-point deficit at the end of the game, to obtain in the last seconds an unexpected success against the Miami Heat whose first place in the Western Conference is more fragile than ever with the return of the Chicago Bulls to less than two wins.
Jrue Holiday, thanks to a layup less than two seconds from the buzzer, gave the victory to his team, a few seconds after a three-point basket from Khris Middleton which had reduced Milwaukee to one length.
Tyler Herro’s desperate attempt from midfield to the buzzer missed the circle, and so the Miami Heat’s four-game winning streak, which went home on 21 of 44 three-pointers in that game, came to an end.
“You just had to be aggressive and strip yourselves,” said Jrue Holiday, the winner of the post-game basket, who called “perseverance” the key to their victory.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, the star of the Bucks, weighed in with all his weight in the meeting with 28 points, 17 rebounds and five assists. Middleton and Holiday brought their contribution, up to 26 and 25 points.
Fullback Tyler Herro was the Heat’s leading scorer with 30 points, still leading the Eastern Conference but now just a win and a half ahead of Chicago. Milwaukee still sits in 4th place.
Harden: successful debut in Philadelphia
The Philadelphia 78ers, third, got closer to the Bulls in the standings by beating New York 123-108, with their new recruit James Harden who came close, for his debut in front of his new audience, the triple double (26 pts, 9 assists , 9 rebounds). Joel Embiid was Philadelphia’s leading scorer with 26 points.
Harden really brings a plus to the Sixers, with whom he has won all of his matches (3) since joining from the Brooklyn Nets in mid-February. His new team signed its fourth victory in a row.
On the other hand, nothing is going well in Cleveland, 5th in the Conference, which fell heavily at home against the Charlotte Hornets, winners 119-98: the Cavaliers are losing momentum and have won only one of their six last matches.
In the Western Conference, the sun is shining again in Phoenix, where the Suns, after two consecutive losses, returned to success in a good way by largely beating the Portland Trail Blazers 120-90 thanks to their collective (6 players over ten points).
The Utah Jazz, 4th in this Conference, snatched a precious victory after an extension in Houston (132-127).
Donovan Mitchell scored 37 points for the Jazz, and Frenchman Rudy Gobert dominated the racket with a double-double (27 points and 17 rebounds).
© 2022 AFP
