By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The “Bosnian Beast” had a career-high 33 points with 16 rebounds against his ex-teammates, CJ McCollum had 39 points and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Denver Nuggets 122-113 to take hold of the eighth seed in the Western Conference.
Portland leads Denver by a game for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Blazers also clinched the season-series tiebreaker with the Nuggets, giving them an upper hand with eight games to play. Nurkic was traded and Serb Nikola Jokic who was kept by the Nuggets and emerged as their starting center had 17 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 blocks. Italian Danilo Gallinari added 13 points.
In the East, Dennis Schroder hit consecutive 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to spark a 17-1 run that carried Atlanta to a 95-91 victory over the Phoenix Suns, snapping a seven-game losing streak. The German guard finished the game with 27 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds and also 8 turnovers. Turk Ersan Ilyasova added 18 points and 12 rebounds and Spaniard Jose Calderon 6 points and 2 assists. From the losing side Ukrainian Alex Len had 12 points and 7 rebounds.
The Hawks improved to 38-36 and hold the tiebreaker edge for the No. 5 spot in the Eastern Conference over the Milwaukee Bucks, who kept pace with a 118-108 victory at Charlotte. Tony Snell scored a season-high 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting, Greek freak Giannis Antetokounmpo had 20 points and 8 rebounds and Bosnian Mirza Teletovic added 8 points. For the losing side French Nicolas Batum had 5 points and Italian Marco Belinelli had 6.
At Detroit, Hassan Whiteside tipped in a shot with his left hand as time expired to lift the Heat over the Detroit Pistons 97-96. Whiteside, playing with a thick bandage on his right hand to protect 13 stitches he got a week ago was the last minute hero, while Slovenian Goran Dragic was the top scorer of the winners with 28 points. Detroit’s Slovenian Beno Udrih had 6 points and 4 assists. The win was huge for Miami (36-38), which moved one game ahead of No. 9 Chicago and 2 1/2 games ahead of No. 10 Detroit for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Here’s the rest of last night’s results and the euro-scorers.
Indiana – Minessota 114-115 (Rubio 21 p. 10 as., Casspi 2 p.)
Brooklyn – Philadelphia 101-106 (Saric 23 p. 7 r., Luwawu-Cabarro 17 p.)
Houston – Golden State 106-113 (Capela 21 p. 7 r. – Pachulia 2 p. 3 r.)
LA Lakers – Washington 108-119 (Zubac 10 p. – Gortat 7 p. 10 r., Mahinmi 10 p. 5 r., Bogdanovic 6 p.)
Eastern Conference
| W | L | PCT | GB | HOME | ROAD | DIV | CONF | PPG | OPP PPG | DIFF | STRK | L10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1x –Boston Celtics | 48 | 26 | .649 | – | 27-9 | 21-17 | 9-5 | 31-13 | 107.8 | 105.1 | +2.7 | W4 | 8-2 |
| 2y –Cleveland Cavaliers | 47 | 26 | .644 | 0.5 | 28-8 | 19-18 | 7-7 | 31-12 | 110.0 | 106.8 | +3.2 | L2 | 5-5 |
| 3y –Washington Wizards | 46 | 28 | .622 | 2 | 29-10 | 17-18 | 7-6 | 29-18 | 109.4 | 106.9 | +2.5 | W4 | 6-4 |
