NBA, Popovich scolds his fans: ‘Don’t boo’
"Have some class. This is not who we are. Stop whistling"
.
It was known that this was going to be a peculiar game. In San Antonio, they never digested Leonard's farewell and seeing him in the LA Clippers jersey, at home, was not è acceptable. Hence a truckload of booing toward the former prodigal son, guilty of leaving the Spurs.
Popovich, coach of San Antonio, decided to intervene. Taking the microphone, he called on the fans present at the arena to stop booing: "Excuse me for a second: can we stop booing and let these guys play? Have some class. This is not who we are. Stop booing", his words.
A nice initiative but one that did not lead to anything good. The audience has, in fact, started booing Leonard sonorously again and also all the other players in LA Clippers jerseys. For the record, the Spurs lost the game 109-102 with 26 points from the booed Leonard.
Thirteen other NBA matches played in the night: among the highlights was the outside success of the Dallas Mavericks, who won 104-101 inflicting on the Lakers their 7th defeat in this regular season. Decisive Kyrie Irving, author of 28 points and especially of the triple that extinguished the yellowviola comeback (from -20). Important numbers also for Luka Doncic (30 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists), who turns out to be però very inaccurate shooting (3/12 from three), and usual, eternal, LeBron James, author of as many as 16 points in the final quarter (26 total), in addition to 9 rebounds and 7 assists.
The Boston Celtics overcome the Milwaukee Bucks (119-116) despite Damian Lillard’s 27 points and Brook Lopez’s 28. Not shining, Giannis Antetokounmpo despite 21 points and 13 rebounds. Launched also the Thunder, able to regulate 116-102 the Chicago Bulls. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s show with 40 points and 12 assists. Chicago, on the other hand, didn’t need 25 from DeMar DeRozan and 23 from Coby White.
Fifth consecutive win for Orlando, which routed the Denver Nuggets despite yet another career triple-double by Nikola Jokic (30 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists). The Magic s'impose 124-119 thanks mainly to 50 points from the pair formed by Paolo Banchero (23 with 8/14 shooting) and Franz Wagner (27 with 11/18).
The Washington Wizards’ crisis continues at their 7th consecutive knockout against the Hornets of LaMelo Ball (34 points with 13 assists) and Miles Bridges (33+10 rebounds). Tyrese Haliburton (33 points and 16 assists) was not enough for the Indiana Pacers, defeated in a sprint (131-132) by the Toronto Raptors of Pascal Siakam (36) and Dennis Schroder (26). The Miami Heat 129-96 won against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
