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We had a great night in the NBA, as Paul George returned to action, the New York Knicks won at Madison Square Garden, the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks got involved in a great shut-out and the Phoenix Suns continued their fantastic run in the Western Conference. Behind all of these great matches, there were of course some superb performers. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Paul George, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Lou Williams were all on fire last night on court but only a few of them made this list. In this article. we will look at five NBA stars that impressed last night and made the NBA world talk about their game.
#5 Eric Bledsoe
It is hard to look past Eric Bledsoe's performance for this rankings. The Bucks player was almost as important as Giannis Antetokounmpo in their win against the Chicago Bulls and his numbers from across the board were some of the most impressive of the night in the NBA. The Milwaukee Bucks won against Chicago at home, and a big part of that win can be attributed to Bledsoe. He managed to hold the team very well together when Giannis was resting on the bench, proving his worth to the Bucks once again.
He finished the match with 31 points, eight assists and six rebounds. His shooting percentage was also very good, around 85%. These are some great numbers, indeed. What we can see in these stats is the defensive work that he did, as he is an important part of the Bucks's defensive plays in every match. Milwaukee was criticised for paying Bledsoe the super-max contract in the past summer but after seeing him playing so well and helping his team win in every match, we believe that that criticism is not well-founded anymore.
#4 Luka Doncic
Dallas Mavericks lost for the second time in just seven days against the New York Knicks. This is really bad news for the Texan team, as the Knicks are a side they should not have been defeated by. Still, the loss should not take anything away from Luka Doncic, who was amazing for Dallas once again and managed to keep them in the game, when the other Mavericks were buckling.
Doncic finished the game once again with a triple-double, scoring 33 points and registering 11 assists and 10 rebounds. His shooting percentage was off-the charts as well, as at one points Doncic made last night 14 shoots in a row for Dallas. The loss against the Knicks was definitely not on the back of his performance, as he was the reason the match was so close until the final buzzer.
#3 Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo had another great match last night and just like James Harden and Luka Doncic, the Greek superstar is building a very solid case for himself in the MVP race, with these kind of performances. Giannis helped his team win last night by registering a double-double, as he had 38 points across the board along with 16 rebounds.
The reason why Giannis is not at the top of the list, is because he got a lot of help from Bledsoe in the match against the Bulls, and there were players in the league that were more vital for their team's performances last night. Nevertheless, Giannis had an amazing game, as is expected from him at this point. His defensive work also looked better in this clash in comparison to some of the other matches from this season, when he was criticized for it.
#2 Paul George
Paul George returned on the court for the Los Angeles Clippers last night. On a night when Kawhi Leonard did not play due to "load management", the Clippers core looked at George for guidance on court. The Californian team did not get the win last night but George made a great impression on his return, being the best Clippers player in a close match against the New Orleans Pelicans.
George scored 33 points, and registered nine rebounds, as well as four assists. He managed to score three out of five 3-pointers and also went 10/10 from the FT line. The LA Clippers's fans are surely happy with what they saw from Paul George in his first match back and from here the former Thunders superstar can only improve his game. His partnership with Kawhi Leonard will be one to watch for sure this season.
#1 Jrue Holiday
While Paul George returned to court and had a great match last night, he was not the 'hero' of the night, as that award has to go to Jrue Holiday. The New Orleans Pelicans player inspired his team to victory against the Los Angeles Clippers on a night when Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart did not play. Holiday put on an impressive show across the board and he was definitely the best player from last night's action in the NBA.
Holiday finished the night with 36 points, seven assists and four rebounds. At the same time, he made some very important defensive plays in the last quarter. tipping the scales in the favour of the Pelicans. Holiday was everywhere on court for his team last night and his efforts are appreciated with the top spot in these rankings, today.
