Rome, Jan. 3 (LaPresse) – Ten NBA regular-season games were played overnight. It was a fourth straight win for the Oklahoma City Thunder, who with a 131–94 victory over the Golden State Warriors (without Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green) picked up their 30th win of the season. The best player was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 30 points. Denver, missing many players, lost a close one in Cleveland 113–108 (Donovan Mitchell recorded 33 points), while Atlanta won in New York 111–99 (a triple-double of 18 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for Jalen Johnson) and Giannis Antetokounmpo hit the basket that gave the Bucks a 122–121 win in a frantic finish against Charlotte: the Greek star (30 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists) put his stamp on the game with 4.7 seconds left after a hard-fought encounter in which the home side also got 29 points and 8 assists from Ryan Rollin.
The Lakers needed a big 4th quarter to beat Memphis 128–121. For the home side, LeBron James posted 31 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists on 12-of-18 shooting from the field. There were clear wins for Phoenix over Sacramento, 129–102 (Kevin Booker scored 20 of his 33 total points in the 1st quarter), and for San Antonio on the Pacers’ court, 123–113, with De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper leading the way with 24 and 22 points respectively. Between Washington and Brooklyn it was the Wizards who dominated 119–99 from the start, sending six players into double figures, while the Nets endured a nightmare shooting night. The Chicago Bulls beat the Orlando Magic 121–114, with 31 points and 6 rebounds from an excellent Paolo Banchero not enough for the visitors. The clash between the Pelicans and the Blazers lasted only one quarter, because then the visitors, led by Deni Avdija (34 points, 11 assists and 7 rebounds), showed their superiority by winning 122–109.
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