By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Jokic registered 17 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds as the Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 123 – 106 in their first game following Jamal Murray’s season-ending injury.
It was Jokic’s 15th triple-double for the 2020-21 season and 56th in his career overall. The Serbian big man also delivered two blocks in the 32 minutes he spent on the floor.
Meanwhile in Memphis, Luka Doncic buried a pretty wild 3-pointer at the buzzer to hand the Dallas Mavericks the 114 – 113 win over the Grizzlies. He finished with game-highs 29 points and nine assists, plus five rebounds.
Kristaps Porzingis contributed 21 points and six rebounds to the Mavs while Maxi Kleber scored eight points (3-11 shots) and got eight boards. Jonas Valanciunas had 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Grizzlies in what would’ve been a winning performance if not for Doncic’s outstanding shot.
Domantas Sabonis had a strong all-around presence of 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Indiana Pacers beat the Houston Rockets 132 – 124 to bounce back to wins.
Goga Bitadze had four points, five rebounds and three assists in 11 minutes off the bench for the Pacers.
Ivica Zubac had one of his best game of the season (18 points and a season-high-tying 13 rebounds) to help the Los Angeles Clippers grab their seven straight victory by defeating the Detroit Pistons 100 – 98. Reggie Jackson made the game-winning jumper with two seconds to play.
Nicolas Batum played 27 minutes and scored seven points.
Nikola Vucevic had a productive but not winning output in his first game against the Orlando Magic. The Montenegrin center posted 29 points and 11 rebounds in the Chicago Bulls‘ 106 – 115 loss to the Magic at home.
Daniel Theis finished with 16 points plus six rebounds, Tomas Satoransky had nine points plus six assists and Lauri Markkanen scored six points.
The rest of Wednesday’s results and Euro scorers:
Minnesota Timberwolves – Milwaukee Bucks 105 – 130 (Juancho Hernangomez 18 points, Rodions Kurucs eight points, Thanasis Antetokounmpo one point, six rebounds)
Oklahoma City Thunder – Golden State Warriors 109 – 147 (Svi Mykhailiuk 14 points/five rebounds, Theo Maledon 11 points/five assists)
Sacramento Kings – Washington Wizards 111 – 123 (Davis Bertans 16 points, Deni Avdija 11 points, Alex Len eight points/10 rebounds
Philadelphia 76ers – Brooklyn Nets 123 – 117 (Furkan Korkmaz nine points, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot five points)
Charlotte Hornets – Cleveland Cavaliers 90 – 103 (Cedi Osman one point)
Toronto Raptors – 117 – 112 (Jakob Poeltl four points/10 rebounds)
New Orleans Pelicans – New York Knicks 106 – 116