Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The Philadelphia Sixers and the Los Angeles Lakers at the top: the two franchises won their 9th victory of the season in the NBA on Sunday, and moved into first place in their respective conferences.

Published on: 09/11/2026 - 07:44

. Philadelphia in “don’t panic” mode

In the Eastern Conference, it is the superstars of Philadelphia who set the tone, with LeBron James' best game this season, to win against the Chicago Bulls (127-121).

Landed with the Sixers this summer, the “King” planted 22 points and delivered 5 assists, alongside a well-regulated Jaylen Brown (29 points) and leader Tyrese Maxey at 27 points.

"Philly" has only lost two games this season, and recorded its best start to the NBA season after 11 games since... the year 2000.

The team coached by Nick Nurse took the advantage at the start of the second quarter and never trailed again, even if the tenacious Bulls managed to reduce the gap by two points in the final minutes.

“We have a lot of players who have already experienced this kind of tense situation at the end of a match, and we know how not to panic,” said LeBron James, the best scorer in NBA history who, at 41, continues to impress.

. Without Doncic, the Lakers still win

In the West, it is the Lakers who are in first place after their victory on Sunday against Detroit (121-116).

In the absence of their Slovenian captain Luka Doncic, stratospheric at the start of the season (more than 40 points on average per game), who remained on the bench, it was Austin Reaves who took over.

The American scored 43 points, including two coolly executed free throws in the final seconds to seal the match.

The Lakers were never behind in the score, but Detroit threw all its forces into the battle, notably with Daniss Jenkins at 31 points coming off the bench, or Kevin Huerter at 24 points.

The Pistons suffered their second defeat in a row, when Los Angeles gleans its fifth victory in a row.

. Mister Antetokounmpo

The Greek Giannis Antetokounmpo carried Miami with his presence in the paint, with 29 points and 14 rebounds, to beat Sacramento (114-108).

Despite the enthusiasm of the Kings rookie, Darius Acuff Jr, with 32 points and 10 assists, the Heat pocketed its 4th victory, for 6 defeats, when Sacramento languished at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, with a small victory for 9 defeats.

Antetokounmpo, who arrived in the offseason from Milwaukee, averages 27.3 points and 12.7 rebounds per game.

. Gobert and Risacher win

Minnesota is in good form, with an eighth victory of the season for its Frenchman Rudy Gobert, still valuable on Sunday against the Utah Jazz (115-100), with ten points and 15 rebounds.

In a duel with a tricolor in each team, the Dallas Mavericks of Zaccharie Risacher (11 pts, 6 rebounds), got the better of the Brooklyn Nets (130-93) of Nolan Traoré (14 pts) who, like his team, was too clumsy at three points to hope for better.

Ousmane Dieng set the target (3 successful shots out of 3, 10 points) during his 15 minutes on the floor with the Bucks but lost against Boston. On the Chicago side, Noah Essengue (10 points, 7 rebounds) could not prevent the talent of the Sixers from shining.

© 2026 AFP

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