By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
A brilliant display for Turkish center Alperen Sengun in Smoothie King Center on Saturday.
Making 11/21 field goals, he set his career high at 37 points, paving the way for the Houston Rockets in the 106-104 victory versus the New Orleans Pelicans. After forcing Jonas Valanciunas to foul out, he scored nine points down the stretch and pushed his side to 15-12 in the NBA Regular Season. His impressive tally included 11 rebounds, six assists, one steal, and one block.
“I am not that strong, but I am fast, and he is not fast like me, so we were just attacking him,” Sengun commented on matching up with Valanciunas on NBA Saturdays. The Lithuanian center ended up with ten points, 11 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and one block in the losing effort. Serbian Boban Marjanovic did not step on the court for the Rockets.
Wins for Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic
French star Victor Wembanyama was a late scratch for the San Antonio Spurs after stepping on a ball boy’s foot and spraining his right ankle during warmups. In contrast, Slovenian Luka Doncic produced another spectacular showing fueling the Dallas Mavericks to the 144-119 win at American Airlines Center. A triple-double display with 39 points, 12 rebounds, and ten assists to go with one steal and one block. German Maxi Kleber (toe) is stuck on the injury list.
For the team coached by Gregg Popovich, Polish Jeremy Sochan registered a team-high 23 points with 9/16 field goals alongside nine rebounds and four assists. Georgian Sandro Mamukelashvili tallied 14 points, five rebounds, three assists, and one block. Turkish Cedi Osman finished with three points and two rebounds. French Sidy Cissoko had two points, three rebounds, and two steals.
Nikola Jokic neared yet another triple-double as the Denver Nuggets overpowered the Charlotte Hornets, 102-95. The Serbian big went for 18 points, ten rebounds, nine assists, one steal, and one block in Spectrum Center. His Slovenian teammate Vlatko Cancar (left knee) remained sidelined. The lone European of the Hornets, French Frank Ntilikina (left tibia) was also out.
More games and European showings
New York Knicks – Milwaukee Bucks 111-130 (Isaiah Hartenstein 12pts, 13reb, 1ast, 1stl, Dmytro Skapintsev 0pts, Evan Fournier DNP – Giannis Antetokounmpo 28pts, 7reb, 7ast, 1stl, 1blk, Thanasis Antetokounmpo DNP)
Los Angeles Clippers – Boston Celtics 108-145 (Ivica Zubac 16pts, 10reb, 1blk, Daniel Theis 15pts, 1reb, 1ast, 1stl, Moussa Diabate INJ – Neemias Queta 14pts, 12reb, 3ast, Kristaps Porzingis INJ, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk INJ)
Indiana Pacers – Orlando Magic 110-117 (Franz Wagner 24pts, 6reb, 1ast, Moritz Wagner 9pts, 3reb, 3ast, Goga Bitadze 1pt, 2ast, 2stl, 1reb, 1blk, Admiral Schofield DNP)
Atlanta Hawks – Memphis Grizzlies 119-125 (Clint Capela 20pts, 12reb, 2blk, 1ast, Bogdan Bogdanovic 16pts, 4reb, 3ast, Vit Krejci DNP – Santi Aldama 6pts, 4reb, 3ast, 1blk)
Brooklyn Nets – Detroit Pistons 126-115 (Bojan Bogdanovic 19pts, 8reb, 4ast, 2stl, Killian Hayes ILL, Malcolm Cazalon INA)
Toronto Raptors – Utah Jazz 119-126 (O.G. Anunoby 19pts, 4ast, 2reb, 2stl, Dennis Schroder 11pts, 7ast, 3reb, 3stl, Jakob Poeltl 2pts, 4reb, 3ast, 2blk – Lauri Markkanen 30pts, 9reb, 5ast, 3stl, Simone Fontecchio 6pts, 1reb, 1stl, Luka Samanic DNP, Omer Yurtseven DNP)
Chicago Bulls – Cleveland Cavaliers 95-109 (Nikola Vucevic 20pts, 12reb, 4ast, 1stl, 1blk, Onuralp Bitim INJ – Ricky Rubio PER)
Oklahoma City Thunder – Los Angeles Lakers 120-129 (Ousmane Dieng 5pts, Davis Bertans 3pts, 1reb, 1ast, Olivier Sarr 2reb, 1ast, Vasilije Micic DNP, Aleksej Pokusevski INA)
Golden State Warriors – Portland Trail Blazers 126-106 (Dario Saric 8pts, 5reb, 1ast, 1stl, Usman Garuba 1stl – Toumani Camara 6pts, 2reb, 1stl, 1blk, Rayan Rupert 2ast)
Sacramento Kings – Minnesota Timberwolves 98-110 (Domantas Sabonis 17pts, 10reb, 10ast, 1stl, Sasha Vezenkov 1reb, 1stl, Alex Len INJ – Rudy Gobert 21pts, 17reb, 2blk, 1ast, Luka Garza DNP)
Standings
Eastern Conference
1. Boston Celtics 22-6
2. Milwaukee Bucks 22-7
3. Philadelphia 76ers 20-8
4. Orlando Magic 17-11
5. Miami Heat 17-12
6. New York Knicks 16-12
7. Cleveland Cavaliers 17-13
8. Indiana Pacers 14-14
9. Brooklyn Nets 14-15
10. Chicago Bulls 13-18
11. Atlanta Hawks 12-17
12. Toronto Raptors 11-18
13. Charlotte Hornets 7-20
14. Washington Wizards 5-23
15. Detroit Pistons 2-27
Western Conference
1. Minnesota Timberwolves 22-6
2. Denver Nuggets 21-10
3. Oklahoma City Thunder 18-9
4. Sacramento Kings 17-11
5. Los Angeles Clippers 17-12
6. Dallas Mavericks 17-12
7. New Orleans Pelicans 17-13
8. Houston Rockets 15-12
9. Los Angeles Lakers 16-14
10. Golden State Warriors 15-14
11. Phoenix Suns 14-14
12. Utah Jazz 12-18
13. Memphis Grizzlies 9-19
14. Portland Trail Blazers 7-21
15. San Antonio Spurs 4-24
-Teams ranking first through sixth advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams ranking seventh through tenth compete in the Play-Ins
Photo Credit: Getty Images