By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
A blowout win for the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday.
Slovenian star Luka Doncic lasted 31 minutes as his side defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, 126-97, in American Airlines Center and improved to 20-15. Surpassing 40 points for the seventh time in the 2023-24 Regular Season, Doncic finished with 41 points behind 13/21 field goals plus six rebounds, five assists, and one steal. German Maxi Kleber (right small toe dislocation) remained on the injury list.
Recovering from right knee soreness, Belgian rookie Toumani Camara returned to the starting lineup piling up ten points, five rebounds, two steals, and one block over 20 minutes. French Rayan Rupert is on assignment with the Rip City Remix.
Double-overtime in Sacramento
The Sacramento Kings outlasted the Orlando Magic, 138-135, after two overtimes in Golden 1 Center. A huge triple-double by Domantas Sabonis with 22 points, 23 rebounds, and 12 assists was the highlight of the thriller. The Lithuanian big also recorded two steals and one block over 36 minutes. Bulgarian Sasha Vezenkov and Ukrainian Alex Len did not play.
On the losing end, German Franz Wagner exited with a right ankle sprain. Limited to five minutes, he tallied six points, two rebounds, and one assist. Georgian Goga Bitadze had six points, six rebounds, three blocks, and two assists, German Moritz Wagner produced two points, three rebounds, and two assists, and British Admiral Schofield dished out one assist.
Giannis Antetokounmpo went for 26 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and one block as the Milwaukee Bucks fell short, 142-130, to the Indiana Pacers in Gainbridge Fieldhouse. His brother Thanasis registered one rebound in a two-minute showing.
More games and European showings
Cleveland Cavaliers – Washington Wizards 140-101 (Ricky Rubio INA – Deni Avdija 7pts, 6reb, 4ast, 1stl, Bilal Coulibaly 5pts, 5reb, 3stl, 2blk, 1ast, Danilo Gallinari DNP)
Atlanta Hawks – Oklahoma City Thunder 141-138 (Bogdan Bogdanovic 23pts, 4ast, 1reb, 1stl, Clint Capela 12pts, 14reb, 3blk, Vit Krejci INA – Davis Bertans DNP, Olivier Sarr DNP, Vasilije Micic DNP, Ousmane Dieng INA, Aleksej Pokusevski INA)
Houston Rockets – Brooklyn Nets 112-101 (Alperen Sengun 30pts, 8reb, 4ast, 3stl, 1blk, Boban Marjanovic DNP)
Memphis Grizzlies – Toronto Raptors 111-116 (Santi Aldama 7pts, 8reb, 3ast, 1stl – Dennis Schroder 16pts, 7reb, 5ast, Jakob Poeltl 7pts, 8reb, 5blk, 2ast, 1stl)
Minnesota Timberwolves – New Orleans Pelicans 106-117 (Rudy Gobert 5pts, 5reb, 1blk, Luka Garza INJ – Jonas Valanciunas 4pts, 7reb, 3ast)
New York Knicks – Chicago Bulls 116-100 (O.G. Anunoby 11pts, 8reb, 2ast, 2stl, Isaiah Hartenstein 10pts, 20reb, 5blk, 1ast, Evan Fournier DNP – Onuralp Bitim INJ, Nikola Vucevic INJ)
Phoenix Suns – Los Angeles Clippers 122-131 (Jusuf Nurkic 9pts, 6reb, 1ast, 1stl, Theo Maledon INA – Ivica Zubac 6pts, 3reb, 2ast, 2blk, Daniel Theis 6pts, 3reb, 1ast, 1stl, Moussa Diabate INJ)
Utah Jazz – Detroit Pistons 154-148 OT (Lauri Markkanen 31pts, 7reb, 1blk, Simone Fontecchio 16pts, 7reb, 4ast, 2stl, Luka Samanic DNP, Omer Yurtseven DNP – Bojan Bogdanovic 36pts, 7reb, 5ast, 1stl, Killian Hayes 2pts, 6ast, 4reb, 1blk, Malcolm Cazalon INA)
Los Angeles Lakers – Miami Heat 96-110 (Nikola Jovic 15pts, 8reb, 1ast, 1stl)
Standings
Eastern Conference
1. Boston Celtics 26-7
2. Milwaukee Bucks 24-10
3. Philadelphia 76ets 23-10
4. Miami Heat 20-14
5. Indiana Pacers 19-14
6. Orlando Magic 19-15
7. Cleveland Cavaliers 19-15
8. New York Knicks 19-15
9. Brooklyn Nets 15-20
10. Atlanta Hawks 14-19
11. Chicago Bulls 15-21
12. Toronto Raptors 14-20
13. Charlotte Hornets 8-24
14. Washington Wizards 6-27
15. Detroit Pistons 3-31
Western Conference
1. Minnesota Timberwolves 24-9
2. Oklahoma City Thunder 23-10
3. Denver Nuggets 24-11
4. Los Angeles Clippers 21-12
5. Sacramento Kings 20-13
6. New Orleans Pelicans 21-14
7. Dallas Mavericks 20-15
8. Houston Rockets 17-15
9. Phoenix Suns 18-16
10. Los Angeles Lakers 17-18
11. Golden State Warriors 16-17
12. Utah Jazz 16-19
13. Memphis Grizzlies 11-23
14. Portland Trail Blazers 9-24
15. San Antonio Spurs 5-28
-Teams ranking first through sixth advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams ranking seventh through tenth compete in the Play-Ins
Photo Credit: Getty Images