Reading guide: In today's NBA arena, sparks are flying! The latest rankings were announced, setting off a lot of storms. The Clippers fell to fourth place and suffered a crushing defeat; The Mavericks and Pelicans both swallowed surprise defeats to put the Suns in the top six, while the losses of the Lakers and Warriors widened the gap between them and the top six.
In a tight NBA game, the Clippers lost 107-123 to the Kings, and coach Tyronn Lue was blamed on the court. At the beginning of the game, the Clippers played well, taking a slight lead in the first quarter, but struggled in the rest of the game. Tyronn Lue decided to take the risk of trying a new lineup, arranging for Leonard and Harden to be in a chaotic order, with poor rebounding protection, frequent defensive breakdowns, and turnovers. Leonard, the team's core player, was caught in the middle of the game, and Harden felt mediocre, and although the player's performance improved, it failed to change the situation of the game. The Kings took advantage of the stellar performances of Fox, Monk and others to quickly extend their lead.
Entering the fourth quarter, Wei Shao led the team to close the gap to only 5 points, but then was replaced by Tyronn Lue, missing a good opportunity to chase points, and the Kings took the opportunity to open the score and seal the win. In the whole game, Harden scored 20 points, 5 rebounds and 8 assists, but the plus/minus reached -25, becoming the worst player in the game; Wei Shao contributed 8 points and 4 rebounds, with a plus/minus of +10;Leonard, on the other hand, scored 20 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals. For the Kings, Fox scored 33 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists, and Sabonis contributed 17 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists.
The outcome of this game was clearly deeply frustrating for the Clippers and Tyronn Lue, who failed to find a breakthrough in key moments and were ultimately outscored by the Kings. The onus falls on coach Tyronn Lue to reflect on and adjust the team's tactics and line-up in order to achieve better performances in future games.
The Suns beat the Lakers 123-113 at home. The Suns quickly opened up a 20-point lead at the start of the game, and although the Lakers kept closing the score in the middle two quarters, in the final quarter, the Suns stabilized the pace of the game with Durant's leadership. At the decisive moment, Allen and O'Neal hit three-pointers one after another, completely killing the suspense of the game.
At the end of the game, the Lakers only grabbed 34 rebounds, while the Suns reached 51! Nurkic contributed 18 points, 22 rebounds and 7 assists, Durant also scored 22 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists, and Booker contributed 21 points and 9 assists. For the Lakers, Bushy Eyebrows had 22 points and 14 rebounds, Russell contributed 20 points and 7 assists, Reaves had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, and James had a total of 28 points, 7 rebounds and 12 assists. It is worth mentioning that in this game, James' career total points with the Lakers reached 10,000 points, including 8,888 points in the regular season and 1,112 points in the playoffs.
In addition, the Lakers only had 8 free throws in this game, while the Suns had 19 free throws, which is also the Lakers' fewest free throws in a single game since 22!
The result of this game was undoubtedly a huge setback for the Lakers, who were clearly inferior to the Suns in rebounding and the low number of free throws. James' personal milestones have added a sparkle to his career. The Lakers need to reflect on their losses in the game and step up their rebounding and free-throw drills in order to show better performance in future games.
At the beginning of the game, the Warriors performed well, especially Klay contributed 16 points after coming off the bench, giving the team a 16-point lead at one point. However, since the middle of the period, the Nuggets' Murray and Jokic have erupted one after another, and the Warriors have never been able to find a solution. Green couldn't contain Jokic, Kuminga couldn't defend Gordon, and Curry was shaken down by Murray.
In the second half, Klay's form declined rapidly, and despite Curry and Kuminga's hard work, the Nuggets always maintained a lead of about 10 points, and the game lost suspense. Jokic slashed 32 points, 16 rebounds, 16 assists and 4 steals, and Murray contributed 27 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists; For the Warriors, Klay scored 23 points, Curry contributed 20 points and 4 assists, and Kuminga scored 19 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
Sadly, this season's Warriors have suffered 7 times when their 15+ lead has been reversed, tied with the Spurs for the most in the league. The heavy defeat in this game is undoubtedly a wake-up call for the Warriors, and the team needs to strengthen the sense of confrontation and stability in key moments. The Nuggets have shown great strength and adaptability, while the Warriors should learn from their failures and continue to improve their team's tactics and roster arrangements for better performances in the future.
This year, the competition in the west is fierce, the strength of the teams is similar, and the outcome of the game is unpredictable. The Lakers lost to the Suns, the Mavericks lost to the Pacers, the Pelicans lost to the Bulls, and the Thunder, Nuggets, and Kings beat the Rockets, Warriors, and Clippers. After the war, the Thunder ranked second in the West, the Nuggets third, the Clippers fourth, the Kings fifth, the Suns sixth, the Pelicans seventh, the Mavericks eighth, the Lakers ninth, and the Warriors tenth. The strength of the teams is even, especially between the Kings, Suns, and Pelicans. It will be interesting to see what future games will have a big impact on the Western Conference standings.
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