By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The first big “Euro” derby of the season ended with a 112-109 win for the Milwaukee Bucks (9-4) against the Dallas Mavericks (6-5), as Giannis Antetokounmpo went off with 31 points and 9 rebounds to lead his team, despite making just 1/10 free throws. Khris Middleton followed with 25 points and Brook Lopez added a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Luka Doncic once again flirted with triple-double numbers, as he left the court with 28 points, 13 assists and 9 rebounds. Kristaps Porzingis tapped a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavs and Tim Hardaway Jr posted 22 points.
Andre Drummond tied his career-high with 33 points and to go along with 23 rebounds as Cedi Osman scored 25 points to pace the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 106-103 win over the New York Knicks. Julius Randle dropped 28 points for the Knicks and Immanuel Quickley tapped 23.
Donovan Mitchell helped the Utah Jazz (8-4) overcome Atlanta Hawks (5-6) with a 116-92 win, posting a team-high of 26 points. Bojan Bogdanovic tapped 17 points for the Jazz and Rudy Gobert had 15 points and 13 rebounds. On the other end of the court, Cam Reddish led the Hawks with 20 points.
The Los Angeles Lakers (11-3) enjoyed a 112-95 win over the New Orleans Pelicans (4-7) paced by LeBron James’ double-double of 21 points and 11 assists, while Anthony Davis added 17 points for the defending NBA champions. Zion Williamson had 21 points, 12 rebounds to lead the Pelicans, while Brandon Ingram posted 20 points.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander saved the Oklahoma City Thunder (6-6) to lead them to a 127-125 win against the Chicago Bulls (4-8) in overtime with a double-double of 33 points and 10 assists. Luguentz Dort tapped 21 points and rookie Aleksej Pokusevski added 5 points and 3 rebounds to the winners’ effort in 12 minutes on the court.
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George helped the LA Clippers (9-4) to a smashing 138-100 win against the Sacramento Kings (5-8), adding 27 and 26 points respectively. Serge Ibaka tapped 6 points and 5 rebounds for the winners while Ivica Zubac dropped 6 points and 7 rebounds coming from the bench. Marvin Bagley led the Kings‘ efforts with 20 points.
Jaylen Brown paced the Boston Celtics (8-3) to a 124-97 victory against Orlando Magic (6-6) with a game-high performance of 21 points and 8 rebounds. Jeff Teague had 17 points for Boston and Daniel Theis added 8 points and 10 rebounds coming from the bench. Aaron Gordon led the Magic with 17 points and Nikola Vucevic tapped 15 points and 6 rebounds.
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