By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Fourth straight win, second in a row opposite the Houston Rockets, for the Denver Nuggets. Serbian Nikola Jokic piled up 17 points, 12 assists, nine rebounds, one steal, and one block in just 27 minutes in the comfortable display, 120-100, Wednesday. Slovenian teammate Vlatko Cancar added 13 points and five rebounds. For the losing side, Turkish Alperen Sengun posted an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double, and Spanish Usman Garuba registered two points, two rebounds, two blocks, one steal, and one assist.
Finnish Lauri Markkanen helped the Utah Jazz bounce back with 23 points, nine rebounds, and two assists in the 125-112 victory against the Los Angeles Clippers. Italian Simone Fontecchio chipped in three points in 11 minutes. On the opposite side, French Moussa Diabate enjoyed the most productive showing of his young career with 11 points and eight rebounds, while Croatian Ivica Zubac paired 12 points with seven rebounds and French Nicolas Batum had eight points.
Backed by Devin Booker pouring 51 points, the Phoenix Suns downed the Chicago Bulls, 132-113, at Footprint Center to retain the one-game lead in the Western Conference standings over the second-placed Nuggets. Montenegrin Nikola Vucevic went for 17 points, eight rebounds, two steals, one block, and one assist, and Slovenian Goran Dragic had five points and one assist but were held to the losing end of the NBA Regular Season contest.
Elsewhere in the 13-game schedule, Giannis Antetokounmpo fouled out with 37 points, 18 rebounds, seven assists, and one block but the Milwaukee Bucks escaped late danger and grabbed the win, 109-103, over the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden. German Isaiah Hartenstein made out further European action logging two points, five rebounds, and one block for the hosts.
The Bucks stayed two games behind the leaders of the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics. Jayson Tatum lighting up the Miami Heat by dropping 49 points powered the latest win, 134-121. The Prince and Princess of Wales sat courtside at TD Garden.
More games and European showings:
Cleveland Cavaliers – Philadelphia 76ers 113-85 (Cedi Osman 9pts – Furkan Korkmaz 4pts)
Orlando Magic – Atlanta Hawks 108-125 (Franz Wagner 22pts, Paolo Banchero 20pts, 5ast, Moritz Wagner 9pts, 8ast, 6reb – Clint Capela 20pts, 12reb, Vit Krejci 1reb, 1ast)
Brooklyn Nets – Washington Wizards 113-107 (Kristaps Porzingis 27pts, 19reb, Deni Avdija 7pts)
Minnesota Timberwolves – Memphis Grizzlies 109-101 (Rudy Gobert 9pts – Santi Aldama 4pts)
New Orleans Pelicans – Toronto Raptors 126-108 (Jonas Valanciunas 16pts, 13reb, Willy Hernangomez 4pts – O.G. Anunoby 12pts, Juancho Hernangomez 9pts)
Oklahoma City Thunder – San Antonio Spurs 119-111 (Ousmane Dieng 10pts, 7reb, Aleksej Pokusevski 5pts, 7reb)
Sacramento Kings – Indiana Pacers 137-114 (Domantas Sabonis 11pts, 10reb, 7ast, Alex Len 4pts, 5reb – Goga Bitadze 8pts)
Los Angeles Lakers – Portland Trail Blazers 128-109 (Dennis Schroder 6pts, 5ast – Jusuf Nurkic 8pts, 10reb)
Standings:
Eastern Conference
1. Boston Celtics 18-4
2. Milwaukee Bucks 15-5
3. Cleveland Cavaliers 14-8
4. Indiana Pacers 12-9
5. Philadelphia 76ers 12-10
6. Atlanta Hawks 12-10
7. Toronto Raptors 11-10
8. Brooklyn Nets 12-11
9. Washington Wizards 11-11
10. New York Knicks 10-12
11. Miami Heat 10-12
12. Chicago Bulls 9-12
13. Charlotte Hornets 6-15
14. Orlando Magic 5-17
15. Detroit Pistons 5-18
Western Conference
1. Phoenix Suns 15-6
2. Denver Nuggets 14-7
3. New Orleans Pelicans 13-8
4. Memphis Grizzlies 12-9
5. Los Angeles Clippers 13-10
6. Sacramento Kings 11-9
7. Utah Jazz 13-11
8. Golden State Warriors 11-11
9. Minnesota Timberwolves 11-11
10. Portland Trail Blazers 11-11
11. Dallas Mavericks 10-10
12. Oklahoma City Thunder 9-13
13. Los Angeles Lakers 8-12
14. San Antonio Spurs 6-16
15. Houston Rockets 5-16
-Top six teams of each conference advance directly to Playoffs
-Teams seeded 7th to 10th will compete in Play-In tournament
Photo Credit: Getty Images