The helpless Trailblazers lost by a remarkable margin in Oklahoma City, not far off the record. There were also long faces among the record champions. In Paris, the game only picked up speed late. The NBA on Friday
62 points difference. And that in the NBA. Not everyday, but the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled it off in a 139-77 win over pitiful Portland Trailblazers. “It was like a perfect storm, to be honest, nothing really worked for us,” lamented Chauncey Billups, once a champion as a player and now responsible for the rebuild in Portland as head coach. It could be a long road, the Trailblazers are 10-27 and in the basement of the Western Conference. OKC improved its record to 26-11, the young guns around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31 points), Chet Holmgren (19) and Josh Giddey (triple-double with 13/10/12) knew no mercy
62 points difference. And that in the NBA. It was the fifth-highest win in league history, the highest in Thunder history (+45 so far). However, the franchise knows the taste of such a high defeat: OKC lost by 73 points to the Memphis Grizzlies on December 2, 2021 – at least Portland was spared that.
Similarly unexpected was the crystal-clear 135:102 victory of the Milwaukee Bucks (26-12), who have been rather moody of late, over the East leaders Boston Celtics (29-9), who had clearly beaten the West leaders Minnesota the night before and therefore certainly had somewhat heavy legs. Milwaukee, meanwhile, responded furiously to a 116-132 loss at home to the Utah Jazz. A 25-0 run in the first half set the stage for Bobby Portis (28 points) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (24, both with 12 rebounds each) to reunite with Jrue Holiday, who now plays for the Celtics.
Crazy league. That also applies a bit to the Los Angeles Lakers (19-20), who can hardly get a leg on the ground after their triumph in the in-season tournament. Against the West rival Phoenix Suns led by former coach Frank Vogel (20-18), the co-record champions suffered a 109-127 defeat at the hands of Boston. The Suns also clicked because Bradley Beal is now healthy after a long injury scare and scored 37 points including eight threes. Devin Booker added 31, while LeBron James (ten points, nine assists) called it an early night with the other Lakers protagonists as the game was decided early on.
Hartenstein back in double figures at the board – NBA returns to Paris
It was a close game in Texas. The Dallas Mavericks (23-16) held off the New York Knicks (22-16) led by rebound king Isaiah Hartenstein (15 this time, plus eight points and three assists) 128-124, and that without Luka Doncic. Kyrie Irving (44 points) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (32) stepped into the breach, while Josh Green drained the decisive three-pointer in crunch time. After five wins in a row, the Knicks, led by Julius Randle (32), who grew up in Dallas, and former Maverick Jalen Brunson (31), lost again for the first time.
The NBA also played in Paris once again on Thursday. In front of numerous stars such as David Beckham, Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Pharell Williams, the Cleveland Cavaliers (22-15) won 111:102 against the Brooklyn Nets (16-22) in front of 15,887 fans in a game that was manageable for a long time. Donovan Mitchell shone with 45 points. NBA commissioner Adam Silver revealed in the Olympic city that the league would return next year, perhaps for more than just one game. The aforementioned in-season tournament will also take place again, Silver said.
