NEW YORK (UNITED STATES) (ITALPRESS) – Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic. These are the eight franchises promoted to the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup of surprises. The reigning champions Los Angeles Lakers, the NBA champions Boston Celtics and, among others, the top of the class in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers, remain outside. These are the verdicts after the 11 matches played during the NBA night, with the last matches valid for the group phase of the Emirates NBA Cup. Dallas beats Memphis 121-116 at home, taking advantage of one of Luka Doncic’s many great evenings. For the Slovenian champion 37 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists, on a night in which 6 reached double figures for the Mavericks. In addition to Doncic’s 37, there are PJ Washington’s 18 (with 8 rebounds and 7 assists), Dereck Lively’s 17 (with 11 rebounds) and Irving’s 10 as regards the starting five, then the 16 come from the bench from Dinwiddie and the 11 from Gafford. Nothing to do for the Grizzlies, despite Ja Morant scoring 31 points.
No problem for the top of the class in the Western Conference: Oklahoma gets rid of the Jazz by winning 133-106 and also ends up in group B (west) of the NBA Cup. The Thunder are led by Jalen Williams and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, respectively with 28 and 26 points, while Utah responds with 17 each from Kessler (also 11 rebounds for him) and Sexton.
Everything was easy also for Milwaukee who extended their streak to 7, winning 128-107 in Detroit. On the shields Giannis Antetokounmpo (28 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists) and Damian Lillard (27 points). It was a difficult evening for Simone Fontecchio’s Pistons despite Cade Cunningham’s 23 points, while the blue player, who started from the bench and was on the pitch for 12 minutes, scored 5 points and 2 rebounds.
Nice victory also for the Nuggets who beat Golden State 119-115, but if the Warriors go to the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup, Denver will be among the big absentees. Nikola Jokic’s star shines (38 points and 10 rebounds) for the hosts, while on the other side there is Steph Curry’s double double with 24 points and 11 assists.
In the other games of the packed NBA night program, Philadelphia (110-104 over the Hornets with 29 points and 8 assists for George), Cleveland (118-87 over the Wizards), New York (121-106 over Orlando), Toronto ( 122-111 over Indiana with 35 points and 9 assists for Barnes), Phoenix (104-93 over San Antonio with 29 points and 8 rebounds for Booker), Sacramento (120-111 over Houston) and Clippers (127-105 over Portland with 30 points for Powell).
– Ipa Agency Photo –
(ITALPRESS).
