- NBA. Steve Kerr apologizes after Pat Spencer led the Warriors' offense without Curry, Butler, or Draymon Green
- NBA. Cooper Flagg and Anthony Davis gives the Mavericks hope of a bright future after Luka Doncic departure
LeBron James only took one game to silence any whispers about his level. After seeing his streak of 1,297 games scoring at least 10 points snapped, the Los Angeles Lakers veteran redeemed himself with a dominant performance against Philadelphia. It was a night of great responses in the NBA: Santi Aldama shone off the bench, the Thunder continued to roll without Shai and Jokic was back to playing on the verge of a triple-double in another Denver win.
LeBron silences critics with superb performance
LeBron led the Lakers' 112-108 win with 29 points, 12 of them in a decisive fourth quarter, as well as seven rebounds, six assists, a block and a steal, shooting a brilliant 12/17 and 4/6 from three-point range. At almost 41 years of age, the '23' responded to Toronto's blow --and the rest in Boston-- remembering who he still is.
Alongside him, Luka Doncic recorded a sensational triple-double (31-15-11) to overpower the Sixers (13-10), who clung to the talent of Tyrese Maxey (28+9).
Aldama boosts Memphis from the bench
Santi Aldama once again put in a sixth-man performance with 22 points, seven rebounds, two steals and a brutal +34 in 28 minutes. The Grizzlies (11-13) scored 69 points off the bench and dominated 119-96 against the Blazers (9-15), who were led by Jerami Grant (21) and Deni Avdija (17).
The Spaniard, solid and efficient (7/11 shooting, 3/6 from three-point range), is once again gaining weight in the rotation.
Nuggets: Murray dominates and Jokic is close to another triple-double
Jamal Murray's start was an exhibition: 23 points in the first quarter and 34 at the end to guide the 106-115 win in Charlotte.
Nikola Jokic, meanwhile, fell just short of a triple-double with 28 points, 11 assists and 9 rebounds, extending the road streak of the Nuggets (17-6) to 10 wins away from home. For the Hornets (7-17), Miles Bridges stood out with 24-9-8.
Thunder unstoppable even without Shai
Oklahoma gave Shai Gilgeous-Alexander a rest before the NBA Cup quarter-finals... and didn't even notice. The Thunder (23-1) flew in Salt Lake City with a 101-130 win that already means 15 consecutive victories.
Jalen Williams (25+8) and Chet Holmgren (25+9) dominated a duel in which neither Caruso nor Dort were present, but the choral machinery of OKC was.
Rest of the day
The Knicks beat the Magic 106-100 before the NBA Cup quarterfinal clash, and the Warriors crushed the Bulls 91-123, who have now lost seven games in a row.