Valanciunas, Nurkic, and Vucevic dominate in wins; Sabas, Giannis, and Wemby shine despite losses

By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net

With 20 teams hitting the court, it was expected that numerous European stars would deliver stellar performances, and many of them indeed did.

Bosnian center Jusuf Nurkic had one of his best games of the season in a 120-136 Phoenix Suns win over the Brooklyn Nets, nearly achieving a triple-double.

The Big Nurk finished the match with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists on 11-15 shooting from the field, ranking as the second-best scorer after Kevin Durant, who had 33 points. The Suns secured their eighth victory in the last 10 games.

Jonas Valanciunas also had an outstanding game, leading the New Orleans Pelicans to a 99-110 road win over the Houston Rockets. The Lithuanian big man contributed 25 points and 14 rebounds against the talented Alperen Sengun, who also reached a double-double with 10 points and rebounds.

Nikola Vucevic helped the Chicago Bulls record a 110-117 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on the road, finishing the match with a double-double of 22 points and 12 rebounds.

Former EuroLeague MVP Vasilije Micic had an NBA career-high 12 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Denver Nuggets 105-100, while Nikola Jokic missed the match due to lower back pain.

Valanciunas’ compatriot Domantas Sabonis recorded his 13th triple-double of the season, but the Sacramento Kings fell to the Miami Heat 115-106. Sabonis finished the game with 19 points, 17 rebounds, and 13 assists, but it wasn’t enough for the Kings.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was the top scorer of the game between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Milwaukee Bucks, but his team failed to win, falling on the road to Damian Lillard’s former team 119-116. The Greek Freak had 27 points with eight rebounds, while Dame had 26 points, seven assists, and six boards in his first return to Oregon since leaving for Wisconsin.

Victor Wembanyama continued posting solid numbers in his rookie season, with 21 points and eight rebounds, but his team suffered a 98-108 home loss to the Orlando Magic. Last season’s Rookie of the Year, Paolo Banchero, had 25 points and nine rebounds for the winning side, while Franz Wagner contributed 20 points with eight boards, and his brother Moritz added 10 points.

NBA results:

Charlotte Hornets – Chicago Bulls 110-117 (Vucevic 22p, 12r)
Cleveland Cavs – Detroit Pistons 128-121 (Gallinari 20p, Bojan 17p)
Washington Wizards – LA Clippers 109-125 (Coulibaly 19p, Avdija 13p – Theis 4p)
Miami Heat – Sacramento Kings 115-106 (Sabonis 19p, 17r, 13as)
Houston Rockets – New Orleans Pelicans 99-110 (Sengun 10p, 10r – Valanciunas 25p, 14r)
Minnesota Timberwolves – Dallas Mavs 121-87 (Gobert 17p, Garza 8p – Kleber 3p)
Oklahoma City Thunder – Denver Nuggets 105-100 (Micic 12p)
San Antonio Spurs – Orlando Magic 98-108 (Wemby 21p, 8r, Osman 8p – P. Banchero 25p, 9r, 7as, F. Wagner 20p, 8r, M. Wagner 10p)
Brooklyn Nets – Phoenix Suns 120-136 (Nurkic 28p, 11r, 6as)
Portland Trail Blazers – Milwaukee Bucks 119-116 (Camara 4p, 4r – Antetokounmpo 27p, 8r)

Standings via NBA.com

Eastern Conference

TEAM	W	L	WIN%	GB	CONF	DIV	HOME	ROAD	OT	LAST10	STREAK
1 Boston Celtics	37	11	.771	—	25-6	11-1	22-2	15-9	2-3	8-2	W 2
2 Milwaukee Bucks	32	16	.667	5	24-12	9-7	21-5	11-11	2-1	6-4	L 2
3 New York Knicks	31	17	.646	6	21-10	6-3	17-5	14-12	0-0	9-1	W 8
4 Cleveland Cavaliers	29	16	.644	6.5	20-10	7-4	17-8	12-8	2-0	9-1	W 3
5 Philadelphia 76ers	29	17	.630	7	19-11	5-3	17-6	12-11	0-2	6-4	L 4
6 Indiana Pacers	27	21	.563	10	21-12	9-2	16-9	11-12	0-0	4-6	L 1
7 Miami Heat	25	23	.521	12	18-15	9-2	13-11	12-12	1-0	3-7	W 1
8 Orlando Magic	25	23	.521	12	17-13	6-4	15-7	10-16	1-1	4-6	W 1
9 Chicago Bulls	23	26	.469	14.5	14-17	3-6	14-11	9-15	4-2	5-5	W 1
10 Atlanta Hawks	20	27	.426	16.5	13-20	6-5	10-13	10-14	2-1	5-5	W 2
11 Brooklyn Nets	19	28	.404	17.5	13-14	1-5	12-13	7-15	0-3	3-7	L 1
12 Toronto Raptors	17	30	.362	19.5	11-21	0-11	10-13	7-17	1-1	2-8	W 1
13 Charlotte Hornets	10	36	.217	26	7-22	3-6	5-18	5-18	1-1	2-8	L 5
14 Washington Wizards	9	38	.191	27.5	6-27	2-9	3-19	6-19	0-0	3-7	L 1
15 Detroit Pistons	6	41	.128	30.5	5-24	1-10	4-21	2-20	0-2	3-7	L 1

Western Conference

TEAM	W	L	WIN%	GB	CONF	DIV	HOME	ROAD	OT	LAST10	STREAK
1 Minnesota Timberwolves	34	14	.708	—	23-8	6-2	18-4	16-10	1-1	7-3	W 2
2 Oklahoma City Thunder	33	15	.688	1	21-11	10-3	18-6	15-9	2-0	6-4	W 1
3 LA Clippers	31	15	.674	2	21-11	7-3	19-4	12-11	0-1	8-2	W 1
4 Denver Nuggets	33	16	.673	1.5	17-11	2-5	19-4	14-12	0-0	7-3	L 1
5 Sacramento Kings	27	19	.587	6	18-13	6-5	14-8	13-11	3-1	5-5	L 1
6 Phoenix Suns	28	20	.583	6	17-14	5-7	14-11	14-9	2-0	8-2	W 2
7 New Orleans Pelicans	27	21	.563	7	19-17	6-6	14-10	13-11	0-1	4-6	W 1
8 Dallas Mavericks	26	22	.542	8	18-18	7-5	14-12	12-10	0-0	4-6	L 1
9 Los Angeles Lakers	24	25	.490	10.5	18-16	6-4	17-8	7-17	2-1	5-5	L 2
10 Utah Jazz	24	25	.490	10.5	12-18	4-6	15-6	9-19	2-2	5-5	L 2
11 Houston Rockets	22	25	.468	11.5	16-12	7-3	17-9	5-16	1-4	3-7	L 1
12 Golden State Warriors	20	24	.455	12	11-19	3-8	13-13	7-11	1-3	4-6	W 1
13 Memphis Grizzlies	18	29	.383	15.5	12-22	6-6	5-16	13-13	1-1	4-6	L 2
14 Portland Trail Blazers	15	33	.313	19	6-26	1-7	9-13	6-20	3-2	5-5	W 2
15 San Antonio Spurs	10	38	.208	24	7-20	1-7	5-19	5-19	1-1	3-7	L 2