Basketball: NBA, Houston beats Detroit, Indiana surprises the Thunder

Turin, 24 Jan. (LaPresse) – Eight games were played last night in the NBA, with both teams at the top of the Eastern and Western Conferences suffering defeats. The Detroit Pistons lost 104-111 at home to the Houston Rockets, with Kevin Durant leading them to victory with 32 points. The Oklahoma City Thunder suffered a surprise defeat to the Indiana Pacers, who won 117-114 thanks to 26 points from Jarace Walker and 21 from Pascal Siakam. It took two overtime periods for the Boston Celtics to get the better of the Brooklyn Nets 130-126. The star of the game was Jaylen Brown, who recorded a triple-double with 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. The Cleveland Cavaliers won 123-118 against the Sacramento Kings, thanks to 33 points from Donovan Mitchell and a double-double from Evan Mobley with 29 points and 13 rebounds. The Denver Nuggets, still without Nikola Jokic and with Jamal Murray also out with the flu, won 102-100 at the Milwaukee Bucks with 20 points from Julian Strawther. Sadiq Bey’s 36 points and Zion Williamson’s double-double (24 points and 11 rebounds) propelled the New Orleans Pelicans to a 133-127 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Atlanta Hawks secured a fine victory, beating the Phoenix Suns 110-103 with Jalen Johnson narrowly missing out on a triple-double (23 points, 18 rebounds and 9 assists). Finally, the Toronto Raptors secured a clear victory on the Portland Trail Blazers’ court, winning 110-98, with 22 points from Georgian Sandro Mamukelashvili.