Before facing the Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich laughed and promised his team would keep Luka Doncic under 50 points.
“50 is our goal. We will keep Luca under 50,” he said.
Doncic held 49 points before scoring 51 on two free throws with 4.5 seconds remaining. Dallas escaped with his 126-125 win and he led by as much as 17 points before collapsing in the second half.
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Sunday, January 1
Sunday, January 1
Doncic added another 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 steals in another great performance, marking his third 50-point tally in five games (in just eight days) and the fourth of his career.
Doncic said he heard Popovich’s comments. I just wanted to win.”
But he said it wasn’t about personal milestones, but about breaking 50 points and proving Popovich wrong. not bad. “
The 23-year-old now has 40 or more points in 23 games, the most in Mavericks history.
Doncic deliberately missed a free throw to seal the game, regain the ball and time it.
Christian Wood praised his teammates and said:
The big problem for the Mavericks is that Doncic has repeatedly had to deliver incredible performances to get past a struggling team.
Today it was the Spurs, the bottom two team in the West.
Coach Jason Kidd declared: We ask too much of Luke. ”
Christian Wood has 25 points and seven rebounds, Tim Hardaway Jr. has 14 points and Spencer Dinwiddie has 11 points. But Doncic was once again burdened.
Doncic repeatedly talks about fatigue after every game, declaring he was “exhausted” after a win today, and last week after delivering a 60-point triple-double in overtime against a struggling opponent, he was “infernal.” I’m so tired,” said Knicks.
Dallas is now 21-16 after six wins in the trot, while the Spurs are 12-24.
Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 30 points, Jeremy Sawchan had 20 points and Jakob Poeltl had 19 points and 14 rebounds.
Embiid breathes fire in the comfy Sixers
Joel Embiid had 16 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists as the Philadelphia 76ers led the entire game in a 115-96 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Embiid’s triple-double was the fifth of his career and was aided by Tobias Harris, who scored 16 points in the first 16 minutes.
The Sixers led by 26 points at halftime, with Harris finishing with 23 points.
“I realized I didn’t miss the shot in the first half, but in the second half I missed the first shot and that was it,” Harris said. “We were a little sluggish in the second half, but in the fourth quarter, I thought we had the energy and vigor to take the stops and finish the game the way we wanted to. and you can relax a little.”
Losing James Harden (managing a foot injury), the Sixers were boosted by strong performances from Shake Milton (18pts) and Deanthony Melton (17pts).
Australia’s Josh Guiddy had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Thunder, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just 14 points on 4-of-15 shooting.
Heroic finish for heroes with HEAT WIN
Running and jumping on one leg, Tyler Herro hit a ridiculous buzzer-beater and hit a deep 3-pointer to give the Miami Heat a 126-123 win over the Utah Jazz.
Bam Adebayo led the Heat with 32 points, while Hero added 29 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Victor Oladipo also scored his 23 goals from the bench and Max Storath scored his 13.
PG Masterclass can’t stop the Pacers. 00:54
Other results
Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving scored 28 points and Kevin Durant added 23 points to propel the Nets to a 123-106 victory in Charlotte, extending their winning streak to 11.
The Nets improved to 24-12, finishing second in the Eastern Conference and becoming the second club to reach 24 wins this season.
“Really, my message to the group before the game is let’s end the year in the right way. And it’s being taken care of. [this] game,” said director Jack Vaughan. “When we turn the page in 2023, [New Year’s] There will be a solution, but it really is to keep this group here, play today’s game, win today’s game. ”
LaMelo Ball had 23 points and 11 assists, and Mason Plumlee added 22 points and 10 rebounds for Charlotte as they fell to 10-27.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Minnesota Timberwolves lost 116-104 at home to bottom-of-the-league Detroit (10-29), losing six in a row.
Bojan Bogdanovic led the Pistons with 28 points before Anthony Edwards scored 30 in the loss.
Ja Morant scored 32 points as the hosts Memphis Grizzlies beat New Orleans 116-101. New Zealand’s Steven Adams scored his 21st goal in Memphis (22-13) as his Westerns drew their conference leaders Denver.
Zion Williamson scored 20 points (23-13) to lead the Pelicans, half a game behind Denver.
Julius Randle scored 35 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead New York’s 108-88 runaway run in Houston, breaking the Knicks’ five-game losing streak.
Caris Levert scored 23 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers thrashed Chicago, 103-102, on their third straight loss. That’s when DeMar DeRozan missed the Bulls’ winning jump shot at the buzzer.
Myles Turner scored 34 and Tyrese Haliburton scored 24 as the Indiana Pacers beat the Los Angeles Clippers 131-130. Chris Paul scored his game-high 45 points with the Clippers.
full result
Pacers 131-130 Clippers
Rockets 88-108 Knicks
Bills 102-103 Cavaliers
Hornets 106-123 Net
Spurs 125-126 Mavericks
Grizzlies 116-101 Pelicans
Timberwolves 104-116 Pistons
Thunder 96-115 76ers
Jazz 123-126 Heat
Bucks Ingress star talks recovery 01:21
