By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Rookie Theo Maledon scored a career-high of 24 points for the Oklahoma City Thunder (8-10), though that wasn’t enough to save the team against the Brooklyn Nets (13-8), as the latter prevailed 147-125, as Kyrie Irving and James Harden tapped 25 points apiece. Still, the French point guard proved he deserved to be a first-round pick and keeps growing with the Thunder.
Bojan Bogdanovic had a season-high 32 points as the Utah Jazz (15-4) completed a sweep of the Dallas Mavericks (8-11) with a 120-101 victory to extend their streak to 11 games. Luka Doncic scored 25 points and Jalen Brunson had 13 for the Mavericks that have lost four in a row.
Despite a big performance by Giannis Antetokounmpo, the New Orleans Pelicans (7-10) managed to overcome the Milwaukee Bucks (11-7) with a 131-126 win. The Greek Freak posted double-double figures with 38 points and 11 rebounds along with 5 assists, though four players of the Pelicans scored 20 points or more, with Brandon Ingram leading the way with 28 and Lonzo Ball followed with 27.
DeMar DeRozan had 30 points and 10 assists, Dejounte Murray scored 26 points and the San Antonio Spurs (11-8) defeated Denver Nuggets (11-8) 119-109 to snap the Nuggets‘ five-game winning streak. Nikola Jokic added a double-double of 35 points and 10 rebounds, and Jamal Murray had 20 points for Denver.
Paul George posted 26 points and Kawhi Leonard had 24 to pace the LA Clippers (15-5) to a strong 116-90 win against the Orlando Magic (8-12). Serge Ibaka followed with 13 points and 9 rebounds, while on the other end of the court, Terrence Ross had 24 points.
Trae Young erupted with 41 points and Clint Capela posted a double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds to help the Atlanta Hawks (10-9) overcome Washington Wizards (3-12) with a 116-100 win. Danilo Gallinari added 11 points coming from the bench, while on the other end of the court, Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook tapped 26 points each.
Joel Embiid tapped 37 points and 11 rebounds in 27 minutes, leading the Philadelphia 76ers (14-6) to a 118-94 victory over the depleted Minnesota Timberwolves (4-14). Tobias Harris added 17 points and 11 rebounds for the 76ers, while Malik Beasley had 22 points for the Timberwolves.
The Charlotte Hornets (8-11) bounced back to defeat the Indiana Pacers (11-8) 108-105, paced behind PJ Washington and Terry Rozier who both tapped 19 points each. Domantas Sabonis had 22 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists to lead the Pacers and Malcolm Brogdon followed with 21.
Immanuel Quickley paced the New York Knicks (9-11) to a 102-81 win over Cleveland Cavaliers (9-10) with a 25-point performance, followed by RJ Barrett who had 24 points. Darius Garland was the leading scorers for Cavs with 24 points, while Cedi Osman contributed just 3 points coming from the bench.
Harrison Barnes scored 26 points in Sacramento Kings‘ (8-10) 126-124 victory over the Toronto Raptors (7-12), their third straight win. De’Aaron Fox added 24 for the Kings, Buddy Hield had 22 points and Hassan Whiteside came off the bench with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Pascal Siakam scored 32 points for the Raptors and Fred VanVleet had 26 points.
Photo: Getty Images