By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Fueling a ninth win in the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season for the Washington Wizards, Bilal Coulibaly produced his first career triple-double.
The 20-year-old French upstart combined 11 points with 11 assists and ten rebounds, besides recording two steals and one block, pushing his side to 119-102 victory against the Brooklyn Nets in Barclays Center on Wednesday.
“It means a lot. It just came like that. Everybody was open, hitting shots. So, it made it easier for me,” he reacted to his triple-double.
French teammate Alex Sarr (left ankle sprain) was unavailable for a fifth straight game. Coming off the bench and lasting 18 minutes, Serbian Tristan Vukcevic added 12 points, six rebounds, and one assist for the Wizards. For the team guided by Spanish Jordi Fernandez, British Tosan Evbyomwan piled up 15 points, five rebounds, one assist, and one block, and Croatian Bojan Bogdanovic (left foot) remained sidelined.
Another standout performance stemming from France, Victor Wembanyama converted a go-ahead free throw with 2.4 seconds on the clock to lift the San Antonio Spurs over the Atlanta Hawks, 126-125. Newcomer De’Aaron Fox debuted with a 24-point, 13-assist double-double in State Farm Arena. Wemby finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, and one block.
Further European contribution went into Polish Jeremy Sochan putting in 15 points off the bench, since Georgian Sandro Mamukelashvili did not play. Serbian Bogdan Bogdanovic and Swiss Clint Capela were out of the Hawks lineup, but French Zaccharie Risacher tallied six points and Czech Vit Krejci produced five points.
Meanwhile, the Utah Jazz overcame the absence of Finnish Lauri Markkanen (low back injury management) to beat the Golden State Warriors, 131-128, in Delta Center. Ukrainian Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk chipped in ten points and five rebounds. On the wrong end, Dutch Quinten Post registered ten points and seven rebounds.
In Little Caesars Arena, the Cleveland Cavaliers edged out the Detroit Pistons, 118-115, thanks to a buzzer-beater by Darius Garland. On the losing end, Italian Simone Fontecchio had three points and Swedish Bobi Klintman stayed on the bench.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 50 points for the Oklahoma City Thunder in a 140-109 victory versus the Phoenix Suns in Paycom Center. German Isaiah Hartenstein and French Ousmane Dieng threw in nine and five points, respectively.
Spanish Santi Aldama banked in six points as the Memphis Grizzlies routed the Toronto Raptors, 138-107, in Scotiabank Arena. For the team coached by Serbian Darko Rajakovic, Austrian Jakob Poeltl (right hip pointer) was sidelined.
Wednesday results
Charlotte Hornets – Milwaukee Bucks 102-112
Detroit Pistons – Cleveland Cavaliers 115-118
Atlanta Hawks – San Antonio Spurs 125-126
Brooklyn Nets – Washington Wizards 102-119
Philadelphia 76ers – Miami Heat 101-108
Toronto Raptors – Memphis Grizzlies 107-138
Minnesota Timberwolves – Chicago Bulls 127-108
Utah Jazz – Golden State Warriors 131-128
Denver Nuggets – New Orleans Pelicans 144-119
Oklahoma City Thunder – Phoenix Suns 140-109
Sacramento Kings – Orlando Magic 111-130
Standings
Eastern Conference
1. Cleveland Cavaliers 41-10
2. Boston Celtics 36-15
3. New York Knicks 34-17
4. Indiana Pacers 28-21
5. Milwaukee Bucks 27-22
6. Miami Heat 25-24
7. Detroit Pistons 25-26
8. Orlando Magic 25-27
9. Atlanta Hawks 23-28
10. Chicago Bulls 22-30
11. Philadelphia 76ers 20-30
12. Brooklyn Nets 17-34
13. Toronto Raptors 16-35
14. Charlotte Hornets 12-36
15. Washington Wizards 9-41
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 40-9
2. Memphis Grizzlies 35-16
3. Houston Rockets 32-18
4. Denver Nuggets 32-19
5. Los Angeles Lakers 29-19
6. Los Angeles Clippers 28-22
7. Minnesota Timberwolves 28-23
8. Dallas Mavericks 26-25
9. Sacramento Kings 25-25
10. Golden State Warriors 25-25
11. Phoenix Suns 25-25
12. San Antonio Spurs 22-26
13. Portland Trail Blazers 22-29
14. Utah Jazz 12-37
15. New Orleans Pelicans 12-39
-The top six teams from each conference clinch a berth in the Playoffs
-Teams ranking seventh to tenth advance to the Play-Ins