Oklahoma City Thunder is heading to 1 in the NBA and Flagg shone against the Lakers

Oklahoma City Thunder took another step towards number 1 in the NBA regular season, while Cooper Flagg He was the great protagonist of the victory of Dallas Mavericks about Los Angeles Lakers on a Sunday day in which Boston Celtics consolidated its position in second place in the East and Houston Rockets settled down to climb in the West.

Chet Holmgren scored 21 points, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 20 and Oklahoma City Thunder reached their highest scoring figure of the season to crush the Utah Jazz 146-111.

Gilgeous-Alexander did not play in the fourth quarter, with the Thunder in complete control. He extended his record streak of games with at least 20 points scored to 138.

Cason Wallace scored 16 points and Jalen Williams added 15 for the Thunder, who extended their lead over the San Antonio Spurs to 3 games, with 4 to go in the race for first place in the Western Conference and the entire NBA heading into the playoffs. Oklahoma City has won 5 in a row and 17 of the last 18.

Cooper Flagg and another historic night

Cooper Flagg scored 45 points and Dallas Mavericks ended their longest home losing streak in 32 years, at 14 games, with a 134-128 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Flagg, who had 9 assists and 8 rebounds, chained consecutive games of at least 40 points for the first time, two nights after scoring 51 to become the first under 20 years old with a 50-point game in the NBA. Flagg is the first rookie with consecutive games of at least 40 points since Allen Iverson (1996-1997 season).

LeBron James added 30 points and 15 assists for the Lakers, already with a ticket to the playoffs, who were ahead for just 13 seconds in the first minutes of their first game since injuries left Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves out for the rest of the regular season.

Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer, is suffering from a left hamstring strain, and Reaves, Los Angeles’ second-leading scorer, is out with a left oblique strain.

Brown and Tatum led the Boston Celtics to victory

Jaylen Brown scored 26 points, Jayson Tatum added 23 points and 13 rebounds, and Boston Celtics beat Toronto Raptors 115-101.

Neemias Queta had 18 points and seven rebounds, and Payton Pritchard scored 17 points for the Celtics, who won their third straight game to move closer to securing second place in the Eastern Conference.

Ja’Kobe Walter led Toronto with 16 points, and Brandon Ingram and RJ Barrett added 15 each.

Houston Rockets fight in the West

Alperen Sengun scored the go-ahead layup with 11 seconds left off a pass from Kevin Durant, and Houston Rockets resisted Stephen Curry in his return after being out for more than two months to beat the Golden State Warriors 117-116.

Durant recorded 31 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists against his former team, and, in addition to the decisive pass at the close, he hit a crucial three-pointer with 2:10 left.

Curry dazzled with 29 points (11 of 21 from the field) in 26 minutes, after missing 27 consecutive games due to a right knee injury. Steph received a warm standing ovation and greetings on the big screen when she entered with 4:54 left in the first quarter. It was the first time he came off the bench in a regular season game since March 7, 2012, against Memphis.

The Rockets remain fifth in the West, but only one game ahead of the Lakers and Denver Nuggets.

In the rest of the games, Donovan Mitchell scored 23 of his 38 points in the second half, James Harden added 28 points and 7 assists, and Cleveland Cavaliers beat Indiana Pacers 117-108.

LaMelo Ball scored 35 points and Miles Bridges added 25 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists for Charlotte Hornets’ 122-108 victory over Minnesota Timberwolves.

Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points and Los Angeles Clippers broke a two-game losing streak by beating the Sacramento Kings 138-109 and thus improved its position for the play-in.

Phoenix Suns defeated Chicago Bulls 120-110 with 30 points from Devin Booker and 25 from Jalen Green. The Suns are seventh in the West and still dream of qualifying directly for the playoffs.

Orlando Magic overcame a 15-point deficit in the second half to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 112-108with 27 points from Desmond Bane.

Ryan Rollins scored 24 points and Milwaukee Bucks resisted a triple-double from Rayan Rupert to beat Memphis Grizzlies 131-115 in a duel between depleted teams destined for the lottery.

Nolan Traore made 5 triples and finished with 23 points and 7 assists, Jalen Wilson contributed 19 points and Brooklyn Nets beat Washington Wizards 121-115.