By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Nikola Jokic put on a big triple-double and guided the Denver Nuggets to a 113-109 win over the Charlotte Hornets.
It was an important game for both teams. Denver improved to 45-31 in the sixth spot of the Western Conference and got closer to Utah (45-30) and Dallas (36-29) while more importantly keeping seventh-placed Minnesota (43-33) at bay.
Jokic put up 26 points, 19 rebounds, and 11 assists followed by Aaron Gordon with 21 points. For Hornets, who’ve gotten a couple of big wins last week over Utah and Brooklyn, Miles Bridges scored 27 (11 boards) and LaMelo Ball 22 points (11 assists).
Meanwhile, another Serbian player had a good scoring night. Bogdan Bogdanovic banked in 29 points in Atlanta’s 132-123 win over the Indiana Pacers.
Clint Capela was right behind him with 22 points and 15 boards while Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot scored 13. Goga Bitadze had 14 on the opposing side.
A lot more Europeans had a good night of basketball. Oklahoma’s youngsters have been on a roll recently and they showed it again in overtime win over Portland.
Theo Maledon banked in 23 points while also adding ten boards and five assists. Meanwhile, Vit Krejci and Olivier Sarr scored 12 each while Aleksej Pokusevski flirted with a triple-double (11 points, eight boards, 11 assists).
Lauri Markkanen scored 20 for Cleveland as he went against Franz Wagner who scored ten for Orlando.
Daniel Theis had 13 points, ten boards for Boston which suffered a rare loss, against Toronto. Pascal Siakam erupted with 40 points and the absence of Robert Williams on the Celtics‘ side was detrimental.
DeMar DeRozan also put on a scoring fiesta with 37 points while Nikola Vucevic helped with 16 points, 13 boards but their effort was also not enough for a win as Chicago fell against New York.
Last but not least, Alperen Sengun had 12 points, seven boards as he went against Jakob Poeltl who logged 17 points, 13 rebounds and the Spurs came out on top against Houston.
Results
Charlotte Hornets – Denver Nuggets 109-113
Cleveland Cavaliers – Orlando Magic 107-101
Indiana Pacers – Atlanta Hawks 123-132
Miami Heat – Sacramento Kings 123-100
New York Knicks – Chicago Bulls 109-104
Toronto Raptors – Boston Celtics 115-112
Houston Rockets – San Antonio Spurs 120-123
Memphis Grizzlies – Golden State Warriors 123-95
Portland Trail Blazers – Oklahoma City Thunder 131-134
Standings
| Eastern Conference | W | L | W/L% | GB | PS/G | PA/G | SRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Celtics (1) | 47 | 28 | .627 | — | 110.7 | 103.9 | 6.44 |
| Miami Heat (2) | 47 | 28 | .627 | — | 109.1 | 105.2 | 3.67 |
| Milwaukee Bucks (3) | 46 | 28 | .622 | 0.5 | 114.9 | 111.2 | 3.42 |
| Philadelphia 76ers (4) | 46 | 28 | .622 | 0.5 | 108.8 | 106.6 | 2.26 |
| Chicago Bulls (5) | 43 | 31 | .581 | 3.5 | 111.6 | 111.2 | 0.18 |
| Toronto Raptors (6) | 42 | 32 | .568 | 4.5 | 109.1 | 107.1 | 2.05 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers (7) | 41 | 33 | .554 | 5.5 | 107.2 | 104.7 | 2.42 |
| Charlotte Hornets (8) | 39 | 36 | .520 | 8.0 | 114.8 | 114.4 | 0.48 |
| Brooklyn Nets (9) | 39 | 36 | .520 | 8.0 | 112.2 | 111.9 | 0.46 |
| Atlanta Hawks (10) | 37 | 37 | .500 | 9.5 | 112.9 | 112.2 | 0.88 |
| New York Knicks (11) | 33 | 42 | .440 | 14.0 | 106.3 | 106.8 | -0.33 |
| Washington Wizards (12) | 32 | 42 | .432 | 14.5 | 108.3 | 111.5 | -3.16 |
| Indiana Pacers (13) | 25 | 50 | .333 | 22.0 | 110.5 | 113.6 | -2.97 |
| Detroit Pistons (14) | 20 | 55 | .267 | 27.0 | 104.3 | 112.1 | -7.47 |
| Orlando Magic (15) | 20 | 55 | .267 | 27.0 | 104.2 | 111.9 | -7.55 |
| Western Conference | W | L | W/L% | GB | PS/G | PA/G | SRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix Suns (1) | 61 | 14 | .813 | — | 115.3 | 106.9 | 7.83 |
| Memphis Grizzlies (2) | 52 | 23 | .693 | 9.0 | 115.3 | 109.3 | 5.32 |
| Golden State Warriors (3) | 48 | 27 | .640 | 13.0 | 111.0 | 105.4 | 5.46 |
| Dallas Mavericks (4) | 46 | 29 | .613 | 15.0 | 106.7 | 104.1 | 2.61 |
| Utah Jazz (5) | 45 | 30 | .600 | 16.0 | 113.3 | 107.6 | 5.35 |
| Denver Nuggets (6) | 44 | 31 | .587 | 17.0 | 111.8 | 109.4 | 2.32 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves (7) | 43 | 33 | .566 | 18.5 | 115.4 | 112.2 | 3.16 |
| Los Angeles Clippers (8) | 36 | 39 | .480 | 25.0 | 106.7 | 108.3 | -1.53 |
| New Orleans Pelicans (9) | 32 | 43 | .427 | 29.0 | 108.8 | 109.8 | -0.65 |
| Los Angeles Lakers (10) | 31 | 43 | .419 | 29.5 | 111.6 | 114.3 | -2.97 |
| San Antonio Spurs (11) | 30 | 44 | .405 | 30.5 | 112.9 | 113.2 | -0.38 |
| Portland Trail Blazers (12) | 27 | 47 | .365 | 33.5 | 107.1 | 114.6 | -7.09 |
| Sacramento Kings (13) | 27 | 48 | .360 | 34.0 | 110.5 | 115.7 | -4.93 |
| Oklahoma City Thunder (14) | 21 | 53 | .284 | 39.5 | 103.4 | 110.9 | -7.16 |
| Houston Rockets (15) | 20 | 55 | .267 | 41.0 | 109.0 | 117.6 | -8.28 |