Deprived of LeBron James, who was rested in this period of a lighter schedule with the NBA Cup, the Los Angeles Lakers were dominated by the Minnesota Timberwolves (97-87), led by Anthony Edwards (23 points) and Julius Randle (21 points). Anthony Davis came close to a triple double (23 points, 11 rebounds).
Victor Wembanyama was San Antonio’s top scorer (28 points) in the success against Portland (118-116) achieved in the final seconds after coming back from -17 points in the last quarter. “Wemby” (7 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 blocks) was particularly solid at the free throw line with 10 of 10, the last two of which gave the Spurs the victory with 2 seconds left before the buzzer.
Philadelphia seemed to have found some momentum recently, but the 76ers lost at home to Indiana (121-107), and once again they paid the price for bad luck when Joel Embiid went out, hit in the face. The 2023 MVP pivot, who has missed 17 of his team’s 23 games this season, was hit while fighting for a rebound against Bennedict Mathurin in the 2nd quarter before finally leaving. Without him, Philadelphia struggled against Tyrese Haliburton (32 points, 11 rebounds). The 76ers have totaled 7 wins and 16 losses this season.
In another duel between contenders in the West, the 2023 champion Denver comprehensively defeated the Los Angeles Clippers (120-98), despite a more discreet Nikola Jokic than usual (16 points, 7 rebounds).
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