The Raptors have conquered the Chase Center of San Francisco (113-121) in the return of Stephen Curry after overcoming his long injury, while the Hornets have fallen in a very close final against Denver Nuggets (112-114).
Four months and 58 games after suffering a fracture in his left hand, Curry, double NBA MVP (2015 and 2016), reappeared in a Golden State Warriors in need of joys – they are the worst team in the entire league – and that makes long time that they are discarded from the fight for the ‘playoffs’.
Starting as a starter, the base added 23 points in 27 minutes and helped his team retain victory options until the last possessions, when Pascal Siakam decided with a couple of great plays.
The Raptors showed their wide range of resources and, with the leadership of Norman Powell (37 points) and Kyle Lowry (26 and 10 assists), resolved a demanding game to maintain two advantage wins over Boston Celtics in the fight for second place of the Eastern Conference.
As for the Spaniards, Marc Gasol is still off and Serge Ibaka scored a ‘double-double’ (13 points and 13 rebounds) in 30 minutes of play, becoming one of the six Canadian team players in double-digit scoring .
For his part, Willy Hernangómez returned to perform at a good level, playing almost 23 minutes with the Hornets in which he added 14 points and 6 rebounds. Led by Devonte Graham (24), his team fought until the end against powerful Nuggets, but Terry Rozier missed three times the horn that would have left the victory in Charlotte.
- STATISTICS OF SPANISH PLAYERS.
SERGE IBAKA: 13 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 stopper.
WILLY HERNANGÓMEZ: 14 points and 6 rebounds.