By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Alperen Sengun finished the night with 17 points and 10 rebounds, Jalen Green scored 26 points, Fred VanVleet had 25 and the Houston Rockets beat Denver 114-106 for their first road win of the season after eight losses.
NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic continues to struggle with his shot. He finished with 23 points and 16 rebounds but was 9 for 26 from the field. “I took shots I always take,” Jokic said. “I didn’t shoot any crazy shots, the ball just didn’t want to go in.”
The duel between the Turk and the Serb centers ended up more than interesting with Sengun admitting: “Normally he makes all of those hard shots. It wasn’t his day but I did a great job, I think.”
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points, French Rudy Gobert had 16 points, 20 rebounds, and six blocks and the NBA-leading Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away in the third quarter to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 127-103.
For the losing side, Spaniard Santi Aldama had nine points, 10 rebounds, and six assists.
German star Franz Wagner scored 27 points, Paolo Banchero added 24 and the Orlando Magic handed the Detroit Pistons their 19th straight loss, 123-91.
Georgian center Goga Bitadze had 13 points, eight rebounds, and four blocks for the Magic, and Franz’s older brother Mo Wagner added four points and five rebounds.
For disappointing Detroit, French Killian Hayes had 16 points and seven rebounds, while Croatian Bojan Bogdanovic added nine points.
Big night for Wembanyama but the 16th straight defeat for the Spurs
The Chicago Bulls overcame Victor Wembanyama’s big night to hand the Spurs their franchise record-tying 16th straight loss, 121-112 on Friday.
Wembanyama had 21 points and 20 rebounds as the Spurs matched the franchise record they set last season. At 19, Wembanyama is the youngest player in league history with 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game.
Montenegrin Nikola Vucevic added 21 points and 16 rebounds for Chicago. For the Spurs, Polish forward Jeremy Sochan had four points and four assists, while Turkish swingman Cedi Osman scored seven points.
Lithuanian forward Domantas Sabonis had 15 points and 17 rebounds and the Kings pulled away late to beat the Suns 114-106. Bulgarian Sasha Vezenkov added a career-high 14 points, while the Suns were playing without stars Kevin Durant (ankle) and Bradley Beal (back).
The leaders of the East Boston Celtics got the 133-123 win over the Knicks with Latvian Kristaps Porzingis returning and scoring 21 points after missing four games. German big man Isiah Hartenstein had 5 points and 16 rebounds for New York.
Last but not least Luka Doncic had 32 points and 10 assists as the Dallas Mavericks beat the short-handed Portland Trail Blazers 125-112 after Kyrie Irving injured his right foot. Former Partizan player Dante Exum had 23 points for the winning side, while Belgian Toumani Camara scored 14 for the Blazers.
The rest of the games and the euro-scorers are the following
RESULTS
Charlotte – Toronto 119-116 (Anunobi 11 p. Poeltl 8 p. Schroder 7 p.)
Philadelphia – Atlanta 125-114 (Batum 8 p. – Bogdanovic 20 p. Capela 15 p. 16 r.)
Brooklyn – Washington 124-97 (Avdija 15 p. 7 r. Gallinari 4 p. Coulibaly 11 p. 10 r.)
Oklahoma City – Golden State 138-136 (Saric 11 p. 12 r.)
Utah – LA Clippers 103-117 (Fontecchio 8 p. – Zubac 18 p. 12 r.)
Miami – Cleveland 99-111
Standings
Eastern Conference
1. Boston Celtics 16-5
2. Milwaukee Bucks 15-7
3. Orlando Magic 15-7
4. Philadelphia 76ers 14-7
5. Indiana Pacers 12-8
6. Cleveland Cavaliers 13-9
7. Brooklyn Nets 12-9
8. New York Knicks 12-9
9. Miami Heat 12-10
10. Atlanta Hawks 9-12
11. Toronto Raptors 9-13
12. Chicago Bulls 9-14
13. Charlotte Hornets 7-13
14. Washington Wizards 3-18
15. Detroit Pistons 2-20
Western Conference
1. Minnesota Timberwolves 17-4
2. Oklahoma City Thunder 14-7
3. Dallas Mavericks 13-8
4. Denver Nuggets 14-9
5. Los Angeles Lakers 14-9
6. Sacramento Kings 12-8
7. Phoenix Suns 12-10
8. Houston Rockets 10-9
9. Los Angeles Clippers 11-10
8. New Orleans Pelicans 12-11
11. Golden State Warriors 10-12
12. Utah Jazz 7-15
13. Memphis Grizzlies 6-15
13. Portland Trail Blazers 6-15
15. San Antonio Spurs 3-18
-Teams ranking first through sixth advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams ranking seventh through tenth compete in the Play-Ins