Basketball, NBA: Houston hits Toronto, seventh ko in a row for New Orleans and Melli

Super defense and coach's Challenge

A success that came also thanks to a great Texan defense, this is already an exceptional event, but also thanks to the coach's Challenge that Mike D'Antoni remembered this time to call, avoiding VanVleet to bring Toronto back from the line to 1'14 "from the end. A three-shot foul by Austin Rivers then turned into an offensive foul by the Raptors, with VanVleet guilty of" kicking "to provoke Rivers' contact; the best way to close the accounts in the match and with the recent past: Toronto, on the other hand, does not go beyond 24 points with 22 shots and 9 rebounds from Siakam and 20 of the usual VanVleet Coach Nurse can extend the rotation, but leaves Kyle Lowry on the floor for over 42 minutes (19 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds), trying in every way to avoid the second consecutive home defeat, without success.

Denver gets back up asphalting New York

At 7:49 from the end of the first half the Knicks (4-18) were down by only one point. Too bad that from there and in the following 5 minutes and 48 seconds they have not scored a basket, suffering a partial of 23-1 which delivered the race in the hands of the Denver Nuggets (14-5), capable of touching even +43 in the yet another terrible evening for New Yorkers and returning to the 92-129 victory after two knockouts in a row. There are eight players in double figures for coach Malone, of which five come off the bench and no one goes above the 17 points of Will Barton. Speaking of individual numbers for the Knicks makes very little sense: just for the record, the best was Mitchell Robinson with 17 points, but obviously everyone's eyes are on coach David Fizdale. Almost a month after the press conference in which the management put him on the grill, the Knicks are even worse than before (there are now 8 defeats in a row) and do not seem to have a way to get up, given that even the return of Elfrid Payton has had no effect. "How was our commitment? Disgusting" said the coach after the race.

Philadelphia spatter in Washington

Unbeatable at home, under 50% of away wins. So far this is the trend of the Philadelphia 76ers (15-7), who have lost the worst race of this season's start (119-113) against Washington (7-13). "We arrived too relaxed," Ben Simmons admitted after a race in which he and Joel Embiid combined for 15 of the team's 21 turnovers, punishing their opponents for 30 points. The best for the hosts is Rui Hachimura with 27 points, followed by the 26 with 10 rebounds from Bradley Beal, the 25 from the bench of Davis Bertans (22 in a first time crazy from 8/8 to the shooting with 6 triple to sign) and 19 by Ish Smith. Washington is confirmed as a black beast for the Sixers, who have not won in the capital since November 1, 2013, despite the fact that in recent years they have been decidedly stronger than the Wizards, in addition to being by far at this time. The 40 points suffered in the second quarter, thanks to a partial 16-2 of the opponents, changed the face of the match, with Tobias Harris 33, Embiid 26 +21 and 17 with Simmons 10 assists who failed to change its history.

Seventh defeat in a row for New Orleans

Success at the 132-139 overtime trip in back-to-back for Phoenix (10-11) dominating the match against New Orleans (6-16), after half an hour it rises well over the double digit advantage, but then she gets remounted and is forced to fight even in the extra 5 minutes. A decisive factor in the final was Ricky Rubio, author of 4 points and an assist who definitively closed the accounts in favor of the Suns. For the Spaniard there are 13 points and 15 assists at the final siren. The undisputed star of the match, however, is Devin Booker, who closes with 44 points on the score sheet, 21 of which arrive in the third quarter alone. The No. 1 of the Suns, after a modest shooting period (9/31 from the long distance in the last five races), finds aim and constancy with his feet over the arc and closes with 5/11 from three points a match from 13 / 24 overall also seasoned with 9 assists and 8 rebounds in over 42 minutes of use. Sixteen minutes in the field for Nicolò Melli, who exits the bench with 3 points on the scoresheet, two errors from the long distance and a couple of recoveries. The number 20 blue is in the field in the most complicated moment of the challenge, when in the second part of the third quarter Phoenix extends in the score: its -10 of plus / minus also suffers from that. Best scorer at Pelicans is JJ Redick, author of 26 points with 5 triples and driving a quintet that closes with all players over 17. Ingram puts 21 to the siren, but the most important shot to give success to New Orleans, in the seventh straight defeat, makes a mistake on the regulation siren.

The results

Toronto Raptors-Houston Rockets 109-119; New Orleans Pelicans-Phoenix Suns 132-139; Washington Wizards-Philadelphia 76ers 119-103; New York Knicks-Denver Nuggets 92-129.

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