By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Despite German Dennis Schroder (league suspension) joining Lithuanian Domantas Sabonis (left knee partial meniscus tear) on the inactive list, the Sacramento Kings beat the Houston Rockets, 111-98, in Golden 1 Center on Sunday. French starter Maxime Raynaud chipped in 12 points, nine rebounds, and one assist over 20:13, and Croatian Dario Saric remained out of the rotation. On the opposite side, Turkish Alperen Sengun was cleared from a right ankle sprain, and packed 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals, and one block in 35:26, but Swiss Clint Capela stayed on the bench.
“I just wanted to play. I wasn’t feeling at 100%. But it’s been a busy schedule for the team, and I wanted to be with them out there,” mentioned 23-year-old Sengun in a postgame interview, revealing the process leading to returning to action after missing the previous three fixtures on the 2025-26 NBA Regular Season. “Well, it didn’t work. I just need to keep on getting better, for my body and on the court, and we just got to turn the juice on and start winning.”
In Paycom Center, Belgian Ajay Mitchell scored 16 points, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder rally past the Miami Heat to prevail, 124-112. French Ousmane Dieng did not play, with German Isaiah Hartenstein (right soleus strain) and Serbian Nikola Topic (testicular surgery recovery) out of the lineup. For the Heat, Swedish starter Pelle Larsson netted 16 points, with Serbian Nikola Jovic at 13 points, Italian Simone Fontecchio at three points, and Lithuanian Kasparas Jakucionis without a point. Russian Vladislav Goldin remained with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Spanish Santi Aldama contributed 15 bench points for Finnish head coach Tuomas Iisalo to collect a win over Spanish counterpart Jordi Fernandez, with the Memphis Grizzlies finishing on a 13-0 run en route to a 103-98 victory versus the Brooklyn Nets in FedExForum. For the Nets, Israeli Danny Wolf posted an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double in a start, and Russian Egor Demin settled at seven points, with French reserve Nolan Traore reaching four points. Israeli Ben Saraf was assigned to the G League’s Long Island Nets.
Without French Zaccharie Risacher (left knee inflammation) and Latvian Kristaps Porzingis (left Achilles tendinitis), the Atlanta Hawks overpowered the Golden State Warriors, 124-111, in Chase Center. European starters ranged from Czech Vit Krejci, chipping in five points for the visitors, to Dutch Quinten Post, getting eight points for the hosts. Serbian Nikola Djurisic and Dutch Malevy Leons stayed on assignments with their respective team affiliates, College Park Skyhawks and Santa Cruz Warriors.
After overtime in Scotiabank Arena, the Toronto Raptors edged out the Philadelphia 76ers, 116-115. Georgian Sandro Mamukelashvili went scoreless in 18 minutes, with Austrian Jakob Poeltl (low back strain) remaining sidelined for the team coached by Serbian Darko Rajakovic. For the Sixers, Turkish Adem Bona got nine points.
French Alex Sarr posted a 19-point, 15-rebound double-double for the Washington Wizards in a loss, 112-93, against the Phoenix Suns in Mortgage Matchup Center. Fellow French starter Bilal Coulibaly finished with 12 points, and Serbian reserve Tristan Vukcevic had four points.
Sunday results
Orlando Magic – New Orleans Pelicans 128-118
Memphis Grizzlies – Brooklyn Nets 103-98
Toronto Raptors – Philadelphia 76ers 116-115 OT (107-107)
Portland Trail Blazers – New York Knicks 114-123
Minnesota Timberwolves – San Antonio Spurs 104-103
Oklahoma City Thunder – Miami Heat 124-112
Denver Nuggets – Milwaukee Bucks 108-104
Phoenix Suns – Washington Wizards 112-93
Golden State Warriors – Atlanta Hawks 111-124
Sacramento Kings – Houston Rockets 111-98
Standings
Eastern Conference
1. Detroit Pistons 28-10
2. New York Knicks 25-14
3. Boston Celtics 24-14
4. Toronto Raptors 24-16
5. Philadelphia 76ers 21-16
6. Cleveland Cavaliers 22-18
7. Orlando Magic 22-18
8. Miami Heat 20-19
9. Atlanta Hawks 20-21
10. Chicago Bulls 18-20
11. Milwaukee Bucks 17-22
12. Charlotte Hornets 14-25
13. Brooklyn Nets 11-25
14. Washington Wizards 10-28
15. Indiana Pacers 8-31
Western Conference
1. Oklahoma City Thunder 33-7
2. San Antonio Spurs 27-12
3. Denver Nuggets 26-13
4. Minnesota Timberwolves 26-14
5. Los Angeles Lakers 23-13
6. Phoenix Suns 24-15
7. Houston Rockets 22-14
8. Golden State Warriors 21-19
9. Portland Trail Blazers 19-21
10. Memphis Grizzlies 17-22
11. Los Angeles Clippers 15-23
12. Dallas Mavericks 14-25
13. Utah Jazz 13-25
14. Sacramento Kings 9-30
15. New Orleans Pelicans 9-32
-Top 6 teams from each conference advance directly to the Playoffs
-Teams seventh through tenth from each conference advance to the Play-Ins