| 4x –Toronto Raptors | 45 | 29 | .608 | 3 | 25-12 | 20-17 | 12-2 | 28-16 | 107.2 | 102.9 | +4.3 | W6 | 7-3 |
| 5Atlanta Hawks | 38 | 36 | .514 | 10 | 20-18 | 18-18 | 5-10 | 25-19 | 103.0 | 104.3 | -1.3 | W1 | 3-7 |
| 6Milwaukee Bucks | 38 | 36 | .514 | 10 | 21-17 | 17-19 | 9-5 | 23-23 | 104.6 | 104.2 | +0.4 | W1 | 7-3 |
| 7Indiana Pacers | 37 | 37 | .500 | 11 | 26-12 | 11-25 | 7-7 | 21-24 | 104.4 | 105.3 | -0.9 | L1 | 4-6 |
| 8Miami Heat | 36 | 38 | .486 | 12 | 21-16 | 15-22 | 6-7 | 22-23 | 102.7 | 102.0 | +0.7 | W1 | 6-4 |
| Chicago Bulls | 35 | 39 | .473 | 13 | 21-16 | 14-23 | 8-7 | 23-22 | 102.4 | 103.4 | -0.9 | W1 | 4-6 |
| Detroit Pistons | 34 | 41 | .453 | 14.5 | 23-15 | 11-26 | 5-10 | 20-27 | 101.1 | 102.4 | -1.3 | L5 | 2-8 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 33 | 41 | .446 | 15 | 21-17 | 12-24 | 10-3 | 21-25 | 105.1 | 104.4 | +0.7 | L1 | 5-5 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 28 | 46 | .378 | 20 | 17-19 | 11-27 | 7-6 | 19-25 | 102.5 | 107.6 | -5.2 | W1 | 5-5 |
| New York Knicks | 28 | 46 | .378 | 20 | 17-18 | 11-28 | 4-9 | 19-26 | 105.1 | 108.5 | -3.4 | W1 | 2-8 |
| e –Orlando Magic | 27 | 47 | .365 | 21 | 14-23 | 13-24 | 7-9 | 18-27 | 100.5 | 106.6 | -6.1 | L1 | 4-6 |
| e –Brooklyn Nets | 16 | 58 | .216 | 32 | 10-28 | 6-30 | 2-12 | 7-37 | 105.9 | 113.2 | -7.3 | L1 | 5-5 |
Western Conference
| W | L | PCT | GB | HOME | ROAD | DIV | CONF | PPG | OPP PPG | DIFF | STRK | L10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1y –Golden State Warriors | 60 | 14 | .811 | – | 31-4 | 29-10 | 12-2 | 36-9 | 115.9 | 104.3 | +11.6 | W8 | 8-2 |
| 2x –San Antonio Spurs | 57 | 16 | .781 | 2.5 | 29-7 | 28-9 | 9-5 | 32-11 | 106.2 | 98.1 | +8.2 | W5 | 7-3 |
| 3x –Houston Rockets | 51 | 23 | .689 | 9 | 28-10 | 23-13 | 10-6 | 32-13 | 115.6 | 108.9 | +6.8 | L1 | 7-3 |
| 4x –Utah Jazz | 45 | 29 | .608 | 15 | 25-12 | 20-17 | 6-7 | 26-19 | 100.4 | 96.7 | +3.7 | W1 | 5-5 |
| 5x –LA Clippers | 44 | 31 | .587 | 16.5 | 24-12 | 20-19 | 7-6 | 25-21 | 107.9 | 104.5 | +3.4 | L1 | 5-5 |
| 6Oklahoma City Thunder | 42 | 31 | .575 | 17.5 | 27-10 | 15-21 | 8-5 | 26-20 | 107.0 | 106.1 | +0.8 | W1 | 7-3 |
| 7Memphis Grizzlies | 40 | 34 | .541 | 20 | 21-14 | 19-20 | 7-6 | 27-20 | 100.7 | 100.2 | +0.5 | L4 | 4-6 |
| 8Portland Trail Blazers | 36 | 38 | .486 | 24 | 20-15 | 16-23 | 9-3 | 23-21 | 108.1 | 109.0 | -0.9 | W4 | 8-2 |
| Denver Nuggets | 35 | 39 | .473 | 25 | 21-18 | 14-21 | 5-9 | 20-26 | 111.4 | 111.3 | +0.1 | L2 | 6-4 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 31 | 42 | .425 | 28.5 | 21-18 | 10-24 | 4-8 | 18-26 | 97.7 | 100.1 | -2.4 | L2 | 4-6 |
| New Orleans Pelicans | 31 | 43 | .419 | 29 | 19-18 | 12-25 | 5-10 | 17-28 | 103.7 | 105.6 | -2.0 | L1 | 6-4 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 29 | 44 | .397 | 30.5 | 18-19 | 11-25 | 4-8 | 16-27 | 105.0 | 105.9 | -0.9 | W1 | 3-7 |
| Sacramento Kings | 29 | 45 | .392 | 31 | 15-22 | 14-23 | 6-7 | 18-26 | 102.6 | 106.3 | -3.7 | W2 | 4-6 |
| e –Phoenix Suns | 22 | 53 | .293 | 38.5 | 13-23 | 9-30 | 3-10 | 9-36 | 106.9 | 112.8 | -5.8 | L9 | 1-9 |
| e –Los Angeles Lakers | 21 | 53 | .284 | 39 | 13-24 | 8-29 | 5-8 | 11-33 | 104.7 | 112.1 | -7.5 | L2 | 2-8 |