NBA: LeBron and the Lakers at the party, grimace soup for Curry and the Warriors

The LA Lakers and LeBron James, called for the 20th time to play in the All-Star Game, put the defense of the Chicago Bulls to death (141-132), Thursday in the NBA, while Stephen Curry had a gloomy evening with his Warriors , beaten by the Kings (134-133).

LA Lakers superstar LeBron James celebrated his selection for a 20th All-Star Game in a row, a record, with this prolific victory against the Bulls. The best scorer in the history of the League, aged 39, achieved a double-double, with 25 points scored and 12 assists. He was also well supported by D'Angelo Russell, author of 8 three-pointers (29 units in total), to bring the Lakers back to balance with this 23rd victory in 46 games, in 9th place in the West .

The atmosphere was less joyful further north, in San Francisco. Not selected, for the moment, for the All-Star Game, Stephen Curry, the leader with three MVP titles, has indeed bit the dust against the Sacramento Kings.

The decisive basket was scored, with a dunk, by Lithuanian interior Domantas Sabonis, 22 seconds from the end. In the process, Curry, put under pressure by De'Aaron Fox, lost the winning ball.

The main architect of Sacramento's victory, however, was Harrison Barnes, who broke his personal best by scoring 39 points. “It feels good... We wanted to start this series of away games well,” reacted the man of the match, while his Kings will continue with six other trips, outside California, to Dallas , Memphis, Miami, Indianapolis, Chicago and Cleveland.

A small consolation prize for Stephen Curry, he was the top scorer in his team with 33 points. But the Warriors continue to languish in 12th place (19 v., 23 l.).

End of series for Philadelphia, which remained on six victories but fell to Indiana (134-122) against the Pacers of Pascal Siakam, author of a triple-double (26 pts, 13 rebounds, 10 assists).

This performance from the Cameroonian strong winger compensated for the prolonged absence of Tyrese Haliburton, while his Sixers compatriot Joel Embiid was limited to 31 points.

“Phila” remains 3rd in the East, with 29 victories and 14 defeats, but is losing a little more contact with leader Boston, which at the same time achieved a 35th success by crushing Miami in Florida 143-110. The C's scored a whopping 22 three-pointers.

In the West, Minnesota (1st, 32-13) also won, in Brooklyn, but in a much more laborious way (96-94). It was Frenchman Rudy Gobert who completed the deal with an alley-oop in the last minute. In the same conference, Denver, 3rd, on the other hand lost in a big way in New York, against the Knicks (122-84). Feeling the wind of defeat coming, the reigning champions brought their major players back to the bench, including Nikola Jokic, during the last quarter.