By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 34 points and 12 rebounds and seven assists weren’t enough for the Milwaukee Bucks against the new and Brooklyn Nets.
James Harden had 34 points, 12 assists and six rebounds (kind of a mirror of Antetokounmpo’s numbers) and Kevin Durant scored 30 points as the Brooklyn Nets beat the Bucks 125 – 123 at home.
Durant also hit the go-ahead 3-pointer after a pass by Harden with 36 seconds to play. Khris Middleton, who had 25 points, then missed consecutive attempts to put Milwaukee Buck in the remaining plays.
Giannis expected the Nets’ star duo to produce heavily. “This is what they do. They wake up, come to the game and they score 30,” the back-to-back reigning MVP said.
Goran Dragic dropped 22 points as the Miami Heat defeated the Detroit Pistons 113 – 107. The Slovenian guard didn’t really enjoy how his team performed but pleased that they got the win, nevertheless.
“It was not pretty. It was ugly,” Dragic said after the match. “But we’re happy.”
Kristaps Porzingis had his best game since his return to action with a season-high 23 points plus nine rebounds in the Dallas Mavericks‘ 116 – 93 loss to the Toronto Raptors.
Luka Doncic, who was coming off a historic triple-double, added 15 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
In Chicago, the Bulls grabbed their second straight win by downing the Houston Rockets 125 – 120 with Zach LaVine (33 points, seven assists) leading the way and Lauri Markkanen contributing 18 points plus seven rebounds.
Dennis Schroder scored a season-high 25 points but the Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t push back a Golden State Warriors comeback from down 14 for the 115 – 113 road win.
Marc Gasol had five points in 16 minutes for the Lakers.
The rest of Monday’s (18/1) results and Euro scorers:
New York Knicks – Orlando Magic 91 – 84 (Nikola Vucevic 24 points/14 rebounds)
Atlanta Hawks – Minesotta Timberwolves 109 – 97 (Clint Capela 23 points/15 rebounds)
Portland Trail Blazers – San Antonio Spurs 125 – 104 (Jakob Poeltl 11 points/seven rebounds, Enes Kanter nine points/eight rebounds/five assists)
Memphis Grizzlies – Phoenix Suns 108 – 104
The game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Washington Wizards was postponed due to multiple coronavirus cases on the latter