By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Plenty of European action across the most recent installment of NBA Sundays, including Luka Doncic dropping 47 points on the Houston Rockets in Toyota Center. Prevailing, 125-107, signaled a seventh win in a row for the Dallas Mavericks.
Questionable to play due to right knee soreness, the Slovenian superstar added to the bid for the Most Valuable Player of the Regular Season award by making 18/30 field goals, including 9/16 from beyond the arc. Grabbing 12 rebounds shaped a double-double. He also recorded seven assists and two steals over 35 minutes.
German teammate Maxi Kleber had two points and four rebounds over 20 minutes. For the hosts, Serbian Boban Marjanovic stayed on the bench and Turkish Alperen Sengun (right ankle sprain) remained sidelined.
Wemby scores 32 points
The San Antonio Spurs lost, 117-113, to the Golden State Warriors despite the latest solid showing of Victor Wembanyama. Lasting 31 minutes, the French upstart went for 32 points, nine rebounds, five assists, four steals, and three blocks in a narrow loss in Frost Bank Center.
Victor Wembanyama shone again despite the Spurs‘ loss to the GSW 😤
📊 32 PTS, 9 REB, 5 AST, 4 STL, 3BLK
— Eurohoops (@Eurohoopsnet) April 1, 2024
Turkish Cedi Osman finished with 18 points, two rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Georgian Sandro Mamukelashvili posted a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double alongside two assists and one block. French Sidy Cissoko did not play and Polish Jeremy Sochan (left ankle impingement) was on the injury list.
For the Warriors, led by Stephen Curry scoring 33 points, Croatian Dario Saric (right knee lateral joint line pain) was sidelined and Spanish Usman Garuba was also out of the lineup.
Batum sets season-high at 19 points
Moving to Scotiabank Arena, the Philadelphia 76ers overpowered the Toronto Raptors, 135-120. Behind 7/8 field goals, including five triples, French Nicolas Batum chipped in 19 points, a new individual best for the 2023-24 season. Over 28 minutes, he added six rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
The team coached by Serbian Darko Rajakovic suffered a 13th straight loss. Austrian Jakob Poeltl (torn ligament in the fifth finger of left hand) stayed on the injury list.
More European showings
Denver Nuggets – Cleveland Cavaliers 130-101 (Nikola Jokic 26pts, 18reb, 16ast, 1stl, Vlatko Cancar INJ)
Brooklyn Nets – Los Angeles Lakers 104-116 (Dennis Schroder 14pts, 3reb, 3ast, 1stl)
Charlotte Hornets – Los Angeles Clippers 118-130 (Davis Bertans 15pts, 2reb, 1ast, Vasilije Micic 10pts, 13ast, 5reb, 1stl, Aleksej Pokusevski ILL – Ivica Zubac 24pts, 12reb, 3blk, 1ast, Daniel Theis DNP, Moussa Diabate INJ)
Washington Wizards – Miami Heat 107-119 (Deni Avdija 15pts, 9reb, 6ast, 1stl, 1blk, Tristan Vukcevic 3pts, 2reb, 2ast, Bilal Coulibaly INJ – Nikola Jovic 12pts, 8reb, 4ast, 1stl, 1blk)
Minnesota Timberwolves – Chicago Bulls 101-109 (Rudy Gobert 19pts, 10reb, 2stl, 1ast, 1blk, Luka Garza DNP – Nikola Vucevic 19pts, 8reb, 6ast, 2stl, Onuralp Bitim DNP)
New York Knicks – Oklahoma City Thunder 112-113 (Isaiah Hartenstein 17pts, 12reb, 5ast, 1stl, Bojan Bogdanovic 5pts, 1reb, O.G. Anunoby INJ – Ousmane Dieng GL, Olivier Sarr GL)
Sacramento Kings – Utah Jazz 127-106 (Domantas Sabonis 17pts, 11reb, 6ast, 1stl, 1blk, Sasha Vezenkov 5pts, 2reb, 2stl, 1ast, Alex Len 2reb, 1ast, 1blk – Omer Yurtseven 4pts, 4reb, 1ast, Luka Samanic DNP, Lauri Markkanen INJ)
Standings
Eastern Conference
1. q-Boston Celtics 58-16
2. Milwaukee Bucks 47-27
3. Cleveland Cavaliers 45-30
4. New York Knicks 44-30
5. Orlando Magic 43-31
6. Indiana Pacers 42-33
7. Miami Heat 41-33
8. Philadelphia 76ers 40-35
9. Chicago Bulls 36-39
10. Atlanta Hawks 34-40
11. Brooklyn Nets 29-46
12. e-Toronto Raptors 23-51
13. e-Charlotte Hornets 18-56
14. e-Washington Wizards 14-61
15. e-Detroit Pistons 13-61
Western Conference
1. q-Oklahoma City Thunder 52-22
2. q-Denver Nuggets 52-23
3. Minnesota Timberwolves 51-23
4. Los Angeles Clippers 47-27
5. Dallas Mavericks 45-29
6. New Orleans Pelicans 45-29
7. Sacramento Kings 43-31
8. Phoenix Suns 43-31
9. Los Angeles Lakers 42-33
10. Golden State Warriors 40-34
11. Houston Rockets 38-36
12. e-Utah Jazz 29-46
13. e-Memphis Grizzlies 24-50
14. e-Portland Trail Blazers 19-55
15. e-San Antonio Spurs 18-57
q-qualified for Playoffs
e-eliminated from Playoffs
-Teams ranking first through sixth advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams ranking seventh through tenth compete in the Play-Ins