By Eurohoops team/info@eurohoops.net
In day two of the NBA season, there were 11 games and many Europeans hoopers contributed for their respective teams.
The “Greek Freak” put on a show in Boston with 37 points and 13 rebounds, leading the Bucks to a 108-100 win. Mirza Teletovic added 7 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. For Boston, Daniel Theis saw the floor for the first time and had 6 points in four minutes.
In Memphis, Marc Gasol led his team to an opening night win (103-91) over the Pelicans with a double-double of 14 points, 11 boards while adding 4 assists and 3 blocks.
In Indiana, the new-look Pacers managed to beat the Nets (140-131) in a hard-fought game. Bojan Bogdanovic, helped his team with 14 points while second-year man, Donatas Sabonis also contributed with 16 points and 7 boards. For the Nets, Mozgov had 4 points and 3 rebounds.
In another Eastern Conference showdown, the Wizards beat the 76ers (120-115) with Marcin Gortat enjoying a “monster” double-double with 16 points and 17 rebounds while adding 4 blocks. For Philly, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot got 18 minutes and score 5 points while his Croatian teammate Dario Saric only had 3 points, 3 boards and 2 assists in 22 minutes.
In the battle of Florida, the Orlando Magic beat the Miami Heat by a final score of (116-109). Evan Fournier hit key buckets down the stretch and finished the game with 23 points. Nicola Vucevic was also superb with a double-double, 19 points and 13 rebounds.
For the losing side, Eurobasket champion, Goran Dragic had 17 points, 5 boards and 6 assists for the losing side
German duel
In Dallas, the past and the future of German basketball dueled in a thriller. Dennis Schroder had 28 points 2 boards, 7 dimes and 2 steals in 34 minutes of floor time and looked superb as “the man” for Atlanta. On the other hand, Dirk Nowitzki only played 24 minutes and managed 10 points and 6 rebounds.
Marco Belinelli had a nice debut for his new team besides the loss. He has 20 points, 3 boards and 3 assists while Ersan Ilyasova added 6 points in 24 minutes.
The ultimate “Euro-battle” took place in Utah where reigning DPOY, Rudy Gobert and his newest pal Ricky Rubio led the home side to a 106-96 win. The “Stifle tower”, naturally, had a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds adding one block. Ricky Rubio, just missed a double-double himself with 9 points, 5 boards and 10 assists in his Jazz debut.
For the losing side, Nikola Jokic had a sub-par effort but again not that far from a triple-double with 7 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists.
The Kawhi-less Spurs hosted the Minnesota Timberwolves and got the win (107-99) with Don Pau Gasol contributing 7 points and 7 boards with 4 assists and 3 blocks. Betrans played but didn’t score (2 boards) while Lauvergne added 4 points and 3 boards in hist first appearance in San Antonio. For the Wolves, Nemanja Njelica had a nice game with 9 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist.
Career high for Capela
Clint Capela enjoyed a career night in Houston’s win over Sacramento (105-100). The Swiss-man finished the game with 22 points, 17 boards, 3 steals and a block. For Sacramento, Kostas Koufos had 2 points and 6 rebounds, Georgios Papagiannis got a DNP-CD while Bogdan Bogdanovic did not play due to an ankle injury.
Despite the absence of C.J. McCollum, the Portland Trail Blazers had a statement win (124-76) Phoenix and Jusuf Nurkic dominated from the start. He enjoyed a double-double with 11 points, 11 boards. For the opposing side, Dragan Bender had 2 points and 7 boards in a losing effort.
Tyler Dorsey did not see the floor for the Hawks, neither did Boban Marjanovic in the Pistons‘ win (102-90) over Charlotte in the first game at their new arena.