By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Thinking he won the game in regulation to actually leading the Dallas Mavericks to the win in overtime, Luka Doncic was brilliant in pushing his side past the New York Knicks, 126-121, in American Airlines Center Tuesday. A personal best and franchise-high 60 points expanding into a triple-double with 21 rebounds and ten assists to go along with two steals and one block over 47 minutes. After intentionally missing a free throw, the Slovenian star forced five extra minutes and completed an unlikely survival from a nine-point deficit with 33 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
“A lot of people asked me about this back in the locker room, and I said I thought we won it. That’s why I went to the crowd like this. I thought we won the game, and then I see it was tied. I was like, ‘Oof.’” he confessed describing the midrange jumper to tie the game 115-115 with 1.0 seconds remaining. At the end of the day, it was the first 60-point showing in Mavericks history, the first 60-20-10 game in NBA history, and the highest-scoring performance in the 2022-23 NBA Regular Season.
Besides Doncic, Latvian Davis Bertans chipped in five points and two rebounds, and French Frank Ntilikina missed one shot in seven minutes. German Maxi Kleber (right hamstring tear) stayed on the injury list. For the visitors falling narrowly shy of the win, German Isaiah Hartenstein ended up with five points and one rebound with both Ukrainian Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and French Evan Fournier suiting up but missing out on the action.
Storming back from a 20-point deficit, the leaders of the Western Conference Denver Nuggets extended their winning streak to five games by defeating the Sacramento Kings, 113-106. Serbian Nikola Jokic put in 20 points, 11 assists, nine rebounds, and one steal. Slovenian Vlatko Cancar added eight points, four rebounds, and three assists. Starting instead of Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis (right thumb), Ukrainian Alex Len logged two points and four rebounds.
Overcoming a 48-point effort by Joel Embiid, the Washington Wizards earned the win, 116-111, versus the Philadelphia 76ers at Capital One Arena, snapping the eight-game winning streak held by the visitors. Latvian Kristaps Porzingis tallied a team-high 24 points, ten rebounds, three blocks, two steals, and one assist. Israeli Deni Avdija got seven points, three rebounds, and one block coming off the bench.
Picking up an injury on his left leg, Serbian Aleksej Pokusevski was forced to an early exit, but the Oklahoma City Thunder routed the San Antonio Spurs, 130-114. A brief showing limited to one made triple and one rebound. On the losing end, Polish Jeremy Sochan and Austrian Jakob Poeltl recorded 16 and 10 points, respectively.
Kawhi Leonard returned to Scotiabank Arena and Croatian Ivica Zubac posted a 23-point, 16-rebound double-double as the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Toronto Raptors, 124-113. French Nicolas Batum threw in nine points and seven rebounds. For the hosts, British O.G. Anunoby had 18 points and Spanish Juancho Hernangomez did not score through nine minutes.
More games and European showings:
Orlando Magic – Los Angeles Lakers 110-129 (Franz Wagner 15pts, Moritz Wagner 12pts, Paolo Banchero 4pts – Dennis Schroder 7pts)
Boston Celtics – Houston Rockets 126-102 (Usman Garuba 2pts, 3reb, Alperen Sengun 9reb)
Indiana Pacers – Atlanta Hawks 129-114 (Bogdan Bogdanovic 18pts, Vit Krejci 2pts)
Memphis Grizzlies – Phoenix Suns 108-125 (Santi Aldama 3pts – Dario Saric 3pts)
Golden State Warriors – Charlotte Hornets 110-105 (Theo Maledon 5pts)
Standings:
Eastern Conference
1. Boston Celtics 25-10
2. Milwaukee Bucks 22-11
3. Brooklyn Nets 22-12
4. Cleveland Cavaliers 22-13
5. Philadelphia 76ers 20-13
6. New York Knicks 18-17
7. Indiana Pacers 18-17
8. Atlanta Hawks 17-17
9. Miami Heat 17-17
10. Toronto Raptors 15-19
11. Chicago Bulls 14-19
12. Washington Wizards 14-21
13. Orlando Magic 13-22
14. Charlotte Hornets 9-26
15. Detroit Pistons 8-28
Western Conference
1. Denver Nuggets 22-11
2. New Orleans Pelicans 21-12
3. Memphis Grizzlies 20-13
4. Los Angeles Clippers 21-15
5. Phoenix Suns 20-15
6. Dallas Mavericks 19-16
7. Sacramento Kings 17-15
8. Portland Trail Blazers 18-16
9. Utah Jazz 19-17
10. Golden State Warriors 17-18
11. Minnesota Timberwolves 16-18
12. Oklahoma City Thunder 15-19
13. Los Angeles Lakers 14-20
14. San Antonio Spurs 11-23
15. Houston Rockets 10-24
-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