Before returning home, and probably reuniting with Kyrie Irving, the net made sure to complete their road trip on a good note, winning (109-107) among the Blazers of Damian Lillard (25 points, 10 assists), incidentally leaders of the Western Conference.
A victory acquired at the very last second, at the end of a particularly tight match, thanks to a small tap of Royce O’Neale (11 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists). A game winner which allows teammates to Kevin Durant (35 points, 8 rebounds) to return to success after their two defeats in a row.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
— Royce O’Neale’s Magnificent Evening. A duty player at Utah, who was content to defend and take the open 3-pts he enjoyed, the 29-year-old winger brings out a new facet of his game in Brooklyn, where Jacque Vaughn lets him go up the ball more and create play for his teammates. A strong choice, to relieve Kevin Durant in the absence of Kyrie Irving, and given the added bonus of the recent difficulties of Ben Simmons, whom the New York coach probably does not regret, when he sees his player finish in triple-double . In addition to scoring the winning basket, in the midst of several Blazers…
— The streak continues for Kevin Durant. Sixteen games, sixteen 25+ point games. Offensively, “KD” continued his stellar start to the season, tying Michael Jordan (1988-89) for sixth in the longest 25+ point streak to start a campaign. At the same time becoming the 19th player in history to reach the 26,000 career point mark, the All-Star winger dominates and scores (almost) without forcing, without anyone noticing that he finishes over thirty units. The strength of very great attackers, quite simply.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Yuta Watanabe. Blue-collar par excellence, the energetic Japanese made the Blazers miserable today. Adroit at 3-pts (5/7) and always ready to sacrifice himself for the collective in defense, he notably instigated – in the company of Kevin Durant – the 14-0 which tipped the match, in the third quarter. . Then led 82-71, the Nets finally attacked the last act by being in front (85-82) and the 28-year-old winger was no stranger to it. Especially since he did not slow down the pace in the last twelve minutes, and especially in the money timesince the corners.
✅ Ben Simmons. And if the Australian finally launched his season with the Nets? Always present off the bench (but used 32 minutes), he seems more and more comfortable in this team and on the floor, flirting with the triple-double: 15 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists. Active and involved in defense, sometimes a little too much (6 fouls), “Benny” also distinguished himself in attack, where he missed nothing (6/6 on shots) and even wasted little on throws ( 3/4), in addition to setting good screens, creating good shifts for his teammates and maintaining danger on Portland defenders, staying close to the circle. Very encouraging, then.
✅ Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe. With their 44 points in total, the nuggets of the Blazers were undoubtedly the two best players in Portland this night, each shining in a half: the first for Sharpe and the second for Simons. That was necessary to support and then compensate for the awkwardness of their franchise playerDamian Lillard, even if the good performance of the duo Simons / Sharpe, both very aggressive in attack and success from a distance, was not ultimately rewarded with a victory.
⛔ Damian Lillard’s second half. Seductive in the first period, “Lady” then completely lost her rhythm (and therefore her shot) once she returned from the locker room. Result of the races: he may finish in double-double, but only 8/24 on shots and 3/12 at 3-pts. Sometimes consuming Portland’s game a little too much, wanting to make the decision on their own, instead of letting Anfernee Simons, for example, surf on their fine offensive dynamics in the second half.
⛔ Jerami Grant. Like Damian Lillard, the Portland winger forced a lot on offense today and in every half. However, on a superb dynamic for several days, he finally never managed to find his rhythm and his preferential positions, accumulating failures and dubious choices. The former Detroit player can at least “consol” himself by saying that he did his best in defense on Kevin Durant, even if he finished at 35 points…
⛔ Edmond Sumner. Non-existent in the first half (0 point in six minutes, without the slightest shot attempt), the combo guard of the Nets was not reused by his coach after the break. He thus preferred a Ben Simmons finally seen to his advantage on both sides of the floor and, with the announced return of Kyrie Irving, it could well be that Sumner finds a role as a substitute, or even as a player at the end of the bench, in the next few days.
THE FOLLOWING
Portland (10-5) : reception of Utah, on the night of Saturday to Sunday (04:00).
Brooklyn (7-9) : reception of Memphis, on the night of Sunday to Monday (01:00).
