He is making his mark. In a Philadelphia Sixers team still deprived of Joel Embiid which nevertheless cannot do it and is in last place in the Eastern Conference standings, Guerschon Yabusele is settling in. He is even one of the rare satisfactions of the franchise since the start of the season a little month ago.
The Frenchman once again broke his NBA points record after two years in Boston (2017-2019) and one month in Pennsylvania. During the victory in Charlotte (107-105 ap), only the second of the season for his team on the night of November 10 to 11, the Frenchman scored 20 points with a good 8 out of 13 on shots, 2 out of 4 in three points. In 31 minutes on the floor, he also grabbed 8 rebounds. His previous record was only a few days old: 19 points in a loss to Phoenix.
In front of him, Yabusele found two other Frenchies. Moussa Diabaté scored 4 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Tidjane Salaün, once again a starter, scored 2 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. It was leader LaMello Ball who snatched overtime with a 3-point shot but the Hornets ended up giving in.
Further south in the United States, Bilal Coulibaly, another Olympic vice-champion, also scored 20 points in Orlando. But the Washington Wizards lost by a wide margin 121-94. The guard, however, had a big game with 9 of 11 shots, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks and 1 interception in 37 minutes of play. His French friend Alexandre Sarr scored 11 points (plus 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 counters).
Rudy Gobert with Minnesota was also decisive, especially on the rebound, who last week exceeded the 9,000 career catch mark. He caught 3 catches of the ball, coupled with his seven points. But the Minnesota Timberwolves lost at home to the Miami Heat (95-94). In defense, the medal-winning pivot in Paris also signed two blocks and an interception.
To finish the Blues’ night in the NBA, Ousmane Dieng played 11 minutes in Oklahoma City’s defeat against Golden State (127-116), scoring two points. Ditto for Rayan Rupert (2 points in a quarter of an hour), who lost with Portland to Memphis 134-89.
