By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
After joining forces with Zach LaVine on Wednesday, Domantas Sabonis went on to talk about also teaming up with fellow Lithuanian Jonas Valanciunas at the Sacramento Kings.
“I’m excited,” said 28-year-old Sabonis, “A fellow countryman with me. I think he’s all about this culture. He’s tough. He plays every game. I think he’s gonna help us a lot off the bench and he is going to play his heart out.”
However, the Orlando Magic spoiled the debut of LaVine with a 130-111 victory in Golden 1 Center. German Franz Wagner paved the way for the visitors with a game-high 31 points behind 12/12 field goals, including five three-pointers. He added five rebounds and three assists.
With his brother Moritz Wagner (left knee surgery) ruled out for the remainder of the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season, European contribution instead extended to Georgian Goga Bitadze and German Tristan da Silva packing 14 and 11 points, respectively.
On the losing end, Sabonis ended up with a 21-point, 13-rebound double-double plus three assists. Ukrainian teammate Alex Len did not get on the board in two minutes of action.
Anthony Edwards scores 49 points
In Target Center, the Minnesota Timberwolves rocked the Chicago Bulls, 127-108. Anthony Edwards delivered 49 points, while French Rudy Gobert posted a 10-point, 15-rebound double-double to go with three blocks, three steals, and one assist. Bosnian Luka Garza threw in four points.
For the Bulls, European starts in Lithuanian Matas Buzelis and Montenegrin Nikola Vucevic finished with 14 points and a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double, respectively.