NBA: Lakers gain respite, Boston responds to Miami

The Los Angeles Lakers finally managed to find the key against champion Denver, for a 119-108 home success which allowed them to be only 3-1 down and avoid the humiliation of a sweep by the Colorado franchise for the second year in a row, after the Western Conference final last year. The Lakers, who remained on 11 defeats in a row against Denver, showed great collective strength to keep at bay the ghosts of the Nuggets' comebacks during the first two matches of the series. Without much hope of overturning this first round, but with pride, LeBron James obviously showed the way with 30 points. He finished off Denver with an interception followed by a dunk 2:30 from time. The 39-year-old “King” was well followed by pivot Anthony Davis (25 points, 23 rebounds), D’Angelo Russell (21 points) and Austin Reaves (21 points).

Denver did not seem to panic, with the advantage already taken in this series. Nikola Jokic, still in triple-double (33 points, 14 rebounds, 14 assists), took out his magic wand with an astonishing one-handed volley pass during a block, without managing to take his team in his wake. The Nuggets will have another opportunity to qualify for the second round on Monday at home.

Beaten on its floor on Wednesday, Boston, the best team of the regular season, responded with a great success in Miami 104-84 and now leads 2-1. The Heat always chased the score in this meeting dominated from start to finish by the Celtics of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown (22 points each) who were up to 29 points ahead. After peppering Boston with long-range shots on Wednesday (23 successful), Miami was reduced to 9 successful attempts out of 28 on Saturday. The Heat, NBA finalist last season, are still without their star Jimmy Butler, injured in a knee. “It is on the defensive aspect that we will win our matches,” warned a reassured Tatum on the TNT channel.

The Orlando Magic equalized at 2-2 against Cleveland (112-89), the German Franz Wagner being decisive with 34 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists, while the usual leader of the Magic Paolo Banchero was discreet (9 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists). Cleveland sinned from afar (4 out of 17), counting on its pivot Jarrett Allen (21 points, 9 rebounds), Donovan Mitchell remaining at 18 points, before a Game 5 scheduled for Tuesday in Ohio. “Our players made the right adjustments. They realized that the key was the movement of the ball, which must be moved, shared, with confidence in passing,” reacted Magic coach Jamahl Mosley, whose team was trailing by nine points at the break. In the West, regular season No. 1 Oklahoma City continued its journey with a third success in as many matches against New Orleans. The Thunder of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (24 points) controlled the game thanks to its defense in particular. Opposing scorer Brandon Ingram (19 points) was once again harassed by the excellent Luguenz Dort, leaving the Pelicans without a fallback solution while Zion Williamson is still injured. Oklahoma City will have the opportunity to conclude its series on Monday in Louisiana.