Lakers unable to overcome loss of Doncic and continue in free fall

The Los Angeles Lakers, without Slovenian Luka Doncic, crashed on the court of the Portland Trail Blazers this Saturday (132-116) That’s what Brazilian coach Thiago Splitter said on the NBA day when Anthony Edwards set a career scoring record (55 points) without getting paid.

Additionally, the Boston Celtics entered Atlanta with Spanish rookie Hugo González on the court for 30 minutes, putting pressure on the East Division leaders, the Detroit Pistons.

the lakers played in portland Doncic out due to groin issue He struggled after scoring 39 points in the last game against the Charlotte Hornets in Los Angeles. In addition to his absence, Deandre Ayton, Jackson Hayes, Austin Reeves.

Without Doncic, who is averaging 33.6 points per game this year, J.J. It was their fifth loss in their last six games, and they are now in sixth place in the West Region (24 wins, 15 losses).

Shaydon Sharpe led the Blazers with 25 points, while Jerami Grant and Caleb Love each contributed 22 points.

On a night when Marcus Smart was the Lakers’ leading scorer with 25 points, LeBron James reached a triple-double for the Lakers with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

Spurs and Nuggets put pressure on OKC

The Heat scored against the NBA champions at Caseya Center, but the champions lost 122-120 at Caseya Center, ending their winning streak at five.

Bam Adebayo had a dominant performance with a double-double of 30 points and 12 rebounds, Norman Powell added 19 points, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stopped the isolated Thunder with 39 points.

OKC continues to dominate the West with a 35-8 balance, but both the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets took advantage of losses to close the gap. The record between the two is 29 wins and 13 losses.

The Spurs survived Anthony Edwards’ career-high scoring night (55 points) to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 126-123.

Edwards made 19 of 33 field goals and nine 3-pointers, but the team fell behind Frenchman Victor Wembaneyama’s 39 points and nine rebounds.

The Nuggets, without Serbian Nikola Jokic due to a knee problem, relied on Jamal Murray to beat the Washington Wizards 121-115.

The Canadian shined with 42 points, supported by Tim Hardaway with 30 points. Murray scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and Hardaway scored 15 points in the same segment to give the Nuggets a hard-fought victory.

Hugo González victory

Hugo González contributed seven points and nine rebounds in 30 minutes on the court in the Boston Celtics’ easy victory over the Atlanta Hawks (132-106).

The Celtics (26 wins, 16 losses), second in the East Division, led by 43 points in Atlanta, with Jaylen Brown leading Joe Mazzula’s team with 41 points.

Sam Hauser also joined the party for Boston, hitting 10 triples and scoring 30 points.

Pistons beat Pacers

The Pistons strengthened their lead in the East with a 121-78 victory over the Indiana Pacers, despite being completely thwarted by Detroit’s defense.

Indiana scored just 25 points in the first half of the game, connecting on just 10 of 43 field goals and making just 1 of 18 triples.

The Pacers’ scoring was the third-worst first-half scoring record in NBA history, behind only the Phoenix Suns’ 22 points against the Lakers in 2016. The second-worst record also belongs to the Suns, with 24 points against the Spurs in 2015.

In other results, the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Utah Jazz 138-120, led by Klay Thompson’s 23 points (six triples), and the Phoenix Suns stormed Madison Square Garden with a 106-99 victory over the New York Knicks, led by Devin Booker’s 27 points.