By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
With Stephen Curry up to six triples and 31 points, the Golden State Warriors routed the Utah Jazz, 134-117, in Chase Center. Also in the starting lineup for Steve Kerr’s side, Dutch Quinten Post put in nine points, five assists, four rebounds, one block, and one steal over 27:33. Three European starters for the team coached by Will Hardy, Finnish Lauri Markkanen at 17 points, Bosnian Jusuf Nurkic at eight points, and Ukrainian Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk at two points.
After trailing from the top at Golden 1 Center, the Sacramento Kings forced overtime and defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves, 117-112. With Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis (left knee partial meniscus tear) out, German Dennis Schroder registered six points, French Maxime Raynaud had one point, and Croatian Dario Saric did not play. For the Wolves, French Rudy Gobert posted an 11-point, 13-rebound double-double, Italian Donte DiVincenzo scored 17 points, and French Joan Beringer did not fit in the rotation.
“It’s just like we didn’t play super connected, and then I feel like we let the frustration get to us. You can’t do that, if you want to be a championship team,” 33-year-old Gobert described the second straight late collapse of his side in the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season. “We all know talking is great, but let’s see if we care about doing the things that we need to do to win, and putting our teammates before ourselves.”
Tyler Herro poured in 24 points in his season debut, pushing the Miami Heat to a 106-102 victory versus the Dallas Mavericks in Kaseya Center. Swedish Pelle Larsson added nine points and Italian Simone Fontecchio added eight points, but Lithuanian Kasparas Jakucionis did not play, with Serbian Nikola Jovic (right hip impingement) unavailable, similar to inactive Russian Vladislav Goldin.
Without Montenegrin Nikola Vucevic (right knee soreness) for Monday night, the Chicago Bulls fell, 143-130, to the struggling New Orleans Pelicans in Smoothie King Center. Lithuanian Matas Buzelis registered ten points, but French Noa Essengue did not score. Croatian Karlo Matkovic (right calf strain) remained sidelined for the Pelicans.
Meanwhile, the Detroit Pistons matched a franchise record with a 13th consecutive win by taking down the Indiana Pacers, 122-117, in Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The lone European option, Swedish Bobi Klintman (left ankle sprain), stayed on the injury list.
Serbian Darko Rajakovic guided the Toronto Raptors to an eighth straight win by overpowering the Cleveland Cavaliers, 110-99, in Scotiabank Arena. Georgian Sandro Mamukelashvili contributed 12 points, and Austrian Jakob Poeltl paired seven points with 13 rebounds.
In Mortgage Matchup Center, the Houston Rockets earned a comfortable win, 114-92, against the Phoenix Suns. Turkish Alperen Sengun threw in 18 points, and Swiss Clint Capela added two more points.
Monday results
Indiana Pacers – Detroit Pistons 117-122
Toronto Raptors – Cleveland Cavaliers 110-99
Brooklyn Nets – New York Knicks 100-113
Miami Heat – Dallas Mavericks 106-102
Memphis Grizzlies – Denver Nuggets 115-125
Milwaukee Bucks – Portland Trail Blazers 103-115
New Orleans Pelicans – Chicago Bulls 143-130
Phoenix Suns – Houston Rockets 92-114
Golden State Warriors – Utah Jazz 134-117
Sacramento Kings – Minnesota Timberwolves 117-112 OT (101-101)
Standings
Eastern Conference
1. Detroit Pistons 15-2
2. Toronto Raptors 13-5
3. Miami Heat 12-6
4. Cleveland Cavaliers 12-7
5. New York Knicks 10-6
6. Atlanta Hawks 11-7
7. Philadelphia 76ers 9-7
8. Orlando Magic 10-8
9. Boston Celtics 9-8
10. Chicago Bulls 9-8
11. Milwaukee Bucks 8-10
12. Charlotte Hornets 4-13
13. Brooklyn Nets 3-14
14. Indiana Pacers 2-15
15. Washington Wizards 1-15
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 17-1
2. Denver Nuggets 13-4
3. Los Angeles Lakers 12-4
4. Houston Rockets 11-4
5. San Antonio Spurs 11-5
6. Phoenix Suns 11-7
7. Minnesota Timberwolves 10-7
8. Golden State Warriors 10-9
9. Portland Trail Blazers 8-10
10. Memphis Grizzlies 6-12
11. Los Angeles Clippers 5-12
12. Utah Jazz 5-12
13. Sacramento Kings 5-13
14. Dallas Mavericks 5-14
15. New Orleans Pelicans 3-15
-Top 6 teams from each conference advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams seventh through tenth from each conference advance to the Play-Ins